CHAPTER I
Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea There are circumstances in which whether you partake of the tea or not—some people of course never do—the situation is in itself delightful Those that I have in mind in beginning to unfold this simple history offered an admirable setting to an innocent pastime The implements of the little feast had been disposed upon the lawn of an old English countryhouse in what I should call the perfect middle of a splendid summer afternoon Part of the afternoon had waned but much of it was left and what was left was of the finest and rarest quality Real dusk would not arrive for many hours but the flood of summer light had begun to ebb the air had grown mellow the shadows were long upon the smooth dense turf They lengthened slowly however and the scene expressed that sense of leisure still to come which is perhaps the chief source of ones enjoyment of such a scene at such an hour From five oclock to eight is on certain occasions a little eternity but on such an occasion as this the interval could be only an eternity of pleasure The persons concerned in it were taking their pleasure quietly and they were not of the sex which is supposed to furnish the regular votaries of the ceremony I have mentioned The shadows on the perfect lawn were straight and angular they were the shadows of an old man sitting in a deep wickerchair near the low table on which the tea had been served and of two younger men strolling to and fro in desultory talk in front of him The old man had his cup in his hand it was an unusually large cup of a different pattern from the rest of the set and painted in brilliant colours He disposed of its contents with much circumspection holding it for a long time close to his chin with his face turned to the house His companions had either finished their tea or were indifferent to their privilege they smoked cigarettes as they continued to stroll One of them from time to time as he passed looked with a certain attention at the elder man who unconscious of observation rested his eyes upon the rich red front of his dwelling The house that rose beyond the lawn was a structure to repay such consideration and was the most characteristic object in the peculiarly English picture I have attempted to sketch
It stood upon a low hill above the river—the river being the Thames at some forty miles from London A long gabled front of red brick with the complexion of which time and the weather had played all sorts of pictorial tricks only however to improve and refine it presented to the lawn its patches of ivy its clustered chimneys its windows smothered in creepers The house had a name and a history the old gentleman taking his tea would have been delighted to tell you these things how it had been built under Edward the Sixth had offered a nights hospitality to the great Elizabeth whose august person had extended itself upon a huge magnificent and terribly angular bed which still formed the principal honour of the sleeping apartments had been a good deal bruised and defaced in Cromwells wars and then under the Restoration repaired and much enlarged and how finally after having been remodelled and disfigured in the eighteenth century it had passed into the careful keeping of a shrewd American banker who had bought it originally because owing to circumstances too complicated to set forth it was offered at a great bargain bought it with much grumbling at its ugliness its antiquity its incommodity and who now at the end of twenty years had become conscious of a real aesthetic passion for it so that he knew all its points and would tell you just where to stand to see them in combination and just the hour when the shadows of its various protuberances which fell so softly upon the warm weary brickwork—were of the right measure Besides this as I have said he could have counted off most of the successive owners and occupants several of whom were known to general fame doing so however with an undemonstrative conviction that the latest phase of its destiny was not the least honourable The front of the house overlooking that portion of the lawn with which we are concerned was not the entrancefront this was in quite another quarter Privacy here reigned supreme and the wide carpet of turf that covered the level hilltop seemed but the extension of a luxurious interior The great still oaks and beeches flung down a shade as dense as that of velvet curtains and the place was furnished like a room with cushioned seats with richcoloured rugs with the books and papers that lay upon the grass The river was at some distance where the ground began to slope the lawn properly speaking ceased But it was none the less a charming walk down to the water
The old gentleman at the teatable who had come from America thirty years before had brought with him at the top of his baggage his American physiognomy and he had not only brought it with him but he had kept it in the best order so that if necessary he might have taken it back to his own country with perfect confidence At present obviously nevertheless he was not likely to displace himself his journeys were over and he was taking the rest that precedes the great rest He had a narrow cleanshaven face with features evenly distributed and an expression of placid acuteness It was evidently a face in which the range of representation was not large so that the air of contented shrewdness was all the more of a merit It seemed to tell that he had been successful in life yet it seemed to tell also that his success had not been exclusive and invidious but had had much of the inoffensiveness of failure He had certainly had a great experience of men but there was an almost rustic simplicity in the faint smile that played upon his lean spacious cheek and lighted up his humorous eye as he at last slowly and carefully deposited his big teacup upon the table He was neatly dressed in wellbrushed black but a shawl was folded upon his knees and his feet were encased in thick embroidered slippers A beautiful collie dog lay upon the grass near his chair watching the masters face almost as tenderly as the master took in the still more magisterial physiognomy of the house and a little bristling bustling terrier bestowed a desultory attendance upon the other gentlemen
One of these was a remarkably wellmade man of fiveandthirty with a face as English as that of the old gentleman I have just sketched was something else a noticeably handsome face freshcoloured fair and frank with firm straight features a lively grey eye and the rich adornment of a chestnut beard This person had a certain fortunate brilliant exceptional look—the air of a happy temperament fertilised by a high civilisation—which would have made almost any observer envy him at a venture He was booted and spurred as if he had dismounted from a long ride he wore a white hat which looked too large for him he held his two hands behind him and in one of them—a large white wellshaped fist—was crumpled a pair of soiled dogskin gloves
His companion measuring the length of the lawn beside him was a person of quite a different pattern who although he might have excited grave curiosity would not like the other have provoked you to wish yourself almost blindly in his place Tall lean loosely and feebly put together he had an ugly sickly witty charming face furnished but by no means decorated with a straggling moustache and whisker He looked clever and ill—a combination by no means felicitous and he wore a brown velvet jacket He carried his hands in his pockets and there was something in the way he did it that showed the habit was inveterate His gait had a shambling wandering quality he was not very firm on his legs As I have said whenever he passed the old man in the chair he rested his eyes upon him and at this moment with their faces brought into relation you would easily have seen they were father and son The father caught his sons eye at last and gave him a mild responsive smile
Im getting on very well he said
Have you drunk your tea asked the son
Yes and enjoyed it
Shall I give you some more
The old man considered placidly Well I guess Ill wait and see He had in speaking the American tone
Are you cold the son enquired
The father slowly rubbed his legs Well I dont know I cant tell till I feel
Perhaps some one might feel for you said the younger man laughing
Oh I hope some one will always feel for me Dont you feel for me Lord Warburton
Oh yes immensely said the gentleman addressed as Lord Warburton promptly Im bound to say you look wonderfully comfortable
Well I suppose I am in most respects And the old man looked down at his green shawl and smoothed it over his knees The fact is Ive been comfortable so many years that I suppose Ive got so used to it I dont know it
Yes thats the bore of comfort said Lord Warburton We only know when were uncomfortable
It strikes me were rather particular his companion remarked
Oh yes theres no doubt were particular Lord Warburton murmured And then the three men remained silent a while the two younger ones standing looking down at the other who presently asked for more tea I should think you would be very unhappy with that shawl Lord Warburton resumed while his companion filled the old mans cup again
Oh no he must have the shawl cried the gentleman in the velvet coat Dont put such ideas as that into his head
It belongs to my wife said the old man simply
Oh if its for sentimental reasons— And Lord Warburton made a gesture of apology
I suppose I must give it to her when she comes the old man went on
Youll please to do nothing of the kind Youll keep it to cover your poor old legs
Well you mustnt abuse my legs said the old man I guess they are as good as yours
Oh youre perfectly free to abuse mine his son replied giving him his tea
Well were two lame ducks I dont think theres much difference
Im much obliged to you for calling me a duck Hows your tea
Well its rather hot
Thats intended to be a merit
Ah theres a great deal of merit murmured the old man kindly Hes a very good nurse Lord Warburton
Isnt he a bit clumsy asked his lordship
Oh no hes not clumsy—considering that hes an invalid himself Hes a very good nurse—for a sicknurse I call him my sicknurse because hes sick himself
Oh come daddy the ugly young man exclaimed
Well you are I wish you werent But I suppose you cant help it
I might try thats an idea said the young man
Were you ever sick Lord Warburton his father asked
Lord Warburton considered a moment Yes sir once in the Persian Gulf
Hes making light of you daddy said the other young man Thats a sort of joke
Well there seem to be so many sorts now daddy replied serenely You dont look as if you had been sick any way Lord Warburton
Hes sick of life he was just telling me so going on fearfully about it said Lord Warburtons friend
Is that true sir asked the old man gravely
If it is your son gave me no consolation Hes a wretched fellow to talk to—a regular cynic He doesnt seem to believe in anything
Thats another sort of joke said the person accused of cynicism
Its because his health is so poor his father explained to Lord Warburton It affects his mind and colours his way of looking at things he seems to feel as if he had never had a chance But its almost entirely theoretical you know it doesnt seem to affect his spirits Ive hardly ever seen him when he wasnt cheerful—about as he is at present He often cheers me up
The young man so described looked at Lord Warburton and laughed Is it a glowing eulogy or an accusation of levity Should you like me to carry out my theories daddy
By Jove we should see some queer things cried Lord Warburton
I hope you havent taken up that sort of tone said the old man
Warburtons tone is worse than mine he pretends to be bored Im not in the least bored I find life only too interesting
Ah too interesting you shouldnt allow it to be that you know
Im never bored when I come here said Lord Warburton One gets such uncommonly good talk
Is that another sort of joke asked the old man Youve no excuse for being bored anywhere When I was your age I had never heard of such a thing
You must have developed very late
No I developed very quick that was just the reason When I was twenty years old I was very highly developed indeed I was working tooth and nail You wouldnt be bored if you had something to do but all you young men are too idle You think too much of your pleasure Youre too fastidious and too indolent and too rich
Oh I say cried Lord Warburton youre hardly the person to accuse a fellowcreature of being too rich
Do you mean because Im a banker asked the old man
Because of that if you like and because you have—havent you—such unlimited means
He isnt very rich the other young man mercifully pleaded He has given away an immense deal of money
Well I suppose it was his own said Lord Warburton and in that case could there be a better proof of wealth Let not a public benefactor talk of ones being too fond of pleasure
Daddys very fond of pleasure—of other peoples
The old man shook his head I dont pretend to have contributed anything to the amusement of my contemporaries
My dear father youre too modest
Thats a kind of joke sir said Lord Warburton
You young men have too many jokes When there are no jokes youve nothing left
Fortunately there are always more jokes the ugly young man remarked
I dont believe it—I believe things are getting more serious You young men will find that out
The increasing seriousness of things then thats the great opportunity of jokes
Theyll have to be grim jokes said the old man Im convinced there will be great changes and not all for the better
I quite agree with you sir Lord Warburton declared Im very sure there will be great changes and that all sorts of queer things will happen Thats why I find so much difficulty in applying your advice you know you told me the other day that I ought to take hold of something One hesitates to take hold of a thing that may the next moment be knocked skyhigh
You ought to take hold of a pretty woman said his companion Hes trying hard to fall in love he added by way of explanation to his father
The pretty women themselves may be sent flying Lord Warburton exclaimed
No no theyll be firm the old man rejoined theyll not be affected by the social and political changes I just referred to
You mean they wont be abolished Very well then Ill lay hands on one as soon as possible and tie her round my neck as a lifepreserver
The ladies will save us said the old man that is the best of them will—for I make a difference between them Make up to a good one and marry her and your life will become much more interesting
A momentary silence marked perhaps on the part of his auditors a sense of the magnanimity of this speech for it was a secret neither for his son nor for his visitor that his own experiment in matrimony had not been a happy one As he said however he made a difference and these words may have been intended as a confession of personal error though of course it was not in place for either of his companions to remark that apparently the lady of his choice had not been one of the best
If I marry an interesting woman I shall be interested is that what you say Lord Warburton asked Im not at all keen about marrying—your son misrepresented me but theres no knowing what an interesting woman might do with me
I should like to see your idea of an interesting woman said his friend
My dear fellow you cant see ideas—especially such highly ethereal ones as mine If I could only see it myself—that would be a great step in advance
Well you may fall in love with whomsoever you please but you mustnt fall in love with my niece said the old man
His son broke into a laugh Hell think you mean that as a provocation My dear father youve lived with the English for thirty years and youve picked up a good many of the things they say But youve never learned the things they dont say
I say what I please the old man returned with all his serenity
I havent the honour of knowing your niece Lord Warburton said I think its the first time Ive heard of her
Shes a niece of my wifes Mrs Touchett brings her to England
Then young Mr Touchett explained My mother you know has been spending the winter in America and were expecting her back She writes that she has discovered a niece and that she has invited her to come out with her
I see—very kind of her said Lord Warburton Is the young lady interesting
We hardly know more about her than you my mother has not gone into details She chiefly communicates with us by means of telegrams and her telegrams are rather inscrutable They say women dont know how to write them but my mother has thoroughly mastered the art of condensation Tired America hot weather awful return England with niece first steamer decent cabin Thats the sort of message we get from her—that was the last that came But there had been another before which I think contained the first mention of the niece Changed hotel very bad impudent clerk address here Taken sisters girl died last year go to Europe two sisters quite independent Over that my father and I have scarcely stopped puzzling it seems to admit of so many interpretations
Theres one thing very clear in it said the old man she has given the hotelclerk a dressing
Im not sure even of that since he has driven her from the field We thought at first that the sister mentioned might be the sister of the clerk but the subsequent mention of a niece seems to prove that the allusion is to one of my aunts Then there was a question as to whose the two other sisters were they are probably two of my late aunts daughters But whos quite independent and in what sense is the term used—that points not yet settled Does the expression apply more particularly to the young lady my mother has adopted or does it characterise her sisters equally—and is it used in a moral or in a financial sense Does it mean that theyve been left well off or that they wish to be under no obligations or does it simply mean that theyre fond of their own way
Whatever else it means its pretty sure to mean that Mr Touchett remarked
Youll see for yourself said Lord Warburton When does Mrs Touchett arrive
Were quite in the dark as soon as she can find a decent cabin She may be waiting for it yet on the other hand she may already have disembarked in England
In that case she would probably have telegraphed to you
She never telegraphs when you would expect it—only when you dont said the old man She likes to drop on me suddenly she thinks shell find me doing something wrong She has never done so yet but shes not discouraged
Its her share in the family trait the independence she speaks of Her sons appreciation of the matter was more favourable Whatever the high spirit of those young ladies may be her own is a match for it She likes to do everything for herself and has no belief in any ones power to help her She thinks me of no more use than a postagestamp without gum and she would never forgive me if I should presume to go to Liverpool to meet her
Will you at least let me know when your cousin arrives Lord Warburton asked
Only on the condition Ive mentioned—that you dont fall in love with her Mr Touchett replied
That strikes me as hard dont you think me good enough
I think you too good—because I shouldnt like her to marry you She hasnt come here to look for a husband I hope so many young ladies are doing that as if there were no good ones at home Then shes probably engaged American girls are usually engaged I believe Moreover Im not sure after all that youd be a remarkable husband
Very likely shes engaged Ive known a good many American girls and they always were but I could never see that it made any difference upon my word As for my being a good husband Mr Touchetts visitor pursued Im not sure of that either One can but try
Try as much as you please but dont try on my niece smiled the old man whose opposition to the idea was broadly humorous
Ah well said Lord Warburton with a humour broader still perhaps after all shes not worth trying on
CHAPTER II
While this exchange of pleasantries took place between the two Ralph Touchett wandered away a little with his usual slouching gait his hands in his pockets and his little rowdyish terrier at his heels His face was turned toward the house but his eyes were bent musingly on the lawn so that he had been an object of observation to a person who had just made her appearance in the ample doorway for some moments before he perceived her His attention was called to her by the conduct of his dog who had suddenly darted forward with a little volley of shrill barks in which the note of welcome however was more sensible than that of defiance The person in question was a young lady who seemed immediately to interpret the greeting of the small beast He advanced with great rapidity and stood at her feet looking up and barking hard whereupon without hesitation she stooped and caught him in her hands holding him face to face while he continued his quick chatter His master now had had time to follow and to see that Bunchies new friend was a tall girl in a black dress who at first sight looked pretty She was bareheaded as if she were staying in the house—a fact which conveyed perplexity to the son of its master conscious of that immunity from visitors which had for some time been rendered necessary by the latters illhealth Meantime the two other gentlemen had also taken note of the newcomer
Dear me whos that strange woman Mr Touchett had asked
Perhaps its Mrs Touchetts niece—the independent young lady Lord Warburton suggested I think she must be from the way she handles the dog
The collie too had now allowed his attention to be diverted and he trotted toward the young lady in the doorway slowly setting his tail in motion as he went
But wheres my wife then murmured the old man
I suppose the young lady has left her somewhere thats a part of the independence
The girl spoke to Ralph smiling while she still held up the terrier Is this your little dog sir
He was mine a moment ago but youve suddenly acquired a remarkable air of property in him
Couldnt we share him asked the girl Hes such a perfect little darling
Ralph looked at her a moment she was unexpectedly pretty You may have him altogether he then replied
The young lady seemed to have a great deal of confidence both in herself and in others but this abrupt generosity made her blush I ought to tell you that Im probably your cousin she brought out putting down the dog And heres another she added quickly as the collie came up
Probably the young man exclaimed laughing I supposed it was quite settled Have you arrived with my mother
Yes half an hour ago
And has she deposited you and departed again
No she went straight to her room and she told me that if I should see you I was to say to you that you must come to her there at a quarter to seven
The young man looked at his watch Thank you very much I shall be punctual And then he looked at his cousin Youre very welcome here Im delighted to see you
She was looking at everything with an eye that denoted clear perception—at her companion at the two dogs at the two gentlemen under the trees at the beautiful scene that surrounded her Ive never seen anything so lovely as this place Ive been all over the house its too enchanting
Im sorry you should have been here so long without our knowing it
Your mother told me that in England people arrived very quietly so I thought it was all right Is one of those gentlemen your father
Yes the elder one—the one sitting down said Ralph
The girl gave a laugh I dont suppose its the other Whos the other
Hes a friend of ours—Lord Warburton
Oh I hoped there would be a lord its just like a novel And then Oh you adorable creature she suddenly cried stooping down and picking up the small dog again
She remained standing where they had met making no offer to advance or to speak to Mr Touchett and while she lingered so near the threshold slim and charming her interlocutor wondered if she expected the old man to come and pay her his respects American girls were used to a great deal of deference and it had been intimated that this one had a high spirit Indeed Ralph could see that in her face
Wont you come and make acquaintance with my father he nevertheless ventured to ask Hes old and infirm—he doesnt leave his chair
Ah poor man Im very sorry the girl exclaimed immediately moving forward I got the impression from your mother that he was rather intensely active
Ralph Touchett was silent a moment She hasnt seen him for a year
Well he has a lovely place to sit Come along little hound
Its a dear old place said the young man looking sidewise at his neighbour
Whats his name she asked her attention having again reverted to the terrier
My fathers name
Yes said the young lady with amusement but dont tell him I asked you
They had come by this time to where old Mr Touchett was sitting and he slowly got up from his chair to introduce himself
My mother has arrived said Ralph and this is Miss Archer
The old man placed his two hands on her shoulders looked at her a moment with extreme benevolence and then gallantly kissed her Its a great pleasure to me to see you here but I wish you had given us a chance to receive you
Oh we were received said the girl There were about a dozen servants in the hall And there was an old woman curtseying at the gate
We can do better than that—if we have notice And the old man stood there smiling rubbing his hands and slowly shaking his head at her But Mrs Touchett doesnt like receptions
She went straight to her room
Yes—and locked herself in She always does that Well I suppose I shall see her next week And Mrs Touchetts husband slowly resumed his former posture
Before that said Miss Archer Shes coming down to dinner—at eight oclock Dont you forget a quarter to seven she added turning with a smile to Ralph
Whats to happen at a quarter to seven
Im to see my mother said Ralph
Ah happy boy the old man commented You must sit down—you must have some tea he observed to his wifes niece
They gave me some tea in my room the moment I got there this young lady answered Im sorry youre out of health she added resting her eyes upon her venerable host
Oh Im an old man my dear its time for me to be old But I shall be the better for having you here
She had been looking all round her again—at the lawn the great trees the reedy silvery Thames the beautiful old house and while engaged in this survey she had made room in it for her companions a comprehensiveness of observation easily conceivable on the part of a young woman who was evidently both intelligent and excited She had seated herself and had put away the little dog her white hands in her lap were folded upon her black dress her head was erect her eye lighted her flexible figure turned itself easily this way and that in sympathy with the alertness with which she evidently caught impressions Her impressions were numerous and they were all reflected in a clear still smile Ive never seen anything so beautiful as this
Its looking very well said Mr Touchett I know the way it strikes you Ive been through all that But youre very beautiful yourself he added with a politeness by no means crudely jocular and with the happy consciousness that his advanced age gave him the privilege of saying such things—even to young persons who might possibly take alarm at them
What degree of alarm this young person took need not be exactly measured she instantly rose however with a blush which was not a refutation Oh yes of course Im lovely she returned with a quick laugh How old is your house Is it Elizabethan
Its early Tudor said Ralph Touchett
She turned toward him watching his face Early Tudor How very delightful And I suppose there are a great many others
There are many much better ones
Dont say that my son the old man protested Theres nothing better than this
Ive got a very good one I think in some respects its rather better said Lord Warburton who as yet had not spoken but who had kept an attentive eye upon Miss Archer He slightly inclined himself smiling he had an excellent manner with women The girl appreciated it in an instant she had not forgotten that this was Lord Warburton I should like very much to show it to you he added
Dont believe him cried the old man dont look at it Its a wretched old barrack—not to be compared with this
I dont know—I cant judge said the girl smiling at Lord Warburton
In this discussion Ralph Touchett took no interest whatever he stood with his hands in his pockets looking greatly as if he should like to renew his conversation with his newfound cousin
Are you very fond of dogs he enquired by way of beginning He seemed to recognise that it was an awkward beginning for a clever man
Very fond of them indeed
You must keep the terrier you know he went on still awkwardly
Ill keep him while Im here with pleasure
That will be for a long time I hope
Youre very kind I hardly know My aunt must settle that
Ill settle it with her—at a quarter to seven And Ralph looked at his watch again
Im glad to be here at all said the girl
I dont believe you allow things to be settled for you
Oh yes if theyre settled as I like them
I shall settle this as I like it said Ralph Its most unaccountable that we should never have known you
I was there—you had only to come and see me
There Where do you mean
In the United States in New York and Albany and other American places
Ive been there—all over but I never saw you I cant make it out
Miss Archer just hesitated It was because there had been some disagreement between your mother and my father after my mothers death which took place when I was a child In consequence of it we never expected to see you
Ah but I dont embrace all my mothers quarrels—heaven forbid the young man cried Youve lately lost your father he went on more gravely
Yes more than a year ago After that my aunt was very kind to me she came to see me and proposed that I should come with her to Europe
I see said Ralph She has adopted you
Adopted me The girl stared and her blush came back to her together with a momentary look of pain which gave her interlocutor some alarm He had underestimated the effect of his words Lord Warburton who appeared constantly desirous of a nearer view of Miss Archer strolled toward the two cousins at the moment and as he did so she rested her wider eyes on him
Oh no she has not adopted me Im not a candidate for adoption
I beg a thousand pardons Ralph murmured I meant—I meant— He hardly knew what he meant
You meant she has taken me up Yes she likes to take people up She has been very kind to me but she added with a certain visible eagerness of desire to be explicit Im very fond of my liberty
Are you talking about Mrs Touchett the old man called out from his chair Come here my dear and tell me about her Im always thankful for information
The girl hesitated again smiling Shes really very benevolent she answered after which she went over to her uncle whose mirth was excited by her words
Lord Warburton was left standing with Ralph Touchett to whom in a moment he said You wished a while ago to see my idea of an interesting woman There it is
CHAPTER III
Mrs Touchett was certainly a person of many oddities of which her behaviour on returning to her husbands house after many months was a noticeable specimen She had her own way of doing all that she did and this is the simplest description of a character which although by no means without liberal motions rarely succeeded in giving an impression of suavity Mrs Touchett might do a great deal of good but she never pleased This way of her own of which she was so fond was not intrinsically offensive—it was just unmistakeably distinguished from the ways of others The edges of her conduct were so very clearcut that for susceptible persons it sometimes had a knifelike effect That hard fineness came out in her deportment during the first hours of her return from America under circumstances in which it might have seemed that her first act would have been to exchange greetings with her husband and son Mrs Touchett for reasons which she deemed excellent always retired on such occasions into impenetrable seclusion postponing the more sentimental ceremony until she had repaired the disorder of dress with a completeness which had the less reason to be of high importance as neither beauty nor vanity were concerned in it She was a plainfaced old woman without graces and without any great elegance but with an extreme respect for her own motives She was usually prepared to explain these—when the explanation was asked as a favour and in such a case they proved totally different from those that had been attributed to her She was virtually separated from her husband but she appeared to perceive nothing irregular in the situation It had become clear at an early stage of their community that they should never desire the same thing at the same moment and this appearance had prompted her to rescue disagreement from the vulgar realm of accident She did what she could to erect it into a law—a much more edifying aspect of it—by going to live in Florence where she bought a house and established herself and by leaving her husband to take care of the English branch of his bank This arrangement greatly pleased her it was so felicitously definite It struck her husband in the same light in a foggy square in London where it was at times the most definite fact he discerned but he would have preferred that such unnatural things should have a greater vagueness To agree to disagree had cost him an effort he was ready to agree to almost anything but that and saw no reason why either assent or dissent should be so terribly consistent Mrs Touchett indulged in no regrets nor speculations and usually came once a year to spend a month with her husband a period during which she apparently took pains to convince him that she had adopted the right system She was not fond of the English style of life and had three or four reasons for it to which she currently alluded they bore upon minor points of that ancient order but for Mrs Touchett they amply justified nonresidence She detested breadsauce which as she said looked like a poultice and tasted like soap she objected to the consumption of beer by her maidservants and she affirmed that the British laundress Mrs Touchett was very particular about the appearance of her linen was not a mistress of her art At fixed intervals she paid a visit to her own country but this last had been longer than any of its predecessors
She had taken up her niece—there was little doubt of that One wet afternoon some four months earlier than the occurrence lately narrated this young lady had been seated alone with a book To say she was so occupied is to say that her solitude did not press upon her for her love of knowledge had a fertilising quality and her imagination was strong There was at this time however a want of fresh taste in her situation which the arrival of an unexpected visitor did much to correct The visitor had not been announced the girl heard her at last walking about the adjoining room It was in an old house at Albany a large square double house with a notice of sale in the windows of one of the lower apartments There were two entrances one of which had long been out of use but had never been removed They were exactly alike—large white doors with an arched frame and wide sidelights perched upon little stoops of red stone which descended sidewise to the brick pavement of the street The two houses together formed a single dwelling the partywall having been removed and the rooms placed in communication These rooms abovestairs were extremely numerous and were painted all over exactly alike in a yellowish white which had grown sallow with time On the third floor there was a sort of arched passage connecting the two sides of the house which Isabel and her sisters used in their childhood to call the tunnel and which though it was short and well lighted always seemed to the girl to be strange and lonely especially on winter afternoons She had been in the house at different periods as a child in those days her grandmother lived there Then there had been an absence of ten years followed by a return to Albany before her fathers death Her grandmother old Mrs Archer had exercised chiefly within the limits of the family a large hospitality in the early period and the little girls often spent weeks under her roof—weeks of which Isabel had the happiest memory The manner of life was different from that of her own home—larger more plentiful practically more festal the discipline of the nursery was delightfully vague and the opportunity of listening to the conversation of ones elders which with Isabel was a highlyvalued pleasure almost unbounded There was a constant coming and going her grandmothers sons and daughters and their children appeared to be in the enjoyment of standing invitations to arrive and remain so that the house offered to a certain extent the appearance of a bustling provincial inn kept by a gentle old landlady who sighed a great deal and never presented a bill Isabel of course knew nothing about bills but even as a child she thought her grandmothers home romantic There was a covered piazza behind it furnished with a swing which was a source of tremulous interest and beyond this was a long garden sloping down to the stable and containing peachtrees of barely credible familiarity Isabel had stayed with her grandmother at various seasons but somehow all her visits had a flavour of peaches On the other side across the street was an old house that was called the Dutch House—a peculiar structure dating from the earliest colonial time composed of bricks that had been painted yellow crowned with a gable that was pointed out to strangers defended by a rickety wooden paling and standing sidewise to the street It was occupied by a primary school for children of both sexes kept or rather let go by a demonstrative lady of whom Isabels chief recollection was that her hair was fastened with strange bedroomy combs at the temples and that she was the widow of some one of consequence The little girl had been offered the opportunity of laying a foundation of knowledge in this establishment but having spent a single day in it she had protested against its laws and had been allowed to stay at home where in the September days when the windows of the Dutch House were open she used to hear the hum of childish voices repeating the multiplication table—an incident in which the elation of liberty and the pain of exclusion were indistinguishably mingled The foundation of her knowledge was really laid in the idleness of her grandmothers house where as most of the other inmates were not reading people she had uncontrolled use of a library full of books with frontispieces which she used to climb upon a chair to take down When she had found one to her taste—she was guided in the selection chiefly by the frontispiece—she carried it into a mysterious apartment which lay beyond the library and which was called traditionally no one knew why the office Whose office it had been and at what period it had flourished she never learned it was enough for her that it contained an echo and a pleasant musty smell and that it was a chamber of disgrace for old pieces of furniture whose infirmities were not always apparent so that the disgrace seemed unmerited and rendered them victims of injustice and with which in the manner of children she had established relations almost human certainly dramatic There was an old haircloth sofa in especial to which she had confided a hundred childish sorrows The place owed much of its mysterious melancholy to the fact that it was properly entered from the second door of the house the door that had been condemned and that it was secured by bolts which a particularly slender little girl found it impossible to slide She knew that this silent motionless portal opened into the street if the sidelights had not been filled with green paper she might have looked out upon the little brown stoop and the wellworn brick pavement But she had no wish to look out for this would have interfered with her theory that there was a strange unseen place on the other side—a place which became to the childs imagination according to its different moods a region of delight or of terror
It was in the office still that Isabel was sitting on that melancholy afternoon of early spring which I have just mentioned At this time she might have had the whole house to choose from and the room she had selected was the most depressed of its scenes She had never opened the bolted door nor removed the green paper renewed by other hands from its sidelights she had never assured herself that the vulgar street lay beyond A crude cold rain fell heavily the springtime was indeed an appeal—and it seemed a cynical insincere appeal—to patience Isabel however gave as little heed as possible to cosmic treacheries she kept her eyes on her book and tried to fix her mind It had lately occurred to her that her mind was a good deal of a vagabond and she had spent much ingenuity in training it to a military step and teaching it to advance to halt to retreat to perform even more complicated manoeuvres at the word of command Just now she had given it marching orders and it had been trudging over the sandy plains of a history of German Thought Suddenly she became aware of a step very different from her own intellectual pace she listened a little and perceived that some one was moving in the library which communicated with the office It struck her first as the step of a person from whom she was looking for a visit then almost immediately announced itself as the tread of a woman and a stranger—her possible visitor being neither It had an inquisitive experimental quality which suggested that it would not stop short of the threshold of the office and in fact the doorway of this apartment was presently occupied by a lady who paused there and looked very hard at our heroine She was a plain elderly woman dressed in a comprehensive waterproof mantle she had a face with a good deal of rather violent point
Oh she began is that where you usually sit She looked about at the heterogeneous chairs and tables
Not when I have visitors said Isabel getting up to receive the intruder
She directed their course back to the library while the visitor continued to look about her You seem to have plenty of other rooms theyre in rather better condition But everythings immensely worn
Have you come to look at the house Isabel asked The servant will show it to you
Send her away I dont want to buy it She has probably gone to look for you and is wandering about upstairs she didnt seem at all intelligent You had better tell her its no matter And then since the girl stood there hesitating and wondering this unexpected critic said to her abruptly I suppose youre one of the daughters
Isabel thought she had very strange manners It depends upon whose daughters you mean
The late Mr Archers—and my poor sisters
Ah said Isabel slowly you must be our crazy Aunt Lydia
Is that what your father told you to call me Im your Aunt Lydia but Im not at all crazy I havent a delusion And which of the daughters are you
Im the youngest of the three and my names Isabel
Yes the others are Lilian and Edith And are you the prettiest
I havent the least idea said the girl
I think you must be And in this way the aunt and the niece made friends The aunt had quarrelled years before with her brotherinlaw after the death of her sister taking him to task for the manner in which he brought up his three girls Being a hightempered man he had requested her to mind her own business and she had taken him at his word For many years she held no communication with him and after his death had addressed not a word to his daughters who had been bred in that disrespectful view of her which we have just seen Isabel betray Mrs Touchetts behaviour was as usual perfectly deliberate She intended to go to America to look after her investments with which her husband in spite of his great financial position had nothing to do and would take advantage of this opportunity to enquire into the condition of her nieces There was no need of writing for she should attach no importance to any account of them she should elicit by letter she believed always in seeing for ones self Isabel found however that she knew a good deal about them and knew about the marriage of the two elder girls knew that their poor father had left very little money but that the house in Albany which had passed into his hands was to be sold for their benefit knew finally that Edmund Ludlow Lilians husband had taken upon himself to attend to this matter in consideration of which the young couple who had come to Albany during Mr Archers illness were remaining there for the present and as well as Isabel herself occupying the old place
How much money do you expect for it Mrs Touchett asked of her companion who had brought her to sit in the front parlour which she had inspected without enthusiasm
I havent the least idea said the girl
Thats the second time you have said that to me her aunt rejoined And yet you dont look at all stupid
Im not stupid but I dont know anything about money
Yes thats the way you were brought up—as if you were to inherit a million What have you in point of fact inherited
I really cant tell you You must ask Edmund and Lilian theyll be back in half an hour
In Florence we should call it a very bad house said Mrs Touchett but here I dare say it will bring a high price It ought to make a considerable sum for each of you In addition to that you must have something else its most extraordinary your not knowing The positions of value and theyll probably pull it down and make a row of shops I wonder you dont do that yourself you might let the shops to great advantage
Isabel stared the idea of letting shops was new to her I hope they wont pull it down she said Im extremely fond of it
I dont see what makes you fond of it your father died here
Yes but I dont dislike it for that the girl rather strangely returned I like places in which things have happened—even if theyre sad things A great many people have died here the place has been full of life
Is that what you call being full of life
I mean full of experience—of peoples feelings and sorrows And not of their sorrows only for Ive been very happy here as a child
You should go to Florence if you like houses in which things have happened—especially deaths I live in an old palace in which three people have been murdered three that were known and I dont know how many more besides
In an old palace Isabel repeated
Yes my dear a very different affair from this This is very bourgeois
Isabel felt some emotion for she had always thought highly of her grandmothers house But the emotion was of a kind which led her to say I should like very much to go to Florence
Well if youll be very good and do everything I tell you Ill take you there Mrs Touchett declared
Our young womans emotion deepened she flushed a little and smiled at her aunt in silence Do everything you tell me I dont think I can promise that
No you dont look like a person of that sort Youre fond of your own way but its not for me to blame you
And yet to go to Florence the girl exclaimed in a moment Id promise almost anything
Edmund and Lilian were slow to return and Mrs Touchett had an hours uninterrupted talk with her niece who found her a strange and interesting figure a figure essentially—almost the first she had ever met She was as eccentric as Isabel had always supposed and hitherto whenever the girl had heard people described as eccentric she had thought of them as offensive or alarming The term had always suggested to her something grotesque and even sinister But her aunt made it a matter of high but easy irony or comedy and led her to ask herself if the common tone which was all she had known had ever been as interesting No one certainly had on any occasion so held her as this little thinlipped brighteyed foreignlooking woman who retrieved an insignificant appearance by a distinguished manner and sitting there in a wellworn waterproof talked with striking familiarity of the courts of Europe There was nothing flighty about Mrs Touchett but she recognised no social superiors and judging the great ones of the earth in a way that spoke of this enjoyed the consciousness of making an impression on a candid and susceptible mind Isabel at first had answered a good many questions and it was from her answers apparently that Mrs Touchett derived a high opinion of her intelligence But after this she had asked a good many and her aunts answers whatever turn they took struck her as food for deep reflexion Mrs Touchett waited for the return of her other niece as long as she thought reasonable but as at six oclock Mrs Ludlow had not come in she prepared to take her departure
Your sister must be a great gossip Is she accustomed to staying out so many hours
Youve been out almost as long as she Isabel replied she can have left the house but a short time before you came in
Mrs Touchett looked at the girl without resentment she appeared to enjoy a bold retort and to be disposed to be gracious Perhaps she hasnt had so good an excuse as I Tell her at any rate that she must come and see me this evening at that horrid hotel She may bring her husband if she likes but she neednt bring you I shall see plenty of you later
CHAPTER IV
Mrs Ludlow was the eldest of the three sisters and was usually thought the most sensible the classification being in general that Lilian was the practical one Edith the beauty and Isabel the intellectual superior Mrs Keyes the second of the group was the wife of an officer of the United States Engineers and as our history is not further concerned with her it will suffice that she was indeed very pretty and that she formed the ornament of those various military stations chiefly in the unfashionable West to which to her deep chagrin her husband was successively relegated Lilian had married a New York lawyer a young man with a loud voice and an enthusiasm for his profession the match was not brilliant any more than Ediths but Lilian had occasionally been spoken of as a young woman who might be thankful to marry at all—she was so much plainer than her sisters She was however very happy and now as the mother of two peremptory little boys and the mistress of a wedge of brown stone violently driven into Fiftythird Street seemed to exult in her condition as in a bold escape She was short and solid and her claim to figure was questioned but she was conceded presence though not majesty she had moreover as people said improved since her marriage and the two things in life of which she was most distinctly conscious were her husbands force in argument and her sister Isabels originality Ive never kept up with Isabel—it would have taken all my time she had often remarked in spite of which however she held her rather wistfully in sight watching her as a motherly spaniel might watch a free greyhound I want to see her safely married—thats what I want to see she frequently noted to her husband
Well I must say I should have no particular desire to marry her Edmund Ludlow was accustomed to answer in an extremely audible tone
I know you say that for argument you always take the opposite ground I dont see what youve against her except that shes so original
Well I dont like originals I like translations Mr Ludlow had more than once replied Isabels written in a foreign tongue I cant make her out She ought to marry an Armenian or a Portuguese
Thats just what Im afraid shell do cried Lilian who thought Isabel capable of anything
She listened with great interest to the girls account of Mrs Touchetts appearance and in the evening prepared to comply with their aunts commands Of what Isabel then said no report has remained but her sisters words had doubtless prompted a word spoken to her husband as the two were making ready for their visit I do hope immensely shell do something handsome for Isabel she has evidently taken a great fancy to her
What is it you wish her to do Edmund Ludlow asked Make her a big present
No indeed nothing of the sort But take an interest in her—sympathise with her Shes evidently just the sort of person to appreciate her She has lived so much in foreign society she told Isabel all about it You know youve always thought Isabel rather foreign
You want her to give her a little foreign sympathy eh Dont you think she gets enough at home
Well she ought to go abroad said Mrs Ludlow Shes just the person to go abroad
And you want the old lady to take her is that it
She has offered to take her—shes dying to have Isabel go But what I want her to do when she gets her there is to give her all the advantages Im sure all weve got to do said Mrs Ludlow is to give her a chance
A chance for what
A chance to develop
Oh Moses Edmund Ludlow exclaimed I hope she isnt going to develop any more
If I were not sure you only said that for argument I should feel very badly his wife replied But you know you love her
Do you know I love you the young man said jocosely to Isabel a little later while he brushed his hat
Im sure I dont care whether you do or not exclaimed the girl whose voice and smile however were less haughty than her words
Oh she feels so grand since Mrs Touchetts visit said her sister
But Isabel challenged this assertion with a good deal of seriousness You must not say that Lily I dont feel grand at all
Im sure theres no harm said the conciliatory Lily
Ah but theres nothing in Mrs Touchetts visit to make one feel grand
Oh exclaimed Ludlow shes grander than ever
Whenever I feel grand said the girl it will be for a better reason
Whether she felt grand or no she at any rate felt different as if something had happened to her Left to herself for the evening she sat a while under the lamp her hands empty her usual avocations unheeded Then she rose and moved about the room and from one room to another preferring the places where the vague lamplight expired She was restless and even agitated at moments she trembled a little The importance of what had happened was out of proportion to its appearance there had really been a change in her life What it would bring with it was as yet extremely indefinite but Isabel was in a situation that gave a value to any change She had a desire to leave the past behind her and as she said to herself to begin afresh This desire indeed was not a birth of the present occasion it was as familiar as the sound of the rain upon the window and it had led to her beginning afresh a great many times She closed her eyes as she sat in one of the dusky corners of the quiet parlour but it was not with a desire for dozing forgetfulness It was on the contrary because she felt too wideeyed and wished to check the sense of seeing too many things at once Her imagination was by habit ridiculously active when the door was not open it jumped out of the window She was not accustomed indeed to keep it behind bolts and at important moments when she would have been thankful to make use of her judgement alone she paid the penalty of having given undue encouragement to the faculty of seeing without judging At present with her sense that the note of change had been struck came gradually a host of images of the things she was leaving behind her The years and hours of her life came back to her and for a long time in a stillness broken only by the ticking of the big bronze clock she passed them in review It had been a very happy life and she had been a very fortunate person—this was the truth that seemed to emerge most vividly She had had the best of everything and in a world in which the circumstances of so many people made them unenviable it was an advantage never to have known anything particularly unpleasant It appeared to Isabel that the unpleasant had been even too absent from her knowledge for she had gathered from her acquaintance with literature that it was often a source of interest and even of instruction Her father had kept it away from her—her handsome much loved father who always had such an aversion to it It was a great felicity to have been his daughter Isabel rose even to pride in her parentage Since his death she had seemed to see him as turning his braver side to his children and as not having managed to ignore the ugly quite so much in practice as in aspiration But this only made her tenderness for him greater it was scarcely even painful to have to suppose him too generous too goodnatured too indifferent to sordid considerations Many persons had held that he carried this indifference too far especially the large number of those to whom he owed money Of their opinions Isabel was never very definitely informed but it may interest the reader to know that while they had recognised in the late Mr Archer a remarkably handsome head and a very taking manner indeed as one of them had said he was always taking something they had declared that he was making a very poor use of his life He had squandered a substantial fortune he had been deplorably convivial he was known to have gambled freely A few very harsh critics went so far as to say that he had not even brought up his daughters They had had no regular education and no permanent home they had been at once spoiled and neglected they had lived with nursemaids and governesses usually very bad ones or had been sent to superficial schools kept by the French from which at the end of a month they had been removed in tears This view of the matter would have excited Isabels indignation for to her own sense her opportunities had been large Even when her father had left his daughters for three months at Neufchatel with a French bonne who had eloped with a Russian nobleman staying at the same hotel—even in this irregular situation an incident of the girls eleventh year she had been neither frightened nor ashamed but had thought it a romantic episode in a liberal education Her father had a large way of looking at life of which his restlessness and even his occasional incoherency of conduct had been only a proof He wished his daughters even as children to see as much of the world as possible and it was for this purpose that before Isabel was fourteen he had transported them three times across the Atlantic giving them on each occasion however but a few months view of the subject proposed a course which had whetted our heroines curiosity without enabling her to satisfy it She ought to have been a partisan of her father for she was the member of his trio who most made up to him for the disagreeables he didnt mention In his last days his general willingness to take leave of a world in which the difficulty of doing as one liked appeared to increase as one grew older had been sensibly modified by the pain of separation from his clever his superior his remarkable girl Later when the journeys to Europe ceased he still had shown his children all sorts of indulgence and if he had been troubled about moneymatters nothing ever disturbed their irreflective consciousness of many possessions Isabel though she danced very well had not the recollection of having been in New York a successful member of the choreographic circle her sister Edith was as every one said so very much more fetching Edith was so striking an example of success that Isabel could have no illusions as to what constituted this advantage or as to the limits of her own power to frisk and jump and shriek—above all with rightness of effect Nineteen persons out of twenty including the younger sister herself pronounced Edith infinitely the prettier of the two but the twentieth besides reversing this judgement had the entertainment of thinking all the others aesthetic vulgarians Isabel had in the depths of her nature an even more unquenchable desire to please than Edith but the depths of this young ladys nature were a very outoftheway place between which and the surface communication was interrupted by a dozen capricious forces She saw the young men who came in large numbers to see her sister but as a general thing they were afraid of her they had a belief that some special preparation was required for talking with her Her reputation of reading a great deal hung about her like the cloudy envelope of a goddess in an epic it was supposed to engender difficult questions and to keep the conversation at a low temperature The poor girl liked to be thought clever but she hated to be thought bookish she used to read in secret and though her memory was excellent to abstain from showy reference She had a great desire for knowledge but she really preferred almost any source of information to the printed page she had an immense curiosity about life and was constantly staring and wondering She carried within herself a great fund of life and her deepest enjoyment was to feel the continuity between the movements of her own soul and the agitations of the world For this reason she was fond of seeing great crowds and large stretches of country of reading about revolutions and wars of looking at historical pictures—a class of efforts as to which she had often committed the conscious solecism of forgiving them much bad painting for the sake of the subject While the Civil War went on she was still a very young girl but she passed months of this long period in a state of almost passionate excitement in which she felt herself at times to her extreme confusion stirred almost indiscriminately by the valour of either army Of course the circumspection of suspicious swains had never gone the length of making her a social proscript for the number of those whose hearts as they approached her beat only just fast enough to remind them they had heads as well had kept her unacquainted with the supreme disciplines of her sex and age She had had everything a girl could have kindness admiration bonbons bouquets the sense of exclusion from none of the privileges of the world she lived in abundant opportunity for dancing plenty of new dresses the London Spectator the latest publications the music of Gounod the poetry of Browning the prose of George Eliot
These things now as memory played over them resolved themselves into a multitude of scenes and figures Forgotten things came back to her many others which she had lately thought of great moment dropped out of sight The result was kaleidoscopic but the movement of the instrument was checked at last by the servants coming in with the name of a gentleman The name of the gentleman was Caspar Goodwood he was a straight young man from Boston who had known Miss Archer for the last twelvemonth and who thinking her the most beautiful young woman of her time had pronounced the time according to the rule I have hinted at a foolish period of history He sometimes wrote to her and had within a week or two written from New York She had thought it very possible he would come in—had indeed all the rainy day been vaguely expecting him Now that she learned he was there nevertheless she felt no eagerness to receive him He was the finest young man she had ever seen was indeed quite a splendid young man he inspired her with a sentiment of high of rare respect She had never felt equally moved to it by any other person He was supposed by the world in general to wish to marry her but this of course was between themselves It at least may be affirmed that he had travelled from New York to Albany expressly to see her having learned in the former city where he was spending a few days and where he had hoped to find her that she was still at the State capital Isabel delayed for some minutes to go to him she moved about the room with a new sense of complications But at last she presented herself and found him standing near the lamp He was tall strong and somewhat stiff he was also lean and brown He was not romantically he was much rather obscurely handsome but his physiognomy had an air of requesting your attention which it rewarded according to the charm you found in blue eyes of remarkable fixedness the eyes of a complexion other than his own and a jaw of the somewhat angular mould which is supposed to bespeak resolution Isabel said to herself that it bespoke resolution tonight in spite of which in half an hour Caspar Goodwood who had arrived hopeful as well as resolute took his way back to his lodging with the feeling of a man defeated He was not it may be added a man weakly to accept defeat
CHAPTER V
Ralph Touchett was a philosopher but nevertheless he knocked at his mothers door at a quarter to seven with a good deal of eagerness Even philosophers have their preferences and it must be admitted that of his progenitors his father ministered most to his sense of the sweetness of filial dependence His father as he had often said to himself was the more motherly his mother on the other hand was paternal and even according to the slang of the day gubernatorial She was nevertheless very fond of her only child and had always insisted on his spending three months of the year with her Ralph rendered perfect justice to her affection and knew that in her thoughts and her thoroughly arranged and servanted life his turn always came after the other nearest subjects of her solicitude the various punctualities of performance of the workers of her will He found her completely dressed for dinner but she embraced her boy with her gloved hands and made him sit on the sofa beside her She enquired scrupulously about her husbands health and about the young mans own and receiving no very brilliant account of either remarked that she was more than ever convinced of her wisdom in not exposing herself to the English climate In this case she also might have given way Ralph smiled at the idea of his mothers giving way but made no point of reminding her that his own infirmity was not the result of the English climate from which he absented himself for a considerable part of each year
He had been a very small boy when his father Daniel Tracy Touchett a native of Rutland in the State of Vermont came to England as subordinate partner in a bankinghouse where some ten years later he gained preponderant control Daniel Touchett saw before him a lifelong residence in his adopted country of which from the first he took a simple sane and accommodating view But as he said to himself he had no intention of disamericanising nor had he a desire to teach his only son any such subtle art It had been for himself so very soluble a problem to live in England assimilated yet unconverted that it seemed to him equally simple his lawful heir should after his death carry on the grey old bank in the white American light He was at pains to intensify this light however by sending the boy home for his education Ralph spent several terms at an American school and took a degree at an American university after which as he struck his father on his return as even redundantly native he was placed for some three years in residence at Oxford Oxford swallowed up Harvard and Ralph became at last English enough His outward conformity to the manners that surrounded him was none the less the mask of a mind that greatly enjoyed its independence on which nothing long imposed itself and which naturally inclined to adventure and irony indulged in a boundless liberty of appreciation He began with being a young man of promise at Oxford he distinguished himself to his fathers ineffable satisfaction and the people about him said it was a thousand pities so clever a fellow should be shut out from a career He might have had a career by returning to his own country though this point is shrouded in uncertainty and even if Mr Touchett had been willing to part with him which was not the case it would have gone hard with him to put a watery waste permanently between himself and the old man whom he regarded as his best friend Ralph was not only fond of his father he admired him—he enjoyed the opportunity of observing him Daniel Touchett to his perception was a man of genius and though he himself had no aptitude for the banking mystery he made a point of learning enough of it to measure the great figure his father had played It was not this however he mainly relished it was the fine ivory surface polished as by the English air that the old man had opposed to possibilities of penetration Daniel Touchett had been neither at Harvard nor at Oxford and it was his own fault if he had placed in his sons hands the key to modern criticism Ralph whose head was full of ideas which his father had never guessed had a high esteem for the latters originality Americans rightly or wrongly are commended for the ease with which they adapt themselves to foreign conditions but Mr Touchett had made of the very limits of his pliancy half the ground of his general success He had retained in their freshness most of his marks of primary pressure his tone as his son always noted with pleasure was that of the more luxuriant parts of New England At the end of his life he had become on his own ground as mellow as he was rich he combined consummate shrewdness with the disposition superficially to fraternise and his social position on which he had never wasted a care had the firm perfection of an unthumbed fruit It was perhaps his want of imagination and of what is called the historic consciousness but to many of the impressions usually made by English life upon the cultivated stranger his sense was completely closed There were certain differences he had never perceived certain habits he had never formed certain obscurities he had never sounded As regards these latter on the day he had sounded them his son would have thought less well of him
Ralph on leaving Oxford had spent a couple of years in travelling after which he had found himself perched on a high stool in his fathers bank The responsibility and honour of such positions is not I believe measured by the height of the stool which depends upon other considerations Ralph indeed who had very long legs was fond of standing and even of walking about at his work To this exercise however he was obliged to devote but a limited period for at the end of some eighteen months he had become aware of his being seriously out of health He had caught a violent cold which fixed itself on his lungs and threw them into dire confusion He had to give up work and apply to the letter the sorry injunction to take care of himself At first he slighted the task it appeared to him it was not himself in the least he was taking care of but an uninteresting and uninterested person with whom he had nothing in common This person however improved on acquaintance and Ralph grew at last to have a certain grudging tolerance even an undemonstrative respect for him Misfortune makes strange bedfellows and our young man feeling that he had something at stake in the matter—it usually struck him as his reputation for ordinary wit—devoted to his graceless charge an amount of attention of which note was duly taken and which had at least the effect of keeping the poor fellow alive One of his lungs began to heal the other promised to follow its example and he was assured he might outweather a dozen winters if he would betake himself to those climates in which consumptives chiefly congregate As he had grown extremely fond of London he cursed the flatness of exile but at the same time that he cursed he conformed and gradually when he found his sensitive organ grateful even for grim favours he conferred them with a lighter hand He wintered abroad as the phrase is basked in the sun stopped at home when the wind blew went to bed when it rained and once or twice when it had snowed overnight almost never got up again
A secret hoard of indifference—like a thick cake a fond old nurse might have slipped into his first school outfit—came to his aid and helped to reconcile him to sacrifice since at the best he was too ill for aught but that arduous game As he said to himself there was really nothing he had wanted very much to do so that he had at least not renounced the field of valour At present however the fragrance of forbidden fruit seemed occasionally to float past him and remind him that the finest of pleasures is the rush of action Living as he now lived was like reading a good book in a poor translation—a meagre entertainment for a young man who felt that he might have been an excellent linguist He had good winters and poor winters and while the former lasted he was sometimes the sport of a vision of virtual recovery But this vision was dispelled some three years before the occurrence of the incidents with which this history opens he had on that occasion remained later than usual in England and had been overtaken by bad weather before reaching Algiers He arrived more dead than alive and lay there for several weeks between life and death His convalescence was a miracle but the first use he made of it was to assure himself that such miracles happen but once He said to himself that his hour was in sight and that it behoved him to keep his eyes upon it yet that it was also open to him to spend the interval as agreeably as might be consistent with such a preoccupation With the prospect of losing them the simple use of his faculties became an exquisite pleasure it seemed to him the joys of contemplation had never been sounded He was far from the time when he had found it hard that he should be obliged to give up the idea of distinguishing himself an idea none the less importunate for being vague and none the less delightful for having had to struggle in the same breast with bursts of inspiring selfcriticism His friends at present judged him more cheerful and attributed it to a theory over which they shook their heads knowingly that he would recover his health His serenity was but the array of wild flowers niched in his ruin
It was very probably this sweettasting property of the observed thing in itself that was mainly concerned in Ralphs quicklystirred interest in the advent of a young lady who was evidently not insipid If he was consideringly disposed something told him here was occupation enough for a succession of days It may be added in summary fashion that the imagination of loving—as distinguished from that of being loved—had still a place in his reduced sketch He had only forbidden himself the riot of expression However he shouldnt inspire his cousin with a passion nor would she be able even should she try to help him to one And now tell me about the young lady he said to his mother What do you mean to do with her
Mrs Touchett was prompt I mean to ask your father to invite her to stay three or four weeks at Gardencourt
You neednt stand on any such ceremony as that said Ralph My father will ask her as a matter of course
I dont know about that Shes my niece shes not his
Good Lord dear mother what a sense of property Thats all the more reason for his asking her But after that—I mean after three months for its absurd asking the poor girl to remain but for three or four paltry weeks—what do you mean to do with her
I mean to take her to Paris I mean to get her clothing
Ah yes thats of course But independently of that
I shall invite her to spend the autumn with me in Florence
You dont rise above detail dear mother said Ralph I should like to know what you mean to do with her in a general way
My duty Mrs Touchett declared I suppose you pity her very much she added
No I dont think I pity her She doesnt strike me as inviting compassion I think I envy her Before being sure however give me a hint of where you see your duty
In showing her four European countries—I shall leave her the choice of two of them—and in giving her the opportunity of perfecting herself in French which she already knows very well
Ralph frowned a little That sounds rather dry—even allowing her the choice of two of the countries
If its dry said his mother with a laugh you can leave Isabel alone to water it She is as good as a summer rain any day
Do you mean shes a gifted being
I dont know whether shes a gifted being but shes a clever girl—with a strong will and a high temper She has no idea of being bored
I can imagine that said Ralph and then he added abruptly How do you two get on
Do you mean by that that Im a bore I dont think she finds me one Some girls might I know but Isabels too clever for that I think I greatly amuse her We get on because I understand her I know the sort of girl she is Shes very frank and Im very frank we know just what to expect of each other
Ah dear mother Ralph exclaimed one always knows what to expect of you Youve never surprised me but once and thats today—in presenting me with a pretty cousin whose existence I had never suspected
Do you think her so very pretty
Very pretty indeed but I dont insist upon that Its her general air of being some one in particular that strikes me Who is this rare creature and what is she Where did you find her and how did you make her acquaintance
I found her in an old house at Albany sitting in a dreary room on a rainy day reading a heavy book and boring herself to death She didnt know she was bored but when I left her no doubt of it she seemed very grateful for the service You may say I shouldnt have enlightened he—I should have let her alone Theres a good deal in that but I acted conscientiously I thought she was meant for something better It occurred to me that it would be a kindness to take her about and introduce her to the world She thinks she knows a great deal of it—like most American girls but like most American girls shes ridiculously mistaken If you want to know I thought she would do me credit I like to be well thought of and for a woman of my age theres no greater convenience in some ways than an attractive niece You know I had seen nothing of my sisters children for years I disapproved entirely of the father But I always meant to do something for them when he should have gone to his reward I ascertained where they were to be found and without any preliminaries went and introduced myself There are two others of them both of whom are married but I saw only the elder who has by the way a very uncivil husband The wife whose name is Lily jumped at the idea of my taking an interest in Isabel she said it was just what her sister needed—that some one should take an interest in her She spoke of her as you might speak of some young person of genius—in want of encouragement and patronage It may be that Isabels a genius but in that case Ive not yet learned her special line Mrs Ludlow was especially keen about my taking her to Europe they all regard Europe over there as a land of emigration of rescue a refuge for their superfluous population Isabel herself seemed very glad to come and the thing was easily arranged There was a little difficulty about the moneyquestion as she seemed averse to being under pecuniary obligations But she has a small income and she supposes herself to be travelling at her own expense
Ralph had listened attentively to this judicious report by which his interest in the subject of it was not impaired Ah if shes a genius he said we must find out her special line Is it by chance for flirting
I dont think so You may suspect that at first but youll be wrong You wont I think in anyway be easily right about her
Warburtons wrong then Ralph rejoicingly exclaimed He flatters himself he has made that discovery
His mother shook her head Lord Warburton wont understand her He neednt try
Hes very intelligent said Ralph but its right he should be puzzled once in a while
Isabel will enjoy puzzling a lord Mrs Touchett remarked
Her son frowned a little What does she know about lords
Nothing at all that will puzzle him all the more
Ralph greeted these words with a laugh and looked out of the window Then Are you not going down to see my father he asked
At a quarter to eight said Mrs Touchett
Her son looked at his watch Youve another quarter of an hour then Tell me some more about Isabel After which as Mrs Touchett declined his invitation declaring that he must find out for himself Well he pursued shell certainly do you credit But wont she also give you trouble
I hope not but if she does I shall not shrink from it I never do that
She strikes me as very natural said Ralph
Natural people are not the most trouble
No said Ralph you yourself are a proof of that Youre extremely natural and Im sure you have never troubled any one It takes trouble to do that But tell me this it just occurs to me Is Isabel capable of making herself disagreeable
Ah cried his mother you ask too many questions Find that out for yourself
His questions however were not exhausted All this time he said youve not told me what you intend to do with her
Do with her You talk as if she were a yard of calico I shall do absolutely nothing with her and she herself will do everything she chooses She gave me notice of that
What you meant then in your telegram was that her characters independent
I never know what I mean in my telegrams—especially those I send from America Clearness is too expensive Come down to your father
Its not yet a quarter to eight said Ralph
I must allow for his impatience Mrs Touchett answered Ralph knew what to think of his fathers impatience but making no rejoinder he offered his mother his arm This put it in his power as they descended together to stop her a moment on the middle landing of the staircase—the broad low widearmed staircase of timeblackened oak which was one of the most striking features of Gardencourt Youve no plan of marrying her he smiled
Marrying her I should be sorry to play her such a trick But apart from that shes perfectly able to marry herself She has every facility
Do you mean to say she has a husband picked out
I dont know about a husband but theres a young man in Boston—
Ralph went on he had no desire to hear about the young man in Boston As my father says theyre always engaged
His mother had told him that he must satisfy his curiosity at the source and it soon became evident he should not want for occasion He had a good deal of talk with his young kinswoman when the two had been left together in the drawingroom Lord Warburton who had ridden over from his own house some ten miles distant remounted and took his departure before dinner and an hour after this meal was ended Mr and Mrs Touchett who appeared to have quite emptied the measure of their forms withdrew under the valid pretext of fatigue to their respective apartments The young man spent an hour with his cousin though she had been travelling half the day she appeared in no degree spent She was really tired she knew it and knew she should pay for it on the morrow but it was her habit at this period to carry exhaustion to the furthest point and confess to it only when dissimulation broke down A fine hypocrisy was for the present possible she was interested she was as she said to herself floated She asked Ralph to show her the pictures there were a great many in the house most of them of his own choosing The best were arranged in an oaken gallery of charming proportions which had a sittingroom at either end of it and which in the evening was usually lighted The light was insufficient to show the pictures to advantage and the visit might have stood over to the morrow This suggestion Ralph had ventured to make but Isabel looked disappointed—smiling still however—and said If you please I should like to see them just a little She was eager she knew she was eager and now seemed so she couldnt help it She doesnt take suggestions Ralph said to himself but he said it without irritation her pressure amused and even pleased him The lamps were on brackets at intervals and if the light was imperfect it was genial It fell upon the vague squares of rich colour and on the faded gilding of heavy frames it made a sheen on the polished floor of the gallery Ralph took a candlestick and moved about pointing out the things he liked Isabel inclining to one picture after another indulged in little exclamations and murmurs She was evidently a judge she had a natural taste he was struck with that She took a candlestick herself and held it slowly here and there she lifted it high and as she did so he found himself pausing in the middle of the place and bending his eyes much less upon the pictures than on her presence He lost nothing in truth by these wandering glances for she was better worth looking at than most works of art She was undeniably spare and ponderably light and proveably tall when people had wished to distinguish her from the other two Miss Archers they had always called her the willowy one Her hair which was dark even to blackness had been an object of envy to many women her light grey eyes a little too firm perhaps in her graver moments had an enchanting range of concession They walked slowly up one side of the gallery and down the other and then she said Well now I know more than I did when I began
You apparently have a great passion for knowledge her cousin returned
I think I have most girls are horridly ignorant
You strike me as different from most girls
Ah some of them would—but the way theyre talked to murmured Isabel who preferred not to dilate just yet on herself Then in a moment to change the subject Please tell me—isnt there a ghost she went on
A ghost
A castlespectre a thing that appears We call them ghosts in America
So we do here when we see them
You do see them then You ought to in this romantic old house
Its not a romantic old house said Ralph Youll be disappointed if you count on that Its a dismally prosaic one theres no romance here but what you may have brought with you
Ive brought a great deal but it seems to me Ive brought it to the right place
To keep it out of harm certainly nothing will ever happen to it here between my father and me
Isabel looked at him a moment Is there never any one here but your father and you
My mother of course
Oh I know your mother shes not romantic Havent you other people
Very few
Im sorry for that I like so much to see people
Oh well invite all the county to amuse you said Ralph
Now youre making fun of me the girl answered rather gravely Who was the gentleman on the lawn when I arrived
A county neighbour he doesnt come very often
Im sorry for that I liked him said Isabel
Why it seemed to me that you barely spoke to him Ralph objected
Never mind I like him all the same I like your father too immensely
You cant do better than that Hes the dearest of the dear
Im so sorry he is ill said Isabel
You must help me to nurse him you ought to be a good nurse
I dont think I am Ive been told Im not Im said to have too many theories But you havent told me about the ghost she added
Ralph however gave no heed to this observation You like my father and you like Lord Warburton I infer also that you like my mother
I like your mother very much because—because— And Isabel found herself attempting to assign a reason for her affection for Mrs Touchett
Ah we never know why said her companion laughing
I always know why the girl answered Its because she doesnt expect one to like her She doesnt care whether one does or not
So you adore her—out of perversity Well I take greatly after my mother said Ralph
I dont believe you do at all You wish people to like you and you try to make them do it
Good heavens how you see through one he cried with a dismay that was not altogether jocular
But I like you all the same his cousin went on The way to clinch the matter will be to show me the ghost
Ralph shook his head sadly I might show it to you but youd never see it The privilege isnt given to every one its not enviable It has never been seen by a young happy innocent person like you You must have suffered first have suffered greatly have gained some miserable knowledge In that way your eyes are opened to it I saw it long ago said Ralph
I told you just now Im very fond of knowledge Isabel answered
Yes of happy knowledge—of pleasant knowledge But you havent suffered and youre not made to suffer I hope youll never see the ghost
She had listened to him attentively with a smile on her lips but with a certain gravity in her eyes Charming as he found her she had struck him as rather presumptuous—indeed it was a part of her charm and he wondered what she would say Im not afraid you know she said which seemed quite presumptuous enough
Youre not afraid of suffering
Yes Im afraid of suffering But Im not afraid of ghosts And I think people suffer too easily she added
I dont believe you do said Ralph looking at her with his hands in his pockets
I dont think thats a fault she answered Its not absolutely necessary to suffer we were not made for that
You were not certainly
Im not speaking of myself And she wandered off a little
No it isnt a fault said her cousin Its a merit to be strong
Only if you dont suffer they call you hard Isabel remarked
They passed out of the smaller drawingroom into which they had returned from the gallery and paused in the hall at the foot of the staircase Here Ralph presented his companion with her bedroom candle which he had taken from a niche Never mind what they call you When you do suffer they call you an idiot The great points to be as happy as possible
She looked at him a little she had taken her candle and placed her foot on the oaken stair Well she said thats what I came to Europe for to be as happy as possible Goodnight
Goodnight I wish you all success and shall be very glad to contribute to it
She turned away and he watched her as she slowly ascended Then with his hands always in his pockets he went back to the empty drawingroom
CHAPTER VI
Isabel Archer was a young person of many theories her imagination was remarkably active It had been her fortune to possess a finer mind than most of the persons among whom her lot was cast to have a larger perception of surrounding facts and to care for knowledge that was tinged with the unfamiliar It is true that among her contemporaries she passed for a young woman of extraordinary profundity for these excellent people never withheld their admiration from a reach of intellect of which they themselves were not conscious and spoke of Isabel as a prodigy of learning a creature reported to have read the classic authors—in translations Her paternal aunt Mrs Varian once spread the rumour that Isabel was writing a book—Mrs Varian having a reverence for books and averred that the girl would distinguish herself in print Mrs Varian thought highly of literature for which she entertained that esteem that is connected with a sense of privation Her own large house remarkable for its assortment of mosaic tables and decorated ceilings was unfurnished with a library and in the way of printed volumes contained nothing but half a dozen novels in paper on a shelf in the apartment of one of the Miss Varians Practically Mrs Varians acquaintance with literature was confined to The New York Interviewer as she very justly said after you had read the Interviewer you had lost all faith in culture Her tendency with this was rather to keep the Interviewer out of the way of her daughters she was determined to bring them up properly and they read nothing at all Her impression with regard to Isabels labours was quite illusory the girl had never attempted to write a book and had no desire for the laurels of authorship She had no talent for expression and too little of the consciousness of genius she only had a general idea that people were right when they treated her as if she were rather superior Whether or no she were superior people were right in admiring her if they thought her so for it seemed to her often that her mind moved more quickly than theirs and this encouraged an impatience that might easily be confounded with superiority It may be affirmed without delay that Isabel was probably very liable to the sin of selfesteem she often surveyed with complacency the field of her own nature she was in the habit of taking for granted on scanty evidence that she was right she treated herself to occasions of homage Meanwhile her errors and delusions were frequently such as a biographer interested in preserving the dignity of his subject must shrink from specifying Her thoughts were a tangle of vague outlines which had never been corrected by the judgement of people speaking with authority In matters of opinion she had had her own way and it had led her into a thousand ridiculous zigzags At moments she discovered she was grotesquely wrong and then she treated herself to a week of passionate humility After this she held her head higher than ever again for it was of no use she had an unquenchable desire to think well of herself She had a theory that it was only under this provision life was worth living that one should be one of the best should be conscious of a fine organisation she couldnt help knowing her organisation was fine should move in a realm of light of natural wisdom of happy impulse of inspiration gracefully chronic It was almost as unnecessary to cultivate doubt of ones self as to cultivate doubt of ones best friend one should try to be ones own best friend and to give ones self in this manner distinguished company The girl had a certain nobleness of imagination which rendered her a good many services and played her a great many tricks She spent half her time in thinking of beauty and bravery and magnanimity she had a fixed determination to regard the world as a place of brightness of free expansion of irresistible action she held it must be detestable to be afraid or ashamed She had an infinite hope that she should never do anything wrong She had resented so strongly after discovering them her mere errors of feeling the discovery always made her tremble as if she had escaped from a trap which might have caught her and smothered her that the chance of inflicting a sensible injury upon another person presented only as a contingency caused her at moments to hold her breath That always struck her as the worst thing that could happen to her On the whole reflectively she was in no uncertainty about the things that were wrong She had no love of their look but when she fixed them hard she recognised them It was wrong to be mean to be jealous to be false to be cruel she had seen very little of the evil of the world but she had seen women who lied and who tried to hurt each other Seeing such things had quickened her high spirit it seemed indecent not to scorn them Of course the danger of a high spirit was the danger of inconsistency—the danger of keeping up the flag after the place has surrendered a sort of behaviour so crooked as to be almost a dishonour to the flag But Isabel who knew little of the sorts of artillery to which young women are exposed flattered herself that such contradictions would never be noted in her own conduct Her life should always be in harmony with the most pleasing impression she should produce she would be what she appeared and she would appear what she was Sometimes she went so far as to wish that she might find herself some day in a difficult position so that she should have the pleasure of being as heroic as the occasion demanded Altogether with her meagre knowledge her inflated ideals her confidence at once innocent and dogmatic her temper at once exacting and indulgent her mixture of curiosity and fastidiousness of vivacity and indifference her desire to look very well and to be if possible even better her determination to see to try to know her combination of the delicate desultory flamelike spirit and the eager and personal creature of conditions she would be an easy victim of scientific criticism if she were not intended to awaken on the readers part an impulse more tender and more purely expectant
It was one of her theories that Isabel Archer was very fortunate in being independent and that she ought to make some very enlightened use of that state She never called it the state of solitude much less of singleness she thought such descriptions weak and besides her sister Lily constantly urged her to come and abide She had a friend whose acquaintance she had made shortly before her fathers death who offered so high an example of useful activity that Isabel always thought of her as a model Henrietta Stackpole had the advantage of an admired ability she was thoroughly launched in journalism and her letters to the Interviewer from Washington Newport the White Mountains and other places were universally quoted Isabel pronounced them with confidence ephemeral but she esteemed the courage energy and goodhumour of the writer who without parents and without property had adopted three of the children of an infirm and widowed sister and was paying their schoolbills out of the proceeds of her literary labour Henrietta was in the van of progress and had clearcut views on most subjects her cherished desire had long been to come to Europe and write a series of letters to the Interviewer from the radical point of view—an enterprise the less difficult as she knew perfectly in advance what her opinions would be and to how many objections most European institutions lay open When she heard that Isabel was coming she wished to start at once thinking naturally that it would be delightful the two should travel together She had been obliged however to postpone this enterprise She thought Isabel a glorious creature and had spoken of her covertly in some of her letters though she never mentioned the fact to her friend who would not have taken pleasure in it and was not a regular student of the Interviewer Henrietta for Isabel was chiefly a proof that a woman might suffice to herself and be happy Her resources were of the obvious kind but even if one had not the journalistic talent and a genius for guessing as Henrietta said what the public was going to want one was not therefore to conclude that one had no vocation no beneficent aptitude of any sort and resign ones self to being frivolous and hollow Isabel was stoutly determined not to be hollow If one should wait with the right patience one would find some happy work to ones hand Of course among her theories this young lady was not without a collection of views on the subject of marriage The first on the list was a conviction of the vulgarity of thinking too much of it From lapsing into eagerness on this point she earnestly prayed she might be delivered she held that a woman ought to be able to live to herself in the absence of exceptional flimsiness and that it was perfectly possible to be happy without the society of a more or less coarseminded person of another sex The girls prayer was very sufficiently answered something pure and proud that there was in her—something cold and dry an unappreciated suitor with a taste for analysis might have called it—had hitherto kept her from any great vanity of conjecture on the article of possible husbands Few of the men she saw seemed worth a ruinous expenditure and it made her smile to think that one of them should present himself as an incentive to hope and a reward of patience Deep in her soul—it was the deepest thing there—lay a belief that if a certain light should dawn she could give herself completely but this image on the whole was too formidable to be attractive Isabels thoughts hovered about it but they seldom rested on it long after a little it ended in alarms It often seemed to her that she thought too much about herself you could have made her colour any day in the year by calling her a rank egoist She was always planning out her development desiring her perfection observing her progress Her nature had in her conceit a certain gardenlike quality a suggestion of perfume and murmuring boughs of shady bowers and lengthening vistas which made her feel that introspection was after all an exercise in the open air and that a visit to the recesses of ones spirit was harmless when one returned from it with a lapful of roses But she was often reminded that there were other gardens in the world than those of her remarkable soul and that there were moreover a great many places which were not gardens at all—only dusky pestiferous tracts planted thick with ugliness and misery In the current of that repaid curiosity on which she had lately been floating which had conveyed her to this beautiful old England and might carry her much further still she often checked herself with the thought of the thousands of people who were less happy than herself—a thought which for the moment made her fine full consciousness appear a kind of immodesty What should one do with the misery of the world in a scheme of the agreeable for ones self It must be confessed that this question never held her long She was too young too impatient to live too unacquainted with pain She always returned to her theory that a young woman whom after all every one thought clever should begin by getting a general impression of life This impression was necessary to prevent mistakes and after it should be secured she might make the unfortunate condition of others a subject of special attention
England was a revelation to her and she found herself as diverted as a child at a pantomime In her infantine excursions to Europe she had seen only the Continent and seen it from the nursery window Paris not London was her fathers Mecca and into many of his interests there his children had naturally not entered The images of that time moreover had grown faint and remote and the oldworld quality in everything that she now saw had all the charm of strangeness Her uncles house seemed a picture made real no refinement of the agreeable was lost upon Isabel the rich perfection of Gardencourt at once revealed a world and gratified a need The large low rooms with brown ceilings and dusky corners the deep embrasures and curious casements the quiet light on dark polished panels the deep greenness outside that seemed always peeping in, the sense of wellordered privacy in the centre of a property—a place where sounds were felicitously accidental where the tread was muffed by the earth itself and in the thick mild air all friction dropped out of contact and all shrillness out of talk—these things were much to the taste of our young lady whose taste played a considerable part in her emotions She formed a fast friendship with her uncle and often sat by his chair when he had had it moved out to the lawn He passed hours in the open air sitting with folded hands like a placid homely household god a god of service who had done his work and received his wages and was trying to grow used to weeks and months made up only of offdays Isabel amused him more than she suspected—the effect she produced upon people was often different from what she supposed—and he frequently gave himself the pleasure of making her chatter It was by this term that he qualified her conversation which had much of the point observable in that of the young ladies of her country to whom the ear of the world is more directly presented than to their sisters in other lands Like the mass of American girls Isabel had been encouraged to express herself her remarks had been attended to she had been expected to have emotions and opinions Many of her opinions had doubtless but a slender value many of her emotions passed away in the utterance but they had left a trace in giving her the habit of seeming at least to feel and think and in imparting moreover to her words when she was really moved that prompt vividness which so many people had regarded as a sign of superiority Mr Touchett used to think that she reminded him of his wife when his wife was in her teens It was because she was fresh and natural and quick to understand to speak—so many characteristics of her niece—that he had fallen in love with Mrs Touchett He never expressed this analogy to the girl herself however for if Mrs Touchett had once been like Isabel Isabel was not at all like Mrs Touchett The old man was full of kindness for her it was a long time as he said since they had had any young life in the house and our rustling quicklymoving clearvoiced heroine was as agreeable to his sense as the sound of flowing water He wanted to do something for her and wished she would ask it of him She would ask nothing but questions it is true that of these she asked a quantity Her uncle had a great fund of answers though her pressure sometimes came in forms that puzzled him She questioned him immensely about England about the British constitution the English character the state of politics the manners and customs of the royal family the peculiarities of the aristocracy the way of living and thinking of his neighbours and in begging to be enlightened on these points she usually enquired whether they corresponded with the descriptions in the books The old man always looked at her a little with his fine dry smile while he smoothed down the shawl spread across his legs
The books he once said well I dont know much about the books You must ask Ralph about that Ive always ascertained for myself—got my information in the natural form I never asked many questions even I just kept quiet and took notice Of course Ive had very good opportunities—better than what a young lady would naturally have Im of an inquisitive disposition though you mightnt think it if you were to watch me however much you might watch me I should be watching you more Ive been watching these people for upwards of thirtyfive years and I dont hesitate to say that Ive acquired considerable information Its a very fine country on the whole—finer perhaps than what we give it credit for on the other side Several improvements I should like to see introduced but the necessity of them doesnt seem to be generally felt as yet When the necessity of a thing is generally felt they usually manage to accomplish it but they seem to feel pretty comfortable about waiting till then I certainly feel more at home among them than I expected to when I first came over I suppose its because Ive had a considerable degree of success When youre successful you naturally feel more at home
Do you suppose that if Im successful I shall feel at home Isabel asked
I should think it very probable and you certainly will be successful They like American young ladies very much over here they show them a great deal of kindness But you mustnt feel too much at home you know
Oh Im by no means sure it will satisfy me Isabel judicially emphasised I like the place very much but Im not sure I shall like the people
The people are very good people especially if you like them
Ive no doubt theyre good Isabel rejoined but are they pleasant in society They wont rob me nor beat me but will they make themselves agreeable to me Thats what I like people to do I dont hesitate to say so because I always appreciate it I dont believe theyre very nice to girls theyre not nice to them in the novels
I dont know about the novels said Mr Touchett I believe the novels have a great deal but I dont suppose theyre very accurate We once had a lady who wrote novels staying here she was a friend of Ralphs and he asked her down She was very positive quite up to everything but she was not the sort of person you could depend on for evidence Too free a fancy—I suppose that was it She afterwards published a work of fiction in which she was understood to have given a representation—something in the nature of a caricature as you might say—of my unworthy self I didnt read it but Ralph just handed me the book with the principal passages marked It was understood to be a description of my conversation American peculiarities nasal twang Yankee notions stars and stripes Well it was not at all accurate she couldnt have listened very attentively I had no objection to her giving a report of my conversation if she liked but I didnt like the idea that she hadnt taken the trouble to listen to it Of course I talk like an American—I cant talk like a Hottentot However I talk Ive made them understand me pretty well over here But I dont talk like the old gentleman in that ladys novel He wasnt an American we wouldnt have him over there at any price I just mention that fact to show you that theyre not always accurate Of course as Ive no daughters and as Mrs Touchett resides in Florence I havent had much chance to notice about the young ladies It sometimes appears as if the young women in the lower class were not very well treated but I guess their position is better in the upper and even to some extent in the middle
Gracious Isabel exclaimed how many classes have they About fifty I suppose
Well I dont know that I ever counted them I never took much notice of the classes Thats the advantage of being an American here you dont belong to any class
I hope so said Isabel Imagine ones belonging to an English class
Well I guess some of them are pretty comfortable—especially towards the top But for me there are only two classes the people I trust and the people I dont Of those two my dear Isabel you belong to the first
Im much obliged to you said the girl quickly Her way of taking compliments seemed sometimes rather dry she got rid of them as rapidly as possible But as regards this she was sometimes misjudged she was thought insensible to them whereas in fact she was simply unwilling to show how infinitely they pleased her To show that was to show too much Im sure the English are very conventional she added
Theyve got everything pretty well fixed Mr Touchett admitted Its all settled beforehand—they dont leave it to the last moment
I dont like to have everything settled beforehand said the girl I like more unexpectedness
Her uncle seemed amused at her distinctness of preference Well its settled beforehand that youll have great success he rejoined I suppose youll like that
I shall not have success if theyre too stupidly conventional Im not in the least stupidly conventional Im just the contrary Thats what they wont like
No no youre all wrong said the old man You cant tell what theyll like Theyre very inconsistent thats their principal interest
Ah well said Isabel standing before her uncle with her hands clasped about the belt of her black dress and looking up and down the lawn—that will suit me perfectly
CHAPTER VII
The two amused themselves time and again with talking of the attitude of the British public as if the young lady had been in a position to appeal to it but in fact the British public remained for the present profoundly indifferent to Miss Isabel Archer whose fortune had dropped her as her cousin said into the dullest house in England Her gouty uncle received very little company and Mrs Touchett not having cultivated relations with her husbands neighbours was not warranted in expecting visits from them She had however a peculiar taste she liked to receive cards For what is usually called social intercourse she had very little relish but nothing pleased her more than to find her halltable whitened with oblong morsels of symbolic pasteboard She flattered herself that she was a very just woman and had mastered the sovereign truth that nothing in this world is got for nothing She had played no social part as mistress of Gardencourt and it was not to be supposed that in the surrounding country a minute account should be kept of her comings and goings But it is by no means certain that she did not feel it to be wrong that so little notice was taken of them and that her failure really very gratuitous to make herself important in the neighbourhood had not much to do with the acrimony of her allusions to her husbands adopted country Isabel presently found herself in the singular situation of defending the British constitution against her aunt Mrs Touchett having formed the habit of sticking pins into this venerable instrument Isabel always felt an impulse to pull out the pins not that she imagined they inflicted any damage on the tough old parchment but because it seemed to her her aunt might make better use of her sharpness She was very critical herself—it was incidental to her age her sex and her nationality but she was very sentimental as well and there was something in Mrs Touchetts dryness that set her own moral fountains flowing
Now whats your point of view she asked of her aunt When you criticise everything here you should have a point of view Yours doesnt seem to be American—you thought everything over there so disagreeable When I criticise I have mine its thoroughly American
My dear young lady said Mrs Touchett there are as many points of view in the world as there are people of sense to take them You may say that doesnt make them very numerous American Never in the world thats shockingly narrow My point of view thank God is personal
Isabel thought this a better answer than she admitted it was a tolerable description of her own manner of judging but it would not have sounded well for her to say so On the lips of a person less advanced in life and less enlightened by experience than Mrs Touchett such a declaration would savour of immodesty even of arrogance She risked it nevertheless in talking with Ralph with whom she talked a great deal and with whom her conversation was of a sort that gave a large licence to extravagance Her cousin used as the phrase is to chaff her he very soon established with her a reputation for treating everything as a joke and he was not a man to neglect the privileges such a reputation conferred She accused him of an odious want of seriousness of laughing at all things beginning with himself Such slender faculty of reverence as he possessed centred wholly upon his father for the rest he exercised his wit indifferently upon his fathers son this gentlemans weak lungs his useless life his fantastic mother his friends Lord Warburton in especial his adopted and his native country his charming newfound cousin I keep a band of music in my anteroom he said once to her It has orders to play without stopping it renders me two excellent services It keeps the sounds of the world from reaching the private apartments and it makes the world think that dancings going on within It was dancemusic indeed that you usually heard when you came within earshot of Ralphs band the liveliest waltzes seemed to float upon the air Isabel often found herself irritated by this perpetual fiddling she would have liked to pass through the anteroom as her cousin called it and enter the private apartments It mattered little that he had assured her they were a very dismal place she would have been glad to undertake to sweep them and set them in order It was but halfhospitality to let her remain outside to punish him for which Isabel administered innumerable taps with the ferule of her straight young wit It must be said that her wit was exercised to a large extent in selfdefence for her cousin amused himself with calling her Columbia and accusing her of a patriotism so heated that it scorched He drew a caricature of her in which she was represented as a very pretty young woman dressed on the lines of the prevailing fashion in the folds of the national banner Isabels chief dread in life at this period of her development was that she should appear narrowminded what she feared next afterwards was that she should really be so But she nevertheless made no scruple of abounding in her cousins sense and pretending to sigh for the charms of her native land She would be as American as it pleased him to regard her and if he chose to laugh at her she would give him plenty of occupation She defended England against his mother but when Ralph sang its praises on purpose as she said to work her up she found herself able to differ from him on a variety of points In fact the quality of this small ripe country seemed as sweet to her as the taste of an October pear and her satisfaction was at the root of the good spirits which enabled her to take her cousins chaff and return it in kind If her goodhumour flagged at moments it was not because she thought herself illused but because she suddenly felt sorry for Ralph It seemed to her he was talking as a blind and had little heart in what he said I dont know whats the matter with you she observed to him once but I suspect youre a great humbug
Thats your privilege Ralph answered who had not been used to being so crudely addressed
I dont know what you care for I dont think you care for anything You dont really care for England when you praise it you dont care for America even when you pretend to abuse it
I care for nothing but you dear cousin said Ralph
If I could believe even that I should be very glad
Ah well I should hope so the young man exclaimed
Isabel might have believed it and not have been far from the truth He thought a great deal about her she was constantly present to his mind At a time when his thoughts had been a good deal of a burden to him her sudden arrival which promised nothing and was an openhanded gift of fate had refreshed and quickened them given them wings and something to fly for Poor Ralph had been for many weeks steeped in melancholy his outlook habitually sombre lay under the shadow of a deeper cloud He had grown anxious about his father whose gout hitherto confined to his legs had begun to ascend into regions more vital The old man had been gravely ill in the spring and the doctors had whispered to Ralph that another attack would be less easy to deal with Just now he appeared disburdened of pain but Ralph could not rid himself of a suspicion that this was a subterfuge of the enemy who was waiting to take him off his guard If the manoeuvre should succeed there would be little hope of any great resistance Ralph had always taken for granted that his father would survive him—that his own name would be the first grimly called The father and son had been close companions and the idea of being left alone with the remnant of a tasteless life on his hands was not gratifying to the young man who had always and tacitly counted upon his elders help in making the best of a poor business At the prospect of losing his great motive Ralph lost indeed his one inspiration If they might die at the same time it would be all very well but without the encouragement of his fathers society he should barely have patience to await his own turn He had not the incentive of feeling that he was indispensable to his mother it was a rule with his mother to have no regrets He bethought himself of course that it had been a small kindness to his father to wish that of the two the active rather than the passive party should know the felt wound he remembered that the old man had always treated his own forecast of an early end as a clever fallacy which he should be delighted to discredit so far as he might by dying first But of the two triumphs that of refuting a sophistical son and that of holding on a while longer to a state of being which with all abatements he enjoyed Ralph deemed it no sin to hope the latter might be vouchsafed to Mr Touchett
These were nice questions but Isabels arrival put a stop to his puzzling over them It even suggested there might be a compensation for the intolerable ennui of surviving his genial sire He wondered whether he were harbouring love for this spontaneous young woman from Albany but he judged that on the whole he was not After he had known her for a week he quite made up his mind to this and every day he felt a little more sure Lord Warburton had been right about her she was a really interesting little figure Ralph wondered how their neighbour had found it out so soon and then he said it was only another proof of his friends high abilities which he had always greatly admired If his cousin were to be nothing more than an entertainment to him Ralph was conscious she was an entertainment of a high order A character like that he said to himself—a real little passionate force to see at play is the finest thing in nature Its finer than the finest work of art—than a Greek basrelief than a great Titian than a Gothic cathedral Its very pleasant to be so well treated where one had least looked for it I had never been more blue more bored than for a week before she came I had never expected less that anything pleasant would happen Suddenly I receive a Titian by the post to hang on my wall—a Greek basrelief to stick over my chimneypiece The key of a beautiful edifice is thrust into my hand and Im told to walk in and admire My poor boy youve been sadly ungrateful and now you had better keep very quiet and never grumble again The sentiment of these reflexions was very just but it was not exactly true that Ralph Touchett had had a key put into his hand His cousin was a very brilliant girl who would take as he said a good deal of knowing but she needed the knowing and his attitude with regard to her though it was contemplative and critical was not judicial He surveyed the edifice from the outside and admired it greatly he looked in at the windows and received an impression of proportions equally fair But he felt that he saw it only by glimpses and that he had not yet stood under the roof The door was fastened and though he had keys in his pocket he had a conviction that none of them would fit She was intelligent and generous it was a fine free nature but what was she going to do with herself This question was irregular for with most women one had no occasion to ask it Most women did with themselves nothing at all they waited in attitudes more or less gracefully passive for a man to come that way and furnish them with a destiny Isabels originality was that she gave one an impression of having intentions of her own Whenever she executes them said Ralph may I be there to see
It devolved upon him of course to do the honours of the place Mr Touchett was confined to his chair and his wifes position was that of rather a grim visitor so that in the line of conduct that opened itself to Ralph duty and inclination were harmoniously mixed He was not a great walker but he strolled about the grounds with his cousin—a pastime for which the weather remained favourable with a persistency not allowed for in Isabels somewhat lugubrious prevision of the climate and in the long afternoons of which the length was but the measure of her gratified eagerness they took a boat on the river the dear little river as Isabel called it where the opposite shore seemed still a part of the foreground of the landscape or drove over the country in a phaeton—a low capacious thickwheeled phaeton formerly much used by Mr Touchett but which he had now ceased to enjoy Isabel enjoyed it largely and handling the reins in a manner which approved itself to the groom as knowing was never weary of driving her uncles capital horses through winding lanes and byways full of the rural incidents she had confidently expected to find past cottages thatched and timbered past alehouses latticed and sanded past patches of ancient common and glimpses of empty parks between hedgerows made thick by midsummer When they reached home they usually found tea had been served on the lawn and that Mrs Touchett had not shrunk from the extremity of handing her husband his cup But the two for the most part sat silent the old man with his head back and his eyes closed his wife occupied with her knitting and wearing that appearance of rare profundity with which some ladies consider the movement of their needles
One day however a visitor had arrived The two young persons after spending an hour on the river strolled back to the house and perceived Lord Warburton sitting under the trees and engaged in conversation of which even at a distance the desultory character was appreciable with Mrs Touchett He had driven over from his own place with a portmanteau and had asked as the father and son often invited him to do for a dinner and a lodging Isabel seeing him for half an hour on the day of her arrival had discovered in this brief space that she liked him he had indeed rather sharply registered himself on her fine sense and she had thought of him several times She had hoped she should see him again—hoped too that she should see a few others Gardencourt was not dull the place itself was sovereign her uncle was more and more a sort of golden grandfather and Ralph was unlike any cousin she had ever encountered—her idea of cousins having tended to gloom Then her impressions were still so fresh and so quickly renewed that there was as yet hardly a hint of vacancy in the view But Isabel had need to remind herself that she was interested in human nature and that her foremost hope in coming abroad had been that she should see a great many people When Ralph said to her as he had done several times I wonder you find this endurable you ought to see some of the neighbours and some of our friends because we have really got a few though you would never suppose it—when he offered to invite what he called a lot of people and make her acquainted with English society she encouraged the hospitable impulse and promised in advance to hurl herself into the fray Little however for the present had come of his offers and it may be confided to the reader that if the young man delayed to carry them out it was because he found the labour of providing for his companion by no means so severe as to require extraneous help Isabel had spoken to him very often about specimens it was a word that played a considerable part in her vocabulary she had given him to understand that she wished to see English society illustrated by eminent cases
Well now theres a specimen he said to her as they walked up from the riverside and he recognised Lord Warburton
A specimen of what asked the girl
A specimen of an English gentleman
Do you mean theyre all like him
Oh no theyre not all like him
Hes a favourable specimen then said Isabel because Im sure hes nice
Yes hes very nice And hes very fortunate
The fortunate Lord Warburton exchanged a handshake with our heroine and hoped she was very well But I neednt ask that he said since youve been handling the oars
Ive been rowing a little Isabel answered but how should you know it
Oh I know he doesnt row hes too lazy said his lordship indicating Ralph Touchett with a laugh
He has a good excuse for his laziness Isabel rejoined lowering her voice a little
Ah he has a good excuse for everything cried Lord Warburton still with his sonorous mirth
My excuse for not rowing is that my cousin rows so well said Ralph She does everything well She touches nothing that she doesnt adorn
It makes one want to be touched Miss Archer Lord Warburton declared
Be touched in the right sense and youll never look the worse for it said Isabel who if it pleased her to hear it said that her accomplishments were numerous was happily able to reflect that such complacency was not the indication of a feeble mind inasmuch as there were several things in which she excelled Her desire to think well of herself had at least the element of humility that it always needed to be supported by proof
Lord Warburton not only spent the night at Gardencourt but he was persuaded to remain over the second day and when the second day was ended he determined to postpone his departure till the morrow During this period he addressed many of his remarks to Isabel who accepted this evidence of his esteem with a very good grace She found herself liking him extremely the first impression he had made on her had had weight but at the end of an evening spent in his society she scarce fell short of seeing him—though quite without luridity—as a hero of romance She retired to rest with a sense of good fortune with a quickened consciousness of possible felicities Its very nice to know two such charming people as those she said meaning by those her cousin and her cousins friend It must be added moreover that an incident had occurred which might have seemed to put her goodhumour to the test Mr Touchett went to bed at halfpast nine oclock but his wife remained in the drawingroom with the other members of the party She prolonged her vigil for something less than an hour and then rising observed to Isabel that it was time they should bid the gentlemen goodnight Isabel had as yet no desire to go to bed the occasion wore to her sense a festive character and feasts were not in the habit of terminating so early So without further thought she replied very simply—
Need I go dear aunt Ill come up in half an hour
Its impossible I should wait for you Mrs Touchett answered
Ah you neednt wait Ralph will light my candle Isabel gaily engaged
Ill light your candle do let me light your candle Miss Archer Lord Warburton exclaimed Only I beg it shall not be before midnight
Mrs Touchett fixed her bright little eyes upon him a moment and transferred them coldly to her niece You cant stay alone with the gentlemen Youre not—youre not at your blest Albany my dear
Isabel rose blushing I wish I were she said
Oh I say mother Ralph broke out
My dear Mrs Touchett Lord Warburton murmured
I didnt make your country my lord Mrs Touchett said majestically I must take it as I find it
Cant I stay with my own cousin Isabel enquired
Im not aware that Lord Warburton is your cousin
Perhaps I had better go to bed the visitor suggested That will arrange it
Mrs Touchett gave a little look of despair and sat down again Oh if its necessary Ill stay up till midnight
Ralph meanwhile handed Isabel her candlestick He had been watching her it had seemed to him her temper was involved—an accident that might be interesting But if he had expected anything of a flare he was disappointed for the girl simply laughed a little nodded goodnight and withdrew accompanied by her aunt For himself he was annoyed at his mother though he thought she was right Abovestairs the two ladies separated at Mrs Touchetts door Isabel had said nothing on her way up
Of course youre vexed at my interfering with you said Mrs Touchett
Isabel considered Im not vexed but Im surprised—and a good deal mystified Wasnt it proper I should remain in the drawingroom
Not in the least Young girls here—in decent houses—dont sit alone with the gentlemen late at night
You were very right to tell me then said Isabel I dont understand it but Im very glad to know it
I shall always tell you her aunt answered whenever I see you taking what seems to me too much liberty
Pray do but I dont say I shall always think your remonstrance just
Very likely not Youre too fond of your own ways
Yes I think Im very fond of them But I always want to know the things one shouldnt do
So as to do them asked her aunt
So as to choose said Isabel
CHAPTER VIII
As she was devoted to romantic effects Lord Warburton ventured to express a hope that she would come some day and see his house a very curious old place He extracted from Mrs Touchett a promise that she would bring her niece to Lockleigh and Ralph signified his willingness to attend the ladies if his father should be able to spare him Lord Warburton assured our heroine that in the mean time his sisters would come and see her She knew something about his sisters having sounded him during the hours they spent together while he was at Gardencourt on many points connected with his family When Isabel was interested she asked a great many questions and as her companion was a copious talker she urged him on this occasion by no means in vain He told her he had four sisters and two brothers and had lost both his parents The brothers and sisters were very good people—not particularly clever you know he said but very decent and pleasant and he was so good as to hope Miss Archer might know them well One of the brothers was in the Church settled in the family living that of Lockleigh which was a heavy sprawling parish and was an excellent fellow in spite of his thinking differently from himself on every conceivable topic And then Lord Warburton mentioned some of the opinions held by his brother which were opinions Isabel had often heard expressed and that she supposed to be entertained by a considerable portion of the human family Many of them indeed she supposed she had held herself till he assured her she was quite mistaken that it was really impossible that she had doubtless imagined she entertained them but that she might depend that if she thought them over a little she would find there was nothing in them When she answered that she had already thought several of the questions involved over very attentively he declared that she was only another example of what he had often been struck with—the fact that of all the people in the world the Americans were the most grossly superstitious They were rank Tories and bigots every one of them there were no conservatives like American conservatives Her uncle and her cousin were there to prove it nothing could be more medieval than many of their views they had ideas that people in England nowadays were ashamed to confess to and they had the impudence moreover said his lordship laughing to pretend they knew more about the needs and dangers of this poor dear stupid old England than he who was born in it and owned a considerable slice of it—the more shame to him From all of which Isabel gathered that Lord Warburton was a nobleman of the newest pattern a reformer a radical a contemner of ancient ways His other brother who was in the army in India was rather wild and pigheaded and had not been of much use as yet but to make debts for Warburton to pay—one of the most precious privileges of an elder brother I dont think I shall pay any more said her friend he lives a monstrous deal better than I do enjoys unheardof luxuries and thinks himself a much finer gentleman than I As Im a consistent radical I go in only for equality I dont go in for the superiority of the younger brothers Two of his four sisters the second and fourth were married one of them having done very well as they said the other only soso The husband of the elder Lord Haycock was a very good fellow but unfortunately a horrid Tory and his wife like all good English wives was worse than her husband The other had espoused a smallish squire in Norfolk and though married but the other day had already five children This information and much more Lord Warburton imparted to his young American listener taking pains to make many things clear and to lay bare to her apprehension the peculiarities of English life Isabel was often amused at his explicitness and at the small allowance he seemed to make either for her own experience or for her imagination He thinks Im a barbarian she said and that Ive never seen forks and spoons and she used to ask him artless questions for the pleasure of hearing him answer seriously Then when he had fallen into the trap Its a pity you cant see me in my warpaint and feathers she remarked if I had known how kind you are to the poor savages I would have brought over my native costume Lord Warburton had travelled through the United States and knew much more about them than Isabel he was so good as to say that America was the most charming country in the world but his recollections of it appeared to encourage the idea that Americans in England would need to have a great many things explained to them If I had only had you to explain things to me in America he said I was rather puzzled in your country in fact I was quite bewildered and the trouble was that the explanations only puzzled me more You know I think they often gave me the wrong ones on purpose theyre rather clever about that over there But when I explain you can trust me about what I tell you theres no mistake There was no mistake at least about his being very intelligent and cultivated and knowing almost everything in the world Although he gave the most interesting and thrilling glimpses Isabel felt he never did it to exhibit himself and though he had had rare chances and had tumbled in as she put it for high prizes he was as far as possible from making a merit of it He had enjoyed the best things of life but they had not spoiled his sense of proportion His quality was a mixture of the effect of rich experience—oh so easily come by—with a modesty at times almost boyish the sweet and wholesome savour of which—it was as agreeable as something tasted—lost nothing from the addition of a tone of responsible kindness
I like your specimen English gentleman very much Isabel said to Ralph after Lord Warburton had gone
I like him too—I love him well Ralph returned But I pity him more
Isabel looked at him askance Why that seems to me his only fault—that one cant pity him a little He appears to have everything to know everything to be everything
Oh hes in a bad way Ralph insisted
I suppose you dont mean in health
No as to that hes detestably sound What I mean is that hes a man with a great position whos playing all sorts of tricks with it He doesnt take himself seriously
Does he regard himself as a joke
Much worse he regards himself as an imposition—as an abuse
Well perhaps he is said Isabel
Perhaps he is—though on the whole I dont think so But in that case whats more pitiable than a sentient selfconscious abuse planted by other hands deeply rooted but aching with a sense of its injustice For me in his place I could be as solemn as a statue of Buddha He occupies a position that appeals to my imagination Great responsibilities great opportunities great consideration great wealth great power a natural share in the public affairs of a great country But hes all in a muddle about himself his position his power and indeed about everything in the world Hes the victim of a critical age he has ceased to believe in himself and he doesnt know what to believe in When I attempt to tell him because if I were he I know very well what I should believe in he calls me a pampered bigot I believe he seriously thinks me an awful Philistine he says I dont understand my time I understand it certainly better than he who can neither abolish himself as a nuisance nor maintain himself as an institution
He doesnt look very wretched Isabel observed
Possibly not though being a man of a good deal of charming taste I think he often has uncomfortable hours But what is it to say of a being of his opportunities that hes not miserable Besides I believe he is
I dont said Isabel
Well her cousin rejoined if he isnt he ought to be
In the afternoon she spent an hour with her uncle on the lawn where the old man sat as usual with his shawl over his legs and his large cup of diluted tea in his hands In the course of conversation he asked her what she thought of their late visitor
Isabel was prompt I think hes charming
Hes a nice person said Mr Touchett but I dont recommend you to fall in love with him
I shall not do it then I shall never fall in love but on your recommendation Moreover Isabel added my cousin gives me rather a sad account of Lord Warburton
Oh indeed I dont know what there may be to say but you must remember that Ralph must talk
He thinks your friends too subversive—or not subversive enough I dont quite understand which said Isabel
The old man shook his head slowly smiled and put down his cup I dont know which either He goes very far but its quite possible he doesnt go far enough He seems to want to do away with a good many things but he seems to want to remain himself I suppose thats natural but its rather inconsistent
Oh I hope hell remain himself said Isabel If he were to be done away with his friends would miss him sadly
Well said the old man I guess hell stay and amuse his friends I should certainly miss him very much here at Gardencourt He always amuses me when he comes over and I think he amuses himself as well Theres a considerable number like him round in society theyre very fashionable just now I dont know what theyre trying to do—whether theyre trying to get up a revolution I hope at any rate theyll put it off till after Im gone You see they want to disestablish everything but Im a pretty big landowner here and I dont want to be disestablished I wouldnt have come over if I had thought they were going to behave like that Mr Touchett went on with expanding hilarity I came over because I thought England was a safe country I call it a regular fraud if they are going to introduce any considerable changes therell be a large number disappointed in that case
Oh I do hope theyll make a revolution Isabel exclaimed I should delight in seeing a revolution
Let me see said her uncle with a humorous intention I forget whether youre on the side of the old or on the side of the new Ive heard you take such opposite views
Im on the side of both I guess Im a little on the side of everything In a revolution—after it was well begun—I think I should be a high proud loyalist One sympathises more with them and theyve a chance to behave so exquisitely I mean so picturesquely
I dont know that I understand what you mean by behaving picturesquely but it seems to me that you do that always my dear
Oh you lovely man if I could believe that the girl interrupted
Im afraid after all you wont have the pleasure of going gracefully to the guillotine here just now Mr Touchett went on If you want to see a big outbreak you must pay us a long visit You see when you come to the point it wouldnt suit them to be taken at their word
Of whom are you speaking
Well I mean Lord Warburton and his friends—the radicals of the upper class Of course I only know the way it strikes me They talk about the changes but I dont think they quite realise You and I you know we know what it is to have lived under democratic institutions I always thought them very comfortable but I was used to them from the first And then I aint a lord youre a lady my dear but I aint a lord Now over here I dont think it quite comes home to them Its a matter of every day and every hour and I dont think many of them would find it as pleasant as what theyve got Of course if they want to try its their own business but I expect they wont try very hard
Dont you think theyre sincere Isabel asked
Well they want to FEEL earnest Mr Touchett allowed but it seems as if they took it out in theories mostly Their radical views are a kind of amusement theyve got to have some amusement and they might have coarser tastes than that You see theyre very luxurious and these progressive ideas are about their biggest luxury They make them feel moral and yet dont damage their position They think a great deal of their position dont let one of them ever persuade you he doesnt for if you were to proceed on that basis youd be pulled up very short
Isabel followed her uncles argument which he unfolded with his quaint distinctness most attentively and though she was unacquainted with the British aristocracy she found it in harmony with her general impressions of human nature But she felt moved to put in a protest on Lord Warburtons behalf I dont believe Lord Warburtons a humbug I dont care what the others are I should like to see Lord Warburton put to the test
Heaven deliver me from my friends Mr Touchett answered Lord Warburtons a very amiable young man—a very fine young man He has a hundred thousand a year He owns fifty thousand acres of the soil of this little island and ever so many other things besides He has half a dozen houses to live in He has a seat in Parliament as I have one at my own dinnertable He has elegant tastes—cares for literature for art for science for charming young ladies The most elegant is his taste for the new views It affords him a great deal of pleasure—more perhaps than anything else except the young ladies His old house over there—what does he call it Lockleigh—is very attractive but I dont think its as pleasant as this That doesnt matter however—he has so many others His views dont hurt any one as far as I can see they certainly dont hurt himself And if there were to be a revolution he would come off very easily They wouldnt touch him theyd leave him as he is hes too much liked
Ah he couldnt be a martyr even if he wished Isabel sighed Thats a very poor position
Hell never be a martyr unless you make him one said the old man
Isabel shook her head there might have been something laughable in the fact that she did it with a touch of melancholy I shall never make any one a martyr
Youll never be one I hope
I hope not But you dont pity Lord Warburton then as Ralph does
Her uncle looked at her a while with genial acuteness Yes I do after all
CHAPTER IX
The two Misses Molyneux this noblemans sisters came presently to call upon her and Isabel took a fancy to the young ladies who appeared to her to show a most original stamp It is true that when she described them to her cousin by that term he declared that no epithet could be less applicable than this to the two Misses Molyneux since there were fifty thousand young women in England who exactly resembled them Deprived of this advantage however Isabels visitors retained that of an extreme sweetness and shyness of demeanour and of having as she thought eyes like the balanced basins the circles of ornamental water set in parterres among the geraniums
Theyre not morbid at any rate whatever they are our heroine said to herself and she deemed this a great charm for two or three of the friends of her girlhood had been regrettably open to the charge they would have been so nice without it to say nothing of Isabels having occasionally suspected it as a tendency of her own The Misses Molyneux were not in their first youth but they had bright fresh complexions and something of the smile of childhood Yes their eyes which Isabel admired were round quiet and contented and their figures also of a generous roundness were encased in sealskin jackets Their friendliness was great so great that they were almost embarrassed to show it they seemed somewhat afraid of the young lady from the other side of the world and rather looked than spoke their good wishes But they made it clear to her that they hoped she would come to luncheon at Lockleigh where they lived with their brother and then they might see her very very often They wondered if she wouldnt come over some day and sleep they were expecting some people on the twentyninth so perhaps she would come while the people were there
Im afraid it isnt any one very remarkable said the elder sister but I dare say youll take us as you find us
I shall find you delightful I think youre enchanting just as you are replied Isabel who often praised profusely
Her visitors flushed and her cousin told her after they were gone that if she said such things to those poor girls they would think she was in some wild free manner practising on them he was sure it was the first time they had been called enchanting
I cant help it Isabel answered I think its lovely to be so quiet and reasonable and satisfied I should like to be like that
Heaven forbid cried Ralph with ardour
I mean to try and imitate them said Isabel I want very much to see them at home
She had this pleasure a few days later when with Ralph and his mother she drove over to Lockleigh She found the Misses Molyneux sitting in a vast drawingroom she perceived afterwards it was one of several in a wilderness of faded chintz they were dressed on this occasion in black velveteen Isabel liked them even better at home than she had done at Gardencourt and was more than ever struck with the fact that they were not morbid It had seemed to her before that if they had a fault it was a want of play of mind but she presently saw they were capable of deep emotion Before luncheon she was alone with them for some time on one side of the room while Lord Warburton at a distance talked to Mrs Touchett
Is it true your brothers such a great radical Isabel asked She knew it was true but we have seen that her interest in human nature was keen and she had a desire to draw the Misses Molyneux out
Oh dear yes hes immensely advanced said Mildred the younger sister
At the same time Warburtons very reasonable Miss Molyneux observed
Isabel watched him a moment at the other side of the room he was clearly trying hard to make himself agreeable to Mrs Touchett Ralph had met the frank advances of one of the dogs before the fire that the temperature of an English August in the ancient expanses had not made an impertinence Do you suppose your brothers sincere Isabel enquired with a smile
Oh he must be you know Mildred exclaimed quickly while the elder sister gazed at our heroine in silence
Do you think he would stand the test
The test
I mean for instance having to give up all this
Having to give up Lockleigh said Miss Molyneux finding her voice
Yes and the other places what are they called
The two sisters exchanged an almost frightened glance Do you mean—do you mean on account of the expense the younger one asked
I dare say he might let one or two of his houses said the other
Let them for nothing Isabel demanded
I cant fancy his giving up his property said Miss Molyneux
Ah Im afraid he is an impostor Isabel returned Dont you think its a false position
Her companions evidently had lost themselves My brothers position Miss Molyneux enquired
Its thought a very good position said the younger sister Its the first position in this part of the county
I dare say you think me very irreverent Isabel took occasion to remark I suppose you revere your brother and are rather afraid of him
Of course one looks up to ones brother said Miss Molyneux simply
If you do that he must be very good—because you evidently are beautifully good
Hes most kind It will never be known the good he does
His ability is known Mildred added every one thinks its immense
Oh I can see that said Isabel But if I were he I should wish to fight to the death I mean for the heritage of the past I should hold it tight
I think one ought to be liberal Mildred argued gently Weve always been so even from the earliest times
Ah well said Isabel youve made a great success of it I dont wonder you like it I see youre very fond of crewels
When Lord Warburton showed her the house after luncheon it seemed to her a matter of course that it should be a noble picture Within it had been a good deal modernised—some of its best points had lost their purity but as they saw it from the gardens a stout grey pile of the softest deepest most weatherfretted hue rising from a broad still moat it affected the young visitor as a castle in a legend The day was cool and rather lustreless the first note of autumn had been struck and the watery sunshine rested on the walls in blurred and desultory gleams washing them as it were in places tenderly chosen where the ache of antiquity was keenest Her hosts brother the Vicar had come to luncheon and Isabel had had five minutes talk with him—time enough to institute a search for a rich ecclesiasticism and give it up as vain The marks of the Vicar of Lockleigh were a big athletic figure a candid natural countenance a capacious appetite and a tendency to indiscriminate laughter Isabel learned afterwards from her cousin that before taking orders he had been a mighty wrestler and that he was still on occasion—in the privacy of the family circle as it were—quite capable of flooring his man Isabel liked him—she was in the mood for liking everything but her imagination was a good deal taxed to think of him as a source of spiritual aid The whole party on leaving lunch went to walk in the grounds but Lord Warburton exercised some ingenuity in engaging his least familiar guest in a stroll apart from the others
I wish you to see the place properly seriously he said You cant do so if your attention is distracted by irrelevant gossip His own conversation though he told Isabel a good deal about the house which had a very curious history was not purely archaeological he reverted at intervals to matters more personal—matters personal to the young lady as well as to himself But at last after a pause of some duration returning for a moment to their ostensible theme Ah well he said Im very glad indeed you like the old barrack I wish you could see more of it—that you could stay here a while My sisters have taken an immense fancy to you—if that would be any inducement
Theres no want of inducements Isabel answered but Im afraid I cant make engagements Im quite in my aunts hands
Ah pardon me if I say I dont exactly believe that Im pretty sure you can do whatever you want
Im sorry if I make that impression on you I dont think its a nice impression to make
It has the merit of permitting me to hope And Lord Warburton paused a moment
To hope what
That in future I may see you often
Ah said Isabel to enjoy that pleasure I neednt be so terribly emancipated
Doubtless not and yet at the same time I dont think your uncle likes me
Youre very much mistaken Ive heard him speak very highly of you
Im glad you have talked about me said Lord Warburton But I nevertheless dont think hed like me to keep coming to Gardencourt
I cant answer for my uncles tastes the girl rejoined though I ought as far as possible to take them into account But for myself I shall be very glad to see you
Now thats what I like to hear you say Im charmed when you say that
Youre easily charmed my lord said Isabel
No Im not easily charmed And then he stopped a moment But youve charmed me Miss Archer
These words were uttered with an indefinable sound which startled the girl it struck her as the prelude to something grave she had heard the sound before and she recognised it She had no wish however that for the moment such a prelude should have a sequel and she said as gaily as possible and as quickly as an appreciable degree of agitation would allow her Im afraid theres no prospect of my being able to come here again
Never said Lord Warburton
I wont say never I should feel very melodramatic
May I come and see you then some day next week
Most assuredly What is there to prevent it
Nothing tangible But with you I never feel safe Ive a sort of sense that youre always summing people up
You dont of necessity lose by that
Its very kind of you to say so but even if I gain stern justice is not what I most love Is Mrs Touchett going to take you abroad
I hope so
Is England not good enough for you
Thats a very Machiavellian speech it doesnt deserve an answer I want to see as many countries as I can
Then youll go on judging I suppose
Enjoying I hope too
Yes thats what you enjoy most I cant make out what youre up to said Lord Warburton You strike me as having mysterious purposes—vast designs
Youre so good as to have a theory about me which I dont at all fill out Is there anything mysterious in a purpose entertained and executed every year in the most public manner by fifty thousand of my fellowcountrymen—the purpose of improving ones mind by foreign travel
You cant improve your mind Miss Archer her companion declared Its already a most formidable instrument It looks down on us all it despises us
Despises you Youre making fun of me said Isabel seriously
Well you think us quaint—thats the same thing I wont be thought quaint to begin with Im not so in the least I protest
That protest is one of the quaintest things Ive ever heard Isabel answered with a smile
Lord Warburton was briefly silent You judge only from the outside—you dont care he said presently You only care to amuse yourself The note she had heard in his voice a moment before reappeared and mixed with it now was an audible strain of bitterness—a bitterness so abrupt and inconsequent that the girl was afraid she had hurt him She had often heard that the English are a highly eccentric people and she had even read in some ingenious author that they are at bottom the most romantic of races Was Lord Warburton suddenly turning romantic—was he going to make her a scene in his own house only the third time they had met She was reassured quickly enough by her sense of his great good manners which was not impaired by the fact that he had already touched the furthest limit of good taste in expressing his admiration of a young lady who had confided in his hospitality She was right in trusting to his good manners for he presently went on laughing a little and without a trace of the accent that had discomposed her I dont mean of course that you amuse yourself with trifles You select great materials the foibles the afflictions of human nature the peculiarities of nations
As regards that said Isabel I should find in my own nation entertainment for a lifetime But weve a long drive and my aunt will soon wish to start She turned back toward the others and Lord Warburton walked beside her in silence But before they reached the others I shall come and see you next week he said
She had received an appreciable shock but as it died away she felt that she couldnt pretend to herself that it was altogether a painful one Nevertheless she made answer to his declaration coldly enough Just as you please And her coldness was not the calculation of her effect—a game she played in a much smaller degree than would have seemed probable to many critics It came from a certain fear
CHAPTER X
The day after her visit to Lockleigh she received a note from her friend Miss Stackpole—a note of which the envelope exhibiting in conjunction the postmark of Liverpool and the neat calligraphy of the quickfingered Henrietta caused her some liveliness of emotion Here I am my lovely friend Miss Stackpole wrote I managed to get off at last I decided only the night before I left New York—the Interviewer having come round to my figure I put a few things into a bag like a veteran journalist and came down to the steamer in a streetcar Where are you and where can we meet I suppose youre visiting at some castle or other and have already acquired the correct accent Perhaps even you have married a lord I almost hope you have for I want some introductions to the first people and shall count on you for a few The Interviewer wants some light on the nobility My first impressions of the people at large are not rosecoloured but I wish to talk them over with you and you know that whatever I am at least Im not superficial Ive also something very particular to tell you Do appoint a meeting as quickly as you can come to London I should like so much to visit the sights with you or else let me come to you wherever you are I will do so with pleasure for you know everything interests me and I wish to see as much as possible of the inner life
Isabel judged best not to show this letter to her uncle but she acquainted him with its purport and as she expected he begged her instantly to assure Miss Stackpole in his name that he should be delighted to receive her at Gardencourt Though shes a literary lady he said I suppose that being an American she wont show me up as that other one did She has seen others like me
She has seen no other so delightful Isabel answered but she was not altogether at ease about Henriettas reproductive instincts which belonged to that side of her friends character which she regarded with least complacency She wrote to Miss Stackpole however that she would be very welcome under Mr Touchetts roof and this alert young woman lost no time in announcing her prompt approach She had gone up to London and it was from that centre that she took the train for the station nearest to Gardencourt where Isabel and Ralph were in waiting to receive her
Shall I love her or shall I hate her Ralph asked while they moved along the platform
Whichever you do will matter very little to her said Isabel She doesnt care a straw what men think of her
As a man Im bound to dislike her then She must be a kind of monster Is she very ugly
No shes decidedly pretty
A female interviewer—a reporter in petticoats Im very curious to see her Ralph conceded
Its very easy to laugh at her but it is not easy to be as brave as she
I should think not crimes of violence and attacks on the person require more or less pluck Do you suppose shell interview me
Never in the world Shell not think you of enough importance
Youll see said Ralph Shell send a description of us all including Bunchie to her newspaper
I shall ask her not to Isabel answered
You think shes capable of it then
Perfectly
And yet youve made her your bosomfriend
Ive not made her my bosomfriend but I like her in spite of her faults
Ah well said Ralph Im afraid I shall dislike her in spite of her merits
Youll probably fall in love with her at the end of three days
And have my loveletters published in the Interviewer Never cried the young man
The train presently arrived and Miss Stackpole promptly descending proved as Isabel had promised quite delicately even though rather provincially fair She was a neat plump person of medium stature with a round face a small mouth a delicate complexion a bunch of light brown ringlets at the back of her head and a peculiarly open surprisedlooking eye The most striking point in her appearance was the remarkable fixedness of this organ which rested without impudence or defiance but as if in conscientious exercise of a natural right upon every object it happened to encounter It rested in this manner upon Ralph himself a little arrested by Miss Stackpoles gracious and comfortable aspect which hinted that it wouldnt be so easy as he had assumed to disapprove of her She rustled she shimmered in fresh dovecoloured draperies and Ralph saw at a glance that she was as crisp and new and comprehensive as a first issue before the folding From top to toe she had probably no misprint She spoke in a clear high voice—a voice not rich but loud yet after she had taken her place with her companions in Mr Touchetts carriage she struck him as not all in the large type the type of horrid headings that he had expected She answered the enquiries made of her by Isabel however and in which the young man ventured to join with copious lucidity and later in the library at Gardencourt when she had made the acquaintance of Mr Touchett his wife not having thought it necessary to appear did more to give the measure of her confidence in her powers
Well I should like to know whether you consider yourselves American or English she broke out If once I knew I could talk to you accordingly
Talk to us anyhow and we shall be thankful Ralph liberally answered
She fixed her eyes on him and there was something in their character that reminded him of large polished buttons—buttons that might have fixed the elastic loops of some tense receptacle he seemed to see the reflection of surrounding objects on the pupil The expression of a button is not usually deemed human but there was something in Miss Stackpoles gaze that made him as a very modest man feel vaguely embarrassed—less inviolate more dishonoured than he liked This sensation it must be added after he had spent a day or two in her company sensibly diminished though it never wholly lapsed I dont suppose that youre going to undertake to persuade me that youre an American she said
To please you Ill be an Englishman Ill be a Turk
Well if you can change about that way youre very welcome Miss Stackpole returned
Im sure you understand everything and that differences of nationality are no barrier to you Ralph went on
Miss Stackpole gazed at him still Do you mean the foreign languages
The languages are nothing I mean the spirit—the genius
Im not sure that I understand you said the correspondent of the Interviewer but I expect I shall before I leave
Hes whats called a cosmopolite Isabel suggested
That means hes a little of everything and not much of any I must say I think patriotism is like charity—it begins at home
Ah but where does home begin Miss Stackpole Ralph enquired
I dont know where it begins but I know where it ends It ended a long time before I got here
Dont you like it over here asked Mr Touchett with his aged innocent voice
Well sir I havent quite made up my mind what ground I shall take I feel a good deal cramped I felt it on the journey from Liverpool to London
Perhaps you were in a crowded carriage Ralph suggested
Yes but it was crowded with friends—party of Americans whose acquaintance I had made upon the steamer a lovely group from Little Rock Arkansas In spite of that I felt cramped—I felt something pressing upon me I couldnt tell what it was I felt at the very commencement as if I were not going to accord with the atmosphere But I suppose I shall make my own atmosphere Thats the true way—then you can breathe Your surroundings seem very attractive
Ah we too are a lovely group said Ralph Wait a little and youll see
Miss Stackpole showed every disposition to wait and evidently was prepared to make a considerable stay at Gardencourt She occupied herself in the mornings with literary labour but in spite of this Isabel spent many hours with her friend who once her daily task performed deprecated in fact defied isolation Isabel speedily found occasion to desire her to desist from celebrating the charms of their common sojourn in print having discovered on the second morning of Miss Stackpoles visit that she was engaged on a letter to the Interviewer of which the title in her exquisitely neat and legible hand exactly that of the copybooks which our heroine remembered at school was Americans and Tudors—Glimpses of Gardencourt Miss Stackpole with the best conscience in the world offered to read her letter to Isabel who immediately put in her protest
I dont think you ought to do that I dont think you ought to describe the place
Henrietta gazed at her as usual Why its just what the people want and its a lovely place
Its too lovely to be put in the newspapers and its not what my uncle wants
Dont you believe that cried Henrietta Theyre always delighted afterwards
My uncle wont be delighted—nor my cousin either Theyll consider it a breach of hospitality
Miss Stackpole showed no sense of confusion she simply wiped her pen very neatly upon an elegant little implement which she kept for the purpose and put away her manuscript Of course if you dont approve I wont do it but I sacrifice a beautiful subject
There are plenty of other subjects there are subjects all round you Well take some drives Ill show you some charming scenery
Scenerys not my department I always need a human interest You know Im deeply human Isabel I always was Miss Stackpole rejoined I was going to bring in your cousin—the alienated American Theres a great demand just now for the alienated American and your cousins a beautiful specimen I should have handled him severely
He would have died of it Isabel exclaimed Not of the severity but of the publicity
Well I should have liked to kill him a little And I should have delighted to do your uncle who seems to me a much nobler type—the American faithful still Hes a grand old man I dont see how he can object to my paying him honour
Isabel looked at her companion in much wonderment it struck her as strange that a nature in which she found so much to esteem should break down so in spots My poor Henrietta she said youve no sense of privacy
Henrietta coloured deeply and for a moment her brilliant eyes were suffused while Isabel found her more than ever inconsequent You do me great injustice said Miss Stackpole with dignity Ive never written a word about myself
Im very sure of that but it seems to me one should be modest for others also
Ah thats very good cried Henrietta seizing her pen again Just let me make a note of it and Ill put it in somewhere she was a thoroughly goodnatured woman and half an hour later she was in as cheerful a mood as should have been looked for in a newspaperlady in want of matter Ive promised to do the social side she said to Isabel and how can I do it unless I get ideas If I cant describe this place dont you know some place I can describe Isabel promised she would bethink herself and the next day in conversation with her friend she happened to mention her visit to Lord Warburtons ancient house Ah you must take me there—thats just the place for me Miss Stackpole cried I must get a glimpse of the nobility
I cant take you said Isabel but Lord Warburtons coming here and youll have a chance to see him and observe him Only if you intend to repeat his conversation I shall certainly give him warning
Dont do that her companion pleaded I want him to be natural
An Englishmans never so natural as when hes holding his tongue Isabel declared
It was not apparent at the end of three days that her cousin had according to her prophecy lost his heart to their visitor though he had spent a good deal of time in her society They strolled about the park together and sat under the trees and in the afternoon when it was delightful to float along the Thames Miss Stackpole occupied a place in the boat in which hitherto Ralph had had but a single companion Her presence proved somehow less irreducible to soft particles than Ralph had expected in the natural perturbation of his sense of the perfect solubility of that of his cousin for the correspondent of the Interviewer prompted mirth in him and he had long since decided that the crescendo of mirth should be the flower of his declining days Henrietta on her side failed a little to justify Isabels declaration with regard to her indifference to masculine opinion for poor Ralph appeared to have presented himself to her as an irritating problem which it would be almost immoral not to work out
What does he do for a living she asked of Isabel the evening of her arrival Does he go round all day with his hands in his pockets
He does nothing smiled Isabel hes a gentleman of large leisure
Well I call that a shame—when I have to work like a carconductor Miss Stackpole replied I should like to show him up
Hes in wretched health hes quite unfit for work Isabel urged
Pshaw dont you believe it I work when Im sick cried her friend Later when she stepped into the boat on joining the waterparty she remarked to Ralph that she supposed he hated her and would like to drown her
Ah no said Ralph I keep my victims for a slower torture And youd be such an interesting one
Well you do torture me I may say that But I shock all your prejudices thats one comfort
My prejudices I havent a prejudice to bless myself with Theres intellectual poverty for you
The more shame to you Ive some delicious ones Of course I spoil your flirtation or whatever it is you call it with your cousin but I dont care for that as I render her the service of drawing you out Shell see how thin you are
Ah do draw me out Ralph exclaimed So few people will take the trouble
Miss Stackpole in this undertaking appeared to shrink from no effort resorting largely whenever the opportunity offered to the natural expedient of interrogation On the following day the weather was bad and in the afternoon the young man by way of providing indoor amusement offered to show her the pictures Henrietta strolled through the long gallery in his society while he pointed out its principal ornaments and mentioned the painters and subjects Miss Stackpole looked at the pictures in perfect silence committing herself to no opinion and Ralph was gratified by the fact that she delivered herself of none of the little readymade ejaculations of delight of which the visitors to Gardencourt were so frequently lavish This young lady indeed to do her justice was but little addicted to the use of conventional terms there was something earnest and inventive in her tone which at times in its strained deliberation suggested a person of high culture speaking a foreign language Ralph Touchett subsequently learned that she had at one time officiated as art critic to a journal of the other world but she appeared in spite of this fact to carry in her pocket none of the small change of admiration Suddenly just after he had called her attention to a charming Constable she turned and looked at him as if he himself had been a picture
Do you always spend your time like this she demanded
I seldom spend it so agreeably
Well you know what I mean—without any regular occupation
Ah said Ralph Im the idlest man living
Miss Stackpole directed her gaze to the Constable again and Ralph bespoke her attention for a small Lancret hanging near it which represented a gentleman in a pink doublet and hose and a ruff leaning against the pedestal of the statue of a nymph in a garden and playing the guitar to two ladies seated on the grass Thats my ideal of a regular occupation he said
Miss Stackpole turned to him again and though her eyes had rested upon the picture he saw she had missed the subject She was thinking of something much more serious I dont see how you can reconcile it to your conscience
My dear lady I have no conscience
Well I advise you to cultivate one Youll need it the next time you go to America
I shall probably never go again
Are you ashamed to show yourself
Ralph meditated with a mild smile I suppose that if one has no conscience one has no shame
Well youve got plenty of assurance Henrietta declared Do you consider it right to give up your country
Ah one doesnt give up ones country any more than one gives UP ones grandmother Theyre both antecedent to choice—elements of ones composition that are not to be eliminated
I suppose that means that youve tried and been worsted What do they think of you over here
They delight in me
Thats because you truckle to them
Ah set it down a little to my natural charm Ralph sighed
I dont know anything about your natural charm If youve got any charm its quite unnatural Its wholly acquired—or at least youve tried hard to acquire it living over here I dont say youve succeeded Its a charm that I dont appreciate anyway Make yourself useful in some way and then well talk about it Well now tell me what I shall do said Ralph
Go right home to begin with
Yes I see And then
Take right hold of something
Well now what sort of thing
Anything you please so long as you take hold Some new idea some big work
Is it very difficult to take hold Ralph enquired
Not if you put your heart into it
Ah my heart said Ralph If it depends upon my heart—
Havent you got a heart
I had one a few days ago but Ive lost it since
Youre not serious Miss Stackpole remarked thats whats the matter with you But for all this in a day or two she again permitted him to fix her attention and on the later occasion assigned a different cause to her mysterious perversity I know whats the matter with you Mr Touchett she said You think youre too good to get married
I thought so till I knew you Miss Stackpole Ralph answered and then I suddenly changed my mind
Oh pshaw Henrietta groaned
Then it seemed to me said Ralph that I was not good enough
It would improve you Besides its your duty
Ah cried the young man one has so many duties Is that a duty too
Of course it is—did you never know that before Its every ones duty to get married
Ralph meditated a moment he was disappointed There was something in Miss Stackpole he had begun to like it seemed to him that if she was not a charming woman she was at least a very good sort She was wanting in distinction but as Isabel had said she was brave she went into cages she flourished lashes like a spangled liontamer He had not supposed her to be capable of vulgar arts but these last words struck him as a false note When a marriageable young woman urges matrimony on an unencumbered young man the most obvious explanation of her conduct is not the altruistic impulse
Ah well now theres a good deal to be said about that Ralph rejoined
There may be but thats the principal thing I must say I think it looks very exclusive going round all alone as if you thought no woman was good enough for you Do you think youre better than any one else in the world In America its usual for people to marry
If its my duty Ralph asked is it not by analogy yours as well
Miss Stackpoles ocular surfaces unwinkingly caught the sun Have you the fond hope of finding a flaw in my reasoning Of course Ive as good a right to marry as any one else
Well then said Ralph I wont say it vexes me to see you single It delights me rather
Youre not serious yet You never will be
Shall you not believe me to be so on the day I tell you I desire to give up the practice of going round alone
Miss Stackpole looked at him for a moment in a manner which seemed to announce a reply that might technically be called encouraging But to his great surprise this expression suddenly resolved itself into an appearance of alarm and even of resentment No not even then she answered dryly After which she walked away
Ive not conceived a passion for your friend Ralph said that evening to Isabel though we talked some time this morning about it
And you said something she didnt like the girl replied
Ralph stared Has she complained of me
She told me she thinks theres something very low in the tone of Europeans towards women
Does she call me a European
One of the worst She told me you had said to her something that an American never would have said But she didnt repeat it
Ralph treated himself to a luxury of laughter Shes an extraordinary combination Did she think I was making love to her
No I believe even Americans do that But she apparently thought you mistook the intention of something she had said and put an unkind construction on it
I thought she was proposing marriage to me and I accepted her Was that unkind
Isabel smiled It was unkind to me I dont want you to marry
My dear cousin whats one to do among you all Ralph demanded Miss Stackpole tells me its my bounden duty and that its hers in general to see I do mine
She has a great sense of duty said Isabel gravely She has indeed and its the motive of everything she says Thats what I like her for She thinks its unworthy of you to keep so many things to yourself Thats what she wanted to express If you thought she was trying to—to attract you you were very wrong
Its true it was an odd way but I did think she was trying to attract me Forgive my depravity
Youre very conceited She had no interested views and never supposed you would think she had
One must be very modest then to talk with such women Ralph said humbly But its a very strange type Shes too personal—considering that she expects other people not to be She walks in without knocking at the door
Yes Isabel admitted she doesnt sufficiently recognise the existence of knockers and indeed Im not sure that she doesnt think them rather a pretentious ornament She thinks ones door should stand ajar But I persist in liking her
I persist in thinking her too familiar Ralph rejoined naturally somewhat uncomfortable under the sense of having been doubly deceived in Miss Stackpole
Well said Isabel smiling Im afraid its because shes rather vulgar that I like her
She would be flattered by your reason
If I should tell her I wouldnt express it in that way I should say its because theres something of the people in her
What do you know about the people and what does she for that matter
She knows a great deal and I know enough to feel that shes a kind of emanation of the great democracy—of the continent the country the nation I dont say that she sums it all up that would be too much to ask of her But she suggests it she vividly figures it
You like her then for patriotic reasons Im afraid it is on those very grounds I object to her
Ah said Isabel with a kind of joyous sigh I like so many things If a thing strikes me with a certain intensity I accept it I dont want to swagger but I suppose Im rather versatile I like people to be totally different from Henrietta—in the style of Lord Warburtons sisters for instance So long as I look at the Misses Molyneux they seem to me to answer a kind of ideal Then Henrietta presents herself and Im straightway convinced by her not so much in respect to herself as in respect to what masses behind her
Ah you mean the back view of her Ralph suggested
What she says is true his cousin answered youll never be serious I like the great country stretching away beyond the rivers and across the prairies blooming and smiling and spreading till it stops at the green Pacific A strong sweet fresh odour seems to rise from it and Henrietta—pardon my simile—has something of that odour in her garments
Isabel blushed a little as she concluded this speech and the blush together with the momentary ardour she had thrown into it was so becoming to her that Ralph stood smiling at her for a moment after she had ceased speaking Im not sure the Pacifics so green as that he said but youre a young woman of imagination Henrietta however does smell of the Future—it almost knocks one down
CHAPTER XI
He took a resolve after this not to misinterpret her words even when Miss Stackpole appeared to strike the personal note most strongly He bethought himself that persons in her view were simple and homogeneous organisms and that he for his own part was too perverted a representative of the nature of man to have a right to deal with her in strict reciprocity He carried out his resolve with a great deal of tact and the young lady found in renewed contact with him no obstacle to the exercise of her genius for unshrinking enquiry the general application of her confidence Her situation at Gardencourt therefore appreciated as we have seen her to be by Isabel and full of appreciation herself of that free play of intelligence which to her sense rendered Isabels character a sisterspirit and of the easy venerableness of Mr Touchett whose noble tone as she said met with her full approval—her situation at Gardencourt would have been perfectly comfortable had she not conceived an irresistible mistrust of the little lady for whom she had at first supposed herself obliged to allow as mistress of the house She presently discovered in truth that this obligation was of the lightest and that Mrs Touchett cared very little how Miss Stackpole behaved Mrs Touchett had defined her to Isabel as both an adventuress and a bore—adventuresses usually giving one more of a thrill she had expressed some surprise at her nieces having selected such a friend yet had immediately added that she knew Isabels friends were her own affair and that she had never undertaken to like them all or to restrict the girl to those she liked
If you could see none but the people I like my dear youd have a very small society Mrs Touchett frankly admitted and I dont think I like any man or woman well enough to recommend them to you When it comes to recommending its a serious affair I dont like Miss Stackpole—everything about her displeases me she talks so much too loud and looks at one as if one wanted to look at her—which one doesnt Im sure she has lived all her life in a boardinghouse and I detest the manners and the liberties of such places If you ask me if I prefer my own manners which you doubtless think very bad Ill tell you that I prefer them immensely Miss Stackpole knows I detest boardinghouse civilisation and she detests me for detesting it because she thinks it the highest in the world Shed like Gardencourt a great deal better if it were a boardinghouse For me I find it almost too much of one We shall never get on together therefore and theres no use trying
Mrs Touchett was right in guessing that Henrietta disapproved of her but she had not quite put her finger on the reason A day or two after Miss Stackpoles arrival she had made some invidious reflexions on American hotels which excited a vein of counterargument on the part of the correspondent of the Interviewer who in the exercise of her profession had acquainted herself in the western world with every form of caravansary Henrietta expressed the opinion that American hotels were the best in the world and Mrs Touchett fresh from a renewed struggle with them recorded a conviction that they were the worst Ralph with his experimental geniality suggested by way of healing the breach that the truth lay between the two extremes and that the establishments in question ought to be described as fair middling This contribution to the discussion however Miss Stackpole rejected with scorn Middling indeed If they were not the best in the world they were the worst but there was nothing middling about an American hotel
We judge from different points of view evidently said Mrs Touchett I like to be treated as an individual you like to be treated as a party
I dont know what you mean Henrietta replied I like to be treated as an American lady
Poor American ladies cried Mrs Touchett with a laugh Theyre the slaves of slaves
Theyre the companions of freemen Henrietta retorted
Theyre the companions of their servants—the Irish chambermaid and the negro waiter They share their work
Do you call the domestics in an American household slaves Miss Stackpole enquired If thats the way you desire to treat them no wonder you dont like America
If youve not good servants youre miserable Mrs Touchett serenely said Theyre very bad in America but Ive five perfect ones in Florence
I dont see what you want with five Henrietta couldnt help observing I dont think I should like to see five persons surrounding me in that menial position
I like them in that position better than in some others proclaimed Mrs Touchett with much meaning
Should you like me better if I were your butler dear her husband asked
I dont think I should you wouldnt at all have the tenue
The companions of freemen—I like that Miss Stackpole said Ralph Its a beautiful description
When I said freemen I didnt mean you sir
And this was the only reward that Ralph got for his compliment Miss Stackpole was baffled she evidently thought there was something treasonable in Mrs Touchetts appreciation of a class which she privately judged to be a mysterious survival of feudalism It was perhaps because her mind was oppressed with this image that she suffered some days to elapse before she took occasion to say to Isabel My dear friend I wonder if youre growing faithless
Faithless Faithless to you Henrietta
No that would be a great pain but its not that
Faithless to my country then
Ah that I hope will never be When I wrote to you from Liverpool I said I had something particular to tell you Youve never asked me what it is Is it because youve suspected
Suspected what As a rule I dont think I suspect said Isabel
I remember now that phrase in your letter but I confess I had forgotten it What have you to tell me
Henrietta looked disappointed and her steady gaze betrayed it You dont ask that right—as if you thought it important Youre changed—youre thinking of other things
Tell me what you mean and Ill think of that
Will you really think of it Thats what I wish to be sure of
Ive not much control of my thoughts but Ill do my best said Isabel Henrietta gazed at her in silence for a period which tried Isabels patience so that our heroine added at last Do you mean that youre going to be married
Not till Ive seen Europe said Miss Stackpole What are you laughing at she went on What I mean is that Mr Goodwood came out in the steamer with me
Ah Isabel responded
You say that right I had a good deal of talk with him he has come after you
Did he tell you so
No he told me nothing thats how I knew it said Henrietta cleverly He said very little about you but I spoke of you a good deal
Isabel waited At the mention of Mr Goodwoods name she had turned a little pale Im very sorry you did that she observed at last
It was a pleasure to me and I liked the way he listened I could have talked a long time to such a listener he was so quiet so intense he drank it all in
What did you say about me Isabel asked
I said you were on the whole the finest creature I know
Im very sorry for that He thinks too well of me already he oughtnt to be encouraged
Hes dying for a little encouragement I see his face now and his earnest absorbed look while I talked I never saw an ugly man look so handsome
Hes very simpleminded said Isabel And hes not so ugly
Theres nothing so simplifying as a grand passion
Its not a grand passion Im very sure its not that
You dont say that as if you were sure
Isabel gave rather a cold smile I shall say it better to Mr Goodwood himself
Hell soon give you a chance said Henrietta Isabel offered no answer to this assertion which her companion made with an air of great confidence Hell find you changed the latter pursued Youve been affected by your new surroundings
Very likely Im affected by everything
By everything but Mr Goodwood Miss Stackpole exclaimed with a slightly harsh hilarity
Isabel failed even to smile back and in a moment she said Did he ask you to speak to me
Not in so many words But his eyes asked it—and his handshake when he bade me goodbye
Thank you for doing so And Isabel turned away
Yes youre changed youve got new ideas over here her friend continued
I hope so said Isabel one should get as many new ideas as possible
Yes but they shouldnt interfere with the old ones when the old ones have been the right ones
Isabel turned about again If you mean that I had any idea with regard to Mr Goodwood— But she faltered before her friends implacable glitter
My dear child you certainly encouraged him
Isabel made for the moment as if to deny this charge instead of which however she presently answered Its very true I did encourage him And then she asked if her companion had learned from Mr Goodwood what he intended to do It was a concession to her curiosity for she disliked discussing the subject and found Henrietta wanting in delicacy
I asked him and he said he meant to do nothing Miss Stackpole answered But I dont believe that hes not a man to do nothing He is a man of high bold action Whatever happens to him hell always do something and whatever he does will always be right
I quite believe that Henrietta might be wanting in delicacy but it touched the girl all the same to hear this declaration
Ah you do care for him her visitor rang out
Whatever he does will always be right Isabel repeated When a mans of that infallible mould what does it matter to him what one feels
It may not matter to him but it matters to ones self
Ah what it matters to me—thats not what were discussing said Isabel with a cold smile
This time her companion was grave Well I dont care you have changed Youre not the girl you were a few short weeks ago and Mr Goodwood will see it I expect him here any day
I hope hell hate me then said Isabel
I believe you hope it about as much as I believe him capable of it
To this observation our heroine made no return she was absorbed in the alarm given her by Henriettas intimation that Caspar Goodwood would present himself at Gardencourt She pretended to herself however that she thought the event impossible and later she communicated her disbelief to her friend For the next fortyeight hours nevertheless she stood prepared to hear the young mans name announced The feeling pressed upon her it made the air sultry as if there were to be a change of weather and the weather socially speaking had been so agreeable during Isabels stay at Gardencourt that any change would be for the worse Her suspense indeed was dissipated the second day She had walked into the park in company with the sociable Bunchie and after strolling about for some time in a manner at once listless and restless had seated herself on a gardenbench within sight of the house beneath a spreading beech where in a white dress ornamented with black ribbons she formed among the flickering shadows a graceful and harmonious image She entertained herself for some moments with talking to the little terrier as to whom the proposal of an ownership divided with her cousin had been applied as impartially as possible—as impartially as Bunchies own somewhat fickle and inconstant sympathies would allow But she was notified for the first time on this occasion of the finite character of Bunchies intellect hitherto she had been mainly struck with its extent It seemed to her at last that she would do well to take a book formerly when heavyhearted she had been able with the help of some wellchosen volume to transfer the seat of consciousness to the organ of pure reason Of late it was not to be denied literature had seemed a fading light and even after she had reminded herself that her uncles library was provided with a complete set of those authors which no gentlemans collection should be without she sat motionless and emptyhanded her eyes bent on the cool green turf of the lawn Her meditations were presently interrupted by the arrival of a servant who handed her a letter The letter bore the London postmark and was addressed in a hand she knew—that came into her vision already so held by him with the vividness of the writers voice or his face This document proved short and may be given entire
MY DEAR MISS ARCHER—I dont know whether you will have heard of my coming to England but even if you have not it will scarcely be a surprise to you You will remember that when you gave me my dismissal at Albany three months ago I did not accept it I protested against it You in fact appeared to accept my protest and to admit that I had the right on my side I had come to see you with the hope that you would let me bring you over to my conviction my reasons for entertaining this hope had been of the best But you disappointed it I found you changed and you were able to give me no reason for the change You admitted that you were unreasonable and it was the only concession you would make but it was a very cheap one because thats not your character No you are not and you never will be arbitrary or capricious Therefore it is that I believe you will let me see you again You told me that Im not disagreeable to you and I believe it for I dont see why that should be I shall always think of you I shall never think of any one else I came to England simply because you are here I couldnt stay at home after you had gone I hated the country because you were not in it If I like this country at present it is only because it holds you I have been to England before but have never enjoyed it much May I not come and see you for half an hour This at present is the dearest wish of yours faithfully
CASPAR GOODWOOD
Isabel read this missive with such deep attention that she had not perceived an approaching tread on the soft grass Looking up however as she mechanically folded it she saw Lord Warburton standing before her
CHAPTER XII
She put the letter into her pocket and offered her visitor a smile of welcome exhibiting no trace of discomposure and half surprised at her coolness
They told me you were out here said Lord Warburton and as there was no one in the drawingroom and its really you that I wish to see I came out with no more ado
Isabel had got up she felt a wish for the moment that he should not sit down beside her I was just going indoors
Please dont do that its much jollier here Ive ridden over from Lockleigh its a lovely day His smile was peculiarly friendly and pleasing and his whole person seemed to emit that radiance of goodfeeling and good fare which had formed the charm of the girls first impression of him It surrounded him like a zone of fine June weather
Well walk about a little then said Isabel who could not divest herself of the sense of an intention on the part of her visitor and who wished both to elude the intention and to satisfy her curiosity about it It had flashed upon her vision once before and it had given her on that occasion as we know a certain alarm This alarm was composed of several elements not all of which were disagreeable she had indeed spent some days in analysing them and had succeeded in separating the pleasant part of the idea of Lord Warburtons making up to her from the painful It may appear to some readers that the young lady was both precipitate and unduly fastidious but the latter of these facts if the charge be true may serve to exonerate her from the discredit of the former She was not eager to convince herself that a territorial magnate as she had heard Lord Warburton called was smitten with her charms the fact of a declaration from such a source carrying with it really more questions than it would answer She had received a strong impression of his being a personage and she had occupied herself in examining the image so conveyed At the risk of adding to the evidence of her selfsufficiency it must be said that there had been moments when this possibility of admiration by a personage represented to her an aggression almost to the degree of an affront quite to the degree of an inconvenience She had never yet known a personage there had been no personages in this sense in her life there were probably none such at all in her native land When she had thought of individual eminence she had thought of it on the basis of character and wit—of what one might like in a gentlemans mind and in his talk She herself was a character—she couldnt help being aware of that and hitherto her visions of a completed consciousness had concerned themselves largely with moral images—things as to which the question would be whether they pleased her sublime soul Lord Warburton loomed up before her largely and brightly as a collection of attributes and powers which were not to be measured by this simple rule but which demanded a different sort of appreciation—an appreciation that the girl with her habit of judging quickly and freely felt she lacked patience to bestow He appeared to demand of her something that no one else as it were had presumed to do What she felt was that a territorial a political a social magnate had conceived the design of drawing her into the system in which he rather invidiously lived and moved A certain instinct not imperious but persuasive told her to resist—murmured to her that virtually she had a system and an orbit of her own It told her other things besides—things which both contradicted and confirmed each other that a girl might do much worse than trust herself to such a man and that it would be very interesting to see something of his system from his own point of view that on the other hand however there was evidently a great deal of it which she should regard only as a complication of every hour and that even in the whole there was something stiff and stupid which would make it a burden Furthermore there was a young man lately come from America who had no system at all but who had a character of which it was useless for her to try to persuade herself that the impression on her mind had been light The letter she carried in her pocket all sufficiently reminded her of the contrary Smile not however I venture to repeat at this simple young woman from Albany who debated whether she should accept an English peer before he had offered himself and who was disposed to believe that on the whole she could do better She was a person of great good faith and if there was a great deal of folly in her wisdom those who judge her severely may have the satisfaction of finding that later she became consistently wise only at the cost of an amount of folly which will constitute almost a direct appeal to charity
Lord Warburton seemed quite ready to walk to sit or to do anything that Isabel should propose and he gave her this assurance with his usual air of being particularly pleased to exercise a social virtue But he was nevertheless not in command of his emotions and as he strolled beside her for a moment in silence looking at her without letting her know it there was something embarrassed in his glance and his misdirected laughter Yes assuredly—as we have touched on the point we may return to it for a moment again—the English are the most romantic people in the world and Lord Warburton was about to give an example of it He was about to take a step which would astonish all his friends and displease a great many of them and which had superficially nothing to recommend it The young lady who trod the turf beside him had come from a queer country across the sea which he knew a good deal about her antecedents her associations were very vague to his mind except in so far as they were generic and in this sense they showed as distinct and unimportant Miss Archer had neither a fortune nor the sort of beauty that justifies a man to the multitude and he calculated that he had spent about twentysix hours in her company He had summed up all this—the perversity of the impulse which had declined to avail itself of the most liberal opportunities to subside and the judgement of mankind as exemplified particularly in the more quicklyjudging half of it he had looked these things well in the face and then had dismissed them from his thoughts He cared no more for them than for the rosebud in his buttonhole It is the good fortune of a man who for the greater part of a lifetime has abstained without effort from making himself disagreeable to his friends that when the need comes for such a course it is not discredited by irritating associations
I hope you had a pleasant ride said Isabel who observed her companions hesitancy
It would have been pleasant if for nothing else than that it brought me here
Are you so fond of Gardencourt the girl asked more and more sure that he meant to make some appeal to her wishing not to challenge him if he hesitated and yet to keep all the quietness of her reason if he proceeded It suddenly came upon her that her situation was one which a few weeks ago she would have deemed deeply romantic the park of an old English countryhouse with the foreground embellished by a great as she supposed nobleman in the act of making love to a young lady who on careful inspection should be found to present remarkable analogies with herself But if she was now the heroine of the situation she succeeded scarcely the less in looking at it from the outside
I care nothing for Gardencourt said her companion I care only for you
Youve known me too short a time to have a right to say that and I cant believe youre serious
These words of Isabels were not perfectly sincere for she had no doubt whatever that he himself was They were simply a tribute to the fact of which she was perfectly aware that those he had just uttered would have excited surprise on the part of a vulgar world And moreover if anything beside the sense she had already acquired that Lord Warburton was not a loose thinker had been needed to convince her the tone in which he replied would quite have served the purpose
Ones right in such a matter is not measured by the time Miss Archer its measured by the feeling itself If I were to wait three months it would make no difference I shall not be more sure of what I mean than I am today Of course Ive seen you very little but my impression dates from the very first hour we met I lost no time I fell in love with you then It was at first sight as the novels say I know now thats not a fancyphrase and I shall think better of novels for evermore Those two days I spent here settled it I dont know whether you suspected I was doing so but I paidmentally speaking I mean—the greatest possible attention to you Nothing you said nothing you did was lost upon me When you came to Lockleigh the other day—or rather when you went away—I was perfectly sure Nevertheless I made up my mind to think it over and to question myself narrowly Ive done so all these days Ive done nothing else I dont make mistakes about such things Im a very judicious animal I dont go off easily but when Im touched its for life Its for life Miss Archer its for life Lord Warburton repeated in the kindest tenderest pleasantest voice Isabel had ever heard and looking at her with eyes charged with the light of a passion that had sifted itself clear of the baser parts of emotion—the heat the violence the unreason—and that burned as steadily as a lamp in a windless place
By tacit consent as he talked they had walked more and more slowly and at last they stopped and he took her hand Ah Lord Warburton how little you know me Isabel said very gently Gently too she drew her hand away
Dont taunt me with that that I dont know you better makes me unhappy enough already its all my loss But thats what I want and it seems to me Im taking the best way If youll be my wife then I shall know you and when I tell you all the good I think of you youll not be able to say its from ignorance
If you know me little I know you even less said Isabel
You mean that unlike yourself I may not improve on acquaintance Ah of course thats very possible But think to speak to you as I do how determined I must be to try and give satisfaction You do like me rather dont you
I like you very much Lord Warburton she answered and at this moment she liked him immensely
I thank you for saying that it shows you dont regard me as a stranger I really believe Ive filled all the other relations of life very creditably and I dont see why I shouldnt fill this one—in which I offer myself to you—seeing that I care so much more about it Ask the people who know me well Ive friends wholl speak for me
I dont need the recommendation of your friends said Isabel
Ah now thats delightful of you You believe in me yourself
Completely Isabel declared She quite glowed there inwardly with the pleasure of feeling she did
The light in her companions eyes turned into a smile and he gave a long exhalation of joy If youre mistaken Miss Archer let me lose all I possess
She wondered whether he meant this for a reminder that he was rich and on the instant felt sure that he didnt He was thinking that as he would have said himself and indeed he might safely leave it to the memory of any interlocutor especially of one to whom he was offering his hand Isabel had prayed that she might not be agitated and her mind was tranquil enough even while she listened and asked herself what it was best she should say to indulge in this incidental criticism What she should say had she asked herself Her foremost wish was to say something if possible not less kind than what he had said to her His words had carried perfect conviction with them she felt she did all so mysteriously matter to him I thank you more than I can say for your offer she returned at last It does me great honour
Ah dont say that he broke out I was afraid youd say something like that I dont see what youve to do with that sort of thing I dont see why you should thank me—its I who ought to thank you for listening to me a man you know so little coming down on you with such a thumper Of course its a great question I must tell you that Id rather ask it than have it to answer myself But the way youve listened—or at least your having listened at all—gives me some hope
Dont hope too much Isabel said
Oh Miss Archer her companion murmured smiling again in his seriousness as if such a warning might perhaps be taken but as the play of high spirits the exuberance of elation
Should you be greatly surprised if I were to beg you not to hope at all Isabel asked
Surprised I dont know what you mean by surprise It wouldnt be that it would be a feeling very much worse
Isabel walked on again she was silent for some minutes Im very sure that highly as I already think of you my opinion of you if I should know you well would only rise But Im by no means sure that you wouldnt be disappointed And I say that not in the least out of conventional modesty its perfectly sincere
Im willing to risk it Miss Archer her companion replied
Its a great question as you say Its a very difficult question
I dont expect you of course to answer it outright Think it over as long as may be necessary If I can gain by waiting Ill gladly wait a long time Only remember that in the end my dearest happiness depends on your answer
I should be very sorry to keep you in suspense said Isabel
Oh dont mind Id much rather have a good answer six months hence than a bad one today
But its very probable that even six months hence I shouldnt be able to give you one that youd think good
Why not since you really like me
Ah you must never doubt that said Isabel
Well then I dont see what more you ask
Its not what I ask its what I can give I dont think I should suit you I really dont think I should
You neednt worry about that Thats my affair You neednt be a better royalist than the king
Its not only that said Isabel but Im not sure I wish to marry any one
Very likely you dont Ive no doubt a great many women begin that way said his lordship who be it averred did not in the least believe in the axiom he thus beguiled his anxiety by uttering But theyre frequently persuaded
Ah thats because they want to be And Isabel lightly laughed Her suitors countenance fell and he looked at her for a while in silence Im afraid its my being an Englishman that makes you hesitate he said presently I know your uncle thinks you ought to marry in your own country
Isabel listened to this assertion with some interest it had never occurred to her that Mr Touchett was likely to discuss her matrimonial prospects with Lord Warburton Has he told you that
I remember his making the remark He spoke perhaps of Americans generally
He appears himself to have found it very pleasant to live in England Isabel spoke in a manner that might have seemed a little perverse but which expressed both her constant perception of her uncles outward felicity and her general disposition to elude any obligation to take a restricted view
It gave her companion hope and he immediately cried with warmth Ah my dear Miss Archer old Englands a very good sort of country you know And it will be still better when weve furbished it up a little
Oh dont furbish it Lord Warburton— leave it alone I like it this way
Well then if you like it Im more and more unable to see your objection to what I propose
Im afraid I cant make you understand
You ought at least to try Ive a fair intelligence Are you afraid—afraid of the climate We can easily live elsewhere you know You can pick out your climate the whole world over
These words were uttered with a breadth of candour that was like the embrace of strong arms—that was like the fragrance straight in her face and by his clean breathing lips of she knew not what strange gardens what charged airs She would have given her little finger at that moment to feel strongly and simply the impulse to answer Lord Warburton its impossible for me to do better in this wonderful world I think than commit myself very gratefully to your loyalty But though she was lost in admiration of her opportunity she managed to move back into the deepest shade of it even as some wild caught creature in a vast cage The splendid security so offered her was not the greatest she could conceive What she finally bethought herself of saying was something very different—something that deferred the need of really facing her crisis Dont think me unkind if I ask you to say no more about this today
Certainly certainly her companion cried I wouldnt bore you for the world
Youve given me a great deal to think about and I promise you to do it justice
Thats all I ask of you of course—and that youll remember how absolutely my happiness is in your hands
Isabel listened with extreme respect to this admonition but she said after a minute I must tell you that what I shall think about is some way of letting you know that what you ask is impossible—letting you know it without making you miserable
Theres no way to do that Miss Archer I wont say that if you refuse me youll kill me I shall not die of it But I shall do worse I shall live to no purpose
Youll live to marry a better woman than I
Dont say that please said Lord Warburton very gravely Thats fair to neither of us
To marry a worse one then
If there are better women than you I prefer the bad ones Thats all I can say he went on with the same earnestness Theres no accounting for tastes
His gravity made her feel equally grave and she showed it by again requesting him to drop the subject for the present Ill speak to you myself—very soon Perhaps I shall write to you
At your convenience yes he replied Whatever time you take it must seem to me long and I suppose I must make the best of that
I shall not keep you in suspense I only want to collect my mind a little
He gave a melancholy sigh and stood looking at her a moment with his hands behind him giving short nervous shakes to his huntingcrop Do you know Im very much afraid of it—of that remarkable mind of yours
Our heroines biographer can scarcely tell why but the question made her start and brought a conscious blush to her cheek She returned his look a moment and then with a note in her voice that might almost have appealed to his compassion So am I my lord she oddly exclaimed
His compassion was not stirred however all he possessed of the faculty of pity was needed at home Ah be merciful be merciful he murmured
I think you had better go said Isabel Ill write to you
Very good but whatever you write Ill come and see you you know And then he stood reflecting his eyes fixed on the observant countenance of Bunchie who had the air of having understood all that had been said and of pretending to carry off the indiscretion by a simulated fit of curiosity as to the roots of an ancient oak Theres one thing more he went on You know if you dont like Lockleigh—if you think its damp or anything of that sort—you need never go within fifty miles of it Its not damp by the way Ive had the house thoroughly examined its perfectly safe and right But if you shouldnt fancy it you neednt dream of living in it Theres no difficulty whatever about that there are plenty of houses I thought Id just mention it some people dont like a moat you know Goodbye
I adore a moat said Isabel Goodbye
He held out his hand and she gave him hers a moment—a moment long enough for him to bend his handsome bared head and kiss it Then still agitating in his mastered emotion his implement of the chase he walked rapidly away He was evidently much upset
Isabel herself was upset but she had not been affected as she would have imagined What she felt was not a great responsibility a great difficulty of choice it appeared to her there had been no choice in the question She couldnt marry Lord Warburton the idea failed to support any enlightened prejudice in favour of the free exploration of life that she had hitherto entertained or was now capable of entertaining She must write this to him she must convince him and that duty was comparatively simple But what disturbed her in the sense that it struck her with wonderment was this very fact that it cost her so little to refuse a magnificent chance With whatever qualifications one would Lord Warburton had offered her a great opportunity the situation might have discomforts might contain oppressive might contain narrowing elements might prove really but a stupefying anodyne but she did her sex no injustice in believing that nineteen women out of twenty would have accommodated themselves to it without a pang Why then upon her also should it not irresistibly impose itself Who was she what was she that she should hold herself superior What view of life what design upon fate what conception of happiness had she that pretended to be larger than these large these fabulous occasions If she wouldnt do such a thing as that then she must do great things she must do something greater Poor Isabel found ground to remind herself from time to time that she must not be too proud and nothing could be more sincere than her prayer to be delivered from such a danger the isolation and loneliness of pride had for her mind the horror of a desert place If it had been pride that interfered with her accepting Lord Warburton such a betise was singularly misplaced and she was so conscious of liking him that she ventured to assure herself it was the very softness and the fine intelligence of sympathy She liked him too much to marry him that was the truth something assured her there was a fallacy somewhere in the glowing logic of the proposition—as he saw it—even though she mightnt put her very finest fingerpoint on it and to inflict upon a man who offered so much a wife with a tendency to criticise would be a peculiarly discreditable act She had promised him she would consider his question and when after he had left her she wandered back to the bench where he had found her and lost herself in meditation it might have seemed that she was keeping her vow But this was not the case she was wondering if she were not a cold hard priggish person and on her at last getting up and going rather quickly back to the house felt as she had said to her friend really frightened at herself
CHAPTER XIII
It was this feeling and not the wish to ask advice—she had no desire whatever for that—that led her to speak to her uncle of what had taken place She wished to speak to some one she should feel more natural more human and her uncle for this purpose presented himself in a more attractive light than either her aunt or her friend Henrietta Her cousin of course was a possible confidant but she would have had to do herself violence to air this special secret to Ralph So the next day after breakfast she sought her occasion Her uncle never left his apartment till the afternoon but he received his cronies as he said in his dressingroom Isabel had quite taken her place in the class so designated which for the rest included the old mans son his physician his personal servant and even Miss Stackpole Mrs Touchett did not figure in the list and this was an obstacle the less to Isabels finding her host alone He sat in a complicated mechanical chair at the open window of his room looking westward over the park and the river with his newspapers and letters piled up beside him his toilet freshly and minutely made and his smooth speculative face composed to benevolent expectation
She approached her point directly I think I ought to let you know that Lord Warburton has asked me to marry him I suppose I ought to tell my aunt but it seems best to tell you first
The old man expressed no surprise but thanked her for the confidence she showed him Do you mind telling me whether you accepted him he then enquired
Ive not answered him definitely yet Ive taken a little time to think of it because that seems more respectful But I shall not accept him
Mr Touchett made no comment upon this he had the air of thinking that whatever interest he might take in the matter from the point of view of sociability he had no active voice in it Well I told you youd be a success over here Americans are highly appreciated
Very highly indeed said Isabel But at the cost of seeming both tasteless and ungrateful I dont think I can marry Lord Warburton
Well her uncle went on of course an old man cant judge for a young lady Im glad you didnt ask me before you made up your mind I suppose I ought to tell you he added slowly but as if it were not of much consequence that Ive known all about it these three days
About Lord Warburtons state of mind
About his intentions as they say here He wrote me a very pleasant letter telling me all about them Should you like to see his letter the old man obligingly asked
Thank you I dont think I care about that But Im glad he wrote to you it was right that he should and he would be certain to do what was right
Ah well I guess you do like him Mr Touchett declared You neednt pretend you dont
I like him extremely Im very free to admit that But I dont wish to marry any one just now
You think some one may come along whom you may like better Well thats very likely said Mr Touchett who appeared to wish to show his kindness to the girl by easing off her decision as it were and finding cheerful reasons for it
I dont care if I dont meet any one else I like Lord Warburton quite well enough she fell into that appearance of a sudden change of point of view with which she sometimes startled and even displeased her interlocutors
Her uncle however seemed proof against either of these impressions Hes a very fine man he resumed in a tone which might have passed for that of encouragement His letter was one of the pleasantest Ive received for some weeks I suppose one of the reasons I liked it was that it was all about you that is all except the part that was about himself I suppose he told you all that
He would have told me everything I wished to ask him Isabel said
But you didnt feel curious
My curiosity would have been idle—once I had determined to decline his offer
You didnt find it sufficiently attractive Mr Touchett enquired
She was silent a little I suppose it was that she presently admitted But I dont know why
Fortunately ladies are not obliged to give reasons said her uncle Theres a great deal thats attractive about such an idea but I dont see why the English should want to entice us away from our native land I know that we try to attract them over there but thats because our population is insufficient Here you know theyre rather crowded However I presume theres room for charming young ladies everywhere
There seems to have been room here for you said Isabel whose eyes had been wandering over the large pleasurespaces of the park
Mr Touchett gave a shrewd conscious smile Theres room everywhere my dear if youll pay for it I sometimes think Ive paid too much for this Perhaps you also might have to pay too much
Perhaps I might the girl replied
That suggestion gave her something more definite to rest on than she had found in her own thoughts and the fact of this association of her uncles mild acuteness with her dilemma seemed to prove that she was concerned with the natural and reasonable emotions of life and not altogether a victim to intellectual eagerness and vague ambitions—ambitions reaching beyond Lord Warburtons beautiful appeal reaching to something indefinable and possibly not commendable In so far as the indefinable had an influence upon Isabels behaviour at this juncture it was not the conception even unformulated of a union with Caspar Goodwood for however she might have resisted conquest at her English suitors large quiet hands she was at least as far removed from the disposition to let the young man from Boston take positive possession of her The sentiment in which She sought refuge after reading his letter was a critical view of his having come abroad for it was part of the influence he had upon her that he seemed to deprive her of the sense of freedom There was a disagreeably strong push a kind of hardness of presence in his way of rising before her She had been haunted at moments by the image by the danger of his disapproval and had wondered—a consideration she had never paid in equal degree to any one else—whether he would like what she did The difficulty was that more than any man she had ever known more than poor Lord Warburton she had begun now to give his lordship the benefit of this epithet Caspar Goodwood expressed for her an energy—and she had already felt it as a power that was of his very nature It was in no degree a matter of his advantages—it was a matter of the spirit that sat in his clearburning eyes like some tireless watcher at a window She might like it or not but he insisted ever with his whole weight and force even in ones usual contact with him one had to reckon with that The idea of a diminished liberty was particularly disagreeable to her at present since she had just given a sort of personal accent to her independence by looking so straight at Lord Warburtons big bribe and yet turning away from it Sometimes Caspar Goodwood had seemed to range himself on the side of her destiny to be the stubbornest fact she knew she said to herself at such moments that she might evade him for a time but that she must make terms with him at last—terms which would be certain to be favourable to himself Her impulse had been to avail herself of the things that helped her to resist such an obligation and this impulse had been much concerned in her eager acceptance of her aunts invitation which had come to her at an hour when she expected from day to day to see Mr Goodwood and when she was glad to have an answer ready for something she was sure he would say to her When she had told him at Albany on the evening of Mrs Touchetts visit that she couldnt then discuss difficult questions dazzled as she was by the great immediate opening of her aunts offer of Europe he declared that this was no answer at all and it was now to obtain a better one that he was following her across the sea To say to herself that he was a kind of grim fate was well enough for a fanciful young woman who was able to take much for granted in him but the reader has a right to a nearer and a clearer view
He was the son of a proprietor of wellknown cottonmills in Massachusetts—a gentleman who had accumulated a considerable fortune in the exercise of this industry Caspar at present managed the works and with a judgement and a temper which in spite of keen competition and languid years had kept their prosperity from dwindling He had received the better part of his education at Harvard College where however he had gained renown rather as a gymnast and an oarsman than as a gleaner of more dispersed knowledge Later on he had learned that the finer intelligence too could vault and pull and strain—might even breaking the record treat itself to rare exploits He had thus discovered in himself a sharp eye for the mystery of mechanics and had invented an improvement in the cottonspinning process which was now largely used and was known by his name You might have seen it in the newspapers in connection with this fruitful contrivance assurance of which he had given to Isabel by showing her in the columns of the New York Interviewer an exhaustive article on the Goodwood patent—an article not prepared by Miss Stackpole friendly as she had proved herself to his more sentimental interests There were intricate bristling things he rejoiced in he liked to organise to contend to administer he could make people work his will believe in him march before him and justify him This was the art as they said of managing men—which rested in him further on a bold though brooding ambition It struck those who knew him well that he might do greater things than carry on a cottonfactory there was nothing cottony about Caspar Goodwood and his friends took for granted that he would somehow and somewhere write himself in bigger letters But it was as if something large and confused something dark and ugly would have to call upon him he was not after all in harmony with mere smug peace and greed and gain an order of things of which the vital breath was ubiquitous advertisement It pleased Isabel to believe that he might have ridden on a plunging steed the whirlwind of a great war—a war like the Civil strife that had overdarkened her conscious childhood and his ripening youth
She liked at any rate this idea of his being by character and in fact a mover of men—liked it much better than some other points in his nature and aspect She cared nothing for his cottonmill—the Goodwood patent left her imagination absolutely cold She wished him no ounce less of his manhood but she sometimes thought he would be rather nicer if he looked for instance a little differently His jaw was too square and set and his figure too straight and stiff these things suggested a want of easy consonance with the deeper rhythms of life Then she viewed with reserve a habit he had of dressing always in the same manner it was not apparently that he wore the same clothes continually for on the contrary his garments had a way of looking rather too new But they all seemed of the same piece the figure the stuff was so drearily usual She had reminded herself more than once that this was a frivolous objection to a person of his importance and then she had amended the rebuke by saying that it would be a frivolous objection only if she were in love with him She was not in love with him and therefore might criticise his small defects as well as his great—which latter consisted in the collective reproach of his being too serious or rather not of his being so since one could never be but certainly of his seeming so He showed his appetites and designs too simply and artlessly when one was alone with him he talked too much about the same subject and when other people were present he talked too little about anything And yet he was of supremely strong clean make—which was so much she saw the different fitted parts of him as she had seen in museums and portraits the different fitted parts of armoured warriors—in plates of steel handsomely inlaid with gold It was very strange where ever was any tangible link between her impression and her act Caspar Goodwood had never corresponded to her idea of a delightful person and she supposed that this was why he left her so harshly critical When however Lord Warburton who not only did correspond with it but gave an extension to the term appealed to her approval she found herself still unsatisfied It was certainly strange
The sense of her incoherence was not a help to answering Mr Goodwoods letter and Isabel determined to leave it a while unhonoured If he had determined to persecute her he must take the consequences foremost among which was his being left to perceive how little it charmed her that he should come down to Gardencourt She was already liable to the incursions of one suitor at this place and though it might be pleasant to be appreciated in opposite quarters there was a kind of grossness in entertaining two such passionate pleaders at once even in a case where the entertainment should consist of dismissing them She made no reply to Mr Goodwood but at the end of three days she wrote to Lord Warburton and the letter belongs to our history
DEAR LORD WARBURTON—A great deal of earnest thought has not led me to change my mind about the suggestion you were so kind as to make me the other day I am not I am really and truly not able to regard you in the light of a companion for life or to think of your home—your various homes—as the settled seat of my existence These things cannot be reasoned about and I very earnestly entreat you not to return to the subject we discussed so exhaustively We see our lives from our own point of view that is the privilege of the weakest and humblest of us and I shall never be able to see mine in the manner you proposed Kindly let this suffice you and do me the justice to believe that I have given your proposal the deeply respectful consideration it deserves It is with this very great regard that I remain sincerely yours
ISABEL ARCHER
While the author of this missive was making up her mind to dispatch it Henrietta Stackpole formed a resolve which was accompanied by no demur She invited Ralph Touchett to take a walk with her in the garden and when he had assented with that alacrity which seemed constantly to testify to his high expectations she informed him that she had a favour to ask of him It may be admitted that at this information the young man flinched for we know that Miss Stackpole had struck him as apt to push an advantage The alarm was unreasoned however for he was clear about the area of her indiscretion as little as advised of its vertical depth and he made a very civil profession of the desire to serve her He was afraid of her and presently told her so When you look at me in a certain way my knees knock together my faculties desert me Im filled with trepidation and I ask only for strength to execute your commands Youve an address that Ive never encountered in any woman
Well Henrietta replied goodhumouredly if I had not known before that you were trying somehow to abash me I should know it now Of course Im easy game—I was brought up with such different customs and ideas Im not used to your arbitrary standards and Ive never been spoken to in America as you have spoken to me If a gentleman conversing with me over there were to speak to me like that I shouldnt know what to make of it We take everything more naturally over there and after all were a great deal more simple I admit that Im very simple myself Of course if you choose to laugh at me for it youre very welcome but I think on the whole I would rather be myself than you Im quite content to be myself I dont want to change There are plenty of people that appreciate me just as I am Its true theyre nice fresh freeborn Americans Henrietta had lately taken up the tone of helpless innocence and large concession I want you to assist me a little she went on I dont care in the least whether I amuse you while you do so or rather Im perfectly willing your amusement should be your reward I want you to help me about Isabel
Has she injured you Ralph asked
If she had I shouldnt mind and I should never tell you What Im afraid of is that shell injure herself
I think thats very possible said Ralph
His companion stopped in the gardenwalk fixing on him perhaps the very gaze that unnerved him That too would amuse you I suppose The way you do say things I never heard any one so indifferent
To Isabel Ah not that
Well youre not in love with her I hope
How can that be when Im in love with Another
Youre in love with yourself thats the Other Miss Stackpole declared Much good may it do you But if you wish to be serious once in your life heres a chance and if you really care for your cousin heres an opportunity to prove it I dont expect you to understand her thats too much to ask But you neednt do that to grant my favour Ill supply the necessary intelligence
I shall enjoy that immensely Ralph exclaimed Ill be Caliban and you shall be Ariel
Youre not at all like Caliban because youre sophisticated and Caliban was not But Im not talking about imaginary characters Im talking about Isabel Isabels intensely real What I wish to tell you is that I find her fearfully changed
Since you came do you mean
Since I came and before I came Shes not the same as she once so beautifully was
As she was in America
Yes in America I suppose you know she comes from there She cant help it but she does
Do you want to change her back again
Of course I do and I want you to help me
Ah said Ralph Im only Caliban Im not Prospero
You were Prospero enough to make her what she has become Youve acted on Isabel Archer since she came here Mr Touchett
I my dear Miss Stackpole Never in the world Isabel Archer has acted on me—yes she acts on every one But Ive been absolutely passive
Youre too passive then You had better stir yourself and be careful Isabels changing every day shes drifting away—right out to sea Ive watched her and I can see it Shes not the bright American girl she was Shes taking different views a different colour and turning away from her old ideals I want to save those ideals Mr Touchett and thats where you come in
Not surely as an ideal
Well I hope not Henrietta replied promptly Ive got a fear in my heart that shes going to marry one of these fell Europeans and I want to prevent it
Ah I see cried Ralph and to prevent it you want me to step in and marry her
Not quite that remedy would be as bad as the disease for youre the typical the fell European from whom I wish to rescue her No I wish you to take an interest in another person—a young man to whom she once gave great encouragement and whom she now doesnt seem to think good enough Hes a thoroughly grand man and a very dear friend of mine and I wish very much you would invite him to pay a visit here
Ralph was much puzzled by this appeal and it is perhaps not to the credit of his purity of mind that he failed to look at it at first in the simplest light It wore to his eyes a tortuous air and his fault was that he was not quite sure that anything in the world could really be as candid as this request of Miss Stackpoles appeared That a young woman should demand that a gentleman whom she described as her very dear friend should be furnished with an opportunity to make himself agreeable to another young woman a young woman whose attention had wandered and whose charms were greater—this was an anomaly which for the moment challenged all his ingenuity of interpretation To read between the lines was easier than to follow the text and to suppose that Miss Stackpole wished the gentleman invited to Gardencourt on her own account was the sign not so much of a vulgar as of an embarrassed mind Even from this venial act of vulgarity however Ralph was saved and saved by a force that I can only speak of as inspiration With no more outward light on the subject than he already possessed he suddenly acquired the conviction that it would be a sovereign injustice to the correspondent of the Interviewer to assign a dishonourable motive to any act of hers This conviction passed into his mind with extreme rapidity it was perhaps kindled by the pure radiance of the young ladys imperturbable gaze He returned this challenge a moment consciously resisting an inclination to frown as one frowns in the presence of larger luminaries Whos the gentleman you speak of
Mr Caspar Goodwood—of Boston He has been extremely attentive to Isabel—just as devoted to her as he can live He has followed her out here and hes at present in London I dont know his address but I guess I can obtain it
Ive never heard of him said Ralph
Well I suppose you havent heard of every one I dont believe he has ever heard of you but thats no reason why Isabel shouldnt marry him
Ralph gave a mild ambiguous laugh What a rage you have for marrying people Do you remember how you wanted to marry me the other day
Ive got over that You dont know how to take such ideas Mr Goodwood does however and thats what I like about him Hes a splendid man and a perfect gentleman and Isabel knows it
Is she very fond of him
If she isnt she ought to be Hes simply wrapped up in her
And you wish me to ask him here said Ralph reflectively
It would be an act of true hospitality
Caspar Goodwood Ralph continued—its rather a striking name
I dont care anything about his name It might be Ezekiel Jenkins and I should say the same Hes the only man I have ever seen whom I think worthy of Isabel
Youre a very devoted friend said Ralph
Of course I am If you say that to pour scorn on me I dont care
I dont say it to pour scorn on you Im very much struck with it
Youre more satiric than ever but I advise you not to laugh at Mr Goodwood
I assure you Im very serious you ought to understand that said Ralph
In a moment his companion understood it I believe you are now youre too serious
Youre difficult to please
Oh youre very serious indeed You wont invite Mr Goodwood
I dont know said Ralph Im capable of strange things Tell me a little about Mr Goodwood Whats he like
Hes just the opposite of you Hes at the head of a cottonfactory a very fine one
Has he pleasant manners asked Ralph
Splendid manners—in the American style
Would he be an agreeable member of our little circle
I dont think hed care much about our little circle Hed concentrate on Isabel
And how would my cousin like that
Very possibly not at all But it will be good for her It will call back her thoughts
Call them back—from where
From foreign parts and other unnatural places Three months ago she gave Mr Goodwood every reason to suppose he was acceptable to her and its not worthy of Isabel to go back on a real friend simply because she has changed the scene Ive changed the scene too and the effect of it has been to make me care more for my old associations than ever Its my belief that the sooner Isabel changes it back again the better I know her well enough to know that she would never be truly happy over here and I wish her to form some strong American tie that will act as a preservative
Arent you perhaps a little too much in a hurry Ralph enquired Dont you think you ought to give her more of a chance in poor old England
A chance to ruin her bright young life Ones never too much in a hurry to save a precious human creature from drowning
As I understand it then said Ralph you wish me to push Mr Goodwood overboard after her Do you know he added that Ive never heard her mention his name
Henrietta gave a brilliant smile Im delighted to hear that it proves how much she thinks of him
Ralph appeared to allow that there was a good deal in this and he surrendered to thought while his companion watched him askance If I should invite Mr Goodwood he finally said it would be to quarrel with him
Dont do that hed prove the better man
You certainly are doing your best to make me hate him I really dont think I can ask him I should be afraid of being rude to him
Its just as you please Henrietta returned I had no idea you were in love with her yourself
Do you really believe that the young man asked with lifted eyebrows
Thats the most natural speech Ive ever heard you make Of course I believe it Miss Stackpole ingeniously said
Well Ralph concluded to prove to you that youre wrong Ill invite him It must be of course as a friend of yours
It will not be as a friend of mine that hell come and it will not be to prove to me that Im wrong that youll ask him—but to prove it to yourself
These last words of Miss Stackpoles on which the two presently separated contained an amount of truth which Ralph Touchett was obliged to recognise but it so far took the edge from too sharp a recognition that in spite of his suspecting it would be rather more indiscreet to keep than to break his promise he wrote Mr Goodwood a note of six lines expressing the pleasure it would give Mr Touchett the elder that he should join a little party at Gardencourt of which Miss Stackpole was a valued member Having sent his letter to the care of a banker whom Henrietta suggested he waited in some suspense He had heard this fresh formidable figure named for the first time for when his mother had mentioned on her arrival that there was a story about the girls having an admirer at home the idea had seemed deficient in reality and he had taken no pains to ask questions the answers to which would involve only the vague or the disagreeable Now however the native admiration of which his cousin was the object had become more concrete it took the form of a young man who had followed her to London who was interested in a cottonmill and had manners in the most splendid of the American styles Ralph had two theories about this intervenes Either his passion was a sentimental fiction of Miss Stackpoles there was always a sort of tacit understanding among women born of the solidarity of the sex that they should discover or invent lovers for each other in which case he was not to be feared and would probably not accept the invitation or else he would accept the invitation and in this event prove himself a creature too irrational to demand further consideration The latter clause of Ralphs argument might have seemed incoherent but it embodied his conviction that if Mr Goodwood were interested in Isabel in the serious manner described by Miss Stackpole he would not care to present himself at Gardencourt on a summons from the latter lady On this supposition said Ralph he must regard her as a thorn on the stem of his rose as an intercessor he must find her wanting in tact
Two days after he had sent his invitation he received a very short note from Caspar Goodwood thanking him for it regretting that other engagements made a visit to Gardencourt impossible and presenting many compliments to Miss Stackpole Ralph handed the note to Henrietta who when she had read it exclaimed Well I never have heard of anything so stiff
Im afraid he doesnt care so much about my cousin as you suppose Ralph observed
No its not that its some subtler motive His natures very deep But Im determined to fathom it and I shall write to him to know what he means
His refusal of Ralphs overtures was vaguely disconcerting from the moment he declined to come to Gardencourt our friend began to think him of importance He asked himself what it signified to him whether Isabels admirers should be desperadoes or laggards they were not rivals of his and were perfectly welcome to act out their genius Nevertheless he felt much curiosity as to the result of Miss Stackpoles promised enquiry into the causes of Mr Goodwoods stiffness—a curiosity for the present ungratified inasmuch as when he asked her three days later if she had written to London she was obliged to confess she had written in vain Mr Goodwood had not replied
I suppose hes thinking it over she said he thinks everything over hes not really at all impetuous But Im accustomed to having my letters answered the same day She presently proposed to Isabel at all events that they should make an excursion to London together If I must tell the truth she observed Im not seeing much at this place and I shouldnt think you were either Ive not even seen that aristocrat—whats his name—Lord Washburton He seems to let you severely alone
Lord Warburtons coming tomorrow I happen to know replied her friend who had received a note from the master of Lockleigh in answer to her own letter Youll have every opportunity of turning him inside out
Well he may do for one letter but whats one letter when you want to write fifty Ive described all the scenery in this vicinity and raved about all the old women and donkeys You may say what you please scenery doesnt make a vital letter I must go back to London and get some impressions of real life I was there but three days before I came away and thats hardly time to get in touch
As Isabel on her journey from New York to Gardencourt had seen even less of the British capital than this it appeared a happy suggestion of Henriettas that the two should go thither on a visit of pleasure The idea struck Isabel as charming he was curious of the thick detail of London which had always loomed large and rich to her They turned over their schemes together and indulged in visions of romantic hours They would stay at some picturesque old inn—one of the inns described by Dickens—and drive over the town in those delightful hansoms Henrietta was a literary woman and the great advantage of being a literary woman was that you could go everywhere and do everything They would dine at a coffeehouse and go afterwards to the play they would frequent the Abbey and the British Museum and find out where Doctor Johnson had lived and Goldsmith and Addison Isabel grew eager and presently unveiled the bright vision to Ralph who burst into a fit of laughter which scarce expressed the sympathy she had desired
Its a delightful plan he said I advise you to go to the Dukes Head in Covent Garden an easy informal oldfashioned place and Ill have you put down at my club
Do you mean its improper Isabel asked Dear me isnt anything proper here With Henrietta surely I may go anywhere she isnt hampered in that way She has travelled over the whole American continent and can at least find her way about this minute island
Ah then said Ralph let me take advantage of her protection to go up to town as well I may never have a chance to travel so safely
CHAPTER XIV
Miss Stackpole would have prepared to start immediately but Isabel as we have seen had been notified that Lord Warburton would come again to Gardencourt and she believed it her duty to remain there and see him For four or five days he had made no response to her letter then he had written very briefly to say he would come to luncheon two days later There was something in these delays and postponements that touched the girl and renewed her sense of his desire to be considerate and patient not to appear to urge her too grossly a consideration the more studied that she was so sure he really liked her Isabel told her uncle she had written to him mentioning also his intention of coming and the old man in consequence left his room earlier than usual and made his appearance at the two oclock repast This was by no means an act of vigilance on his part but the fruit of a benevolent belief that his being of the company might help to cover any conjoined straying away in case Isabel should give their noble visitor another hearing That personage drove over from Lockleigh and brought the elder of his sisters with him a measure presumably dictated by reflexions of the same order as Mr Touchetts The two visitors were introduced to Miss Stackpole who at luncheon occupied a seat adjoining Lord Warburtons Isabel who was nervous and had no relish for the prospect of again arguing the question he had so prematurely opened could not help admiring his goodhumoured selfpossession which quite disguised the symptoms of that preoccupation with her presence it was natural she should suppose him to feel He neither looked at her nor spoke to her and the only sign of his emotion was that he avoided meeting her eyes He had plenty of talk for the others however and he appeared to eat his luncheon with discrimination and appetite Miss Molyneux who had a smooth nunlike forehead and wore a large silver cross suspended from her neck was evidently preoccupied with Henrietta Stackpole upon whom her eyes constantly rested in a manner suggesting a conflict between deep alienation and yearning wonder Of the two ladies from Lockleigh she was the one Isabel had liked best there was such a world of hereditary quiet in her Isabel was sure moreover that her mild forehead and silver cross referred to some weird Anglican mystery—some delightful reinstitution perhaps of the quaint office of the canoness She wondered what Miss Molyneux would think of her if she knew Miss Archer had refused her brother and then she felt sure that Miss Molyneux would never know—that Lord Warburton never told her such things He was fond of her and kind to her but on the whole he told her little Such at least was Isabels theory when at table she was not occupied in conversation she was usually occupied in forming theories about her neighbours According to Isabel if Miss Molyneux should ever learn what had passed between Miss Archer and Lord Warburton she would probably be shocked at such a girls failure to rise or no rather this was our heroines last position she would impute to the young American but a due consciousness of inequality
Whatever Isabel might have made of her opportunities at all events Henrietta Stackpole was by no means disposed to neglect those in which she now found herself immersed Do you know youre the first lord Ive ever seen she said very promptly to her neighbour I suppose you think Im awfully benighted
Youve escaped seeing some very ugly men Lord Warburton answered looking a trifle absently about the table
Are they very ugly They try to make us believe in America that theyre all handsome and magnificent and that they wear wonderful robes and crowns
Ah the robes and crowns are gone out of fashion said Lord Warburton like your tomahawks and revolvers
Im sorry for that I think an aristocracy ought to be splendid Henrietta declared If its not that what is it
Oh you know it isnt much at the best her neighbour allowed Wont you have a potato
I dont care much for these European potatoes I shouldnt know you from an ordinary American gentleman
Do talk to me as if I were one said Lord Warburton I dont see how you manage to get on without potatoes you must find so few things to eat over here
Henrietta was silent a little there was a chance he was not sincere Ive had hardly any appetite since Ive been here she went on at last so it doesnt much matter I dont approve of you you know I feel as if I ought to tell you that
Dont approve of me
Yes I dont suppose any one ever said such a thing to you before did they I dont approve of lords as an institution I think the world has got beyond them—far beyond
Oh so do I I dont approve of myself in the least Sometimes it comes over me—how I should object to myself if I were not myself dont you know But thats rather good by the way—not to be vainglorious
Why dont you give it up then Miss Stackpole enquired
Give up—a— asked Lord Warburton meeting her harsh inflexion with a very mellow one
Give up being a lord
Oh Im so little of one One would really forget all about it if you wretched Americans were not constantly reminding one However I do think of giving it up the little there is left of it one of these days
I should like to see you do it Henrietta exclaimed rather grimly
Ill invite you to the ceremony well have a supper and a dance
Well said Miss Stackpole I like to see all sides I dont approve of a privileged class but I like to hear what they have to say for themselves
Mighty little as you see
I should like to draw you out a little more Henrietta continued But youre always looking away Youre afraid of meeting my eye I see you want to escape me
No Im only looking for those despised potatoes
Please explain about that young lady—your sister—then I dont understand about her Is she a Lady
Shes a capital good girl
I dont like the way you say that—as if you wanted to change the subject Is her position inferior to yours
We neither of us have any position to speak of but shes better off than I because she has none of the bother
Yes she doesnt look as if she had much bother I wish I had as little bother as that You do produce quiet people over here whatever else you may do
Ah you see one takes life easily on the whole said Lord Warburton And then you know were very dull Ah we can be dull when we try
I should advise you to try something else I shouldnt know what to talk to your sister about she looks so different Is that silver cross a badge
A badge
A sign of rank
Lord Warburtons glance had wandered a good deal but at this it met the gaze of his neighbour Oh yes he answered in a moment the women go in for those things The silver cross is worn by the eldest daughters of Viscounts Which was his harmless revenge for having occasionally had his credulity too easily engaged in America After luncheon he proposed to Isabel to come into the gallery and look at the pictures and though she knew he had seen the pictures twenty times she complied without criticising this pretext Her conscience now was very easy ever since she sent him her letter she had felt particularly light of spirit He walked slowly to the end of the gallery staring at its contents and saying nothing and then he suddenly broke out I hoped you wouldnt write to me that way
It was the only way Lord Warburton said the girl Do try and believe that
If I could believe it of course I should let you alone But we cant believe by willing it and I confess I dont understand I could understand your disliking me that I could understand well But that you should admit you do—
What have I admitted Isabel interrupted turning slightly pale
That you think me a good fellow isnt that it She said nothing and he went on You dont seem to have any reason and that gives me a sense of injustice
I have a reason Lord Warburton She said it in a tone that made his heart contract
I should like very much to know it
Ill tell you some day when theres more to show for it
Excuse my saying that in the mean time I must doubt of it
You make me very unhappy said Isabel
Im not sorry for that it may help you to know how I feel Will you kindly answer me a question Isabel made no audible assent but he apparently saw in her eyes something that gave him courage to go on Do you prefer some one else
Thats a question Id rather not answer
Ah you do then her suitor murmured with bitterness
The bitterness touched her and she cried out Youre mistaken I dont
He sat down on a bench unceremoniously doggedly like a man in trouble leaning his elbows on his knees and staring at the floor I cant even be glad of that he said at last throwing himself back against the wall for that would be an excuse
She raised her eyebrows in surprise An excuse Must I excuse myself
He paid however no answer to the question Another idea had come into his head Is it my political opinions Do you think I go too far
I cant object to your political opinions because I dont understand them
You dont care what I think he cried getting up Its all the same to you
Isabel walked to the other side of the gallery and stood there showing him her charming back her light slim figure the length of her white neck as she bent her head and the density of her dark braids She stopped in front of a small picture as if for the purpose of examining it and there was something so young and free in her movement that her very pliancy seemed to mock at him Her eyes however saw nothing they had suddenly been suffused with tears In a moment he followed her and by this time she had brushed her tears away but when she turned round her face was pale and the expression of her eyes strange That reason that I wouldnt tell you—Ill tell it you after all Its that I cant escape my fate
Your fate
I should try to escape it if I were to marry you
I dont understand Why should not that be your fate as well as anything else
Because its not said Isabel femininely I know its not Its not my fate to give up—I know it cant be
Poor Lord Warburton stared an interrogative point in either eye Do you call marrying me giving up
Not in the usual sense Its getting—getting—getting a great deal But its giving up other chances
Other chances for what
I dont mean chances to marry said Isabel her colour quickly coming back to her And then she stopped looking down with a deep frown as if it were hopeless to attempt to make her meaning clear
I dont think it presumptuous in me to suggest that youll gain more than youll lose her companion observed
I cant escape unhappiness said Isabel In marrying you I shall be trying to
I dont know whether youd try to but you certainly would that I must in candour admit he exclaimed with an anxious laugh
I mustnt—I cant cried the girl
Well if youre bent on being miserable I dont see why you should make me so Whatever charms a life of misery may have for you it has none for me
Im not bent on a life of misery said Isabel Ive always been intensely determined to be happy and Ive often believed I should be Ive told people that you can ask them But it comes over me every now and then that I can never be happy in any extraordinary way not by turning away by separating myself
By separating yourself from what
From life From the usual chances and dangers from what most people know and suffer
Lord Warburton broke into a smile that almost denoted hope Why my dear Miss Archer he began to explain with the most considerate eagerness I dont offer you any exoneration from life or from any chances or dangers whatever I wish I could depend upon it I would For what do you take me pray Heaven help me Im not the Emperor of China All I offer you is the chance of taking the common lot in a comfortable sort of way The common lot Why Im devoted to the common lot Strike an alliance with me and I promise you that you shall have plenty of it You shall separate from nothing whatever—not even from your friend Miss Stackpole
Shed never approve of it said Isabel trying to smile and take advantage of this sideissue despising herself too not a little for doing so
Are we speaking of Miss Stackpole his lordship asked impatiently I never saw a person judge things on such theoretic grounds
Now I suppose youre speaking of me said Isabel with humility and she turned away again for she saw Miss Molyneux enter the gallery accompanied by Henrietta and by Ralph
Lord Warburtons sister addressed him with a certain timidity and reminded him she ought to return home in time for tea as she was expecting company to partake of it He made no answer—apparently not having heard her he was preoccupied and with good reason Miss Molyneux—as if he had been Royalty—stood like a ladyinwaiting
Well I never Miss Molyneux said Henrietta Stackpole If I wanted to go hed have to go If I wanted my brother to do a thing hed have to do it
Oh Warburton does everything one wants Miss Molyneux answered with a quick shy laugh How very many pictures you have she went on turning to Ralph
They look a good many because theyre all put together said Ralph But its really a bad way
Oh I think its so nice I wish we had a gallery at Lockleigh Im so very fond of pictures Miss Molyneux went on persistently to Ralph as if she were afraid Miss Stackpole would address her again Henrietta appeared at once to fascinate and to frighten her
Ah yes pictures are very convenient said Ralph who appeared to know better what style of reflexion was acceptable to her
Theyre so very pleasant when it rains the young lady continued It has rained of late so very often
Im sorry youre going away Lord Warburton said Henrietta I wanted to get a great deal more out of you
Im not going away Lord Warburton answered
Your sister says you must In America the gentlemen obey the ladies
Im afraid we have some people to tea said Miss Molyneux looking at her brother
Very good my dear Well go
I hoped you would resist Henrietta exclaimed I wanted to see what Miss Molyneux would do
I never do anything said this young lady
I suppose in your position its sufficient for you to exist Miss Stackpole returned I should like very much to see you at home
You must come to Lockleigh again said Miss Molyneux very sweetly to Isabel ignoring this remark of Isabels friend Isabel looked into her quiet eyes a moment and for that moment seemed to see in their grey depths the reflexion of everything she had rejected in rejecting Lord Warburton—the peace the kindness the honour the possessions a deep security and a great exclusion She kissed Miss Molyneux and then she said Im afraid I can never come again
Never again
Im afraid Im going away
Oh Im so very sorry said Miss Molyneux I think thats so very wrong of you
Lord Warburton watched this little passage then he turned away and stared at a picture Ralph leaning against the rail before the picture with his hands in his pockets had for the moment been watching him
I should like to see you at home said Henrietta whom Lord Warburton found beside him I should like an hours talk with you there are a great many questions I wish to ask you
I shall be delighted to see you the proprietor of Lockleigh answered but Im certain not to be able to answer many of your questions When will you come
Whenever Miss Archer will take me Were thinking of going to London but well go and see you first Im determined to get some satisfaction out of you
If it depends upon Miss Archer Im afraid you wont get much She wont come to Lockleigh she doesnt like the place
She told me it was lovely said Henrietta
Lord Warburton hesitated She wont come all the same You had better come alone he added
Henrietta straightened herself and her large eyes expanded Would you make that remark to an English lady she enquired with soft asperity
Lord Warburton stared Yes if I liked her enough
Youd be careful not to like her enough If Miss Archer wont visit your place again its because she doesnt want to take me I know what she thinks of me and I suppose you think the same—that I oughtnt to bring in individuals Lord Warburton was at a loss he had not been made acquainted with Miss Stackpoles professional character and failed to catch her allusion Miss Archer has been warning you she therefore went on
Warning me
Isnt that why she came off alone with you here—to put you on your guard
Oh dear no said Lord Warburton brazenly our talk had no such solemn character as that
Well youve been on your guard—intensely I suppose its natural to you thats just what I wanted to observe And so too Miss Molyneux—she wouldnt commit herself You have been warned anyway Henrietta continued addressing this young lady but for you it wasnt necessary
I hope not said Miss Molyneux vaguely
Miss Stackpole takes notes Ralph soothingly explained Shes a great satirist she sees through us all and she works us up
Well I must say I never have had such a collection of bad material Henrietta declared looking from Isabel to Lord Warburton and from this nobleman to his sister and to Ralph Theres something the matter with you all youre as dismal as if you had got a bad cable
You do see through us Miss Stackpole said Ralph in a low tone giving her a little intelligent nod as he led the party out of the gallery Theres something the matter with us all
Isabel came behind these two Miss Molyneux who decidedly liked her immensely had taken her arm to walk beside her over the polished floor Lord Warburton strolled on the other side with his hands behind him and his eyes lowered For some moments he said nothing and then Is it true youre going to London he asked
I believe it has been arranged
And when shall you come back
In a few days but probably for a very short time Im going to Paris with my aunt
When then shall I see you again
Not for a good while said Isabel But some day or other I hope
Do you really hope it
Very much
He went a few steps in silence then he stopped and put out his hand Goodbye
Goodbye said Isabel
Miss Molyneux kissed her again and she let the two depart After it without rejoining Henrietta and Ralph she retreated to her own room in which apartment before dinner she was found by Mrs Touchett who had stopped on her way to the salon I may as well tell you said that lady that your uncle has informed me of your relations with Lord Warburton
Isabel considered Relations Theyre hardly relations Thats the strange part of it he has seen me but three or four times
Why did you tell your uncle rather than me Mrs Touchett dispassionately asked
Again the girl hesitated Because he knows Lord Warburton better
Yes but I know you better
Im not sure of that said Isabel smiling
Neither am I after all especially when you give me that rather conceited look One would think you were awfully pleased with yourself and had carried off a prize I suppose that when you refuse an offer like Lord Warburtons its because you expect to do something better
Ah my uncle didnt say that cried Isabel smiling still
CHAPTER XV
It had been arranged that the two young ladies should proceed to London under Ralphs escort though Mrs Touchett looked with little favour on the plan It was just the sort of plan she said that Miss Stackpole would be sure to suggest and she enquired if the correspondent of the Interviewer was to take the party to stay at her favourite boardinghouse
I dont care where she takes us to stay so long as theres local colour said Isabel Thats what were going to London for
I suppose that after a girl has refused an English lord she may do anything her aunt rejoined After that one neednt stand on trifles
Should you have liked me to marry Lord Warburton Isabel enquired
Of course I should
I thought you disliked the English so much
So I do but its all the greater reason for making use of them
Is that your idea of marriage And Isabel ventured to add that her aunt appeared to her to have made very little use of Mr Touchett
Your uncles not an English nobleman said Mrs Touchett though even if he had been I should still probably have taken up my residence in Florence
Do you think Lord Warburton could make me any better than I am the girl asked with some animation I dont mean Im too good to improve I mean that I dont love Lord Warburton enough to marry him
You did right to refuse him then said Mrs Touchett in her smallest sparest voice Only the next great offer you get I hope youll manage to come up to your standard
We had better wait till the offer comes before we talk about it I hope very much I may have no more offers for the present They upset me completely
You probably wont be troubled with them if you adopt permanently the Bohemian manner of life However Ive promised Ralph not to criticise
Ill do whatever Ralph says is right Isabel returned Ive unbounded confidence in Ralph
His mothers much obliged to you this lady dryly laughed
It seems to me indeed she ought to feel it Isabel irrepressibly answered
Ralph had assured her that there would be no violation of decency in their paying a visit—the little party of three—to the sights of the metropolis but Mrs Touchett took a different view Like many ladies of her country who had lived a long time in Europe she had completely lost her native tact on such points and in her reaction not in itself deplorable against the liberty allowed to young persons beyond the seas had fallen into gratuitous and exaggerated scruples Ralph accompanied their visitors to town and established them at a quiet inn in a street that ran at right angles to Piccadilly His first idea had been to take them to his fathers house in Winchester Square a large dull mansion which at this period of the year was shrouded in silence and brown holland but he bethought himself that the cook being at Gardencourt there was no one in the house to get them their meals and Pratts Hotel accordingly became their restingplace Ralph on his side found quarters in Winchester Square having a den there of which he was very fond and being familiar with deeper fears than that of a cold kitchen He availed himself largely indeed of the resources of Pratts Hotel beginning his day with an early visit to his fellow travellers who had Mr Pratt in person in a large bulging white waistcoat to remove their dishcovers Ralph turned up as he said after breakfast and the little party made out a scheme of entertainment for the day As London wears in the month of September a face blank but for its smears of prior service the young man who occasionally took an apologetic tone was obliged to remind his companion to Miss Stackpoles high derision that there wasnt a creature in town
I suppose you mean the aristocracy are absent Henrietta answered but I dont think you could have a better proof that if they were absent altogether they wouldnt be missed It seems to me the place is about as full as it can be Theres no one here of course but three or four millions of people What is it you call them—the lowermiddle class Theyre only the population of London and thats of no consequence
Ralph declared that for him the aristocracy left no void that Miss Stackpole herself didnt fill and that a more contented man was nowhere at that moment to be found In this he spoke the truth for the stale September days in the huge halfempty town had a charm wrapped in them as a coloured gem might be wrapped in a dusty cloth When he went home at night to the empty house in Winchester Square after a chain of hours with his comparatively ardent friends he wandered into the big dusky diningroom where the candle he took from the halltable after letting himself in constituted the only illumination The square was still the house was still when he raised one of the windows of the diningroom to let in the air he heard the slow creak of the boots of a lone constable His own step in the empty place seemed loud and sonorous some of the carpets had been raised and whenever he moved he roused a melancholy echo He sat down in one of the armchairs the big dark dining table twinkled here and there in the small candlelight the pictures on the wall all of them very brown looked vague and incoherent There was a ghostly presence as of dinners long since digested of tabletalk that had lost its actuality This hint of the supernatural perhaps had something to do with the fact that his imagination took a flight and that he remained in his chair a long time beyond the hour at which he should have been in bed doing nothing not even reading the evening paper I say he did nothing and I maintain the phrase in the face of the fact that he thought at these moments of Isabel To think of Isabel could only be for him an idle pursuit leading to nothing and profiting little to any one His cousin had not yet seemed to him so charming as during these days spent in sounding touristfashion the deeps and shallows of the metropolitan element Isabel was full of premises conclusions emotions if she had come in search of local colour she found it everywhere She asked more questions than he could answer and launched brave theories as to historic cause and social effect that he was equally unable to accept or to refute The party went more than once to the British Museum and to that brighter palace of art which reclaims for antique variety so large an area of a monotonous suburb they spent a morning in the Abbey and went on a pennysteamer to the Tower they looked at pictures both in public and private collections and sat on various occasions beneath the great trees in Kensington Gardens Henrietta proved an indestructible sightseer and a more lenient judge than Ralph had ventured to hope She had indeed many disappointments and London at large suffered from her vivid remembrance of the strong points of the American civic idea but she made the best of its dingy dignities and only heaved an occasional sigh and uttered a desultory Well which led no further and lost itself in retrospect The truth was that as she said herself she was not in her element Ive not a sympathy with inanimate objects she remarked to Isabel at the National Gallery and she continued to suffer from the meagreness of the glimpse that had as yet been vouchsafed to her of the inner life Landscapes by Turner and Assyrian bulls were a poor substitute for the literary dinnerparties at which she had hoped to meet the genius and renown of Great Britain
Where are your public men where are your men and women of intellect she enquired of Ralph standing in the middle of Trafalgar Square as if she had supposed this to be a place where she would naturally meet a few Thats one of them on the top of the column you say—Lord Nelson Was he a lord too Wasnt he high enough that they had to stick him a hundred feet in the air Thats the past—I dont care about the past I want to see some of the leading minds of the present I wont say of the future because I dont believe much in your future Poor Ralph had few leading minds among his acquaintance and rarely enjoyed the pleasure of buttonholing a celebrity a state of things which appeared to Miss Stackpole to indicate a deplorable want of enterprise If I were on the other side I should call she said and tell the gentleman whoever he might be that I had heard a great deal about him and had come to see for myself But I gather from what you say that this is not the custom here You seem to have plenty of meaningless customs but none of those that would help along We are in advance certainly I suppose I shall have to give up the social side altogether and Henrietta though she went about with her guidebook and pencil and wrote a letter to the Interviewer about the Tower in which she described the execution of Lady Jane Grey had a sad sense of falling below her mission
The incident that had preceded Isabels departure from Gardencourt left a painful trace in our young womans mind when she felt again in her face as from a recurrent wave the cold breath of her last suitors surprise she could only muffle her head till the air cleared She could not have done less than what she did this was certainly true But her necessity all the same had been as graceless as some physical act in a strained attitude and she felt no desire to take credit for her conduct Mixed with this imperfect pride nevertheless was a feeling of freedom which in itself was sweet and which as she wandered through the great city with her illmatched companions occasionally throbbed into odd demonstrations When she walked in Kensington Gardens she stopped the children mainly of the poorer sort whom she saw playing on the grass she asked them their names and gave them sixpence and when they were pretty kissed them Ralph noticed these quaint charities he noticed everything she did One afternoon that his companions might pass the time he invited them to tea in Winchester Square and he had the house set in order as much as possible for their visit There was another guest to meet them an amiable bachelor an old friend of Ralphs who happened to be in town and for whom prompt commerce with Miss Stackpole appeared to have neither difficulty nor dread Mr Bantling a stout sleek smiling man of forty wonderfully dressed universally informed and incoherently amused laughed immoderately at everything Henrietta said gave her several cups of tea examined in her society the bricabrac of which Ralph had a considerable collection and afterwards when the host proposed they should go out into the square and pretend it was a fetechampetre walked round the limited enclosure several times with her and at a dozen turns of their talk bounded responsive—as with a positive passion for argument—to her remarks upon the inner life
Oh I see I dare say you found it very quiet at Gardencourt Naturally theres not much going on there when theres such a lot of illness about Touchetts very bad you know the doctors have forbidden his being in England at all and he has only come back to take care of his father The old man I believe has half a dozen things the matter with him They call it gout but to my certain knowledge he has organic disease so developed that you may depend upon it hell go some day soon quite quickly Of course that sort of thing makes a dreadfully dull house I wonder they have people when they can do so little for them Then I believe Mr Touchetts always squabbling with his wife she lives away from her husband you know in that extraordinary American way of yours If you want a house where theres always something going on I recommend you to go down and stay with my sister Lady Pensil in Bedfordshire Ill write to her tomorrow and Im sure shell be delighted to ask you I know just what you want—you want a house where they go in for theatricals and picnics and that sort of thing My sisters just that sort of woman shes always getting up something or other and shes always glad to have the sort of people who help her Im sure shell ask you down by return of post shes tremendously fond of distinguished people and writers She writes herself you know but I havent read everything she has written Its usually poetry and I dont go in much for poetry—unless its Byron I suppose you think a great deal of Byron in America Mr Bantling continued expanding in the stimulating air of Miss Stackpoles attention bringing up his sequences promptly and changing his topic with an easy turn of hand Yet he none the less gracefully kept in sight of the idea dazzling to Henrietta of her going to stay with Lady Pensil in Bedfordshire I understand what you want you want to see some genuine English sport The Touchetts arent English at all you know they have their own habits their own language their own food—some odd religion even I believe of their own The old man thinks its wicked to hunt Im told You must get down to my sisters in time for the theatricals and Im sure shell be glad to give you a part Im sure you act well I know youre very clever My sisters forty years old and has seven children but shes going to play the principal part Plain as she is she makes up awfully well—I will say for her Of course you neednt act if you dont want to
In this manner Mr Bantling delivered himself while they strolled over the grass in Winchester Square which although it had been peppered by the London soot invited the tread to linger Henrietta thought her blooming easyvoiced bachelor with his impressibility to feminine merit and his splendid range of suggestion a very agreeable man and she valued the opportunity he offered her I dont know but I would go if your sister should ask me I think it would be my duty What do you call her name
Pensil Its an odd name but it isnt a bad one
I think one names as good as another But whats her rank
Oh shes a barons wife a convenient sort of rank Youre fine enough and youre not too fine
I dont know but what shed be too fine for me What do you call the place she lives in—Bedfordshire
She lives away in the northern corner of it Its a tiresome country but I dare say you wont mind it Ill try and run down while youre there
All this was very pleasant to Miss Stackpole and she was sorry to be obliged to separate from Lady Pensils obliging brother But it happened that she had met the day before in Piccadilly some friends whom she had not seen for a year the Miss Climbers two ladies from Wilmington Delaware who had been travelling on the Continent and were now preparing to reembark Henrietta had had a long interview with them on the Piccadilly pavement and though the three ladies all talked at once they had not exhausted their store It had been agreed therefore that Henrietta should come and dine with them in their lodgings in Jermyn Street at six oclock on the morrow and she now bethought herself of this engagement She prepared to start for Jermyn Street taking leave first of Ralph Touchett and Isabel who seated on garden chairs in another part of the enclosure were occupied—if the term may be used—with an exchange of amenities less pointed than the practical colloquy of Miss Stackpole and Mr Bantling When it had been settled between Isabel and her friend that they should be reunited at some reputable hour at Pratts Hotel Ralph remarked that the latter must have a cab She couldnt walk all the way to Jermyn Street
I suppose you mean its improper for me to walk alone Henrietta exclaimed Merciful powers have I come to this
Theres not the slightest need of your walking alone Mr Bantling gaily interposed I should be greatly pleased to go with you
I simply meant that youd be late for dinner Ralph returned Those poor ladies may easily believe that we refuse at the last to spare you
You had better have a hansom Henrietta said Isabel
Ill get you a hansom if youll trust me Mr Bantling went on
We might walk a little till we meet one
I dont see why I shouldnt trust him do you Henrietta enquired of Isabel
I dont see what Mr Bantling could do to you Isabel obligingly answered but if you like well walk with you till you find your cab
Never mind well go alone Come on Mr Bantling and take care you get me a good one
Mr Bantling promised to do his best and the two took their departure leaving the girl and her cousin together in the square over which a clear September twilight had now begun to gather It was perfectly still the wide quadrangle of dusky houses showed lights in none of the windows where the shutters and blinds were closed the pavements were a vacant expanse and putting aside two small children from a neighbouring slum who attracted by symptoms of abnormal animation in the interior poked their faces between the rusty rails of the enclosure the most vivid object within sight was the big red pillarpost on the southeast corner
Henrietta will ask him to get into the cab and go with her to Jermyn Street Ralph observed He always spoke of Miss Stackpole as Henrietta
Very possibly said his companion
Or rather no she wont he went on But Bantling will ask leave to get in
Very likely again Im glad very theyre such good friends
She has made a conquest He thinks her a brilliant woman It may go far said Ralph
Isabel was briefly silent I call Henrietta a very brilliant woman but I dont think it will go far They would never really know each other He has not the least idea what she really is and she has no just comprehension of Mr Bantling
Theres no more usual basis of union than a mutual misunderstanding But it ought not to be so difficult to understand Bob Bantling Ralph added He is a very simple organism
Yes but Henriettas a simpler one still And pray what am I to do Isabel asked looking about her through the fading light in which the limited landscapegardening of the square took on a large and effective appearance I dont imagine that youll propose that you and I for our amusement shall drive about London in a hansom
Theres no reason we shouldnt stay here—if you dont dislike it Its very warm there will be half an hour yet before dark and if you permit it Ill light a cigarette
You may do what you please said Isabel if youll amuse me till seven oclock I propose at that hour to go back and partake of a simple and solitary repast—two poached eggs and a muffin—at Pratts Hotel
Maynt I dine with you Ralph asked
No youll dine at your club
They had wandered back to their chairs in the centre of the square again and Ralph had lighted his cigarette It would have given him extreme pleasure to be present in person at the modest little feast she had sketched but in default of this he liked even being forbidden For the moment however he liked immensely being alone with her in the thickening dusk in the centre of the multitudinous town it made her seem to depend upon him and to be in his power This power he could exert but vaguely the best exercise of it was to accept her decisions submissively which indeed there was already an emotion in doing Why wont you let me dine with you he demanded after a pause
Because I dont care for it
I suppose youre tired of me
I shall be an hour hence You see I have the gift of foreknowledge
Oh I shall be delightful meanwhile said Ralph
But he said nothing more and as she made no rejoinder they sat some time in a stillness which seemed to contradict his promise of entertainment It seemed to him she was preoccupied and he wondered what she was thinking about there were two or three very possible subjects At last he spoke again Is your objection to my society this evening caused by your expectation of another visitor
She turned her head with a glance of her clear fair eyes Another visitor What visitor should I have
He had none to suggest which made his question seem to himself silly as well as brutal Youve a great many friends that I dont know Youve a whole past from which I was perversely excluded
You were reserved for my future You must remember that my past is over there across the water Theres none of it here in London
Very good then since your future is seated beside you Capital thing to have your future so handy And Ralph lighted another cigarette and reflected that Isabel probably meant she had received news that Mr Caspar Goodwood had crossed to Paris After he had lighted his cigarette he puffed it a while and then he resumed I promised just now to be very amusing but you see I dont come up to the mark and the fact is theres a good deal of temerity in ones undertaking to amuse a person like you What do you care for my feeble attempts Youve grand ideas—youve a high standard in such matters I ought at least to bring in a band of music or a company of mountebanks
One mountebanks enough and you do very well Pray go on and in another ten minutes I shall begin to laugh
I assure you Im very serious said Ralph You do really ask a great deal
I dont know what you mean I ask nothing
You accept nothing said Ralph She coloured and now suddenly it seemed to her that she guessed his meaning But why should he speak to her of such things He hesitated a little and then he continued Theres something I should like very much to say to you Its a question I wish to ask It seems to me Ive a right to ask it because Ive a kind of interest in the answer
Ask what you will Isabel replied gently and Ill try to satisfy you
Well then I hope you wont mind my saying that Warburton has told me of something that has passed between you
Isabel suppressed a start she sat looking at her open fan Very good I suppose it was natural he should tell you
I have his leave to let you know he has done so He has some hope still said Ralph
Still
He had it a few days ago
I dont believe he has any now said the girl
Im very sorry for him then hes such an honest man
Pray did he ask you to talk to me
No not that But he told me because he couldnt help it Were old friends and he was greatly disappointed He sent me a line asking me to come and see him and I drove over to Lockleigh the day before he and his sister lunched with us He was very heavyhearted he had just got a letter from you
Did he show you the letter asked Isabel with momentary loftiness
By no means But he told me it was a neat refusal I was very sorry for him Ralph repeated
For some moments Isabel said nothing then at last Do you know how often he had seen me she enquired Five or six times
Thats to your glory
Its not for that I say it
What then do you say it for Not to prove that poor Warburtons state of minds superficial because Im pretty sure you dont think that
Isabel certainly was unable to say she thought it but presently she said something else If youve not been requested by Lord Warburton to argue with me then youre doing it disinterestedly—or for the love of argument
Ive no wish to argue with you at all I only wish to leave you alone Im simply greatly interested in your own sentiments
Im greatly obliged to you cried Isabel with a slightly nervous laugh
Of course you mean that Im meddling in what doesnt concern me But why shouldnt I speak to you of this matter without annoying you or embarrassing myself Whats the use of being your cousin if I cant have a few privileges Whats the use of adoring you without hope of a reward if I cant have a few compensations Whats the use of being ill and disabled and restricted to mere spectatorship at the game of life if I really cant see the show when Ive paid so much for my ticket Tell me this Ralph went on while she listened to him with quickened attention What had you in mind when you refused Lord Warburton
What had I in mind
What was the logic—the view of your situation—that dictated so remarkable an act
I didnt wish to marry him—if thats logic
No thats not logic—and I knew that before Its really nothing you know What was it you said to yourself You certainly said more than that
Isabel reflected a moment then answered with a question of her own Why do you call it a remarkable act Thats what your mother thinks too
Warburtons such a thorough good sort as a man I consider he has hardly a fault And then hes what they call here no end of a swell He has immense possessions and his wife would be thought a superior being He unites the intrinsic and the extrinsic advantages
Isabel watched her cousin as to see how far he would go I refused him because he was too perfect then Im not perfect myself and hes too good for me Besides his perfection would irritate me
Thats ingenious rather than candid said Ralph As a fact you think nothing in the world too perfect for you
Do you think Im so good
No but youre exacting all the same without the excuse of thinking yourself good Nineteen women out of twenty however even of the most exacting sort would have managed to do with Warburton Perhaps you dont know how he has been stalked
I dont wish to know But it seems to me said Isabel that one day when we talked of him you mentioned odd things in him Ralph smokingly considered I hope that what I said then had no weight with you for they were not faults the things I spoke of they were simply peculiarities of his position If I had known he wished to marry you Id never have alluded to them I think I said that as regards that position he was rather a sceptic It would have been in your power to make him a believer
I think not I dont understand the matter and Im not conscious of any mission of that sort Youre evidently disappointed Isabel added looking at her cousin with rueful gentleness Youd have liked me to make such a marriage
Not in the least Im absolutely without a wish on the subject I dont pretend to advise you and I content myself with watching you—with the deepest interest
She gave rather a conscious sigh I wish I could be as interesting to myself as I am to you
There youre not candid again youre extremely interesting to yourself Do you know however said Ralph that if youve really given Warburton his final answer Im rather glad it has been what it was I dont mean Im glad for you and still less of course for him Im glad for myself
Are you thinking of proposing to me
By no means From the point of view I speak of that would be fatal I should kill the goose that supplies me with the material of my inimitable omelettes I use that animal as the symbol of my insane illusions What I mean is that I shall have the thrill of seeing what a young lady does who wont marry Lord Warburton
Thats what your mother counts upon too said Isabel
Ah there will be plenty of spectators We shall hang on the rest of your career I shall not see all of it but I shall probably see the most interesting years Of course if you were to marry our friend youd still have a career—a very decent in fact a very brilliant one But relatively speaking it would be a little prosaic It would be definitely marked out in advance it would be wanting in the unexpected You know Im extremely fond of the unexpected and now that youve kept the game in your hands I depend on your giving us some grand example of it
I dont understand you very well said Isabel but I do so well enough to be able to say that if you look for grand examples of anything from me I shall disappoint you
Youll do so only by disappointing yourself and that will go hard with you
To this she made no direct reply there was an amount of truth in it that would bear consideration At last she said abruptly I dont see what harm there is in my wishing not to tie myself I dont want to begin life by marrying There are other things a woman can do
Theres nothing she can do so well But youre of course so manysided
If ones twosided its enough said Isabel
Youre the most charming of polygons her companion broke out At a glance from his companion however he became grave and to prove it went on You want to see life—youll be hanged if you dont as the young men say
I dont think I want to see it as the young men want to see it But I do want to look about me
You want to drain the cup of experience
No I dont wish to touch the cup of experience Its a poisoned drink I only want to see for myself
You want to see but not to feel Ralph remarked
I dont think that if ones a sentient being one can make the distinction Im a good deal like Henrietta The other day when I asked her if she wished to marry she said Not till Ive seen Europe I too dont wish to marry till Ive seen Europe
You evidently expect a crowned head will be struck with you
No that would be worse than marrying Lord Warburton But its getting very dark Isabel continued and I must go home She rose from her place but Ralph only sat still and looked at her As he remained there she stopped and they exchanged a gaze that was full on either side but especially on Ralphs of utterances too vague for words
Youve answered my question he said at last Youve told me what I wanted Im greatly obliged to you
It seems to me Ive told you very little
Youve told me the great thing that the world interests you and that you want to throw yourself into it
Her silvery eyes shone a moment in the dusk I never said that I think you meant it Dont repudiate it Its so fine
I dont know what youre trying to fasten upon me for Im not in the least an adventurous spirit Women are not like men
Ralph slowly rose from his seat and they walked together to the gate of the square No he said women rarely boast of their courage Men do so with a certain frequency
Men have it to boast of
Women have it too Youve a great deal
Enough to go home in a cab to Pratts Hotel but not more
Ralph unlocked the gate and after they had passed out he fastened it Well find your cab he said and as they turned toward a neighbouring street in which this quest might avail he asked her again if he mightnt see her safely to the inn
By no means she answered youre very tired you must go home and go to bed
The cab was found and he helped her into it standing a moment at the door When people forget Im a poor creature Im often incommoded he said But its worse when they remember it
CHAPTER XVI
She had had no hidden motive in wishing him not to take her home it simply struck her that for some days past she had consumed an inordinate quantity of his time and the independent spirit of the American girl whom extravagance of aid places in an attitude that she ends by finding affected had made her decide that for these few hours she must suffice to herself She had moreover a great fondness for intervals of solitude which since her arrival in England had been but meagrely met It was a luxury she could always command at home and she had wittingly missed it That evening however an incident occurred which—had there been a critic to note it—would have taken all colour from the theory that the wish to be quite by herself had caused her to dispense with her cousins attendance Seated toward nine oclock in the dim illumination of Pratts Hotel and trying with the aid of two tall candles to lose herself in a volume she had brought from Gardencourt she succeeded only to the extent of reading other words than those printed on the page—words that Ralph had spoken to her that afternoon Suddenly the wellmuffed knuckle of the waiter was applied to the door which presently gave way to his exhibition even as a glorious trophy of the card of a visitor When this memento had offered to her fixed sight the name of Mr Caspar Goodwood she let the man stand before her without signifying her wishes
Shall I show the gentleman up maam he asked with a slightly encouraging inflexion
Isabel hesitated still and while she hesitated glanced at the mirror He may come in she said at last and waited for him not so much smoothing her hair as girding her spirit
Caspar Goodwood was accordingly the next moment shaking hands with her but saying nothing till the servant had left the room Why didnt you answer my letter he then asked in a quick full slightly peremptory tone—the tone of a man whose questions were habitually pointed and who was capable of much insistence
She answered by a ready question How did you know I was here
Miss Stackpole let me know said Caspar Goodwood She told me you would probably be at home alone this evening and would be willing to see me
Where did she see you—to tell you that
She didnt see me she wrote to me
Isabel was silent neither had sat down they stood there with an air of defiance or at least of contention Henrietta never told me she was writing to you she said at last This is not kind of her
Is it so disagreeable to you to see me asked the young man
I didnt expect it I dont like such surprises
But you knew I was in town it was natural we should meet
Do you call this meeting I hoped I shouldnt see you In so big a place as London it seemed very possible
It was apparently repugnant to you even to write to me her visitor went on
Isabel made no reply the sense of Henrietta Stackpoles treachery as she momentarily qualified it was strong within her Henriettas certainly not a model of all the delicacies she exclaimed with bitterness It was a great liberty to take
I suppose Im not a model either—of those virtues or of any others The faults mine as much as hers
As Isabel looked at him it seemed to her that his jaw had never been more square This might have displeased her but she took a different turn No its not your fault so much as hers What youve done was inevitable I suppose for you
It was indeed cried Caspar Goodwood with a voluntary laugh
And now that Ive come at any rate maynt I stay
You may sit down certainly
She went back to her chair again while her visitor took the first place that offered in the manner of a man accustomed to pay little thought to that sort of furtherance Ive been hoping every day for an answer to my letter You might have written me a few lines
It wasnt the trouble of writing that prevented me I could as easily have written you four pages as one But my silence was an intention Isabel said I thought it the best thing
He sat with his eyes fixed on hers while she spoke then he lowered them and attached them to a spot in the carpet as if he were making a strong effort to say nothing but what he ought He was a strong man in the wrong and he was acute enough to see that an uncompromising exhibition of his strength would only throw the falsity of his position into relief Isabel was not incapable of tasting any advantage of position over a person of this quality and though little desirous to flaunt it in his face she could enjoy being able to say You know you oughtnt to have written to me yourself and to say it with an air of triumph
Caspar Goodwood raised his eyes to her own again they seemed to shine through the vizard of a helmet He had a strong sense of justice and was ready any day in the year—over and above this—to argue the question of his rights You said you hoped never to hear from me again I know that But I never accepted any such rule as my own I warned you that you should hear very soon
I didnt say I hoped NEVER to hear from you said Isabel
Not for five years then for ten years twenty years Its the same thing
Do you find it so It seems to me theres a great difference I can imagine that at the end of ten years we might have a very pleasant correspondence I shall have matured my epistolary style
She looked away while she spoke these words knowing them of so much less earnest a cast than the countenance of her listener Her eyes however at last came back to him just as he said very irrelevantly Are you enjoying your visit to your uncle
Very much indeed She dropped but then she broke out What good do you expect to get by insisting
The good of not losing you
Youve no right to talk of losing whats not yours And even from your own point of view Isabel added you ought to know when to let one alone
I disgust you very much said Caspar Goodwood gloomily not as if to provoke her to compassion for a man conscious of this blighting fact but as if to set it well before himself so that he might endeavour to act with his eyes on it
Yes you dont at all delight me you dont fit in not in any way just now and the worst is that your putting it to the proof in this manner is quite unnecessary It wasnt certainly as if his nature had been soft so that pinpricks would draw blood from it and from the first of her acquaintance with him and of her having to defend herself against a certain air that he had of knowing better what was good for her than she knew herself she had recognised the fact that perfect frankness was her best weapon To attempt to spare his sensibility or to escape from him edgewise as one might do from a man who had barred the way less sturdily—this in dealing with Caspar Goodwood who would grasp at everything of every sort that one might give him was wasted agility It was not that he had not susceptibilities but his passive surface as well as his active was large and hard and he might always be trusted to dress his wounds so far as they required it himself She came back even for her measure of possible pangs and aches in him to her old sense that he was naturally plated and steeled armed essentially for aggression
I cant reconcile myself to that he simply said There was a dangerous liberality about it for she felt how open it was to him to make the point that he had not always disgusted her
I cant reconcile myself to it either and its not the state of things that ought to exist between us If youd only try to banish me from your mind for a few months we should be on good terms again
I see If I should cease to think of you at all for a prescribed time I should find I could keep it up indefinitely
Indefinitely is more than I ask Its more even than I should like
You know that what you ask is impossible said the young man taking his adjective for granted in a manner she found irritating
Arent you capable of making a calculated effort she demanded Youre strong for everything else why shouldnt you be strong for that
An effort calculated for what And then as she hung fire Im capable of nothing with regard to you he went on but just of being infernally in love with you If ones strong one loves only the more strongly
Theres a good deal in that and indeed our young lady felt the force of it—felt it thrown off into the vast of truth and poetry as practically a bait to her imagination But she promptly came round Think of me or not as you find most possible only leave me alone
Until when
Well for a year or two
Which do you mean Between one year and two theres all the difference in the world
Call it two then said Isabel with a studied effect of eagerness
And what shall I gain by that her friend asked with no sign of wincing
Youll have obliged me greatly
And what will be my reward
Do you need a reward for an act of generosity
Yes when it involves a great sacrifice
Theres no generosity without some sacrifice Men dont understand such things If you make the sacrifice youll have all my admiration
I dont care a cent for your admiration—not one straw with nothing to show for it When will you marry me Thats the only question
Never—if you go on making me feel only as I feel at present
What do I gain then by not trying to make you feel otherwise
Youll gain quite as much as by worrying me to death Caspar Goodwood bent his eyes again and gazed a while into the crown of his hat A deep flush overspread his face she could see her sharpness had at last penetrated This immediately had a value—classic romantic redeeming what did she know for her the strong man in pain was one of the categories of the human appeal little charm as he might exert in the given case Why do you make me say such things to you she cried in a trembling voice I only want to be gentle—to be thoroughly kind Its not delightful to me to feel people care for me and yet to have to try and reason them out of it I think others also ought to be considerate we have each to judge for ourselves I know youre considerate as much as you can be youve good reasons for what you do But I really dont want to marry or to talk about it at all now I shall probably never do it—no never Ive a perfect right to feel that way and its no kindness to a woman to press her so hard to urge her against her will If I give you pain I can only say Im very sorry Its not my fault I cant marry you simply to please you I wont say that I shall always remain your friend because when women say that in these situations it passes I believe for a sort of mockery But try me some day
Caspar Goodwood during this speech had kept his eyes fixed upon the name of his hatter and it was not until some time after she had ceased speaking that he raised them When he did so the sight of a rosy lovely eagerness in Isabels face threw some confusion into his attempt to analyse her words Ill go home—Ill go tomorrow—Ill leave you alone he brought out at last Only he heavily said I hate to lose sight of you
Never fear I shall do no harm
Youll marry some one else as sure as I sit here Caspar Goodwood declared
Do you think that a generous charge
Why not Plenty of men will try to make you
I told you just now that I dont wish to marry and that I almost certainly never shall
I know you did and I like your almost certainly I put no faith in what you say
Thank you very much Do you accuse me of lying to shake you off You say very delicate things
Why should I not say that Youve given me no pledge of anything at all
No thats all that would be wanting
You may perhaps even believe youre safe—from wishing to be But youre not the young man went on as if preparing himself for the worst
Very well then Well put it that Im not safe Have it as you please
I dont know however said Caspar Goodwood that my keeping you in sight would prevent it
Dont you indeed Im after all very much afraid of you Do you think Im so very easily pleased she asked suddenly changing her tone
No—I dont I shall try to console myself with that But there are a certain number of very dazzling men in the world no doubt and if there were only one it would be enough The most dazzling of all will make straight for you Youll be sure to take no one who isnt dazzling
If you mean by dazzling brilliantly clever Isabel said—and I cant imagine what else you mean—I dont need the aid of a clever man to teach me how to live I can find it out for myself
Find out how to live alone I wish that when you have youd teach me
She looked at him a moment then with a quick smile Oh you ought to marry she said
He might be pardoned if for an instant this exclamation seemed to him to sound the infernal note and it is not on record that her motive for discharging such a shaft had been of the clearest He oughtnt to stride about lean and hungry however—she certainly felt THAT for him God forgive you he murmured between his teeth as he turned away
Her accent had put her slightly in the wrong and after a moment she felt the need to right herself The easiest way to do it was to place him where she had been You do me great injustice—you say what you dont know she broke out I shouldnt be an easy victim—Ive proved it
Oh to me perfectly
Ive proved it to others as well And she paused a moment I refused a proposal of marriage last week what they call—no doubt—a dazzling one
Im very glad to hear it said the young man gravely
It was a proposal many girls would have accepted it had everything to recommend it Isabel had not proposed to herself to tell this story but now she had begun the satisfaction of speaking it out and doing herself justice took possession of her I was offered a great position and a great fortune—by a person whom I like extremely
Caspar watched her with intense interest Is he an Englishman
Hes an English nobleman said Isabel
Her visitor received this announcement at first in silence but at last said Im glad hes disappointed
Well then as you have companions in misfortune make the best of it
I dont call him a companion said Casper grimly
Why not—since I declined his offer absolutely
That doesnt make him my companion Besides hes an Englishman
And pray isnt an Englishman a human being Isabel asked
Oh those people Theyre not of my humanity and I dont care what becomes of them
Youre very angry said the girl Weve discussed this matter quite enough
Oh yes Im very angry I plead guilty to that
She turned away from him walked to the open window and stood a moment looking into the dusky void of the street where a turbid gaslight alone represented social animation For some time neither of these young persons spoke Caspar lingered near the chimneypiece with eyes gloomily attached She had virtually requested him to go—he knew that but at the risk of making himself odious he kept his ground She was far too dear to him to be easily renounced and he had crossed the sea all to wring from her some scrap of a vow Presently she left the window and stood again before him You do me very little justice—after my telling you what I told you just now Im sorry I told you—since it matters so little to you
Ah cried the young man if you were thinking of ME when you did it And then he paused with the fear that she might contradict so happy a thought
I was thinking of you a little said Isabel
A little I dont understand If the knowledge of what I feel for you had any weight with you at all calling it a little is a poor account of it
Isabel shook her head as if to carry off a blunder Ive refused a most kind noble gentleman Make the most of that
I thank you then said Caspar Goodwood gravely I thank you immensely
And now you had better go home
May I not see you again he asked
I think its better not Youll be sure to talk of this and you see it leads to nothing
I promise you not to say a word that will annoy you
Isabel reflected and then answered I return in a day or two to my uncles and I cant propose to you to come there It would be too inconsistent
Caspar Goodwood on his side considered You must do me justice too I received an invitation to your uncles more than a week ago and I declined it
She betrayed surprise From whom was your invitation
From Mr Ralph Touchett whom I suppose to be your cousin I declined it because I had not your authorisation to accept it The suggestion that Mr Touchett should invite me appeared to have come from Miss Stackpole
It certainly never did from me Henrietta really goes very far Isabel added
Dont be too hard on her—that touches ME
No if you declined you did quite right and I thank you for it And she gave a little shudder of dismay at the thought that Lord Warburton and Mr Goodwood might have met at Gardencourt it would have been so awkward for Lord Warburton
When you leave your uncle where do you go her companion asked
I go abroad with my aunt—to Florence and other places
The serenity of this announcement struck a chill to the young mans heart he seemed to see her whirled away into circles from which he was inexorably excluded Nevertheless he went on quickly with his questions And when shall you come back to America
Perhaps not for a long time Im very happy here
Do you mean to give up your country
Dont be an infant
Well youll be out of my sight indeed said Caspar Goodwood
I dont know she answered rather grandly The world—with all these places so arranged and so touching each other—comes to strike one as rather small
Its a sight too big for ME Caspar exclaimed with a simplicity our young lady might have found touching if her face had not been set against concessions
This attitude was part of a system a theory that she had lately embraced and to be thorough she said after a moment Dont think me unkind if I say its just THAT—being out of your sight—that I like If you were in the same place I should feel you were watching me and I dont like that—I like my liberty too much If theres a thing in the world Im fond of she went on with a slight recurrence of grandeur its my personal independence
But whatever there might be of the too superior in this speech moved Caspar Goodwoods admiration there was nothing he winced at in the large air of it He had never supposed she hadnt wings and the need of beautiful free movements—he wasnt with his own long arms and strides afraid of any force in her Isabels words if they had been meant to shock him failed of the mark and only made him smile with the sense that here was common ground Who would wish less to curtail your liberty than I What can give me greater pleasure than to see you perfectly independent—doing whatever you like Its to make you independent that I want to marry you
Thats a beautiful sophism said the girl with a smile more beautiful still
An unmarried woman—a girl of your age—isnt independent There are all sorts of things she cant do Shes hampered at every step
Thats as she looks at the question Isabel answered with much spirit Im not in my first youth—I can do what I choose—I belong quite to the independent class Ive neither father nor mother Im poor and of a serious disposition Im not pretty I therefore am not bound to be timid and conventional indeed I cant afford such luxuries Besides I try to judge things for myself to judge wrong I think is more honourable than not to judge at all I dont wish to be a mere sheep in the flock I wish to choose my fate and know something of human affairs beyond what other people think it compatible with propriety to tell me She paused a moment but not long enough for her companion to reply He was apparently on the point of doing so when she went on Let me say this to you Mr Goodwood Youre so kind as to speak of being afraid of my marrying If you should hear a rumour that Im on the point of doing so—girls are liable to have such things said about them—remember what I have told you about my love of liberty and venture to doubt it
There was something passionately positive in the tone in which she gave him this advice and he saw a shining candour in her eyes that helped him to believe her On the whole he felt reassured and you might have perceived it by the manner in which he said quite eagerly You want simply to travel for two years Im quite willing to wait two years and you may do what you like in the interval If thats all you want pray say so I dont want you to be conventional do I strike you as conventional myself Do you want to improve your mind Your minds quite good enough for me but if it interests you to wander about a while and see different countries I shall be delighted to help you in any way in my power
Youre very generous thats nothing new to me The best way to help me will be to put as many hundred miles of sea between us as possible
One would think you were going to commit some atrocity said Caspar Goodwood
Perhaps I am I wish to be free even to do that if the fancy takes me
Well then he said slowly Ill go home And he put out his hand trying to look contented and confident
Isabels confidence in him however was greater than any he could feel in her Not that he thought her capable of committing an atrocity but turn it over as he would there was something ominous in the way she reserved her option As she took his hand she felt a great respect for him she knew how much he cared for her and she thought him magnanimous They stood so for a moment looking at each other united by a handclasp which was not merely passive on her side Thats right she said very kindly almost tenderly Youll lose nothing by being a reasonable man
But Ill come back wherever you are two years hence he returned with characteristic grimness
We have seen that our young lady was inconsequent and at this she suddenly changed her note Ah remember I promise nothing—absolutely nothing Then more softly as if to help him to leave her And remember too that I shall not be an easy victim
Youll get very sick of your independence
Perhaps I shall its even very probable When that day comes I shall be very glad to see you
She had laid her hand on the knob of the door that led into her room and she waited a moment to see whether her visitor would not take his departure But he appeared unable to move there was still an immense unwillingness in his attitude and a sore remonstrance in his eyes I must leave you now said Isabel and she opened the door and passed into the other room
This apartment was dark but the darkness was tempered by a vague radiance sent up through the window from the court of the hotel and Isabel could make out the masses of the furniture the dim shining of the mirror and the looming of the big fourposted bed She stood still a moment listening and at last she heard Caspar Goodwood walk out of the sittingroom and close the door behind him She stood still a little longer and then by an irresistible impulse dropped on her knees before her bed and hid her face in her arms
CHAPTER XVII
She was not praying she was trembling—trembling all over Vibration was easy to her was in fact too constant with her and she found herself now humming like a smitten harp She only asked however to put on the cover to case herself again in brown holland but she wished to resist her excitement and the attitude of devotion which she kept for some time seemed to help her to be still She intensely rejoiced that Caspar Goodwood was gone there was something in having thus got rid of him that was like the payment for a stamped receipt of some debt too long on her mind As she felt the glad relief she bowed her head a little lower the sense was there throbbing in her heart it was part of her emotion but it was a thing to be ashamed of—it was profane and out of place It was not for some ten minutes that she rose from her knees and even when she came back to the sittingroom her tremor had not quite subsided It had had verily two causes part of it was to be accounted for by her long discussion with Mr Goodwood but it might be feared that the rest was simply the enjoyment she found in the exercise of her power She sat down in the same chair again and took up her book but without going through the form of opening the volume She leaned back with that low soft aspiring murmur with which she often uttered her response to accidents of which the brighter side was not superficially obvious and yielded to the satisfaction of having refused two ardent suitors in a fortnight That love of liberty of which she had given Caspar Goodwood so bold a sketch was as yet almost exclusively theoretic she had not been able to indulge it on a large scale But it appeared to her she had done something she had tasted of the delight if not of battle at least of victory she had done what was truest to her plan In the glow of this consciousness the image of Mr Goodwood taking his sad walk homeward through the dingy town presented itself with a certain reproachful force so that as at the same moment the door of the room was opened she rose with an apprehension that he had come back But it was only Henrietta Stackpole returning from her dinner
Miss Stackpole immediately saw that our young lady had been through something and indeed the discovery demanded no great penetration She went straight up to her friend who received her without a greeting Isabels elation in having sent Caspar Goodwood back to America presupposed her being in a manner glad he had come to see her but at the same time she perfectly remembered Henrietta had had no right to set a trap for her Has he been here dear the latter yearningly asked
Isabel turned away and for some moments answered nothing You acted very wrongly she declared at last
I acted for the best I only hope you acted as well
Youre not the judge I cant trust you said Isabel
This declaration was unflattering but Henrietta was much too unselfish to heed the charge it conveyed she cared only for what it intimated with regard to her friend Isabel Archer she observed with equal abruptness and solemnity if you marry one of these people Ill never speak to you again
Before making so terrible a threat you had better wait till Im asked Isabel replied Never having said a word to Miss Stackpole about Lord Warburtons overtures she had now no impulse whatever to justify herself to Henrietta by telling her that she had refused that nobleman
Oh youll be asked quick enough once you get off on the Continent Annie Climber was asked three times in Italy—poor plain little Annie
Well if Annie Climber wasnt captured why should I be
I dont believe Annie was pressed but youll be
Thats a flattering conviction said Isabel without alarm
I dont flatter you Isabel I tell you the truth cried her friend I hope you dont mean to tell me that you didnt give Mr Goodwood some hope
I dont see why I should tell you anything as I said to you just now I cant trust you But since youre so much interested in Mr Goodwood I wont conceal from you that he returns immediately to America
You dont mean to say youve sent him off Henrietta almost shrieked
I asked him to leave me alone and I ask you the same Henrietta Miss Stackpole glittered for an instant with dismay and then passed to the mirror over the chimneypiece and took off her bonnet I hope youve enjoyed your dinner Isabel went on
But her companion was not to be diverted by frivolous propositions Do you know where youre going Isabel Archer
Just now Im going to bed said Isabel with persistent frivolity
Do you know where youre drifting Henrietta pursued holding out her bonnet delicately
No I havent the least idea and I find it very pleasant not to know A swift carriage of a dark night rattling with four horses over roads that one cant see—thats my idea of happiness
Mr Goodwood certainly didnt teach you to say such things as that—like the heroine of an immoral novel said Miss Stackpole Youre drifting to some great mistake
Isabel was irritated by her friends interference yet she still tried to think what truth this declaration could represent She could think of nothing that diverted her from saying You must be very fond of me Henrietta to be willing to be so aggressive
I love you intensely Isabel said Miss Stackpole with feeling
Well if you love me intensely let me as intensely alone I asked that of Mr Goodwood and I must also ask it of you
Take care youre not let alone too much
Thats what Mr Goodwood said to me I told him I must take the risks
Youre a creature of risks—you make me shudder cried Henrietta When does Mr Goodwood return to America
I dont know—he didnt tell me
Perhaps you didnt enquire said Henrietta with the note of righteous irony
I gave him too little satisfaction to have the right to ask questions of him
This assertion seemed to Miss Stackpole for a moment to bid defiance to comment but at last she exclaimed Well Isabel if I didnt know you I might think you were heartless
Take care said Isabel youre spoiling me
Im afraid Ive done that already I hope at least Miss Stackpole added that he may cross with Annie Climber
Isabel learned from her the next morning that she had determined not to return to Gardencourt where old Mr Touchett had promised her a renewed welcome but to await in London the arrival of the invitation that Mr Bantling had promised her from his sister Lady Pensil Miss Stackpole related very freely her conversation with Ralph Touchetts sociable friend and declared to Isabel that she really believed she had now got hold of something that would lead to something On the receipt of Lady Pensils letter—Mr Bantling had virtually guaranteed the arrival of this document—she would immediately depart for Bedfordshire and if Isabel cared to look out for her impressions in the Interviewer she would certainly find them Henrietta was evidently going to see something of the inner life this time
Do you know where youre drifting Henrietta Stackpole Isabel asked imitating the tone in which her friend had spoken the night before
Im drifting to a big position—that of the Queen of American Journalism If my next letter isnt copied all over the West Ill swallow my penwiper
She had arranged with her friend Miss Annie Climber the young lady of the continental offers that they should go together to make those purchases which were to constitute Miss Climbers farewell to a hemisphere in which she at least had been appreciated and she presently repaired to Jermyn Street to pick up her companion Shortly after her departure Ralph Touchett was announced and as soon as he came in Isabel saw he had something on his mind He very soon took his cousin into his confidence He had received from his mother a telegram to the effect that his father had had a sharp attack of his old malady that she was much alarmed and that she begged he would instantly return to Gardencourt On this occasion at least Mrs Touchetts devotion to the electric wire was not open to criticism
Ive judged it best to see the great doctor Sir Matthew Hope first Ralph said by great good luck hes in town Hes to see me at halfpast twelve and I shall make sure of his coming down to Gardencourt—which he will do the more readily as he has already seen my father several times both there and in London Theres an express at twofortyfive which I shall take and youll come back with me or remain here a few days longer exactly as you prefer
I shall certainly go with you Isabel returned I dont suppose I can be of any use to my uncle but if hes ill I shall like to be near him
I think youre fond of him said Ralph with a certain shy pleasure in his face You appreciate him which all the world hasnt done The qualitys too fine
I quite adore him Isabel after a moment said
Thats very well After his son hes your greatest admirer She welcomed this assurance but she gave secretly a small sigh of relief at the thought that Mr Touchett was one of those admirers who couldnt propose to marry her This however was not what she spoke she went on to inform Ralph that there were other reasons for her not remaining in London She was tired of it and wished to leave it and then Henrietta was going away—going to stay in Bedfordshire
In Bedfordshire
With Lady Pensil the sister of Mr Bantling who has answered for an invitation
Ralph was feeling anxious but at this he broke into a laugh Suddenly none the less his gravity returned Bantlings a man of courage But if the invitation should get lost on the way
I thought the British postoffice was impeccable
The good Homer sometimes nods said Ralph However he went on more brightly the good Bantling never does and whatever happens hell take care of Henrietta
Ralph went to keep his appointment with Sir Matthew Hope and Isabel made her arrangements for quitting Pratts Hotel Her uncles danger touched her nearly and while she stood before her open trunk looking about her vaguely for what she should put into it the tears suddenly rose to her eyes It was perhaps for this reason that when Ralph came back at two oclock to take her to the station she was not yet ready He found Miss Stackpole however in the sittingroom where she had just risen from her luncheon and this lady immediately expressed her regret at his fathers illness
Hes a grand old man she said hes faithful to the last If its really to be the last—pardon my alluding to it but you must often have thought of the possibility—Im sorry that I shall not be at Gardencourt
Youll amuse yourself much more in Bedfordshire
I shall be sorry to amuse myself at such a time said Henrietta with much propriety But she immediately added I should like so to commemorate the closing scene
My father may live a long time said Ralph simply Then adverting to topics more cheerful he interrogated Miss Stackpole as to her own future
Now that Ralph was in trouble she addressed him in a tone of larger allowance and told him that she was much indebted to him for having made her acquainted with Mr Bantling He has told me just the things I want to know she said all the society items and all about the royal family I cant make out that what he tells me about the royal family is much to their credit but he says thats only my peculiar way of looking at it Well all I want is that he should give me the facts I can put them together quick enough once Ive got them And she added that Mr Bantling had been so good as to promise to come and take her out that afternoon
To take you where Ralph ventured to enquire
To Buckingham Palace Hes going to show me over it so that I may get some idea how they live
Ah said Ralph we leave you in good hands The first thing we shall hear is that youre invited to Windsor Castle
If they ask me I shall certainly go Once I get started Im not afraid But for all that Henrietta added in a moment Im not satisfied Im not at peace about Isabel
What is her last misdemeanour
Well Ive told you before and I suppose theres no harm in my going on I always finish a subject that I take up Mr Goodwood was here last night
Ralph opened his eyes he even blushed a little—his blush being the sign of an emotion somewhat acute He remembered that Isabel in separating from him in Winchester Square had repudiated his suggestion that her motive in doing so was the expectation of a visitor at Pratts Hotel and it was a new pang to him to have to suspect her of duplicity On the other hand he quickly said to himself what concern was it of his that she should have made an appointment with a lover Had it not been thought graceful in every age that young ladies should make a mystery of such appointments Ralph gave Miss Stackpole a diplomatic answer I should have thought that with the views you expressed to me the other day this would satisfy you perfectly
That he should come to see her That was very well as far as it went It was a little plot of mine I let him know that we were in London and when it had been arranged that I should spend the evening out I sent him a word—the word we just utter to the wise I hoped he would find her alone I wont pretend I didnt hope that youd be out of the way He came to see her but he might as well have stayed away
Isabel was cruel—and Ralphs face lighted with the relief of his cousins not having shown duplicity
I dont exactly know what passed between them But she gave him no satisfaction—she sent him back to America
Poor Mr Goodwood Ralph sighed
Her only idea seems to be to get rid of him Henrietta went on
Poor Mr Goodwood Ralph repeated The exclamation it must be confessed was automatic it failed exactly to express his thoughts which were taking another line
You dont say that as if you felt it I dont believe you care
Ah said Ralph you must remember that I dont know this interesting young man—that Ive never seen him
Well I shall see him and I shall tell him not to give up If I didnt believe Isabel would come round Miss Stackpole added—well Id give up myself I mean Id give HER up
CHAPTER XVIII
It had occurred to Ralph that in the conditions Isabels parting with her friend might be of a slightly embarrassed nature and he went down to the door of the hotel in advance of his cousin who after a slight delay followed with the traces of an unaccepted remonstrance as he thought in her eyes The two made the journey to Gardencourt in almost unbroken silence and the servant who met them at the station had no better news to give them of Mr Touchett—a fact which caused Ralph to congratulate himself afresh on Sir Matthew Hopes having promised to come down in the five oclock train and spend the night Mrs Touchett he learned on reaching home had been constantly with the old man and was with him at that moment and this fact made Ralph say to himself that after all what his mother wanted was just easy occasion The finer natures were those that shone at the larger times Isabel went to her own room noting throughout the house that perceptible hush which precedes a crisis At the end of an hour however she came downstairs in search of her aunt whom she wished to ask about Mr Touchett She went into the library but Mrs Touchett was not there and as the weather which had been damp and chill was now altogether spoiled it was not probable she had gone for her usual walk in the grounds Isabel was on the point of ringing to send a question to her room when this purpose quickly yielded to an unexpected sound—the sound of low music proceeding apparently from the saloon She knew her aunt never touched the piano and the musician was therefore probably Ralph who played for his own amusement That he should have resorted to this recreation at the present time indicated apparently that his anxiety about his father had been relieved so that the girl took her way almost with restored cheer toward the source of the harmony The drawingroom at Gardencourt was an apartment of great distances and as the piano was placed at the end of it furthest removed from the door at which she entered her arrival was not noticed by the person seated before the instrument This person was neither Ralph nor his mother it was a lady whom Isabel immediately saw to be a stranger to herself though her back was presented to the door This back—an ample and welldressed one—Isabel viewed for some moments with surprise The lady was of course a visitor who had arrived during her absence and who had not been mentioned by either of the servants—one of them her aunts maid—of whom she had had speech since her return Isabel had already learned however with what treasures of reserve the function of receiving orders may be accompanied and she was particularly conscious of having been treated with dryness by her aunts maid through whose hands she had slipped perhaps a little too mistrustfully and with an effect of plumage but the more lustrous The advent of a guest was in itself far from disconcerting she had not yet divested herself of a young faith that each new acquaintance would exert some momentous influence on her life By the time she had made these reflexions she became aware that the lady at the piano played remarkably well She was playing something of Schuberts—Isabel knew not what but recognised Schubert—and she touched the piano with a discretion of her own It showed skill it showed feeling Isabel sat down noiselessly on the nearest chair and waited till the end of the piece When it was finished she felt a strong desire to thank the player and rose from her seat to do so while at the same time the stranger turned quickly round as if but just aware of her presence
Thats very beautiful and your playing makes it more beautiful still said Isabel with all the young radiance with which she usually uttered a truthful rapture
You dont think I disturbed Mr Touchett then the musician answered as sweetly as this compliment deserved The house is so large and his room so far away that I thought I might venture especially as I played just—just du bout des doigts
Shes a Frenchwoman Isabel said to herself she says that as if she were French And this supposition made the visitor more interesting to our speculative heroine I hope my uncles doing well Isabel added I should think that to hear such lovely music as that would really make him feel better
The lady smiled and discriminated Im afraid there are moments in life when even Schubert has nothing to say to us We must admit however that they are our worst
Im not in that state now then said Isabel On the contrary I should be so glad if you would play something more
If it will give you pleasure—delighted And this obliging person took her place again and struck a few chords while Isabel sat down nearer the instrument Suddenly the newcomer stopped with her hands on the keys halfturning and looking over her shoulder She was forty years old and not pretty though her expression charmed Pardon me she said but are you the niece—the young American
Im my aunts niece Isabel replied with simplicity
The lady at the piano sat still a moment longer casting her air of interest over her shoulder Thats very well were compatriots And then she began to play
Ah then shes not French Isabel murmured and as the opposite supposition had made her romantic it might have seemed that this revelation would have marked a drop But such was not the fact rarer even than to be French seemed it to be American on such interesting terms
The lady played in the same manner as before softly and solemnly and while she played the shadows deepened in the room The autumn twilight gathered in and from her place Isabel could see the rain which had now begun in earnest washing the coldlooking lawn and the wind shaking the great trees At last when the music had ceased her companion got up and coming nearer with a smile before Isabel had time to thank her again said Im very glad youve come back Ive heard a great deal about you
Isabel thought her a very attractive person but nevertheless spoke with a certain abruptness in reply to this speech From whom have you heard about me
The stranger hesitated a single moment and then From your uncle she answered Ive been here three days and the first day he let me come and pay him a visit in his room Then he talked constantly of you
As you didnt know me that must rather have bored you
It made me want to know you All the more that since then—your aunt being so much with Mr Touchett—Ive been quite alone and have got rather tired of my own society Ive not chosen a good moment for my visit
A servant had come in with lamps and was presently followed by another bearing the teatray On the appearance of this repast Mrs Touchett had apparently been notified for she now arrived and addressed herself to the teapot Her greeting to her niece did not differ materially from her manner of raising the lid of this receptacle in order to glance at the contents in neither act was it becoming to make a show of avidity Questioned about her husband she was unable to say he was better but the local doctor was with him and much light was expected from this gentlemans consultation with Sir Matthew Hope
I suppose you two ladies have made acquaintance she pursued If you havent I recommend you to do so for so long as we continue—Ralph and I—to cluster about Mr Touchetts bed youre not likely to have much society but each other
I know nothing about you but that youre a great musician Isabel said to the visitor
Theres a good deal more than that to know Mrs Touchett affirmed in her little dry tone
A very little of it I am sure will content Miss Archer the lady exclaimed with a light laugh Im an old friend of your aunts Ive lived much in Florence Im Madame Merle She made this last announcement as if she were referring to a person of tolerably distinct identity For Isabel however it represented little she could only continue to feel that Madame Merle had as charming a manner as any she had ever encountered
Shes not a foreigner in spite of her name said Mrs Touchett
She was born—I always forget where you were born
Its hardly worth while then I should tell you
On the contrary said Mrs Touchett who rarely missed a logical point if I remembered your telling me would be quite superfluous
Madame Merle glanced at Isabel with a sort of worldwide smile a thing that overreached frontiers I was born under the shadow of the national banner
Shes too fond of mystery said Mrs Touchett thats her great fault
Ah exclaimed Madame Merle Ive great faults but I dont think thats one of then it certainly isnt the greatest I came into the world in the Brooklyn navyyard My father was a high officer in the United States Navy and had a post—a post of responsibility—in that establishment at the time I suppose I ought to love the sea but I hate it Thats why I dont return to America I love the land the great thing is to love something
Isabel as a dispassionate witness had not been struck with the force of Mrs Touchetts characterisation of her visitor who had an expressive communicative responsive face by no means of the sort which to Isabels mind suggested a secretive disposition It was a face that told of an amplitude of nature and of quick and free motions and though it had no regular beauty was in the highest degree engaging and attaching Madame Merle was a tall fair smooth woman everything in her person was round and replete though without those accumulations which suggest heaviness Her features were thick but in perfect proportion and harmony and her complexion had a healthy clearness Her grey eyes were small but full of light and incapable of stupidity—incapable according to some people even of tears she had a liberal fullrimmed mouth which when she smiled drew itself upward to the left side in a manner that most people thought very odd some very affected and a few very graceful Isabel inclined to range herself in the last category Madame Merle had thick fair hair arranged somehow classically and as if she were a Bust Isabel judged—a Juno or a Niobe and large white hands of a perfect shape a shape so perfect that their possessor preferring to leave them unadorned wore no jewelled rings Isabel had taken her at first as we have seen for a Frenchwoman but extended observation might have ranked her as a German—a German of high degree perhaps an Austrian a baroness a countess a princess It would never have been supposed she had come into the world in Brooklyn—though one could doubtless not have carried through any argument that the air of distinction marking her in so eminent a degree was inconsistent with such a birth It was true that the national banner had floated immediately over her cradle and the breezy freedom of the stars and stripes might have shed an influence upon the attitude she there took towards life And yet she had evidently nothing of the fluttered flapping quality of a morsel of bunting in the wind her manner expressed the repose and confidence which come from a large experience Experience however had not quenched her youth it had simply made her sympathetic and supple She was in a word a woman of strong impulses kept in admirable order This commended itself to Isabel as an ideal combination
The girl made these reflexions while the three ladies sat at their tea but that ceremony was interrupted before long by the arrival of the great doctor from London who had been immediately ushered into the drawingroom Mrs Touchett took him off to the library for a private talk and then Madame Merle and Isabel parted to meet again at dinner The idea of seeing more of this interesting woman did much to mitigate Isabels sense of the sadness now settling on Gardencourt
When she came into the drawingroom before dinner she found the place empty but in the course of a moment Ralph arrived His anxiety about his father had been lightened Sir Matthew Hopes view of his condition was less depressed than his own had been The doctor recommended that the nurse alone should remain with the old man for the next three or four hours so that Ralph his mother and the great physician himself were free to dine at table Mrs Touchett and Sir Matthew appeared Madame Merle was the last
Before she came Isabel spoke of her to Ralph who was standing before the fireplace Pray who is this Madame Merle
The cleverest woman I know not excepting yourself said Ralph
I thought she seemed very pleasant
I was sure youd think her very pleasant
Is that why you invited her
I didnt invite her and when we came back from London I didnt know she was here No one invited her Shes a friend of my mothers and just after you and I went to town my mother got a note from her She had arrived in England she usually lives abroad though she has first and last spent a good deal of time here and asked leave to come down for a few days Shes a woman who can make such proposals with perfect confidence shes so welcome wherever she goes And with my mother there could be no question of hesitating shes the one person in the world whom my mother very much admires If she were not herself which she after all much prefers she would like to be Madame Merle It would indeed be a great change
Well shes very charming said Isabel And she plays beautifully
She does everything beautifully Shes complete
Isabel looked at her cousin a moment You dont like her
On the contrary I was once in love with her
And she didnt care for you and thats why you dont like her
How can we have discussed such things Monsieur Merle was then living
Is he dead now
So she says
Dont you believe her
Yes because the statement agrees with the probabilities The husband of Madame Merle would be likely to pass away
Isabel gazed at her cousin again I dont know what you mean You mean something—that you dont mean What was Monsieur Merle
The husband of Madame
Youre very odious Has she any children
Not the least little child—fortunately
Fortunately
I mean fortunately for the child Shed be sure to spoil it
Isabel was apparently on the point of assuring her cousin for the third time that he was odious but the discussion was interrupted by the arrival of the lady who was the topic of it She came rustling in quickly apologising for being late fastening a bracelet dressed in dark blue satin which exposed a white bosom that was ineffectually covered by a curious silver necklace Ralph offered her his arm with the exaggerated alertness of a man who was no longer a lover
Even if this had still been his condition however Ralph had other things to think about The great doctor spent the night at Gardencourt and returning to London on the morrow after another consultation with Mr Touchetts own medical adviser concurred in Ralphs desire that he should see the patient again on the day following On the day following Sir Matthew Hope reappeared at Gardencourt and now took a less encouraging view of the old man who had grown worse in the twentyfour hours His feebleness was extreme and to his son who constantly sat by his bedside it often seemed that his end must be at hand The local doctor a very sagacious man in whom Ralph had secretly more confidence than in his distinguished colleague was constantly in attendance and Sir Matthew Hope came back several times Mr Touchett was much of the time unconscious he slept a great deal he rarely spoke Isabel had a great desire to be useful to him and was allowed to watch with him at hours when his other attendants of whom Mrs Touchett was not the least regular went to take rest He never seemed to know her and she always said to herself Suppose he should die while Im sitting here an idea which excited her and kept her awake Once he opened his eyes for a while and fixed them upon her intelligently but when she went to him hoping he would recognise her he closed them and relapsed into stupor The day after this however he revived for a longer time but on this occasion Ralph only was with him The old man began to talk much to his sons satisfaction who assured him that they should presently have him sitting up
No my boy said Mr Touchett not unless you bury me in a sitting posture as some of the ancients—was it the ancients—used to do
Ah daddy dont talk about that Ralph murmured You mustnt deny that youre getting better
There will be no need of my denying it if you dont say it the old man answered Why should we prevaricate just at the last We never prevaricated before Ive got to die some time and its better to die when ones sick than when ones well Im very sick—as sick as I shall ever be I hope you dont want to prove that I shall ever be worse than this That would be too bad You dont Well then
Having made this excellent point he became quiet but the next time that Ralph was with him he again addressed himself to conversation The nurse had gone to her supper and Ralph was alone in charge having just relieved Mrs Touchett who had been on guard since dinner The room was lighted only by the flickering fire which of late had become necessary and Ralphs tall shadow was projected over wall and ceiling with an outline constantly varying but always grotesque
Whos that with me—is it my son the old man asked
Yes its your son daddy
And is there no one else
No one else
Mr Touchett said nothing for a while and then I want to talk a little he went on
Wont it tire you Ralph demurred
It wont matter if it does I shall have a long rest I want to talk about YOU
Ralph had drawn nearer to the bed he sat leaning forward with his hand on his fathers You had better select a brighter topic
You were always bright I used to be proud of your brightness I should like so much to think youd do something
If you leave us said Ralph I shall do nothing but miss you
Thats just what I dont want its what I want to talk about You must get a new interest
I dont want a new interest daddy I have more old ones than I know what to do with
The old man lay there looking at his son his face was the face of the dying but his eyes were the eyes of Daniel Touchett He seemed to be reckoning over Ralphs interests Of course you have your mother he said at last Youll take care of her
My mother will always take care of herself Ralph returned
Well said his father perhaps as she grows older shell need a little help
I shall not see that Shell outlive me
Very likely she will but thats no reason— Mr Touchett let his phrase die away in a helpless but not quite querulous sigh and remained silent again
Dont trouble yourself about us said his son My mother and I get on very well together you know
You get on by always being apart thats not natural
If you leave us we shall probably see more of each other
Well the old man observed with wandering irrelevance it cant be said that my death will make much difference in your mothers life
It will probably make more than you think
Well shell have more money said Mr Touchett Ive left her a good wifes portion just as if she had been a good wife
She has been one daddy according to her own theory She has never troubled you
Ah some troubles are pleasant Mr Touchett murmured Those youve given me for instance But your mother has been less—less—what shall I call it less out of the way since Ive been ill I presume she knows Ive noticed it
I shall certainly tell her so Im so glad you mention it
It wont make any difference to her she doesnt do it to please me She does it to please—to please— And he lay a while trying to think why she did it She does it because it suits her But thats not what I want to talk about he added Its about you Youll be very well off
Yes said Ralph I know that But I hope youve not forgotten the talk we had a year ago—when I told you exactly what money I should need and begged you to make some good use of the rest
Yes yes I remember I made a new will—in a few days I suppose it was the first time such a thing had happened—a young man trying to get a will made against him
It is not against me said Ralph It would be against me to have a large property to take care of Its impossible for a man in my state of health to spend much money and enough is as good as a feast
Well youll have enough—and something over There will be more than enough for one—there will be enough for two
Thats too much said Ralph
Ah dont say that The best thing you can do when Im gone will be to marry
Ralph had foreseen what his father was coming to and this suggestion was by no means fresh It had long been Mr Touchetts most ingenious way of taking the cheerful view of his sons possible duration Ralph had usually treated it facetiously but present circumstances proscribed the facetious He simply fell back in his chair and returned his fathers appealing gaze
If I with a wife who hasnt been very fond of me have had a very happy life said the old man carrying his ingenuity further still what a life mightnt you have if you should marry a person different from Mrs Touchett There are more different from her than there are like her Ralph still said nothing and after a pause his father resumed softly What do you think of your cousin
At this Ralph started meeting the question with a strained smile Do I understand you to propose that I should marry Isabel
Well thats what it comes to in the end Dont you like Isabel
Yes very much And Ralph got up from his chair and wandered over to the fire He stood before it an instant and then he stooped and stirred it mechanically I like Isabel very much he repeated
Well said his father I know she likes you She has told me how much she likes you
Did she remark that she would like to marry me
No but she cant have anything against you And shes the most charming young lady Ive ever seen And she would be good to you I have thought a great deal about it
So have I said Ralph coming back to the bedside again I dont mind telling you that
You ARE in love with her then I should think you would be Its as if she came over on purpose
No Im not in love with her but I should be if—if certain things were different
Ah things are always different from what they might be said the old man If you wait for them to change youll never do anything I dont know whether you know he went on but I suppose theres no harm in my alluding to it at such an hour as this there was some one wanted to marry Isabel the other day and she wouldnt have him
I know she refused Warburton he told me himself
Well that proves theres a chance for somebody else
Somebody else took his chance the other day in London—and got nothing by it
Was it you Mr Touchett eagerly asked
No it was an older friend a poor gentleman who came over from America to see about it
Well Im sorry for him whoever he was But it only proves what I say—that the ways open to you
If it is dear father its all the greater pity that Im unable to tread it I havent many convictions but I have three or four that I hold strongly One is that people on the whole had better not marry their cousins Another is that people in an advanced stage of pulmonary disorder had better not marry at all
The old man raised his weak hand and moved it to and fro before his face What do you mean by that You look at things in a way that would make everything wrong What sort of a cousin is a cousin that you had never seen for more than twenty years of her life Were all each others cousins and if we stopped at that the human race would die out Its just the same with your bad lung Youre a great deal better than you used to be All you want is to lead a natural life It is a great deal more natural to marry a pretty young lady that youre in love with than it is to remain single on false principles
Im not in love with Isabel said Ralph
You said just now that you would be if you didnt think it wrong I want to prove to you that it isnt wrong
It will only tire you dear daddy said Ralph who marvelled at his fathers tenacity and at his finding strength to insist Then where shall we all be
Where shall you be if I dont provide for you You wont have anything to do with the bank and you wont have me to take care of You say youve so many interests but I cant make them out
Ralph leaned back in his chair with folded arms his eyes were fixed for some time in meditation At last with the air of a man fairly mustering courage I take a great interest in my cousin he said but not the sort of interest you desire I shall not live many years but I hope I shall live long enough to see what she does with herself Shes entirely independent of me I can exercise very little influence upon her life But I should like to do something for her
What should you like to do
I should like to put a little wind in her sails
What do you mean by that
I should like to put it into her power to do some of the things she wants She wants to see the world for instance I should like to put money in her purse
Ah Im glad youve thought of that said the old man But Ive thought of it too Ive left her a legacy—five thousand pounds
Thats capital its very kind of you But I should like to do a little more
Something of that veiled acuteness with which it had been on Daniel Touchetts part the habit of a lifetime to listen to a financial proposition still lingered in the face in which the invalid had not obliterated the man of business I shall be happy to consider it he said softly
Isabels poor then My mother tells me that she has but a few hundred dollars a year I should like to make her rich
What do you mean by rich
I call people rich when theyre able to meet the requirements of their imagination Isabel has a great deal of imagination
So have you my son said Mr Touchett listening very attentively but a little confusedly
You tell me I shall have money enough for two What I want is that you should kindly relieve me of my superfluity and make it over to Isabel Divide my inheritance into two equal halves and give her the second
To do what she likes with
Absolutely what she likes
And without an equivalent
What equivalent could there be
The one Ive already mentioned
Her marrying—some one or other Its just to do away with anything of that sort that I make my suggestion If she has an easy income shell never have to marry for a support Thats what I want cannily to prevent She wishes to be free and your bequest will make her free
Well you seem to have thought it out said Mr Touchett But I dont see why you appeal to me The money will be yours and you can easily give it to her yourself
Ralph openly stared Ah dear father I cant offer Isabel money
The old man gave a groan Dont tell me youre not in love with her Do you want me to have the credit of it
Entirely I should like it simply to be a clause in your will without the slightest reference to me
Do you want me to make a new will then
A few words will do it you can attend to it the next time you feel a little lively
You must telegraph to Mr Hilary then Ill do nothing without my solicitor
You shall see Mr Hilary tomorrow
Hell think weve quarrelled you and I said the old man
Very probably I shall like him to think it said Ralph smiling and to carry out the idea I give you notice that I shall be very sharp quite horrid and strange with you
The humour of this appeared to touch his father who lay a little while taking it in Ill do anything you like Mr Touchett said at last but Im not sure its right You say you want to put wind in her sails but arent you afraid of putting too much
I should like to see her going before the breeze Ralph answered
You speak as if it were for your mere amusement
So it is a good deal
Well I dont think I understand said Mr Touchett with a sigh Young men are very different from what I was When I cared for a girl—when I was young—I wanted to do more than look at her
Youve scruples that I shouldnt have had and youve ideas that I shouldnt have had either You say Isabel wants to be free and that her being rich will keep her from marrying for money Do you think that shes a girl to do that
By no means But she has less money than she has ever had before Her father then gave her everything because he used to spend his capital She has nothing but the crumbs of that feast to live on and she doesnt really know how meagre they are—she has yet to learn it My mother has told me all about it Isabel will learn it when shes really thrown upon the world and it would be very painful to me to think of her coming to the consciousness of a lot of wants she should be unable to satisfy
Ive left her five thousand pounds She can satisfy a good many wants with that
She can indeed But she would probably spend it in two or three years
You think shed be extravagant then
Most certainly said Ralph smiling serenely
Poor Mr Touchetts acuteness was rapidly giving place to pure confusion It would merely be a question of time then her spending the larger sum
No—though at first I think shed plunge into that pretty freely shed probably make over a part of it to each of her sisters But after that shed come to her senses remember she has still a lifetime before her and live within her means
Well you HAVE worked it out said the old man helplessly You do take an interest in her certainly
You cant consistently say I go too far You wished me to go further
Well I dont know Mr Touchett answered I dont think I enter into your spirit It seems to me immoral
Immoral dear daddy
Well I dont know that its right to make everything so easy for a person
It surely depends upon the person When the persons good your making things easy is all to the credit of virtue To facilitate the execution of good impulses what can be a nobler act
This was a little difficult to follow and Mr Touchett considered it for a while At last he said Isabels a sweet young thing but do you think shes so good as that
Shes as good as her best opportunities Ralph returned
Well Mr Touchett declared she ought to get a great many opportunities for sixty thousand pounds
Ive no doubt she will
Of course Ill do what you want said the old man I only want to understand it a little
Well dear daddy dont you understand it now his son caressingly asked If you dont we wont take any more trouble about it Well leave it alone
Mr Touchett lay a long time still Ralph supposed he had given up the attempt to follow But at last quite lucidly he began again Tell me this first Doesnt it occur to you that a young lady with sixty thousand pounds may fall a victim to the fortunehunters
Shell hardly fall a victim to more than one
Well ones too many
Decidedly Thats a risk and it has entered into my calculation I think its appreciable but I think its small and Im prepared to take it
Poor Mr Touchetts acuteness had passed into perplexity and his perplexity now passed into admiration Well you have gone into it he repeated But I dont see what good youre to get of it
Ralph leaned over his fathers pillows and gently smoothed them he was aware their talk had been unduly prolonged I shall get just the good I said a few moments ago I wished to put into Isabels reach—that of having met the requirements of my imagination But its scandalous the way Ive taken advantage of you
CHAPTER XIX
As Mrs Touchett had foretold Isabel and Madame Merle were thrown much together during the illness of their host so that if they had not become intimate it would have been almost a breach of good manners Their manners were of the best but in addition to this they happened to please each other It is perhaps too much to say that they swore an eternal friendship but tacitly at least they called the future to witness Isabel did so with a perfectly good conscience though she would have hesitated to admit she was intimate with her new friend in the high sense she privately attached to this term She often wondered indeed if she ever had been or ever could be intimate with any one She had an ideal of friendship as well as of several other sentiments which it failed to seem to her in this case—it had not seemed to her in other cases—that the actual completely expressed But she often reminded herself that there were essential reasons why ones ideal could never become concrete It was a thing to believe in not to see—a matter of faith not of experience Experience however might supply us with very creditable imitations of it and the part of wisdom was to make the best of these Certainly on the whole Isabel had never encountered a more agreeable and interesting figure than Madame Merle she had never met a person having less of that fault which is the principal obstacle to friendship—the air of reproducing the more tiresome the stale the toofamiliar parts of ones own character The gates of the girls confidence were opened wider than they had ever been she said things to this amiable auditress that she had not yet said to any one Sometimes she took alarm at her candour it was as if she had given to a comparative stranger the key to her cabinet of jewels These spiritual gems were the only ones of any magnitude that Isabel possessed but there was all the greater reason for their being carefully guarded Afterwards however she always remembered that one should never regret a generous error and that if Madame Merle had not the merits she attributed to her so much the worse for Madame Merle There was no doubt she had great merits—she was charming sympathetic intelligent cultivated More than this for it had not been Isabels illfortune to go through life without meeting in her own sex several persons of whom no less could fairly be said she was rare superior and preeminent There are many amiable people in the world and Madame Merle was far from being vulgarly goodnatured and restlessly witty She knew how to think—an accomplishment rare in women and she had thought to very good purpose Of course too she knew how to feel Isabel couldnt have spent a week with her without being sure of that This was indeed Madame Merles great talent her most perfect gift Life had told upon her she had felt it strongly and it was part of the satisfaction to be taken in her society that when the girl talked of what she was pleased to call serious matters this lady understood her so easily and quickly Emotion it is true had become with her rather historic she made no secret of the fact that the fount of passion thanks to having been rather violently tapped at one period didnt flow quite so freely as of yore She proposed moreover as well as expected to cease feeling she freely admitted that of old she had been a little mad and now she pretended to be perfectly sane
I judge more than I used to she said to Isabel but it seems to me one has earned the right One cant judge till ones forty before that were too eager too hard too cruel and in addition much too ignorant Im sorry for you it will be a long time before youre forty But every gains a loss of some kind I often think that after forty one cant really feel The freshness the quickness have certainly gone Youll keep them longer than most people it will be a great satisfaction to me to see you some years hence I want to see what life makes of you One things certain—it cant spoil you It may pull you about horribly but I defy it to break you up
Isabel received this assurance as a young soldier still panting from a slight skirmish in which he has come off with honour might receive a pat on the shoulder from his colonel Like such a recognition of merit it seemed to come with authority How could the lightest word do less on the part of a person who was prepared to say of almost everything Isabel told her Oh Ive been in that my dear it passes like everything else On many of her interlocutors Madame Merle might have produced an irritating effect it was disconcertingly difficult to surprise her But Isabel though by no means incapable of desiring to be effective had not at present this impulse She was too sincere too interested in her judicious companion And then moreover Madame Merle never said such things in the tone of triumph or of boastfulness they dropped from her like cold confessions
A period of bad weather had settled upon Gardencourt the days grew shorter and there was an end to the pretty teaparties on the lawn But our young woman had long indoor conversations with her fellow visitor and in spite of the rain the two ladies often sallied forth for a walk equipped with the defensive apparatus which the English climate and the English genius have between them brought to such perfection Madame Merle liked almost everything including the English rain Theres always a little of it and never too much at once she said and it never wets you and it always smells good She declared that in England the pleasures of smell were great—that in this inimitable island there was a certain mixture of fog and beer and soot which however odd it might sound was the national aroma and was most agreeable to the nostril and she used to lift the sleeve of her British overcoat and bury her nose in it inhaling the clear fine scent of the wool Poor Ralph Touchett as soon as the autumn had begun to define itself became almost a prisoner in bad weather he was unable to step out of the house and he used sometimes to stand at one of the windows with his hands in his pockets and from a countenance halfrueful halfcritical watch Isabel and Madame Merle as they walked down the avenue under a pair of umbrellas The roads about Gardencourt were so firm even in the worst weather that the two ladies always came back with a healthy glow in their cheeks looking at the soles of their neat stout boots and declaring that their walk had done them inexpressible good Before luncheon always Madame Merle was engaged Isabel admired and envied her rigid possession of her morning Our heroine had always passed for a person of resources and had taken a certain pride in being one but she wandered as by the wrong side of the wall of a private garden round the enclosed talents accomplishments aptitudes of Madame Merle She found herself desiring to emulate them and in twenty such ways this lady presented herself as a model I should like awfully to be so Isabel secretly exclaimed more than once as one after another of her friends fine aspects caught the light and before long she knew that she had learned a lesson from a high authority It took no great time indeed for her to feel herself as the phrase is under an influence Whats the harm she wondered so long as its a good one The more ones under a good influence the better The only thing is to see our steps as we take them—to understand them as we go That no doubt I shall always do I neednt be afraid of becoming too pliable isnt it my fault that Im not pliable enough It is said that imitation is the sincerest flattery and if Isabel was sometimes moved to gape at her friend aspiringly and despairingly it was not so much because she desired herself to shine as because she wished to hold up the lamp for Madame Merle She liked her extremely but was even more dazzled than attracted She sometimes asked herself what Henrietta Stackpole would say to her thinking so much of this perverted product of their common soil and had a conviction that it would be severely judged Henrietta would not at all subscribe to Madame Merle for reasons she could not have defined this truth came home to the girl On the other hand she was equally sure that should the occasion offer her new friend would strike off some happy view of her old Madame Merle was too humorous too observant not to do justice to Henrietta and on becoming acquainted with her would probably give the measure of a tact which Miss Stackpole couldnt hope to emulate She appeared to have in her experience a touchstone for everything and somewhere in the capacious pocket of her genial memory she would find the key to Henriettas value Thats the great thing Isabel solemnly pondered thats the supreme good fortune to be in a better position for appreciating people than they are for appreciating you And she added that such when one considered it was simply the essence of the aristocratic situation In this light if in none other one should aim at the aristocratic situation
I may not count over all the links in the chain which led Isabel to think of Madame Merles situation as aristocratic—a view of it never expressed in any reference made to it by that lady herself She had known great things and great people but she had never played a great part She was one of the small ones of the earth she had not been born to honours she knew the world too well to nourish fatuous illusions on the article of her own place in it She had encountered many of the fortunate few and was perfectly aware of those points at which their fortune differed from hers But if by her informed measure she was no figure for a high scene she had yet to Isabels imagination a sort of greatness To be so cultivated and civilised so wise and so easy and still make so light of it—that was really to be a great lady especially when one so carried and presented ones self It was as if somehow she had all society under contribution and all the arts and graces it practised—or was the effect rather that of charming uses found for her even from a distance subtle service rendered by her to a clamorous world wherever she might be After breakfast she wrote a succession of letters as those arriving for her appeared innumerable her correspondence was a source of surprise to Isabel when they sometimes walked together to the village postoffice to deposit Madame Merles offering to the mail She knew more people as she told Isabel than she knew what to do with and something was always turning up to be written about Of painting she was devotedly fond and made no more of brushing in a sketch than of pulling off her gloves At Gardencourt she was perpetually taking advantage of an hours sunshine to go out with a campstool and a box of watercolours That she was a brave musician we have already perceived and it was evidence of the fact that when she seated herself at the piano as she always did in the evening her listeners resigned themselves without a murmur to losing the grace of her talk Isabel since she had known her felt ashamed of her own facility which she now looked upon as basely inferior and indeed though she had been thought rather a prodigy at home the loss to society when in taking her place upon the musicstool she turned her back to the room was usually deemed greater than the gain When Madame Merle was neither writing nor painting nor touching the piano she was usually employed upon wonderful tasks of rich embroidery cushions curtains decorations for the chimneypiece an art in which her bold free invention was as noted as the agility of her needle She was never idle for when engaged in none of the ways I have mentioned she was either reading she appeared to Isabel to read everything important or walking out or playing patience with the cards or talking with her fellow inmates And with all this she had always the social quality was never rudely absent and yet never too seated She laid down her pastimes as easily as she took them up she worked and talked at the same time and appeared to impute scant worth to anything she did She gave away her sketches and tapestries she rose from the piano or remained there according to the convenience of her auditors which she always unerringly divined She was in short the most comfortable profitable amenable person to live with If for Isabel she had a fault it was that she was not natural by which the girl meant not that she was either affected or pretentious since from these vulgar vices no woman could have been more exempt but that her nature had been too much overlaid by custom and her angles too much rubbed away She had become too flexible too useful was too ripe and too final She was in a word too perfectly the social animal that man and woman are supposed to have been intended to be and she had rid herself of every remnant of that tonic wildness which we may assume to have belonged even to the most amiable persons in the ages before countryhouse life was the fashion Isabel found it difficult to think of her in any detachment or privacy she existed only in her relations direct or indirect with her fellow mortals One might wonder what commerce she could possibly hold with her own spirit One always ended however by feeling that a charming surface doesnt necessarily prove one superficial this was an illusion in which in ones youth one had but just escaped being nourished Madame Merle was not superficial—not she She was deep and her nature spoke none the less in her behaviour because it spoke a conventional tongue Whats language at all but a convention said Isabel She has the good taste not to pretend like some people Ive met to express herself by original signs
Im afraid youve suffered much she once found occasion to say to her friend in response to some allusion that had appeared to reach far
What makes you think that Madame Merle asked with the amused smile of a person seated at a game of guesses I hope I havent too much the droop of the misunderstood
No but you sometimes say things that I think people who have always been happy wouldnt have found out
I havent always been happy said Madame Merle smiling still but with a mock gravity as if she were telling a child a secret Such a wonderful thing
But Isabel rose to the irony A great many people give me the impression of never having for a moment felt anything
Its very true there are many more iron pots certainly than porcelain But you may depend on it that every one bears some mark even the hardest iron pots have a little bruise a little hole somewhere I flatter myself that Im rather stout but if I must tell you the truth Ive been shockingly chipped and cracked I do very well for service yet because Ive been cleverly mended and I try to remain in the cupboard—the quiet dusky cupboard where theres an odour of stale spices—as much as I can But when Ive to come out and into a strong light—then my dear Im a horror
I know not whether it was on this occasion or on some other that the conversation had taken the turn I have just indicated she said to Isabel that she would some day a tale unfold Isabel assured her she should delight to listen to one and reminded her more than once of this engagement Madame Merle however begged repeatedly for a respite and at last frankly told her young companion that they must wait till they knew each other better This would be sure to happen a long friendship so visibly lay before them Isabel assented but at the same time enquired if she mightnt be trusted—if she appeared capable of a betrayal of confidence
Its not that Im afraid of your repeating what I say her fellow visitor answered Im afraid on the contrary of your taking it too much to yourself Youd judge me too harshly youre of the cruel age She preferred for the present to talk to Isabel of Isabel and exhibited the greatest interest in our heroines history sentiments opinions prospects She made her chatter and listened to her chatter with infinite good nature This flattered and quickened the girl who was struck with all the distinguished people her friend had known and with her having lived as Mrs Touchett said in the best company in Europe Isabel thought the better of herself for enjoying the favour of a person who had so large a field of comparison and it was perhaps partly to gratify the sense of profiting by comparison that she often appealed to these stores of reminiscence Madame Merle had been a dweller in many lands and had social ties in a dozen different countries I dont pretend to be educated she would say but I think I know my Europe and she spoke one day of going to Sweden to stay with an old friend and another of proceeding to Malta to follow up a new acquaintance With England where she had often dwelt she was thoroughly familiar and for Isabels benefit threw a great deal of light upon the customs of the country and the character of the people who after all as she was fond of saying were the most convenient in the world to live with
You mustnt think it strange her remaining here at such a time as this when Mr Touchetts passing away that gentlemans wife remarked to her niece She is incapable of a mistake shes the most tactful woman I know Its a favour to me that she stays shes putting off a lot of visits at great houses said Mrs Touchett who never forgot that when she herself was in England her social value sank two or three degrees in the scale She has her pick of places shes not in want of a shelter But Ive asked her to put in this time because I wish you to know her I think it will be a good thing for you Serena Merle hasnt a fault
If I didnt already like her very much that description might alarm me Isabel returned
Shes never the least little bit off Ive brought you out here and I wish to do the best for you Your sister Lily told me she hoped I would give you plenty of opportunities I give you one in putting you in relation with Madame Merle Shes one of the most brilliant women in Europe
I like her better than I like your description of her Isabel persisted in saying
Do you flatter yourself that youll ever feel her open to criticism I hope youll let me know when you do
That will be cruel—to you said Isabel
You neednt mind me You wont discover a fault in her
Perhaps not But I dare say I shant miss it
She knows absolutely everything on earth there is to know said Mrs Touchett
Isabel after this observed to their companion that she hoped she knew Mrs Touchett considered she hadnt a speck on her perfection On which Im obliged to you Madame Merle replied but Im afraid your aunt imagines or at least alludes to no aberrations that the clockface doesnt register
So that you mean youve a wild side thats unknown to her
Ah no I fear my darkest sides are my tamest I mean that having no faults for your aunt means that ones never late for dinner—that is for her dinner I was not late by the way the other day when you came back from London the clock was just at eight when I came into the drawingroom it was the rest of you that were before the time It means that one answers a letter the day one gets it and that when one comes to stay with her one doesnt bring too much luggage and is careful not to be taken ill For Mrs Touchett those things constitute virtue its a blessing to be able to reduce it to its elements
Madame Merles own conversation it will be perceived was enriched with bold free touches of criticism which even when they had a restrictive effect never struck Isabel as illnatured It couldnt occur to the girl for instance that Mrs Touchetts accomplished guest was abusing her and this for very good reasons In the first place Isabel rose eagerly to the sense of her shades in the second Madame Merle implied that there was a great deal more to say and it was clear in the third that for a person to speak to one without ceremony of ones near relations was an agreeable sign of that persons intimacy with ones self These signs of deep communion multiplied as the days elapsed and there was none of which Isabel was more sensible than of her companions preference for making Miss Archer herself a topic Though she referred frequently to the incidents of her own career she never lingered upon them she was as little of a gross egotist as she was of a flat gossip
Im old and stale and faded she said more than once Im of no more interest than last weeks newspaper Youre young and fresh and of today youve the great thing—youve actuality I once had it—we all have it for an hour You however will have it for longer Let us talk about you then you can say nothing I shall not care to hear Its a sign that Im growing old—that I like to talk with younger people I think its a very pretty compensation If we cant have youth within us we can have it outside and I really think we see it and feel it better that way Of course we must be in sympathy with it—that I shall always be I dont know that I shall ever be illnatured with old people—I hope not there are certainly some old people I adore But I shall never be anything but abject with the young they touch me and appeal to me too much I give you carte blanche then you can even be impertinent if you like I shall let it pass and horribly spoil you I speak as if I were a hundred years old you say Well I am if you please I was born before the French Revolution Ah my dear je viens de loin I belong to the old old world But its not of that I want to talk I want to talk about the new You must tell me more about America you never tell me enough Here Ive been since I was brought here as a helpless child and its ridiculous or rather its scandalous how little I know about that splendid dreadful funny country—surely the greatest and drollest of them all There are a great many of us like that in these parts and I must say I think were a wretched set of people You should live in your own land whatever it may be you have your natural place there If were not good Americans were certainly poor Europeans weve no natural place here Were mere parasites crawling over the surface we havent our feet in the soil At least one can know it and not have illusions A woman perhaps can get on a woman it seems to me has no natural place anywhere wherever she finds herself she has to remain on the surface and more or less to crawl You protest my dear youre horrified you declare youll never crawl Its very true that I dont see you crawling you stand more upright than a good many poor creatures Very good on the whole I dont think youll crawl But the men the Americans je vous demande un peu what do they make of it over here I dont envy them trying to arrange themselves Look at poor Ralph Touchett what sort of a figure do you call that Fortunately he has a consumption I say fortunately because it gives him something to do His consumptions his carriere its a kind of position You can say Oh Mr Touchett he takes care of his lungs he knows a great deal about climates But without that who would he be what would he represent Mr Ralph Touchett an American who lives in Europe That signifies absolutely nothing—its impossible anything should signify less Hes very cultivated they say he has a very pretty collection of old snuffboxes The collection is all thats wanted to make it pitiful Im tired of the sound of the word I think its grotesque With the poor old father its different he has his identity and its rather a massive one He represents a great financial house and that in our day is as good as anything else For an American at any rate that will do very well But I persist in thinking your cousin very lucky to have a chronic malady so long as he doesnt die of it Its much better than the snuffboxes If he werent ill you say hed do something—hed take his fathers place in the house My poor child I doubt it I dont think hes at all fond of the house However you know him better than I though I used to know him rather well and he may have the benefit of the doubt The worst case I think is a friend of mine a countryman of ours who lives in Italy where he also was brought before he knew better and who is one of the most delightful men I know Some day you must know him Ill bring you together and then youll see what I mean Hes Gilbert Osmond—he lives in Italy thats all one can say about him or make of him Hes exceedingly clever a man made to be distinguished but as I tell you you exhaust the description when you say hes Mr Osmond who lives tout betement in Italy No career no name no position no fortune no past no future no anything Oh yes he paints if you please—paints in watercolours like me only better than I His paintings pretty bad on the whole Im rather glad of that Fortunately hes very indolent so indolent that it amounts to a sort of position He can say Oh I do nothing Im too deadly lazy You can do nothing today unless you get up at five oclock in the morning In that way he becomes a sort of exception you feel he might do something if hed only rise early He never speaks of his painting to people at large hes too clever for that But he has a little girl—a dear little girl he does speak of her Hes devoted to her and if it were a career to be an excellent father hed be very distinguished But Im afraid thats no better than the snuffboxes perhaps not even so good Tell me what they do in America pursued Madame Merle who it must be observed parenthetically did not deliver herself all at once of these reflexions which are presented in a cluster for the convenience of the reader She talked of Florence where Mr Osmond lived and where Mrs Touchett occupied a medieval palace she talked of Rome where she herself had a little piedaterre with some rather good old damask She talked of places of people and even as the phrase is of subjects and from time to time she talked of their kind old host and of the prospect of his recovery From the first she had thought this prospect small and Isabel had been struck with the positive discriminating competent way in which she took the measure of his remainder of life One evening she announced definitely that he wouldnt live
Sir Matthew Hope told me so as plainly as was proper she said standing there near the fire before dinner He makes himself very agreeable the great doctor I dont mean his saying that has anything to do with it But he says such things with great tact I had told him I felt ill at my ease staying here at such a time it seemed to me so indiscreet—it wasnt as if I could nurse You must remain you must remain he answered your office will come later Wasnt that a very delicate way of saying both that poor Mr Touchett would go and that I might be of some use as a consoler In fact however I shall not be of the slightest use Your aunt will console herself she and she alone knows just how much consolation shell require It would be a very delicate matter for another person to undertake to administer the dose With your cousin it will be different hell miss his father immensely But I should never presume to condole with Mr Ralph were not on those terms Madame Merle had alluded more than once to some undefined incongruity in her relations with Ralph Touchett so Isabel took this occasion of asking her if they were not good friends
Perfectly but he doesnt like me
What have you done to him
Nothing whatever But one has no need of a reason for that
For not liking you I think one has need of a very good reason
Youre very kind Be sure you have one ready for the day you begin
Begin to dislike you I shall never begin
I hope not because if you do youll never end Thats the way with your cousin he doesnt get over it Its an antipathy of nature—if I can call it that when its all on his side Ive nothing whatever against him and dont bear him the least little grudge for not doing me justice Justice is all I want However one feels that hes a gentleman and would never say anything underhand about one Cartes sur table Madame Merle subjoined in a moment Im not afraid of him
I hope not indeed said Isabel who added something about his being the kindest creature living She remembered however that on her first asking him about Madame Merle he had answered her in a manner which this lady might have thought injurious without being explicit There was something between them Isabel said to herself but she said nothing more than this If it were something of importance it should inspire respect if it were not it was not worth her curiosity With all her love of knowledge she had a natural shrinking from raising curtains and looking into unlighted corners The love of knowledge coexisted in her mind with the finest capacity for ignorance
But Madame Merle sometimes said things that startled her made her raise her clear eyebrows at the time and think of the words afterwards Id give a great deal to be your age again she broke out once with a bitterness which though diluted in her customary amplitude of ease was imperfectly disguised by it If I could only begin again—if I could have my life before me
Your lifes before you yet Isabel answered gently for she was vaguely awestruck
No the best parts gone and gone for nothing
Surely not for nothing said Isabel
Why not—what have I got Neither husband nor child nor fortune nor position nor the traces of a beauty that I never had
You have many friends dear lady
Im not so sure cried Madame Merle
Ah youre wrong You have memories graces talents—
But Madame Merle interrupted her What have my talents brought me Nothing but the need of using them still to get through the hours the years to cheat myself with some pretence of movement of unconsciousness As for my graces and memories the less said about them the better Youll be my friend till you find a better use for your friendship
It will be for you to see that I dont then said Isabel
Yes I would make an effort to keep you And her companion looked at her gravely When I say I should like to be your age I mean with your qualities—frank generous sincere like you In that case I should have made something better of my life
What should you have liked to do that youve not done
Madame Merle took a sheet of music—she was seated at the piano and had abruptly wheeled about on the stool when she first spoke—and mechanically turned the leaves Im very ambitious she at last replied
And your ambitions have not been satisfied They must have been great
They WERE great I should make myself ridiculous by talking of them
Isabel wondered what they could have been—whether Madame Merle had aspired to wear a crown I dont know what your idea of success may be but you seem to me to have been successful To me indeed youre a vivid image of success
Madame Merle tossed away the music with a smile Whats YOUR idea of success
You evidently think it must be a very tame one Its to see some dream of ones youth come true
Ah Madame Merle exclaimed that Ive never seen But my dreams were so great—so preposterous Heaven forgive me Im dreaming now And she turned back to the piano and began grandly to play On the morrow she said to Isabel that her definition of success had been very pretty yet frightfully sad Measured in that way who had ever succeeded The dreams of ones youth why they were enchanting they were divine Who had ever seen such things come to pass
I myself—a few of them Isabel ventured to answer
Already They must have been dreams of yesterday
I began to dream very young Isabel smiled
Ah if you mean the aspirations of your childhood—that of having a pink sash and a doll that could close her eyes
No I dont mean that
Or a young man with a fine moustache going down on his knees to you
No nor that either Isabel declared with still more emphasis
Madame Merle appeared to note this eagerness I suspect thats what you do mean Weve all had the young man with the moustache Hes the inevitable young man he doesnt count
Isabel was silent a little but then spoke with extreme and characteristic inconsequence Why shouldnt he count There are young men and young men
And yours was a paragon—is that what you mean asked her friend with a laugh If youve had the identical young man you dreamed of then that was success and I congratulate you with all my heart Only in that case why didnt you fly with him to his castle in the Apennines
He has no castle in the Apennines
What has he An ugly brick house in Fortieth Street Dont tell me that I refuse to recognise that as an ideal
I dont care anything about his house said Isabel
Thats very crude of you When youve lived as long as I youll see that every human being has his shell and that you must take the shell into account By the shell I mean the whole envelope of circumstances Theres no such thing as an isolated man or woman were each of us made up of some cluster of appurtenances What shall we call our self Where does it begin where does it end It overflows into everything that belongs to us—and then it flows back again I know a large part of myself is in the clothes I choose to wear Ive a great respect for THINGS Ones self—for other people—is ones expression of ones self and ones house ones furniture ones garments the books one reads the company one keeps—these things are all expressive
This was very metaphysical not more so however than several observations Madame Merle had already made Isabel was fond of metaphysics but was unable to accompany her friend into this bold analysis of the human personality I dont agree with you I think just the other way I dont know whether I succeed in expressing myself but I know that nothing else expresses me Nothing that belongs to me is any measure of me everythings on the contrary a limit a barrier and a perfectly arbitrary one Certainly the clothes which as you say I choose to wear dont express me and heaven forbid they should
You dress very well Madame Merle lightly interposed
Possibly but I dont care to be judged by that My clothes may express the dressmaker but they dont express me To begin with its not my own choice that I wear them theyre imposed upon me by society
Should you prefer to go without them Madame Merle enquired in a tone which virtually terminated the discussion
I am bound to confess though it may cast some discredit on the sketch I have given of the youthful loyalty practised by our heroine toward this accomplished woman that Isabel had said nothing whatever to her about Lord Warburton and had been equally reticent on the subject of Caspar Goodwood She had not however concealed the fact that she had had opportunities of marrying and had even let her friend know of how advantageous a kind they had been Lord Warburton had left Lockleigh and was gone to Scotland taking his sisters with him and though he had written to Ralph more than once to ask about Mr Touchetts health the girl was not liable to the embarrassment of such enquiries as had he still been in the neighbourhood he would probably have felt bound to make in person He had excellent ways but she felt sure that if he had come to Gardencourt he would have seen Madame Merle and that if he had seen her he would have liked her and betrayed to her that he was in love with her young friend It so happened that during this ladys previous visits to Gardencourt—each of them much shorter than the present—he had either not been at Lockleigh or had not called at Mr Touchetts Therefore though she knew him by name as the great man of that county she had no cause to suspect him as a suitor of Mrs Touchetts freshlyimported niece
Youve plenty of time she had said to Isabel in return for the mutilated confidences which our young woman made her and which didnt pretend to be perfect though we have seen that at moments the girl had compunctions at having said so much Im glad youve done nothing yet—that you have it still to do Its a very good thing for a girl to have refused a few good offers—so long of course as they are not the best shes likely to have Pardon me if my tone seems horribly corrupt one must take the worldly view sometimes Only dont keep on refusing for the sake of refusing Its a pleasant exercise of power but acceptings after all an exercise of power as well Theres always the danger of refusing once too often It was not the one I fell into—I didnt refuse often enough Youre an exquisite creature and I should like to see you married to a prime minister But speaking strictly you know youre not what is technically called a parti Youre extremely goodlooking and extremely clever in yourself youre quite exceptional You appear to have the vaguest ideas about your earthly possessions but from what I can make out youre not embarrassed with an income I wish you had a little money
I wish I had said Isabel simply apparently forgetting for the moment that her poverty had been a venial fault for two gallant gentlemen
In spite of Sir Matthew Hopes benevolent recommendation Madame Merle did not remain to the end as the issue of poor Mr Touchetts malady had now come frankly to be designated She was under pledges to other people which had at last to be redeemed and she left Gardencourt with the understanding that she should in any event see Mrs Touchett there again or else in town before quitting England Her parting with Isabel was even more like the beginning of a friendship than their meeting had been Im going to six places in succession but I shall see no one I like so well as you Theyll all be old friends however one doesnt make new friends at my age Ive made a great exception for you You must remember that and must think as well of me as possible You must reward me by believing in me
By way of answer Isabel kissed her and though some women kiss with facility there are kisses and kisses and this embrace was satisfactory to Madame Merle Our young lady after this was much alone she saw her aunt and cousin only at meals and discovered that of the hours during which Mrs Touchett was invisible only a minor portion was now devoted to nursing her husband She spent the rest in her own apartments to which access was not allowed even to her niece apparently occupied there with mysterious and inscrutable exercises At table she was grave and silent but her solemnity was not an attitude—Isabel could see it was a conviction She wondered if her aunt repented of having taken her own way so much but there was no visible evidence of this—no tears no sighs no exaggeration of a zeal always to its own sense adequate Mrs Touchett seemed simply to feel the need of thinking things over and summing them up she had a little moral accountbook—with columns unerringly ruled and a sharp steel clasp—which she kept with exemplary neatness Uttered reflection had with her ever at any rate a practical ring If I had foreseen this Id not have proposed your coming abroad now she said to Isabel after Madame Merle had left the house Id have waited and sent for you next year
So that perhaps I should never have known my uncle Its a great happiness to me to have come now
Thats very well But it was not that you might know your uncle that I brought you to Europe A perfectly veracious speech but as Isabel thought not as perfectly timed She had leisure to think of this and other matters She took a solitary walk every day and spent vague hours in turning over books in the library Among the subjects that engaged her attention were the adventures of her friend Miss Stackpole with whom she was in regular correspondence Isabel liked her friends private epistolary style better than her public that is she felt her public letters would have been excellent if they had not been printed Henriettas career however was not so successful as might have been wished even in the interest of her private felicity that view of the inner life of Great Britain which she was so eager to take appeared to dance before her like an ignis fatuus The invitation from Lady Pensil for mysterious reasons had never arrived and poor Mr Bantling himself with all his friendly ingenuity had been unable to explain so grave a dereliction on the part of a missive that had obviously been sent He had evidently taken Henriettas affairs much to heart and believed that he owed her a setoff to this illusory visit to Bedfordshire He says he should think I would go to the Continent Henrietta wrote and as he thinks of going there himself I suppose his advice is sincere He wants to know why I dont take a view of French life and its a fact that I want very much to see the new Republic Mr Bantling doesnt care much about the Republic but he thinks of going over to Paris anyway I must say hes quite as attentive as I could wish and at least I shall have seen one polite Englishman I keep telling Mr Bantling that he ought to have been an American and you should see how that pleases him Whenever I say so he always breaks out with the same exclamation—Ah but really come now A few days later she wrote that she had decided to go to Paris at the end of the week and that Mr Banding had promised to see her off—perhaps even would go as far as Dover with her She would wait in Paris till Isabel should arrive Henrietta added speaking quite as if Isabel were to start on her continental journey alone and making no allusion to Mrs Touchett Bearing in mind his interest in their late companion our heroine communicated several passages from this correspondence to Ralph who followed with an emotion akin to suspense the career of the representative of the Interviewer
It seems to me shes doing very well he said going over to Paris with an exLancer If she wants something to write about she has only to describe that episode
Its not conventional certainly Isabel answered but if you mean that—as far as Henrietta is concerned—its not perfectly innocent youre very much mistaken Youll never understand Henrietta
Pardon me I understand her perfectly I didnt at all at first but now Ive the point of view Im afraid however that Bantling hasnt he may have some surprises Oh I understand Henrietta as well as if I had made her
Isabel was by no means sure of this but she abstained from expressing further doubt for she was disposed in these days to extend a great charity to her cousin One afternoon less than a week after Madame Merles departure she was seated in the library with a volume to which her attention was not fastened She had placed herself in a deep windowbench from which she looked out into the dull damp park and as the library stood at right angles to the entrancefront of the house she could see the doctors brougham which had been waiting for the last two hours before the door She was struck with his remaining so long but at last she saw him appear in the portico stand a moment slowly drawing on his gloves and looking at the knees of his horse and then get into the vehicle and roll away Isabel kept her place for half an hour there was a great stillness in the house It was so great that when she at last heard a soft slow step on the deep carpet of the room she was almost startled by the sound She turned quickly away from the window and saw Ralph Touchett standing there with his hands still in his pockets but with a face absolutely void of its usual latent smile She got up and her movement and glance were a question
Its all over said Ralph
Do you mean that my uncle And Isabel stopped
My dear father died an hour ago
Ah my poor Ralph she gently wailed putting out her two hands to him
CHAPTER XX
Some fortnight after this Madame Merle drove up in a hansom cab to the house in Winchester Square As she descended from her vehicle she observed suspended between the diningroom windows a large neat wooden tablet on whose fresh black ground were inscribed in white paint the words—This noble freehold mansion to be sold with the name of the agent to whom application should be made They certainly lose no time said the visitor as after sounding the big brass knocker she waited to be admitted its a practical country And within the house as she ascended to the drawingroom she perceived numerous signs of abdication pictures removed from the walls and placed upon sofas windows undraped and floors laid bare Mrs Touchett presently received her and intimated in a few words that condolences might be taken for granted
I know what youre going to say—he was a very good man But I know it better than any one because I gave him more chance to show it In that I think I was a good wife Mrs Touchett added that at the end her husband apparently recognised this fact He has treated me most liberally she said I wont say more liberally than I expected because I didnt expect You know that as a general thing I dont expect But he chose I presume to recognise the fact that though I lived much abroad and mingled—you may say freely—in foreign life I never exhibited the smallest preference for any one else
For any one but yourself Madame Merle mentally observed but the reflexion was perfectly inaudible
I never sacrificed my husband to another Mrs Touchett continued with her stout curtness
Oh no thought Madame Merle you never did anything for another
There was a certain cynicism in these mute comments which demands an explanation the more so as they are not in accord either with the view—somewhat superficial perhaps—that we have hitherto enjoyed of Madame Merles character or with the literal facts of Mrs Touchetts history the more so too as Madame Merle had a wellfounded conviction that her friends last remark was not in the least to be construed as a sidethrust at herself The truth is that the moment she had crossed the threshold she received an impression that Mr Touchetts death had had subtle consequences and that these consequences had been profitable to a little circle of persons among whom she was not numbered Of course it was an event which would naturally have consequences her imagination had more than once rested upon this fact during her stay at Gardencourt But it had been one thing to foresee such a matter mentally and another to stand among its massive records The idea of a distribution of property—she would almost have said of spoils—just now pressed upon her senses and irritated her with a sense of exclusion I am far from wishing to picture her as one of the hungry mouths or envious hearts of the general herd but we have already learned of her having desires that had never been satisfied If she had been questioned she would of course have admitted—with a fine proud smile—that she had not the faintest claim to a share in Mr Touchetts relics There was never anything in the world between us she would have said There was never that poor man—with a fillip of her thumb and her third finger I hasten to add moreover that if she couldnt at the present moment keep from quite perversely yearning she was careful not to betray herself She had after all as much sympathy for Mrs Touchetts gains as for her losses
He has left me this house the newlymade widow said but of course I shall not live in it Ive a much better one in Florence The will was opened only three days since but Ive already offered the house for sale Ive also a share in the bank but I dont yet understand if Im obliged to leave it there If not I shall certainly take it out Ralph of course has Gardencourt but Im not sure that hell have means to keep up the place Hes naturally left very well off but his father has given away an immense deal of money there are bequests to a string of third cousins in Vermont Ralph however is very fond of Gardencourt and would be quite capable of living there—in summer—with a maidofallwork and a gardeners boy Theres one remarkable clause in my husbands will Mrs Touchett added He has left my niece a fortune
A fortune Madame Merle softly repeated
Isabel steps into something like seventy thousand pounds Madame Merles hands were clasped in her lap at this she raised them still clasped and held them a moment against her bosom while her eyes a little dilated fixed themselves on those of her friend Ah she cried the clever creature
Mrs Touchett gave her a quick look What do you mean by that
For an instant Madame Merles colour rose and she dropped her eyes It certainly is clever to achieve such results—without an effort
There assuredly was no effort Dont call it an achievement
Madame Merle was seldom guilty of the awkwardness of retracting what she had said her wisdom was shown rather in maintaining it and placing it in a favourable light My dear friend Isabel would certainly not have had seventy thousand pounds left her if she had not been the most charming girl in the world Her charm includes great cleverness
She never dreamed Im sure of my husbands doing anything for her and I never dreamed of it either for he never spoke to me of his intention Mrs Touchett said She had no claim upon him whatever it was no great recommendation to him that she was my niece Whatever she achieved she achieved unconsciously
Ah rejoined Madame Merle those are the greatest strokes Mrs Touchett reserved her opinion The girls fortunate I dont deny that But for the present shes simply stupefied
Do you mean that she doesnt know what to do with the money
That I think she has hardly considered She doesnt know what to think about the matter at all It has been as if a big gun were suddenly fired off behind her shes feeling herself to see if she be hurt Its but three days since she received a visit from the principal executor who came in person very gallantly to notify her He told me afterwards that when he had made his little speech she suddenly burst into tears The moneys to remain in the affairs of the bank and shes to draw the interest
Madame Merle shook her head with a wise and now quite benignant smile How very delicious After she has done that two or three times shell get used to it Then after a silence What does your son think of it she abruptly asked
He left England before the will was read—used up by his fatigue and anxiety and hurrying off to the south Hes on his way to the Riviera and Ive not yet heard from him But its not likely hell ever object to anything done by his father
Didnt you say his own share had been cut down
Only at his wish I know that he urged his father to do something for the people in America Hes not in the least addicted to looking after number one
It depends upon whom he regards as number one said Madame Merle And she remained thoughtful a moment her eyes bent on the floor
Am I not to see your happy niece she asked at last as she raised them
You may see her but youll not be struck with her being happy She has looked as solemn these three days as a Cimabue Madonna And Mrs Touchett rang for a servant
Isabel came in shortly after the footman had been sent to call her and Madame Merle thought as she appeared that Mrs Touchetts comparison had its force The girl was pale and grave—an effect not mitigated by her deeper mourning but the smile of her brightest moments came into her face as she saw Madame Merle who went forward laid her hand on our heroines shoulder and after looking at her a moment kissed her as if she were returning the kiss she had received from her at Gardencourt This was the only allusion the visitor in her great good taste made for the present to her young friends inheritance
Mrs Touchett had no purpose of awaiting in London the sale of her house After selecting from among its furniture the objects she wished to transport to her other abode she left the rest of its contents to be disposed of by the auctioneer and took her departure for the Continent She was of course accompanied on this journey by her niece who now had plenty of leisure to measure and weigh and otherwise handle the windfall on which Madame Merle had covertly congratulated her Isabel thought very often of the fact of her accession of means looking at it in a dozen different lights but we shall not now attempt to follow her train of thought or to explain exactly why her new consciousness was at first oppressive This failure to rise to immediate joy was indeed but brief the girl presently made up her mind that to be rich was a virtue because it was to be able to do and that to do could only be sweet It was the graceful contrary of the stupid side of weakness—especially the feminine variety To be weak was for a delicate young person rather graceful but after all as Isabel said to herself there was a larger grace than that Just now it is true there was not much to do—once she had sent off a cheque to Lily and another to poor Edith but she was thankful for the quiet months which her mourning robes and her aunts fresh widowhood compelled them to spend together The acquisition of power made her serious she scrutinised her power with a kind of tender ferocity but was not eager to exercise it She began to do so during a stay of some weeks which she eventually made with her aunt in Paris though in ways that will inevitably present themselves as trivial They were the ways most naturally imposed in a city in which the shops are the admiration of the world and that were prescribed unreservedly by the guidance of Mrs Touchett who took a rigidly practical view of the transformation of her niece from a poor girl to a rich one Now that youre a young woman of fortune you must know how to play the part—I mean to play it well she said to Isabel once for all and she added that the girls first duty was to have everything handsome You dont know how to take care of your things but you must learn she went on this was Isabels second duty Isabel submitted but for the present her imagination was not kindled she longed for opportunities but these were not the opportunities she meant
Mrs Touchett rarely changed her plans and having intended before her husbands death to spend a part of the winter in Paris saw no reason to deprive herself—still less to deprive her companion—of this advantage Though they would live in great retirement she might still present her niece informally to the little circle of her fellow countrymen dwelling upon the skirts of the Champs Elysees With many of these amiable colonists Mrs Touchett was intimate she shared their expatriation their convictions their pastimes their ennui Isabel saw them arrive with a good deal of assiduity at her aunts hotel and pronounced on them with a trenchancy doubtless to be accounted for by the temporary exaltation of her sense of human duty She made up her mind that their lives were though luxurious inane and incurred some disfavour by expressing this view on bright Sunday afternoons when the American absentees were engaged in calling on each other Though her listeners passed for people kept exemplarily genial by their cooks and dressmakers two or three of them thought her cleverness which was generally admitted inferior to that of the new theatrical pieces You all live here this way but what does it lead to she was pleased to ask It doesnt seem to lead to anything and I should think youd get very tired of it
Mrs Touchett thought the question worthy of Henrietta Stackpole The two ladies had found Henrietta in Paris and Isabel constantly saw her so that Mrs Touchett had some reason for saying to herself that if her niece were not clever enough to originate almost anything she might be suspected of having borrowed that style of remark from her journalistic friend The first occasion on which Isabel had spoken was that of a visit paid by the two ladies to Mrs Luce an old friend of Mrs Touchetts and the only person in Paris she now went to see Mrs Luce had been living in Paris since the days of Louis Philippe she used to say jocosely that she was one of the generation of 1830—a joke of which the point was not always taken When it failed Mrs Luce used to explain—Oh yes Im one of the romantics her French had never become quite perfect She was always at home on Sunday afternoons and surrounded by sympathetic compatriots usually the same In fact she was at home at all times and reproduced with wondrous truth in her wellcushioned little corner of the brilliant city the domestic tone of her native Baltimore This reduced Mr Luce her worthy husband a tall lean grizzled wellbrushed gentleman who wore a gold eyeglass and carried his hat a little too much on the back of his head to mere platonic praise of the distractions of Paris—they were his great word—since you would never have guessed from what cares he escaped to them One of them was that he went every day to the American bankers where he found a postoffice that was almost as sociable and colloquial an institution as in an American country town He passed an hour in fine weather in a chair in the Champs Elysees and he dined uncommonly well at his own table seated above a waxed floor which it was Mrs Luces happiness to believe had a finer polish than any other in the French capital Occasionally he dined with a friend or two at the Cafe Anglais where his talent for ordering a dinner was a source of felicity to his companions and an object of admiration even to the headwaiter of the establishment These were his only known pastimes but they had beguiled his hours for upwards of half a century and they doubtless justified his frequent declaration that there was no place like Paris In no other place on these terms could Mr Luce flatter himself that he was enjoying life There was nothing like Paris but it must be confessed that Mr Luce thought less highly of this scene of his dissipations than in earlier days In the list of his resources his political reflections should not be omitted for they were doubtless the animating principle of many hours that superficially seemed vacant Like many of his fellow colonists Mr Luce was a high—or rather a deep—conservative and gave no countenance to the government lately established in France He had no faith in its duration and would assure you from year to year that its end was close at hand They want to be kept down sir to be kept down nothing but the strong hand—the iron heel—will do for them he would frequently say of the French people and his ideal of a fine showy clever rule was that of the superseded Empire Paris is much less attractive than in the days of the Emperor HE knew how to make a city pleasant Mr Luce had often remarked to Mrs Touchett who was quite of his own way of thinking and wished to know what one had crossed that odious Atlantic for but to get away from republics
Why madam sitting in the Champs Elysees opposite to the Palace of Industry Ive seen the courtcarriages from the Tuileries pass up and down as many as seven times a day I remember one occasion when they went as high as nine What do you see now Its no use talking the styles all gone Napoleon knew what the French people want and therell be a dark cloud over Paris our Paris till they get the Empire back again
Among Mrs Luces visitors on Sunday afternoons was a young man with whom Isabel had had a good deal of conversation and whom she found full of valuable knowledge Mr Edward Rosier—Ned Rosier as he was called—was native to New York and had been brought up in Paris living there under the eye of his father who as it happened had been an early and intimate friend of the late Mr Archer Edward Rosier remembered Isabel as a little girl it had been his father who came to the rescue of the small Archers at the inn at Neufchatel he was travelling that way with the boy and had stopped at the hotel by chance after their bonne had gone off with the Russian prince and when Mr Archers whereabouts remained for some days a mystery Isabel remembered perfectly the neat little male child whose hair smelt of a delicious cosmetic and who had a bonne all his own warranted to lose sight of him under no provocation Isabel took a walk with the pair beside the lake and thought little Edward as pretty as an angel—a comparison by no means conventional in her mind for she had a very definite conception of a type of features which she supposed to be angelic and which her new friend perfectly illustrated A small pink face surmounted by a blue velvet bonnet and set off by a stiff embroidered collar had become the countenance of her childish dreams and she had firmly believed for some time afterwards that the heavenly hosts conversed among themselves in a queer little dialect of FrenchEnglish expressing the properest sentiments as when Edward told her that he was defended by his bonne to go near the edge of the lake and that one must always obey to ones bonne Ned Rosiers English had improved at least it exhibited in a less degree the French variation His father was dead and his bonne dismissed but the young man still conformed to the spirit of their teaching—he never went to the edge of the lake There was still something agreeable to the nostrils about him and something not offensive to nobler organs He was a very gentle and gracious youth with what are called cultivated tastes—an acquaintance with old china with good wine with the bindings of books with the Almanach de Gotha with the best shops the best hotels the hours of railwaytrains He could order a dinner almost as well as Mr Luce and it was probable that as his experience accumulated he would be a worthy successor to that gentleman whose rather grim politics he also advocated in a soft and innocent voice He had some charming rooms in Paris decorated with old Spanish altarlace the envy of his female friends who declared that his chimneypiece was better draped than the high shoulders of many a duchess He usually however spent a part of every winter at Pau and had once passed a couple of months in the United States
He took a great interest in Isabel and remembered perfectly the walk at Neufchatel when she would persist in going so near the edge He seemed to recognise this same tendency in the subversive enquiry that I quoted a moment ago and set himself to answer our heroines question with greater urbanity than it perhaps deserved What does it lead to Miss Archer Why Paris leads everywhere You cant go anywhere unless you come here first Every one that comes to Europe has got to pass through You dont mean it in that sense so much You mean what good it does you Well how can you penetrate futurity How can you tell what lies ahead If its a pleasant road I dont care where it leads I like the road Miss Archer I like the dear old asphalte You cant get tired of it—you cant if you try You think you would but you wouldnt theres always something new and fresh Take the Hotel Drouot now they sometimes have three and four sales a week Where can you get such things as you can here In spite of all they say I maintain theyre cheaper too if you know the right places I know plenty of places but I keep them to myself Ill tell you if you like as a particular favour only you mustnt tell any one else Dont you go anywhere without asking me first I want you to promise me that As a general thing avoid the Boulevards theres very little to be done on the Boulevards Speaking conscientiously—sans blague—I dont believe any one knows Paris better than I You and Mrs Touchett must come and breakfast with me some day and Ill show you my things je ne vous dis que ca There has been a great deal of talk about London of late its the fashion to cry up London But theres nothing in it—you cant do anything in London No Louis Quinze—nothing of the First Empire nothing but their eternal Queen Anne Its good for ones bedroom Queen Anne—for ones washingroom but it isnt proper for a salon Do I spend my life at the auctioneers Mr Rosier pursued in answer to another question of Isabels Oh no I havent the means I wish I had You think Im a mere trifler I can tell by the expression of your face—youve got a wonderfully expressive face I hope you dont mind my saying that I mean it as a kind of warning You think I ought to do something and so do I so long as you leave it vague But when you come to the point you see you have to stop I cant go home and be a shopkeeper You think Im very well fitted Ah Miss Archer you overrate me I can buy very well but I cant sell you should see when I sometimes try to get rid of my things It takes much more ability to make other people buy than to buy yourself When I think how clever they must be the people who make ME buy Ah no I couldnt be a shopkeeper I cant be a doctor its a repulsive business I cant be a clergyman I havent got convictions And then I cant pronounce the names right in the Bible Theyre very difficult in the Old Testament particularly I cant be a lawyer I dont understand—how do you call it—the American procedure Is there anything else Theres nothing for a gentleman in America I should like to be a diplomatist but American diplomacy—thats not for gentlemen either Im sure if you had seen the last min—
Henrietta Stackpole who was often with her friend when Mr Rosier coming to pay his compliments late in the afternoon expressed himself after the fashion I have sketched usually interrupted the young man at this point and read him a lecture on the duties of the American citizen She thought him most unnatural he was worse than poor Ralph Touchett Henrietta however was at this time more than ever addicted to fine criticism for her conscience had been freshly alarmed as regards Isabel She had not congratulated this young lady on her augmentations and begged to be excused from doing so
If Mr Touchett had consulted me about leaving you the money she frankly asserted Id have said to him Never
I see Isabel had answered You think it will prove a curse in disguise Perhaps it will
Leave it to some one you care less for—thats what I should have said
To yourself for instance Isabel suggested jocosely And then Do you really believe it will ruin me she asked in quite another tone
I hope it wont ruin you but it will certainly confirm your dangerous tendencies
Do you mean the love of luxury—of extravagance
No no said Henrietta I mean your exposure on the moral side I approve of luxury I think we ought to be as elegant as possible Look at the luxury of our western cities Ive seen nothing over here to compare with it I hope youll never become grossly sensual but Im not afraid of that The peril for you is that you live too much in the world of your own dreams Youre not enough in contact with reality—with the toiling striving suffering I may even say sinning world that surrounds you Youre too fastidious youve too many graceful illusions Your newlyacquired thousands will shut you up more and more to the society of a few selfish and heartless people who will be interested in keeping them up
Isabels eyes expanded as she gazed at this lurid scene What are my illusions she asked I try so hard not to have any
Well said Henrietta you think you can lead a romantic life that you can live by pleasing yourself and pleasing others Youll find youre mistaken Whatever life you lead you must put your soul in it—to make any sort of success of it and from the moment you do that it ceases to be romance I assure you it becomes grim reality And you cant always please yourself you must sometimes please other people That I admit youre very ready to do but theres another thing thats still more important—you must often displease others You must always be ready for that—you must never shrink from it That doesnt suit you at all—youre too fond of admiration you like to be thought well of You think we can escape disagreeable duties by taking romantic views—thats your great illusion my dear But we cant You must be prepared on many occasions in life to please no one at all—not even yourself
Isabel shook her head sadly she looked troubled and frightened This for you Henrietta she said must be one of those occasions
It was certainly true that Miss Stackpole during her visit to Paris which had been professionally more remunerative than her English sojourn had not been living in the world of dreams Mr Bantling who had now returned to England was her companion for the first four weeks of her stay and about Mr Bantling there was nothing dreamy Isabel learned from her friend that the two had led a life of great personal intimacy and that this had been a peculiar advantage to Henrietta owing to the gentlemans remarkable knowledge of Paris He had explained everything shown her everything been her constant guide and interpreter They had breakfasted together dined together gone to the theatre together supped together really in a manner quite lived together He was a true friend Henrietta more than once assured our heroine and she had never supposed that she could like any Englishman so well Isabel could not have told you why but she found something that ministered to mirth in the alliance the correspondent of the Interviewer had struck with Lady Pensils brother her amusement moreover subsisted in face of the fact that she thought it a credit to each of them Isabel couldnt rid herself of a suspicion that they were playing somehow at crosspurposes—that the simplicity of each had been entrapped But this simplicity was on either side none the less honourable It was as graceful on Henriettas part to believe that Mr Bantling took an interest in the diffusion of lively journalism and in consolidating the position of ladycorrespondents as it was on the part of his companion to suppose that the cause of the Interviewer—a periodical of which he never formed a very definite conception—was if subtly analysed a task to which Mr Bantling felt himself quite equal but the cause of Miss Stackpoles need of demonstrative affection Each of these groping celibates supplied at any rate a want of which the other was impatiently conscious Mr Bantling who was of rather a slow and a discursive habit relished a prompt keen positive woman who charmed him by the influence of a shining challenging eye and a kind of bandbox freshness and who kindled a perception of raciness in a mind to which the usual fare of life seemed unsalted Henrietta on the other hand enjoyed the society of a gentleman who appeared somehow in his way made by expensive roundabout almost quaint processes for her use and whose leisured state though generally indefensible was a decided boon to a breathless mate and who was furnished with an easy traditional though by no means exhaustive answer to almost any social or practical question that could come up She often found Mr Bantlings answers very convenient and in the press of catching the American post would largely and showily address them to publicity It was to be feared that she was indeed drifting toward those abysses of sophistication as to which Isabel wishing for a goodhumoured retort had warned her There might be danger in store for Isabel but it was scarcely to be hoped that Miss Stackpole on her side would find permanent rest in any adoption of the views of a class pledged to all the old abuses Isabel continued to warn her goodhumouredly Lady Pensils obliging brother was sometimes on our heroines lips an object of irreverent and facetious allusion Nothing however could exceed Henriettas amiability on this point she used to abound in the sense of Isabels irony and to enumerate with elation the hours she had spent with this perfect man of the world—a term that had ceased to make with her as previously for opprobrium Then a few moments later she would forget that they had been talking jocosely and would mention with impulsive earnestness some expedition she had enjoyed in his company She would say Oh I know all about Versailles I went there with Mr Bantling I was bound to see it thoroughly—I warned him when we went out there that I was thorough so we spent three days at the hotel and wandered all over the place It was lovely weather—a kind of Indian summer only not so good We just lived in that park Oh yes you cant tell me anything about Versailles Henrietta appeared to have made arrangements to meet her gallant friend during the spring in Italy
CHAPTER XXI
Mrs Touchett before arriving in Paris had fixed the day for her departure and by the middle of February had begun to travel southward She interrupted her journey to pay a visit to her son who at San Remo on the Italian shore of the Mediterranean had been spending a dull bright winter beneath a slowmoving white umbrella Isabel went with her aunt as a matter of course though Mrs Touchett with homely customary logic had laid before her a pair of alternatives
Now of course youre completely your own mistress and are as free as the bird on the bough I dont mean you were not so before but youre at present on a different footing—property erects a kind of barrier You can do a great many things if youre rich which would be severely criticised if you were poor You can go and come you can travel alone you can have your own establishment I mean of course if youll take a companion—some decayed gentlewoman with a darned cashmere and dyed hair who paints on velvet You dont think youd like that Of course you can do as you please I only want you to understand how much youre at liberty You might take Miss Stackpole as your dame de compagnie shed keep people off very well I think however that its a great deal better you should remain with me in spite of there being no obligation Its better for several reasons quite apart from your liking it I shouldnt think youd like it but I recommend you to make the sacrifice Of course whatever novelty there may have been at first in my society has quite passed away and you see me as I am—a dull obstinate narrowminded old woman
I dont think youre at all dull Isabel had replied to this
But you do think Im obstinate and narrowminded I told you so said Mrs Touchett with much elation at being justified
Isabel remained for the present with her aunt because in spite of eccentric impulses she had a great regard for what was usually deemed decent and a young gentlewoman without visible relations had always struck her as a flower without foliage It was true that Mrs Touchetts conversation had never again appeared so brilliant as that first afternoon in Albany when she sat in her damp waterproof and sketched the opportunities that Europe would offer to a young person of taste This however was in a great measure the girls own fault she had got a glimpse of her aunts experience and her imagination constantly anticipated the judgements and emotions of a woman who had very little of the same faculty Apart from this Mrs Touchett had a great merit she was as honest as a pair of compasses There was a comfort in her stiffness and firmness you knew exactly where to find her and were never liable to chance encounters and concussions On her own ground she was perfectly present but was never overinquisitive as regards the territory of her neighbour Isabel came at last to have a kind of undemonstrable pity for her there seemed something so dreary in the condition of a person whose nature had as it were so little surface—offered so limited a face to the accretions of human contact Nothing tender nothing sympathetic had ever had a chance to fasten upon it—no windsown blossom no familiar softening moss Her offered her passive extent in other words was about that of a knifeedge Isabel had reason to believe none the less that as she advanced in life she made more of those concessions to the sense of something obscurely distinct from convenience—more of them than she independently exacted She was learning to sacrifice consistency to considerations of that inferior order for which the excuse must be found in the particular case It was not to the credit of her absolute rectitude that she should have gone the longest way round to Florence in order to spend a few weeks with her invalid son since in former years it had been one of her most definite convictions that when Ralph wished to see her he was at liberty to remember that Palazzo Crescentini contained a large apartment known as the quarter of the signorino
I want to ask you something Isabel said to this young man the day after her arrival at San Remo—something Ive thought more than once of asking you by letter but that Ive hesitated on the whole to write about Face to face nevertheless my question seems easy enough Did you know your father intended to leave me so much money
Ralph stretched his legs a little further than usual and gazed a little more fixedly at the Mediterranean
What does it matter my dear Isabel whether I knew My father was very obstinate
So said the girl you did know
Yes he told me We even talked it over a little What did he do it for asked Isabel abruptly Why as a kind of compliment
A compliment on what
On your so beautifully existing
He liked me too much she presently declared
Thats a way we all have
If I believed that I should be very unhappy Fortunately I dont believe it I want to be treated with justice I want nothing but that
Very good But you must remember that justice to a lovely being is after all a florid sort of sentiment
Im not a lovely being How can you say that at the very moment when Im asking such odious questions I must seem to you delicate
You seem to me troubled said Ralph
I am troubled
About what
For a moment she answered nothing then she broke out Do you think it good for me suddenly to be made so rich Henrietta doesnt
Oh hang Henrietta said Ralph coarsely If you ask me Im delighted at it
Is that why your father did it—for your amusement
I differ with Miss Stackpole Ralph went on more gravely I think it very good for you to have means
Isabel looked at him with serious eyes I wonder whether you know whats good for me—or whether you care
If I know depend upon it I care Shall I tell you what it is Not to torment yourself
Not to torment you I suppose you mean
You cant do that Im proof Take things more easily Dont ask yourself so much whether this or that is good for you Dont question your conscience so much—it will get out of tune like a strummed piano Keep it for great occasions Dont try so much to form your character—its like trying to pull open a tight tender young rose Live as you like best and your character will take care of itself Most things are good for you the exceptions are very rare and a comfortable incomes not one of them Ralph paused smiling Isabel had listened quickly Youve too much power of thought—above all too much conscience Ralph added Its out of all reason the number of things you think wrong Put back your watch Diet your fever Spread your wings rise above the ground Its never wrong to do that
She had listened eagerly as I say and it was her nature to understand quickly I wonder if you appreciate what you say If you do you take a great responsibility
You frighten me a little but I think Im right said Ralph persisting in cheer
All the same what you say is very true Isabel pursued You could say nothing more true Im absorbed in myself—I look at life too much as a doctors prescription Why indeed should we perpetually be thinking whether things are good for us as if we were patients lying in a hospital Why should I be so afraid of not doing right As if it mattered to the world whether I do right or wrong
Youre a capital person to advise said Ralph you take the wind out of my sails
She looked at him as if she had not heard him—though she was following out the train of reflexion which he himself had kindled I try to care more about the world than about myself—but I always come back to myself Its because Im afraid She stopped her voice had trembled a little Yes Im afraid I cant tell you A large fortune means freedom and Im afraid of that Its such a fine thing and one should make such a good use of it If one shouldnt one would be ashamed And one must keep thinking its a constant effort Im not sure its not a greater happiness to be powerless
For weak people Ive no doubt its a greater happiness For weak people the effort not to be contemptible must be great
And how do you know Im not weak Isabel asked
Ah Ralph answered with a flush that the girl noticed if you are Im awfully sold
The charm of the Mediterranean coast only deepened for our heroine on acquaintance for it was the threshold of Italy the gate of admirations Italy as yet imperfectly seen and felt stretched before her as a land of promise a land in which a love of the beautiful might be comforted by endless knowledge Whenever she strolled upon the shore with her cousin—and she was the companion of his daily walk—she looked across the sea with longing eyes to where she knew that Genoa lay She was glad to pause however on the edge of this larger adventure there was such a thrill even in the preliminary hovering It affected her moreover as a peaceful interlude as a hush of the drum and fife in a career which she had little warrant as yet for regarding as agitated but which nevertheless she was constantly picturing to herself by the light of her hopes her fears her fancies her ambitions her predilections and which reflected these subjective accidents in a manner sufficiently dramatic Madame Merle had predicted to Mrs Touchett that after their young friend had put her hand into her pocket half a dozen times she would be reconciled to the idea that it had been filled by a munificent uncle and the event justified as it had so often justified before that ladys perspicacity Ralph Touchett had praised his cousin for being morally inflammable that is for being quick to take a hint that was meant as good advice His advice had perhaps helped the matter she had at any rate before leaving San Remo grown used to feeling rich The consciousness in question found a proper place in rather a dense little group of ideas that she had about herself and often it was by no means the least agreeable It took perpetually for granted a thousand good intentions She lost herself in a maze of visions the fine things to be done by a rich independent generous girl who took a large human view of occasions and obligations were sublime in the mass Her fortune therefore became to her mind a part of her better self it gave her importance gave her even to her own imagination a certain ideal beauty What it did for her in the imagination of others is another affair and on this point we must also touch in time The visions I have just spoken of were mixed with other debates Isabel liked better to think of the future than of the past but at times as she listened to the murmur of the Mediterranean waves her glance took a backward flight It rested upon two figures which in spite of increasing distance were still sufficiently salient they were recognisable without difficulty as those of Caspar Goodwood and Lord Warburton It was strange how quickly these images of energy had fallen into the background of our young ladys life It was in her disposition at all times to lose faith in the reality of absent things she could summon back her faith in case of need with an effort but the effort was often painful even when the reality had been pleasant The past was apt to look dead and its revival rather to show the livid light of a judgementday The girl moreover was not prone to take for granted that she herself lived in the mind of others—she had not the fatuity to believe she left indelible traces She was capable of being wounded by the discovery that she had been forgotten but of all liberties the one she herself found sweetest was the liberty to forget She had not given her last shilling sentimentally speaking either to Caspar Goodwood or to Lord Warburton and yet couldnt but feel them appreciably in debt to her She had of course reminded herself that she was to hear from Mr Goodwood again but this was not to be for another year and a half and in that time a great many things might happen She had indeed failed to say to herself that her American suitor might find some other girl more comfortable to woo because though it was certain many other girls would prove so she had not the smallest belief that this merit would attract him But she reflected that she herself might know the humiliation of change might really for that matter come to the end of the things that were not Caspar even though there appeared so many of them and find rest in those very elements of his presence which struck her now as impediments to the finer respiration It was conceivable that these impediments should some day prove a sort of blessing in disguise—a clear and quiet harbour enclosed by a brave granite breakwater But that day could only come in its order and she couldnt wait for it with folded hands That Lord Warburton should continue to cherish her image seemed to her more than a noble humility or an enlightened pride ought to wish to reckon with She had so definitely undertaken to preserve no record of what had passed between them that a corresponding effort on his own part would be eminently just This was not as it may seem merely a theory tinged with sarcasm Isabel candidly believed that his lordship would in the usual phrase get over his disappointment He had been deeply affected—this she believed and she was still capable of deriving pleasure from the belief but it was absurd that a man both so intelligent and so honourably dealt with should cultivate a scar out of proportion to any wound Englishmen liked moreover to be comfortable said Isabel and there could be little comfort for Lord Warburton in the long run in brooding over a selfsufficient American girl who had been but a casual acquaintance She flattered herself that should she hear from one day to another that he had married some young woman of his own country who had done more to deserve him she should receive the news without a pang even of surprise It would have proved that he believed she was firm—which was what she wished to seem to him That alone was grateful to her pride
CHAPTER XXII
On one of the first days of May some six months after old Mr Touchetts death a small group that might have been described by a painter as composing well was gathered in one of the many rooms of an ancient villa crowning an olivemuffled hill outside of the Roman gate of Florence The villa was a long rather blanklooking structure with the farprojecting roof which Tuscany loves and which on the hills that encircle Florence when considered from a distance makes so harmonious a rectangle with the straight dark definite cypresses that usually rise in groups of three or four beside it The house had a front upon a little grassy empty rural piazza which occupied a part of the hilltop and this front pierced with a few windows in irregular relations and furnished with a stone bench lengthily adjusted to the base of the structure and useful as a loungingplace to one or two persons wearing more or less of that air of undervalued merit which in Italy for some reason or other always gracefully invests any one who confidently assumes a perfectly passive attitude—this antique solid weatherworn yet imposing front had a somewhat incommunicative character It was the mask not the face of the house It had heavy lids but no eyes the house in reality looked another way—looked off behind into splendid openness and the range of the afternoon light In that quarter the villa overhung the slope of its hill and the long valley of the Arno hazy with Italian colour It had a narrow garden in the manner of a terrace productive chiefly of tangles of wild roses and other old stone benches mossy and sunwarmed The parapet of the terrace was just the height to lean upon and beneath it the ground declined into the vagueness of olivecrops and vineyards It is not however with the outside of the place that we are concerned on this bright morning of ripened spring its tenants had reason to prefer the shady side of the wall The windows of the groundfloor as you saw them from the piazza were in their noble proportions extremely architectural but their function seemed less to offer communication with the world than to defy the world to look in They were massively crossbarred and placed at such a height that curiosity even on tiptoe expired before it reached them In an apartment lighted by a row of three of these jealous apertures—one of the several distinct apartments into which the villa was divided and which were mainly occupied by foreigners of random race long resident in Florence—a gentleman was seated in company with a young girl and two good sisters from a religious house The room was however less sombre than our indications may have represented for it had a wide high door which now stood open into the tangled garden behind and the tall iron lattices admitted on occasion more than enough of the Italian sunshine It was moreover a seat of ease indeed of luxury telling of arrangements subtly studied and refinements frankly proclaimed and containing a variety of those faded hangings of damask and tapestry those chests and cabinets of carved and timepolished oak those angular specimens of pictorial art in frames as pedantically primitive those perverselooking relics of medieval brass and pottery of which Italy has long been the not quite exhausted storehouse These things kept terms with articles of modern furniture in which large allowance had been made for a lounging generation it was to be noticed that all the chairs were deep and well padded and that much space was occupied by a writingtable of which the ingenious perfection bore the stamp of London and the nineteenth century There were books in profusion and magazines and newspapers and a few small odd elaborate pictures chiefly in watercolour One of these productions stood on a drawingroom easel before which at the moment we begin to be concerned with her the young girl I have mentioned had placed herself She was looking at the picture in silence
Silence—absolute silence—had not fallen upon her companions but their talk had an appearance of embarrassed continuity The two good sisters had not settled themselves in their respective chairs their attitude expressed a final reserve and their faces showed the glaze of prudence They were plain ample mildfeatured women with a kind of businesslike modesty to which the impersonal aspect of their stiffened linen and of the serge that draped them as if nailed on frames gave an advantage One of them a person of a certain age in spectacles with a fresh complexion and a full cheek had a more discriminating manner than her colleague as well as the responsibility of their errand which apparently related to the young girl This object of interest wore her hat—an ornament of extreme simplicity and not at variance with her plain muslin gown too short for her years though it must already have been let out The gentleman who might have been supposed to be entertaining the two nuns was perhaps conscious of the difficulties of his function it being in its way as arduous to converse with the very meek as with the very mighty At the same time he was clearly much occupied with their quiet charge and while she turned her back to him his eyes rested gravely on her slim small figure He was a man of forty with a high but wellshaped head on which the hair still dense but prematurely grizzled had been cropped close He had a fine narrow extremely modelled and composed face of which the only fault was just this effect of its running a trifle too much to points an appearance to which the shape of the beard contributed not a little This beard cut in the manner of the portraits of the sixteenth century and surmounted by a fair moustache of which the ends had a romantic upward flourish gave its wearer a foreign traditionary look and suggested that he was a gentleman who studied style His conscious curious eyes however eyes at once vague and penetrating intelligent and hard expressive of the observer as well as of the dreamer would have assured you that he studied it only within wellchosen limits and that in so far as he sought it he found it You would have been much at a loss to determine his original clime and country he had none of the superficial signs that usually render the answer to this question an insipidly easy one If he had English blood in his veins it had probably received some French or Italian commixture but he suggested fine gold coin as he was no stamp nor emblem of the common mintage that provides for general circulation he was the elegant complicated medal struck off for a special occasion He had a light lean rather languidlooking figure and was apparently neither tall nor short He was dressed as a man dresses who takes little other trouble about it than to have no vulgar things
Well my dear what do you think of it he asked of the young girl He used the Italian tongue and used it with perfect ease but this would not have convinced you he was Italian
The child turned her head earnestly to one side and the other Its very pretty papa Did you make it yourself
Certainly I made it Dont you think Im clever
Yes papa very clever I also have learned to make pictures And she turned round and showed a small fair face painted with a fixed and intensely sweet smile
You should have brought me a specimen of your powers
Ive brought a great many theyre in my trunk
She draws very—very carefully the elder of the nuns remarked speaking in French
Im glad to hear it Is it you who have instructed her
Happily no said the good sister blushing a little Ce nest pas ma partie I teach nothing I leave that to those who are wiser Weve an excellent drawingmaster Mr—Mr—what is his name she asked of her companion
Her companion looked about at the carpet Its a German name she said in Italian as if it needed to be translated
Yes the other went on hes a German and weve had him many years
The young girl who was not heeding the conversation had wandered away to the open door of the large room and stood looking into the garden And you my sister are French said the gentleman
Yes sir the visitor gently replied I speak to the pupils in my own tongue I know no other But we have sisters of other countries—English German Irish They all speak their proper language
The gentleman gave a smile Has my daughter been under the care of one of the Irish ladies And then as he saw that his visitors suspected a joke though failing to understand it Youre very complete he instantly added
Oh yes were complete Weve everything and everythings of the best
We have gymnastics the Italian sister ventured to remark But not dangerous
I hope not Is that YOUR branch A question which provoked much candid hilarity on the part of the two ladies on the subsidence of which their entertainer glancing at his daughter remarked that she had grown
Yes but I think she has finished Shell remain—not big said the French sister
Im not sorry I prefer women like books—very good and not too long But I know the gentleman said no particular reason why my child should be short
The nun gave a temperate shrug as if to intimate that such things might be beyond our knowledge Shes in very good health thats the best thing
Yes she looks sound And the young girls father watched her a moment What do you see in the garden he asked in French
I see many flowers she replied in a sweet small voice and with an accent as good as his own
Yes but not many good ones However such as they are go out and gather some for ces dames
The child turned to him with her smile heightened by pleasure May I truly
Ah when I tell you said her father
The girl glanced at the elder of the nuns May I truly ma mere
Obey monsieur your father my child said the sister blushing again
The child satisfied with this authorisation descended from the threshold and was presently lost to sight You dont spoil them said her father gaily
For everything they must ask leave Thats our system Leave is freely granted but they must ask it
Oh I dont quarrel with your system Ive no doubt its excellent I sent you my daughter to see what youd make of her I had faith
One must have faith the sister blandly rejoined gazing through her spectacles
Well has my faith been rewarded What have you made of her
The sister dropped her eyes a moment A good Christian monsieur
Her host dropped his eyes as well but it was probable that the movement had in each case a different spring Yes and what else
He watched the lady from the convent probably thinking she would say that a good Christian was everything but for all her simplicity she was not so crude as that A charming young lady—a real little woman—a daughter in whom you will have nothing but contentment
She seems to me very gentille said the father Shes really pretty
Shes perfect She has no faults
She never had any as a child and Im glad you have given her none
We love her too much said the spectacled sister with dignity
And as for faults how can we give what we have not Le couvent nest pas comme le monde monsieur Shes our daughter as you may say Weve had her since she was so small
Of all those we shall lose this year shes the one we shall miss most the younger woman murmured deferentially
Ah yes we shall talk long of her said the other We shall hold her up to the new ones And at this the good sister appeared to find her spectacles dim while her companion after fumbling a moment presently drew forth a pockethandkerchief of durable texture
Its not certain youll lose her nothings settled yet their host rejoined quickly not as if to anticipate their tears but in the tone of a man saying what was most agreeable to himself We should be very happy to believe that Fifteen is very young to leave us
Oh exclaimed the gentleman with more vivacity than he had yet used it is not I who wish to take her away I wish you could keep her always
Ah monsieur said the elder sister smiling and getting up good as she is shes made for the world Le monde y gagnera
If all the good people were hidden away in convents how would the world get on her companion softly enquired rising also
This was a question of a wider bearing than the good woman apparently supposed and the lady in spectacles took a harmonising view by saying comfortably Fortunately there are good people everywhere
If youre going there will be two less here her host remarked gallantly
For this extravagant sally his simple visitors had no answer and they simply looked at each other in decent deprecation but their confusion was speedily covered by the return of the young girl with two large bunches of roses—one of them all white the other red
I give you your choice mamman Catherine said the child Its only the colour thats different mamman Justine there are just as many roses in one bunch as in the other
The two sisters turned to each other smiling and hesitating with Which will you take and No its for you to choose
Ill take the red thank you said Catherine in the spectacles Im so red myself Theyll comfort us on our way back to Rome
Ah they wont last cried the young girl I wish I could give you something that would last
Youve given us a good memory of yourself my daughter That will last
I wish nuns could wear pretty things I would give you my blue beads the child went on
And do you go back to Rome tonight her father enquired
Yes we take the train again Weve so much to do labas
Are you not tired
We are never tired
Ah my sister sometimes murmured the junior votaress
Not today at any rate We have rested too well here Que Dieu vows garde ma fine
Their host while they exchanged kisses with his daughter went forward to open the door through which they were to pass but as he did so he gave a slight exclamation and stood looking beyond The door opened into a vaulted antechamber as high as a chapel and paved with red tiles and into this antechamber a lady had just been admitted by a servant a lad in shabby livery who was now ushering her toward the apartment in which our friends were grouped The gentleman at the door after dropping his exclamation remained silent in silence too the lady advanced He gave her no further audible greeting and offered her no hand but stood aside to let her pass into the saloon At the threshold she hesitated Is there any one she asked
Some one you may see
She went in and found herself confronted with the two nuns and their pupil who was coming forward between them with a hand in the arm of each At the sight of the new visitor they all paused and the lady who had also stopped stood looking at them The young girl gave a little soft cry Ah Madame Merle
The visitor had been slightly startled but her manner the next instant was none the less gracious Yes its Madame Merle come to welcome you home And she held out two hands to the girl who immediately came up to her presenting her forehead to be kissed Madame Merle saluted this portion of her charming little person and then stood smiling at the two nuns They acknowledged her smile with a decent obeisance but permitted themselves no direct scrutiny of this imposing brilliant woman who seemed to bring in with her something of the radiance of the outer world These ladies have brought my daughter home and now they return to the convent the gentleman explained
Ah you go back to Rome Ive lately come from there Its very lovely now said Madame Merle
The good sisters standing with their hands folded into their sleeves accepted this statement uncritically and the master of the house asked his new visitor how long it was since she had left Rome She came to see me at the convent said the young girl before the lady addressed had time to reply
Ive been more than once Pansy Madame Merle declared Am I not your great friend in Rome
I remember the last time best said Pansy because you told me I should come away
Did you tell her that the childs father asked
I hardly remember I told her what I thought would please her Ive been in Florence a week I hoped you would come to see me
I should have done so if I had known you were there One doesnt know such things by inspiration—though I suppose one ought You had better sit down
These two speeches were made in a particular tone of voice—a tone halflowered and carefully quiet but as from habit rather than from any definite need Madame Merle looked about her choosing her seat Youre going to the door with these women Let me of course not interrupt the ceremony Je vous salue mesdames she added in French to the nuns as if to dismiss them
This ladys a great friend of ours you will have seen her at the convent said their entertainer Weve much faith in her judgement and shell help me to decide whether my daughter shall return to you at the end of the holidays
I hope youll decide in our favour madame the sister in spectacles ventured to remark
Thats Mr Osmonds pleasantry I decide nothing said Madame Merle but also as in pleasantry I believe youve a very good school but Miss Osmonds friends must remember that shes very naturally meant for the world
Thats what Ive told monsieur sister Catherine answered Its precisely to fit her for the world she murmured glancing at Pansy who stood at a little distance attentive to Madame Merles elegant apparel
Do you hear that Pansy Youre very naturally meant for the world said Pansys father
The child fixed him an instant with her pure young eyes Am I not meant for you papa
Papa gave a quick light laugh That doesnt prevent it Im of the world Pansy
Kindly permit us to retire said sister Catherine Be good and wise and happy in any case my daughter
I shall certainly come back and see you Pansy returned recommencing her embraces which were presently interrupted by Madame Merle
Stay with me dear child she said while your father takes the good ladies to the door
Pansy stared disappointed yet not protesting She was evidently impregnated with the idea of submission which was due to any one who took the tone of authority and she was a passive spectator of the operation of her fate May I not see mamman Catherine get into the carriage she nevertheless asked very gently
It would please me better if youd remain with me said Madame Merle while Mr Osmond and his companions who had bowed low again to the other visitor passed into the antechamber
Oh yes Ill stay Pansy answered and she stood near Madame Merle surrendering her little hand which this lady took She stared out of the window her eyes had filled with tears
Im glad theyve taught you to obey said Madame Merle Thats what good little girls should do
Oh yes I obey very well cried Pansy with soft eagerness almost with boastfulness as if she had been speaking of her pianoplaying And then she gave a faint just audible sigh
Madame Merle holding her hand drew it across her own fine palm and looked at it The gaze was critical but it found nothing to deprecate the childs small hand was delicate and fair I hope they always see that you wear gloves she said in a moment Little girls usually dislike them
I used to dislike them but I like them now the child made answer
Very good Ill make you a present of a dozen
I thank you very much What colours will they be Pansy demanded with interest
Madame Merle meditated Useful colours
But very pretty
Are you very fond of pretty things
Yes but—but not too fond said Pansy with a trace of asceticism
Well they wont be too pretty Madame Merle returned with a laugh She took the childs other hand and drew her nearer after which looking at her a moment Shall you miss mother Catherine she went on
Yes—when I think of her
Try then not to think of her Perhaps some day added Madame Merle youll have another mother
I dont think thats necessary Pansy said repeating her little soft conciliatory sigh I had more than thirty mothers at the convent
Her fathers step sounded again in the antechamber and Madame Merle got up releasing the child Mr Osmond came in and closed the door then without looking at Madame Merle he pushed one or two chairs back into their places His visitor waited a moment for him to speak watching him as he moved about Then at last she said I hoped youd have come to Rome I thought it possible youd have wished yourself to fetch Pansy away
That was a natural supposition but Im afraid its not the first time Ive acted in defiance of your calculations
Yes said Madame Merle I think you very perverse
Mr Osmond busied himself for a moment in the room—there was plenty of space in it to move about—in the fashion of a man mechanically seeking pretexts for not giving an attention which may be embarrassing Presently however he had exhausted his pretexts there was nothing left for him—unless he took up a book—but to stand with his hands behind him looking at Pansy Why didnt you come and see the last of mamman Catherine he asked of her abruptly in French
Pansy hesitated a moment glancing at Madame Merle I asked her to stay with me said this lady who had seated herself again in another place
Ah that was better Osmond conceded With which he dropped into a chair and sat looking at Madame Merle bent forward a little his elbows on the edge of the arms and his hands interlocked
Shes going to give me some gloves said Pansy
You neednt tell that to every one my dear Madame Merle observed
Youre very kind to her said Osmond Shes supposed to have everything she needs
I should think she had had enough of the nuns
If were going to discuss that matter she had better go out of the room
Let her stay said Madame Merle Well talk of something else
If you like I wont listen Pansy suggested with an appearance of candour which imposed conviction
You may listen charming child because you wont understand her father replied The child sat down deferentially near the open door within sight of the garden into which she directed her innocent wistful eyes and Mr Osmond went on irrelevantly addressing himself to his other companion Youre looking particularly well
I think I always look the same said Madame Merle
You always ARE the same You dont vary Youre a wonderful woman
Yes I think I am
You sometimes change your mind however You told me on your return from England that you wouldnt leave Rome again for the present
Im pleased that you remember so well what I say That was my intention But Ive come to Florence to meet some friends who have lately arrived and as to whose movements I was at that time uncertain
That reasons characteristic Youre always doing something for your friends
Madame Merle smiled straight at her host Its less characteristic than your comment upon it which is perfectly insincere I dont however make a crime of that she added because if you dont believe what you say theres no reason why you should I dont ruin myself for my friends I dont deserve your praise I care greatly for myself
Exactly but yourself includes so many other selves—so much of every one else and of everything I never knew a person whose life touched so many other lives
What do you call ones life asked Madame Merle Ones appearance ones movements ones engagements ones society
I call YOUR life your ambitions said Osmond
Madame Merle looked a moment at Pansy I wonder if she understands that she murmured
You see she cant stay with us And Pansys father gave rather a joyless smile Go into the garden mignonne and pluck a flower or two for Madame Merle he went on in French
Thats just what I wanted to do Pansy exclaimed rising with promptness and noiselessly departing Her father followed her to the open door stood a moment watching her and then came back but remained standing or rather strolling to and fro as if to cultivate a sense of freedom which in another attitude might be wanting
My ambitions are principally for you said Madame Merle looking up at him with a certain courage
That comes back to what I say Im part of your life—I and a thousand others Youre not selfish—I cant admit that If you were selfish what should I be What epithet would properly describe me
Youre indolent For me thats your worst fault
Im afraid its really my best
You dont care said Madame Merle gravely
No I dont think I care much What sort of a fault do you call that My indolence at any rate was one of the reasons I didnt go to Rome But it was only one of them
Its not of importance—to me at least—that you didnt go though I should have been glad to see you Im glad youre not in Rome now—which you might be would probably be if you had gone there a month ago Theres something I should like you to do at present in Florence
Please remember my indolence said Osmond
I do remember it but I beg you to forget it In that way youll have both the virtue and the reward This is not a great labour and it may prove a real interest How long is it since you made a new acquaintance
I dont think Ive made any since I made yours
Its time then you should make another Theres a friend of mine I want you to know
Mr Osmond in his walk had gone back to the open door again and was looking at his daughter as she moved about in the intense sunshine What good will it do me he asked with a sort of genial crudity
Madame Merle waited It will amuse you There was nothing crude in this rejoinder it had been thoroughly well considered
If you say that you know I believe it said Osmond coming toward her There are some points in which my confidence in you is complete Im perfectly aware for instance that you know good society from bad
Society is all bad
Pardon me That isnt—the knowledge I impute to you—a common sort of wisdom Youve gained it in the right way—experimentally youve compared an immense number of more or less impossible people with each other
Well I invite you to profit by my knowledge
To profit Are you very sure that I shall
Its what I hope It will depend on yourself If I could only induce you to make an effort
Ah there you are I knew something tiresome was coming What in the world—thats likely to turn up here—is worth an effort
Madame Merle flushed as with a wounded intention Dont be foolish Osmond No one knows better than you what IS worth an effort Havent I seen you in old days
I recognise some things But theyre none of them probable in this poor life
Its the effort that makes them probable said Madame Merle
Theres something in that Who then is your friend
The person I came to Florence to see Shes a niece of Mrs Touchett whom youll not have forgotten
A niece The word niece suggests youth and ignorance I see what youre coming to
Yes shes young—twentythree years old Shes a great friend of mine I met her for the first time in England several months ago and we struck up a grand alliance I like her immensely and I do what I dont do every day—I admire her Youll do the same
Not if I can help it
Precisely But you wont be able to help it
Is she beautiful clever rich splendid universally intelligent and unprecedentedly virtuous Its only on those conditions that I care to make her acquaintance You know I asked you some time ago never to speak to me of a creature who shouldnt correspond to that description I know plenty of dingy people I dont want to know any more
Miss Archer isnt dingy shes as bright as the morning She corresponds to your description its for that I wish you to know her She fills all your requirements
More or less of course
No quite literally Shes beautiful accomplished generous and for an American wellborn Shes also very clever and very amiable and she has a handsome fortune
Mr Osmond listened to this in silence appearing to turn it over in his mind with his eyes on his informant What do you want to do with her he asked at last
What you see Put her in your way
Isnt she meant for something better than that
I dont pretend to know what people are meant for said Madame Merle I only know what I can do with them
Im sorry for Miss Archer Osmond declared
Madame Merle got up If thats a beginning of interest in her I take note of it
The two stood there face to face she settled her mantilla looking down at it as she did so Youre looking very well Osmond repeated still less relevantly than before You have some idea Youre never so well as when youve got an idea theyre always becoming to you
In the manner and tone of these two persons on first meeting at any juncture and especially when they met in the presence of others was something indirect and circumspect as if they had approached each other obliquely and addressed each other by implication The effect of each appeared to be to intensify to an appreciable degree the selfconsciousness of the other Madame Merle of course carried off any embarrassment better than her friend but even Madame Merle had not on this occasion the form she would have liked to have—the perfect selfpossession she would have wished to wear for her host The point to be made is however that at a certain moment the element between them whatever it was always levelled itself and left them more closely face to face than either ever was with any one else This was what had happened now They stood there knowing each other well and each on the whole willing to accept the satisfaction of knowing as a compensation for the inconvenience—whatever it might be—of being known I wish very much you were not so heartless Madame Merle quietly said It has always been against you and it will be against you now
Im not so heartless as you think Every now and then something touches me—as for instance your saying just now that your ambitions are for me I dont understand it I dont see how or why they should be But it touches me all the same
Youll probably understand it even less as time goes on There are some things youll never understand Theres no particular need you should
You after all are the most remarkable of women said Osmond You have more in you than almost any one I dont see why you think Mrs Touchetts niece should matter very much to me when—when— But he paused a moment
When I myself have mattered so little
That of course is not what I meant to say When Ive known and appreciated such a woman as you
Isabel Archers better than I said Madame Merle
Her companion gave a laugh How little you must think of her to say that
Do you suppose Im capable of jealousy Please answer me that
With regard to me No on the whole I dont
Come and see me then two days hence Im staying at Mrs Touchetts—Palazzo Crescentini—and the girl will be there
Why didnt you ask me that at first simply without speaking of the girl said Osmond You could have had her there at any rate
Madame Merle looked at him in the manner of a woman whom no question he could ever put would find unprepared Do you wish to know why Because Ive spoken of you to her
Osmond frowned and turned away Id rather not know that Then in a moment he pointed out the easel supporting the little watercolour drawing Have you seen whats there—my last
Madame Merle drew near and considered Is it the Venetian Alps—one of your last years sketches
Yes—but how you guess everything
She looked a moment longer then turned away You know I dont care for your drawings
I know it yet Im always surprised at it Theyre really so much better than most peoples
That may very well be But as the only thing you do—well its so little I should have liked you to do so many other things those were my ambitions
Yes youve told me many times—things that were impossible
Things that were impossible said Madame Merle And then in quite a different tone In itself your little pictures very good She looked about the room—at the old cabinets pictures tapestries surfaces of faded silk Your rooms at least are perfect Im struck with that afresh whenever I come back I know none better anywhere You understand this sort of thing as nobody anywhere does Youve such adorable taste
Im sick of my adorable taste said Gilbert Osmond
You must nevertheless let Miss Archer come and see it Ive told her about it
I dont object to showing my things—when people are not idiots
You do it delightfully As cicerone of your museum you appear to particular advantage
Mr Osmond in return for this compliment simply looked at once colder and more attentive Did you say she was rich
She has seventy thousand pounds
En ecus bien comptes
Theres no doubt whatever about her fortune Ive seen it as I may say
Satisfactory woman—I mean you And if I go to see her shall I see the mother
The mother She has none—nor father either
The aunt then—whom did you say—Mrs Touchett I can easily keep her out of the way
I dont object to her said Osmond I rather like Mrs Touchett She has a sort of oldfashioned character thats passing away—a vivid identity But that long jackanapes the son—is he about the place
Hes there but he wont trouble you
Hes a good deal of a donkey
I think youre mistaken Hes a very clever man But hes not fond of being about when Im there because he doesnt like me
What could he be more asinine than that Did you say she has looks Osmond went on
Yes but I wont say it again lest you should be disappointed in them Come and make a beginning thats all I ask of you
A beginning of what
Madame Merle was silent a little I want you of course to marry her
The beginning of the end Well Ill see for myself Have you told her that
For what do you take me Shes not so coarse a piece of machinery—nor am I
Really said Osmond after some meditation I dont understand your ambitions
I think youll understand this one after youve seen Miss Archer Suspend your judgement Madame Merle as she spoke had drawn near the open door of the garden where she stood a moment looking out Pansy has really grown pretty she presently added
So it seemed to me
But she has had enough of the convent
I dont know said Osmond I like what theyve made of her Its very charming
Thats not the convent Its the childs nature
Its the combination I think Shes as pure as a pearl
Why doesnt she come back with my flowers then Madame Merle asked Shes not in a hurry
Well go and get them
She doesnt like me the visitor murmured as she raised her parasol and they passed into the garden
CHAPTER XXIII
Madame Merle who had come to Florence on Mrs Touchetts arrival at the invitation of this lady—Mrs Touchett offering her for a month the hospitality of Palazzo Crescentini—the judicious Madame Merle spoke to Isabel afresh about Gilbert Osmond and expressed the hope she might know him making however no such point of the matter as we have seen her do in recommending the girl herself to Mr Osmonds attention The reason of this was perhaps that Isabel offered no resistance whatever to Madame Merles proposal In Italy as in England the lady had a multitude of friends both among the natives of the country and its heterogeneous visitors She had mentioned to Isabel most of the people the girl would find it well to meet—of course she said Isabel could know whomever in the wide world she would—and had placed Mr Osmond near the top of the list He was an old friend of her own she had known him these dozen years he was one of the cleverest and most agreeable men—well in Europe simply He was altogether above the respectable average quite another affair He wasnt a professional charmer—far from it and the effect he produced depended a good deal on the state of his nerves and his spirits When not in the right mood he could fall as low as any one saved only by his looking at such hours rather like a demoralised prince in exile But if he cared or was interested or rightly challenged—just exactly rightly it had to be—then one felt his cleverness and his distinction Those qualities didnt depend in him as in so many people on his not committing or exposing himself He had his perversities—which indeed Isabel would find to be the case with all the men really worth knowing—and didnt cause his light to shine equally for all persons Madame Merle however thought she could undertake that for Isabel he would be brilliant He was easily bored too easily and dull people always put him out but a quick and cultivated girl like Isabel would give him a stimulus which was too absent from his life At any rate he was a person not to miss One shouldnt attempt to live in Italy without making a friend of Gilbert Osmond who knew more about the country than any one except two or three German professors And if they had more knowledge than he it was he who had most perception and taste—being artistic through and through Isabel remembered that her friend had spoken of him during their plunge at Gardencourt into the deeps of talk and wondered a little what was the nature of the tie binding these superior spirits She felt that Madame Merles ties always somehow had histories and such an impression was part of the interest created by this inordinate woman As regards her relations with Mr Osmond however she hinted at nothing but a longestablished calm friendship Isabel said she should be happy to know a person who had enjoyed so high a confidence for so many years You ought to see a great many men Madame Merle remarked you ought to see as many as possible so as to get used to them
Used to them Isabel repeated with that solemn stare which sometimes seemed to proclaim her deficient in the sense of comedy Why Im not afraid of them—Im as used to them as the cook to the butcherboys
Used to them I mean so as to despise them Thats what one comes to with most of them Youll pick out for your society the few whom you dont despise
This was a note of cynicism that Madame Merle didnt often allow herself to sound but Isabel was not alarmed for she had never supposed that as one saw more of the world the sentiment of respect became the most active of ones emotions It was excited none the less by the beautiful city of Florence which pleased her not less than Madame Merle had promised and if her unassisted perception had not been able to gauge its charms she had clever companions as priests to the mystery She was—in no want indeed of esthetic illumination for Ralph found it a joy that renewed his own early passion to act as cicerone to his eager young kinswoman Madame Merle remained at home she had seen the treasures of Florence again and again and had always something else to do But she talked of all things with remarkable vividness of memory—she recalled the righthand corner of the large Perugino and the position of the hands of the Saint Elizabeth in the picture next to it She had her opinions as to the character of many famous works of art differing often from Ralph with great sharpness and defending her interpretations with as much ingenuity as goodhumour Isabel listened to the discussions taking place between the two with a sense that she might derive much benefit from them and that they were among the advantages she couldnt have enjoyed for instance in Albany In the clear May mornings before the formal breakfast—this repast at Mrs Touchetts was served at twelve oclock—she wandered with her cousin through the narrow and sombre Florentine streets resting a while in the thicker dusk of some historic church or the vaulted chambers of some dispeopled convent She went to the galleries and palaces she looked at the pictures and statues that had hitherto been great names to her and exchanged for a knowledge which was sometimes a limitation a presentiment which proved usually to have been a blank She performed all those acts of mental prostration in which on a first visit to Italy youth and enthusiasm so freely indulge she felt her heart beat in the presence of immortal genius and knew the sweetness of rising tears in eyes to which faded fresco and darkened marble grew dim But the return every day was even pleasanter than the going forth the return into the wide monumental court of the great house in which Mrs Touchett many years before had established herself and into the high cool rooms where the carven rafters and pompous frescoes of the sixteenth century looked down on the familiar commodities of the age of advertisement Mrs Touchett inhabited an historic building in a narrow street whose very name recalled the strife of medieval factions and found compensation for the darkness of her frontage in the modicity of her rent and the brightness of a garden where nature itself looked as archaic as the rugged architecture of the palace and which cleared and scented the rooms in regular use To live in such a place was for Isabel to hold to her ear all day a shell of the sea of the past This vague eternal rumour kept her imagination awake
Gilbert Osmond came to see Madame Merle who presented him to the young lady lurking at the other side of the room Isabel took on this occasion little part in the talk she scarcely even smiled when the others turned to her invitingly she sat there as if she had been at the play and had paid even a large sum for her place Mrs Touchett was not present and these two had it for the effect of brilliancy all their own way They talked of the Florentine the Roman the cosmopolite world and might have been distinguished performers figuring for a charity It all had the rich readiness that would have come from rehearsal Madame Merle appealed to her as if she had been on the stage but she could ignore any learnt cue without spoiling the scene—though of course she thus put dreadfully in the wrong the friend who had told Mr Osmond she could be depended on This was no matter for once even if more had been involved she could have made no attempt to shine There was something in the visitor that checked her and held her in suspense—made it more important she should get an impression of him than that she should produce one herself Besides she had little skill in producing an impression which she knew to be expected nothing could be happier in general than to seem dazzling but she had a perverse unwillingness to glitter by arrangement Mr Osmond to do him justice had a wellbred air of expecting nothing a quiet ease that covered everything even the first show of his own wit This was the more grateful as his face his head was sensitive he was not handsome but he was fine as fine as one of the drawings in the long gallery above the bridge of the Uffizi And his very voice was fine—the more strangely that with its clearness it yet somehow wasnt sweet This had had really to do with making her abstain from interference His utterance was the vibration of glass and if she had put out her finger she might have changed the pitch and spoiled the concert Yet before he went she had to speak
Madame Merle he said consents to come up to my hilltop some day next week and drink tea in my garden It would give me much pleasure if you would come with her Its thought rather pretty—theres what they call a general view My daughter too would be so glad—or rather for shes too young to have strong emotions I should be so glad—so very glad And Mr Osmond paused with a slight air of embarrassment leaving his sentence unfinished I should be so happy if you could know my daughter he went on a moment afterwards
Isabel replied that she should be delighted to see Miss Osmond and that if Madame Merle would show her the way to the hilltop she should be very grateful Upon this assurance the visitor took his leave after which Isabel fully expected her friend would scold her for having been so stupid But to her surprise that lady who indeed never fell into the mere matterofcourse said to her in a few moments
You were charming my dear you were just as one would have wished you Youre never disappointing
A rebuke might possibly have been irritating though it is much more probable that Isabel would have taken it in good part but strange to say the words that Madame Merle actually used caused her the first feeling of displeasure she had known this ally to excite Thats more than I intended she answered coldly Im under no obligation that I know of to charm Mr Osmond
Madame Merle perceptibly flushed but we know it was not her habit to retract My dear child I didnt speak for him poor man I spoke for yourself Its not of course a question as to his liking you it matters little whether he likes you or not But I thought you liked HIM
I did said Isabel honestly But I dont see what that matters either
Everything that concerns you matters to me Madame Merle returned with her weary nobleness especially when at the same time another old friends concerned
Whatever Isabels obligations may have been to Mr Osmond it must be admitted that she found them sufficient to lead her to put to Ralph sundry questions about him She thought Ralphs judgements distorted by his trials but she flattered herself she had learned to make allowance for that
Do I know him said her cousin Oh yes I know him not well but on the whole enough Ive never cultivated his society and he apparently has never found mine indispensable to his happiness Who is he what is he Hes a vague unexplained American who has been living these thirty years or less in Italy Why do I call him unexplained Only as a cover for my ignorance I dont know his antecedents his family his origin For all I do know he may be a prince in disguise he rather looks like one by the way—like a prince who has abdicated in a fit of fastidiousness and has been in a state of disgust ever since He used to live in Rome but of late years he has taken up his abode here I remember hearing him say that Rome has grown vulgar He has a great dread of vulgarity thats his special line he hasnt any other that I know of He lives on his income which I suspect of not being vulgarly large Hes a poor but honest gentleman thats what he calls himself He married young and lost his wife and I believe he has a daughter He also has a sister whos married to some small Count or other of these parts I remember meeting her of old Shes nicer than he I should think but rather impossible I remember there used to be some stories about her I dont think I recommend you to know her But why dont you ask Madame Merle about these people She knows them all much better than I
I ask you because I want your opinion as well as hers said Isabel
A fig for my opinion If you fall in love with Mr Osmond what will you care for that
Not much probably But meanwhile it has a certain importance The more information one has about ones dangers the better
I dont agree to that—it may make them dangers We know too much about people in these days we hear too much Our ears our minds our mouths are stuffed with personalities Dont mind anything any one tells you about any one else Judge everyone and everything for yourself
Thats what I try to do said Isabel but when you do that people call you conceited
Youre not to mind them—thats precisely my argument not to mind what they say about yourself any more than what they say about your friend or your enemy
Isabel considered I think youre right but there are some things I cant help minding for instance when my friends attacked or when I myself am praised
Of course youre always at liberty to judge the critic Judge people as critics however Ralph added and youll condemn them all
I shall see Mr Osmond for myself said Isabel Ive promised to pay him a visit
To pay him a visit
To go and see his view his pictures his daughter—I dont know exactly what Madame Merles to take me she tells me a great many ladies call on him
Ah with Madame Merle you may go anywhere de confiance said Ralph She knows none but the best people
Isabel said no more about Mr Osmond but she presently remarked to her cousin that she was not satisfied with his tone about Madame Merle It seems to me you insinuate things about her I dont know what you mean but if youve any grounds for disliking her I think you should either mention them frankly or else say nothing at all
Ralph however resented this charge with more apparent earnestness than he commonly used I speak of Madame Merle exactly as I speak to her with an even exaggerated respect
Exaggerated precisely Thats what I complain of
I do so because Madame Merles merits are exaggerated
By whom pray By me If so I do her a poor service
No no by herself
Ah I protest Isabel earnestly cried If ever there was a woman who made small claims—
You put your finger on it Ralph interrupted Her modestys exaggerated She has no business with small claims—she has a perfect right to make large ones
Her merits are large then You contradict yourself
Her merits are immense said Ralph Shes indescribably blameless a pathless desert of virtue the only woman I know who never gives one a chance
A chance for what
Well say to call her a fool Shes the only woman I know who has but that one little fault
Isabel turned away with impatience I dont understand you youre too paradoxical for my plain mind
Let me explain When I say she exaggerates I dont mean it in the vulgar sense—that she boasts overstates gives too fine an account of herself I mean literally that she pushes the search for perfection too far—that her merits are in themselves overstrained Shes too good too kind too clever too learned too accomplished too everything Shes too complete in a word I confess to you that she acts on my nerves and that I feel about her a good deal as that intensely human Athenian felt about Aristides the Just
Isabel looked hard at her cousin but the mocking spirit if it lurked in his words failed on this occasion to peep from his face Do you wish Madame Merle to be banished
By no means Shes much too good company I delight in Madame Merle said Ralph Touchett simply
Youre very odious sir Isabel exclaimed And then she asked him if he knew anything that was not to the honour of her brilliant friend
Nothing whatever Dont you see thats just what I mean On the character of every one else you may find some little black speck if I were to take half an hour to it some day Ive no doubt I should be able to find one on yours For my own of course Im spotted like a leopard But on Madame Merles nothing nothing nothing
Thats just what I think said Isabel with a toss of her head That is why I like her so much
Shes a capital person for you to know Since you wish to see the world you couldnt have a better guide
I suppose you mean by that that shes worldly
Worldly No said Ralph shes the great round world itself
It had certainly not as Isabel for the moment took it into her head to believe been a refinement of malice in him to say that he delighted in Madame Merle Ralph Touchett took his refreshment wherever he could find it and he would not have forgiven himself if he had been left wholly unbeguiled by such a mistress of the social art There are deeplying sympathies and antipathies and it may have been that in spite of the administered justice she enjoyed at his hands her absence from his mothers house would not have made life barren to him But Ralph Touchett had learned more or less inscrutably to attend and there could have been nothing so sustained to attend to as the general performance of Madame Merle He tasted her in sips he let her stand with an opportuneness she herself could not have surpassed There were moments when he felt almost sorry for her and these oddly enough were the moments when his kindness was least demonstrative He was sure she had been yearningly ambitious and that what she had visibly accomplished was far below her secret measure She had got herself into perfect training but had won none of the prizes She was always plain Madame Merle the widow of a Swiss negociant with a small income and a large acquaintance who stayed with people a great deal and was almost as universally liked as some new volume of smooth twaddle The contrast between this position and any one of some halfdozen others that he supposed to have at various moments engaged her hope had an element of the tragical His mother thought he got on beautifully with their genial guest to Mrs Touchetts sense two persons who dealt so largely in tooingenious theories of conduct—that is of their own—would have much in common He had given due consideration to Isabels intimacy with her eminent friend having long since made up his mind that he could not without opposition keep his cousin to himself and he made the best of it as he had done of worse things He believed it would take care of itself it wouldnt last forever Neither of these two superior persons knew the other as well as she supposed and when each had made an important discovery or two there would be if not a rupture at least a relaxation Meanwhile he was quite willing to admit that the conversation of the elder lady was an advantage to the younger who had a great deal to learn and would doubtless learn it better from Madame Merle than from some other instructors of the young It was not probable that Isabel would be injured
CHAPTER XXIV
It would certainly have been hard to see what injury could arise to her from the visit she presently paid to Mr Osmonds hilltop Nothing could have been more charming than this occasion—a soft afternoon in the full maturity of the Tuscan spring The companions drove out of the Roman Gate beneath the enormous blank superstructure which crowns the fine clear arch of that portal and makes it nakedly impressive and wound between highwalled lanes into which the wealth of blossoming orchards overdrooped and flung a fragrance until they reached the small superurban piazza of crooked shape where the long brown wall of the villa occupied in part by Mr Osmond formed a principal or at least a very imposing object Isabel went with her friend through a wide high court where a clear shadow rested below and a pair of lightarched galleries facing each other above caught the upper sunshine upon their slim columns and the flowering plants in which they were dressed There was something grave and strong in the place it looked somehow as if once you were in you would need an act of energy to get out For Isabel however there was of course as yet no thought of getting out but only of advancing Mr Osmond met her in the cold antechamber—it was cold even in the month of May—and ushered her with her conductress into the apartment to which we have already been introduced Madame Merle was in front and while Isabel lingered a little talking with him she went forward familiarly and greeted two persons who were seated in the saloon One of these was little Pansy on whom she bestowed a kiss the other was a lady whom Mr Osmond indicated to Isabel as his sister the Countess Gemini And thats my little girl he said who has just come out of her convent
Pansy had on a scant white dress and her fair hair was neatly arranged in a net she wore her small shoes tied sandalfashion about her ankles She made Isabel a little conventual curtsey and then came to be kissed The Countess Gemini simply nodded without getting up Isabel could see she was a woman of high fashion She was thin and dark and not at all pretty having features that suggested some tropical bird—a long beaklike nose small quicklymoving eyes and a mouth and chin that receded extremely Her expression however thanks to various intensities of emphasis and wonder of horror and joy was not inhuman and as regards her appearance it was plain she understood herself and made the most of her points Her attire voluminous and delicate bristling with elegance had the look of shimmering plumage and her attitudes were as light and sudden as those of a creature who perched upon twigs She had a great deal of manner Isabel who had never known any one with so much manner immediately classed her as the most affected of women She remembered that Ralph had not recommended her as an acquaintance but she was ready to acknowledge that to a casual view the Countess Gemini revealed no depths Her demonstrations suggested the violent waving of some flag of general truce—white silk with fluttering streamers
Youll believe Im glad to see you when I tell you its only because I knew you were to be here that I came myself I dont come and see my brother—I make him come and see me This hill of his is impossible—I dont see what possesses him Really Osmond youll be the ruin of my horses some day and if it hurts them youll have to give me another pair I heard them wheezing today I assure you I did Its very disagreeable to hear ones horses wheezing when ones sitting in the carriage it sounds too as if they werent what they should be But Ive always had good horses whatever else I may have lacked Ive always managed that My husband doesnt know much but I think he knows a horse In general Italians dont but my husband goes in according to his poor light for everything English My horses are English—so its all the greater pity they should be ruined I must tell you she went on directly addressing Isabel that Osmond doesnt often invite me I dont think he likes to have me It was quite my own idea coming today I like to see new people and Im sure youre very new But dont sit there that chairs not what it looks There are some very good seats here but there are also some horrors
These remarks were delivered with a series of little jerks and pecks of roulades of shrillness and in an accent that was as some fond recall of good English or rather of good American in adversity
I dont like to have you my dear said her brother Im sure youre invaluable
I dont see any horrors anywhere Isabel returned looking about her Everything seems to me beautiful and precious
Ive a few good things Mr Osmond allowed indeed Ive nothing very bad But Ive not what I should have liked
He stood there a little awkwardly smiling and glancing about his manner was an odd mixture of the detached and the involved He seemed to hint that nothing but the right values was of any consequence Isabel made a rapid induction perfect simplicity was not the badge of his family Even the little girl from the convent who in her prim white dress with her small submissive face and her hands locked before her stood there as if she were about to partake of her first communion even Mr Osmonds diminutive daughter had a kind of finish that was not entirely artless
Youd have liked a few things from the Uffzi and the Pitti—thats what youd have liked said Madame Merle
Poor Osmond with his old curtains and crucifixes the Countess Gemini exclaimed she appeared to call her brother only by his familyname Her ejaculation had no particular object she smiled at Isabel as she made it and looked at her from head to foot
Her brother had not heard her he seemed to be thinking what he could say to Isabel Wont you have some tea—you must be very tired he at last bethought himself of remarking
No indeed Im not tired what have I done to tire me Isabel felt a certain need of being very direct of pretending to nothing there was something in the air in her general impression of things—she could hardly have said what it was—that deprived her of all disposition to put herself forward The place the occasion the combination of people signified more than lay on the surface she would try to understand—she would not simply utter graceful platitudes Poor Isabel was doubtless not aware that many women would have uttered graceful platitudes to cover the working of their observation It must be confessed that her pride was a trifle alarmed A man she had heard spoken of in terms that excited interest and who was evidently capable of distinguishing himself had invited her a young lady not lavish of her favours to come to his house Now that she had done so the burden of the entertainment rested naturally on his wit Isabel was not rendered less observant and for the moment we judge she was not rendered more indulgent by perceiving that Mr Osmond carried his burden less complacently than might have been expected What a fool I was to have let myself so needlessly in— she could fancy his exclaiming to himself
Youll be tired when you go home if he shows you all his bibelots and gives you a lecture on each said the Countess Gemini
Im not afraid of that but if Im tired I shall at least have learned something
Very little I suspect But my sisters dreadfully afraid of learning anything said Mr Osmond
Oh I confess to that I dont want to know anything more—I know too much already The more you know the more unhappy you are
You should not undervalue knowledge before Pansy who has not finished her education Madame Merle interposed with a smile Pansy will never know any harm said the childs father Pansys a little conventflower
Oh the convents the convents cried the Countess with a flutter of her ruffles Speak to me of the convents You may learn anything there Im a conventflower myself I dont pretend to be good but the nuns do Dont you see what I mean she went on appealing to Isabel
Isabel was not sure she saw and she answered that she was very bad at following arguments The Countess then declared that she herself detested arguments but that this was her brothers taste—he would always discuss For me she said one should like a thing or one shouldnt one cant like everything of course But one shouldnt attempt to reason it out—you never know where it may lead you There are some very good feelings that may have bad reasons dont you know And then there are very bad feelings sometimes that have good reasons Dont you see what I mean I dont care anything about reasons but I know what I like
Ah thats the great thing said Isabel smiling and suspecting that her acquaintance with this lightly flitting personage would not lead to intellectual repose If the Countess objected to argument Isabel at this moment had as little taste for it and she put out her hand to Pansy with a pleasant sense that such a gesture committed her to nothing that would admit of a divergence of views Gilbert Osmond apparently took a rather hopeless view of his sisters tone he turned the conversation to another topic He presently sat down on the other side of his daughter who had shyly brushed Isabels fingers with her own but he ended by drawing her out of her chair and making her stand between his knees leaning against him while he passed his arm round her slimness The child fixed her eyes on Isabel with a still disinterested gaze which seemed void of an intention yet conscious of an attraction Mr Osmond talked of many things Madame Merle had said he could be agreeable when he chose and today after a little he appeared not only to have chosen but to have determined Madame Merle and the Countess Gemini sat a little apart conversing in the effortless manner of persons who knew each other well enough to take their ease but every now and then Isabel heard the Countess at something said by her companion plunge into the latters lucidity as a poodle splashes after a thrown stick It was as if Madame Merle were seeing how far she would go Mr Osmond talked of Florence of Italy of the pleasure of living in that country and of the abatements to the pleasure There were both satisfactions and drawbacks the drawbacks were numerous strangers were too apt to see such a world as all romantic It met the case soothingly for the human for the social failure—by which he meant the people who couldnt realise as they said on their sensibility they could keep it about them there in their poverty without ridicule as you might keep an heirloom or an inconvenient entailed place that brought you in nothing Thus there were advantages in living in the country which contained the greatest sum of beauty Certain impressions you could get only there Others favourable to life you never got and you got some that were very bad But from time to time you got one of a quality that made up for everything Italy all the same had spoiled a great many people he was even fatuous enough to believe at times that he himself might have been a better man if he had spent less of his life there It made one idle and dilettantish and secondrate it had no discipline for the character didnt cultivate in you otherwise expressed the successful social and other cheek that flourished in Paris and London Were sweetly provincial said Mr Osmond and Im perfectly aware that I myself am as rusty as a key that has no lock to fit it It polishes me up a little to talk with you—not that I venture to pretend I can turn that very complicated lock I suspect your intellect of being But youll be going away before Ive seen you three times and I shall perhaps never see you after that Thats what it is to live in a country that people come to When theyre disagreeable here its bad enough when theyre agreeable its still worse As soon as you like them theyre off again Ive been deceived too often Ive ceased to form attachments to permit myself to feel attractions You mean to stay—to settle That would be really comfortable Ah yes your aunts a sort of guarantee I believe she may be depended on Oh shes an old Florentine I mean literally an old one not a modern outsider Shes a contemporary of the Medici she must have been present at the burning of Savonarola and Im not sure she didnt throw a handful of chips into the flame Her face is very much like some faces in the early pictures little dry definite faces that must have had a good deal of expression but almost always the same one Indeed I can show you her portrait in a fresco of Ghirlandaios I hope you dont object to my speaking that way of your aunt eh Ive an idea you dont Perhaps you think thats even worse I assure you theres no want of respect in it to either of you You know Im a particular admirer of Mrs Touchett
While Isabels host exerted himself to entertain her in this somewhat confidential fashion she looked occasionally at Madame Merle who met her eyes with an inattentive smile in which on this occasion there was no infelicitous intimation that our heroine appeared to advantage Madame Merle eventually proposed to the Countess Gemini that they should go into the garden and the Countess rising and shaking out her feathers began to rustle toward the door Poor Miss Archer she exclaimed surveying the other group with expressive compassion She has been brought quite into the family
Miss Archer can certainly have nothing but sympathy for a family to which you belong Mr Osmond answered with a laugh which though it had something of a mocking ring had also a finer patience
I dont know what you mean by that Im sure shell see no harm in me but what you tell her Im better than he says Miss Archer the Countess went on Im only rather an idiot and a bore Is that all he has said Ah then you keep him in goodhumour Has he opened on one of his favourite subjects I give you notice that there are two or three that he treats a fond In that case you had better take off your bonnet
I dont think I know what Mr Osmonds favourite subjects are said Isabel who had risen to her feet
The Countess assumed for an instant an attitude of intense meditation pressing one of her hands with the fingertips gathered together to her forehead Ill tell you in a moment Ones Machiavelli the others Vittoria Colonna the next is Metastasio
Ah with me said Madame Merle passing her arm into the Countess Geminis as if to guide her course to the garden Mr Osmonds never so historical
Oh you the Countess answered as they moved away you yourself are Machiavelli—you yourself are Vittoria Colonna
We shall hear next that poor Madame Merle is Metastasio Gilbert Osmond resignedly sighed
Isabel had got up on the assumption that they too were to go into the garden but her host stood there with no apparent inclination to leave the room his hands in the pockets of his jacket and his daughter who had now locked her arm into one of his own clinging to him and looking up while her eyes moved from his own face to Isabels Isabel waited with a certain unuttered contentedness to have her movements directed she liked Mr Osmonds talk his company she had what always gave her a very private thrill the consciousness of a new relation Through the open doors of the great room she saw Madame Merle and the Countess stroll across the fine grass of the garden then she turned and her eyes wandered over the things scattered about her The understanding had been that Mr Osmond should show her his treasures his pictures and cabinets all looked like treasures Isabel after a moment went toward one of the pictures to see it better but just as she had done so he said to her abruptly Miss Archer what do you think of my sister
She faced him with some surprise Ah dont ask me that—Ive seen your sister too little
Yes youve seen her very little but you must have observed that there is not a great deal of her to see What do you think of our family tone he went on with his cool smile I should like to know how it strikes a fresh unprejudiced mind I know what youre going to say—youve had almost no observation of it Of course this is only a glimpse But just take notice in future if you have a chance I sometimes think weve got into a rather bad way living off here among things and people not our own without responsibilities or attachments with nothing to hold us together or keep us up marrying foreigners forming artificial tastes playing tricks with our natural mission Let me add though that I say that much more for myself than for my sister Shes a very honest lady—more so than she seems Shes rather unhappy and as shes not of a serious turn she doesnt tend to show it tragically she shows it comically instead She has got a horrid husband though Im not sure she makes the best of him Of course however a horrid husbands an awkward thing Madame Merle gives her excellent advice but its a good deal like giving a child a dictionary to learn a language with He can look out the words but he cant put them together My sister needs a grammar but unfortunately shes not grammatical Pardon my troubling you with these details my sister was very right in saying youve been taken into the family Let me take down that picture you want more light
He took down the picture carried it toward the window related some curious facts about it She looked at the other works of art and he gave her such further information as might appear most acceptable to a young lady making a call on a summer afternoon His pictures his medallions and tapestries were interesting but after a while Isabel felt the owner much more so and independently of them thickly as they seemed to overhang him He resembled no one she had ever seen most of the people she knew might be divided into groups of half a dozen specimens There were one or two exceptions to this she could think for instance of no group that would contain her aunt Lydia There were other people who were relatively speaking original—original as one might say by courtesy such as Mr Goodwood as her cousin Ralph as Henrietta Stackpole as Lord Warburton as Madame Merle But in essentials when one came to look at them these individuals belonged to types already present to her mind Her mind contained no class offering a natural place to Mr Osmond—he was a specimen apart It was not that she recognised all these truths at the hour but they were falling into order before her For the moment she only said to herself that this new relation would perhaps prove her very most distinguished Madame Merle had had that note of rarity but what quite other power it immediately gained when sounded by a man It was not so much what he said and did but rather what he withheld that marked him for her as by one of those signs of the highly curious that he was showing her on the underside of old plates and in the corner of sixteenthcentury drawings he indulged in no striking deflections from common usage he was an original without being an eccentric She had never met a person of so fine a grain The peculiarity was physical to begin with and it extended to impalpabilities His dense delicate hair his overdrawn retouched features his clear complexion ripe without being coarse the very evenness of the growth of his beard and that light smooth slenderness of structure which made the movement of a single one of his fingers produce the effect of an expressive gesture—these personal points struck our sensitive young woman as signs of quality of intensity somehow as promises of interest He was certainly fastidious and critical he was probably irritable His sensibility had governed him—possibly governed him too much it had made him impatient of vulgar troubles and had led him to live by himself in a sorted sifted arranged world thinking about art and beauty and history He had consulted his taste in everything—his taste alone perhaps as a sick man consciously incurable consults at last only his lawyer that was what made him so different from every one else Ralph had something of this same quality this appearance of thinking that life was a matter of connoisseurship but in Ralph it was an anomaly a kind of humorous excrescence whereas in Mr Osmond it was the keynote and everything was in harmony with it She was certainly far from understanding him completely his meaning was not at all times obvious It was hard to see what he meant for instance by speaking of his provincial side—which was exactly the side she would have taken him most to lack Was it a harmless paradox intended to puzzle her or was it the last refinement of high culture She trusted she should learn in time it would be very interesting to learn If it was provincial to have that harmony what then was the finish of the capital And she could put this question in spite of so feeling her host a shy personage since such shyness as his—the shyness of ticklish nerves and fine perceptions—was perfectly consistent with the best breeding Indeed it was almost a proof of standards and touchstones other than the vulgar he must be so sure the vulgar would be first on the ground He wasnt a man of easy assurance who chatted and gossiped with the fluency of a superficial nature he was critical of himself as well as of others and exacting a good deal of others to think them agreeable probably took a rather ironical view of what he himself offered a proof into the bargain that he was not grossly conceited If he had not been shy he wouldnt have effected that gradual subtle successful conversion of it to which she owed both what pleased her in him and what mystified her If he had suddenly asked her what she thought of the Countess Gemini that was doubtless a proof that he was interested in her it could scarcely be as a help to knowledge of his own sister That he should be so interested showed an enquiring mind but it was a little singular he should sacrifice his fraternal feeling to his curiosity This was the most eccentric thing he had done
There were two other rooms beyond the one in which she had been received equally full of romantic objects and in these apartments Isabel spent a quarter of an hour Everything was in the last degree curious and precious and Mr Osmond continued to be the kindest of ciceroni as he led her from one fine piece to another and still held his little girl by the hand His kindness almost surprised our young friend who wondered why he should take so much trouble for her and she was oppressed at last with the accumulation of beauty and knowledge to which she found herself introduced There was enough for the present she had ceased to attend to what he said she listened to him with attentive eyes but was not thinking of what he told her He probably thought her quicker cleverer in every way more prepared than she was Madame Merle would have pleasantly exaggerated which was a pity because in the end he would be sure to find out and then perhaps even her real intelligence wouldnt reconcile him to his mistake A part of Isabels fatigue came from the effort to appear as intelligent as she believed Madame Merle had described her and from the fear very unusual with her of exposing—not her ignorance for that she cared comparatively little—but her possible grossness of perception It would have annoyed her to express a liking for something he in his superior enlightenment would think she oughtnt to like or to pass by something at which the truly initiated mind would arrest itself She had no wish to fall into that grotesqueness—in which she had seen women and it was a warning serenely yet ignobly flounder She was very careful therefore as to what she said as to what she noticed or failed to notice more careful than she had ever been before
They came back into the first of the rooms where the tea had been served but as the two other ladies were still on the terrace and as Isabel had not yet been made acquainted with the view the paramount distinction of the place Mr Osmond directed her steps into the garden without more delay Madame Merle and the Countess had had chairs brought out and as the afternoon was lovely the Countess proposed they should take their tea in the open air Pansy therefore was sent to bid the servant bring out the preparations The sun had got low the golden light took a deeper tone and on the mountains and the plain that stretched beneath them the masses of purple shadow glowed as richly as the places that were still exposed The scene had an extraordinary charm The air was almost solemnly still and the large expanse of the landscape with its gardenlike culture and nobleness of outline its teeming valley and delicatelyfretted hills its peculiarly humanlooking touches of habitation lay there in splendid harmony and classic grace You seem so well pleased that I think you can be trusted to come back Osmond said as he led his companion to one of the angles of the terrace
I shall certainly come back she returned in spite of what you say about its being bad to live in Italy What was that you said about ones natural mission I wonder if I should forsake my natural mission if I were to settle in Florence
A womans natural mission is to be where shes most appreciated
The points to find out where that is
Very true—she often wastes a great deal of time in the enquiry People ought to make it very plain to her
Such a matter would have to be made very plain to me smiled Isabel
Im glad at any rate to hear you talk of settling Madame Merle had given me an idea that you were of a rather roving disposition I thought she spoke of your having some plan of going round the world
Im rather ashamed of my plans I make a new one every day
I dont see why you should be ashamed its the greatest of pleasures
It seems frivolous I think said Isabel One ought to choose something very deliberately and be faithful to that
By that rule then Ive not been frivolous
Have you never made plans
Yes I made one years ago and Im acting on it today
It must have been a very pleasant one Isabel permitted herself to observe
It was very simple It was to be as quiet as possible
As quiet the girl repeated
Not to worry—not to strive nor struggle To resign myself To be content with little He spoke these sentences slowly with short pauses between and his intelligent regard was fixed on his visitors with the conscious air of a man who has brought himself to confess something
Do you call that simple she asked with mild irony
Yes because its negative
Has your life been negative
Call it affirmative if you like Only it has affirmed my indifference Mind you not my natural indifference—I HAD none But my studied my wilful renunciation
She scarcely understood him it seemed a question whether he were joking or not Why should a man who struck her as having a great fund of reserve suddenly bring himself to be so confidential This was his affair however and his confidences were interesting I dont see why you should have renounced she said in a moment
Because I could do nothing I had no prospects I was poor and I was not a man of genius I had no talents even I took my measure early in life I was simply the most fastidious young gentleman living There were two or three people in the world I envied—the Emperor of Russia for instance and the Sultan of Turkey There were even moments when I envied the Pope of Rome—for the consideration he enjoys I should have been delighted to be considered to that extent but since that couldnt be I didnt care for anything less and I made up my mind not to go in for honours The leanest gentleman can always consider himself and fortunately I was though lean a gentleman I could do nothing in Italy—I couldnt even be an Italian patriot To do that I should have had to get out of the country and I was too fond of it to leave it to say nothing of my being too well satisfied with it on the whole as it then was to wish it altered So Ive passed a great many years here on that quiet plan I spoke of Ive not been at all unhappy I dont mean to say Ive cared for nothing but the things Ive cared for have been definite—limited The events of my life have been absolutely unperceived by any one save myself getting an old silver crucifix at a bargain Ive never bought anything dear of course or discovering as I once did a sketch by Correggio on a panel daubed over by some inspired idiot
This would have been rather a dry account of Mr Osmonds career if Isabel had fully believed it but her imagination supplied the human element which she was sure had not been wanting His life had been mingled with other lives more than he admitted naturally she couldnt expect him to enter into this For the present she abstained from provoking further revelations to intimate that he had not told her everything would be more familiar and less considerate than she now desired to be—would in fact be uproariously vulgar He had certainly told her quite enough It was her present inclination however to express a measured sympathy for the success with which he had preserved his independence Thats a very pleasant life she said to renounce everything but Correggio
Oh Ive made in my way a good thing of it Dont imagine Im whining about it Its ones own fault if one isnt happy
This was large she kept down to something smaller Have you lived here always
No not always I lived a long time at Naples and many years in Rome But Ive been here a good while Perhaps I shall have to change however to do something else Ive no longer myself to think of My daughters growing up and may very possibly not care so much for the Correggios and crucifixes as I I shall have to do whats best for Pansy
Yes do that said Isabel Shes such a dear little girl
Ah cried Gilbert Osmond beautifully shes a little saint of heaven She is my great happiness
CHAPTER XXV
While this sufficiently intimate colloquy prolonged for some time after we cease to follow it went forward Madame Merle and her companion breaking a silence of some duration had begun to exchange remarks They were sitting in an attitude of unexpressed expectancy an attitude especially marked on the part of the Countess Gemini who being of a more nervous temperament than her friend practised with less success the art of disguising impatience What these ladies were waiting for would not have been apparent and was perhaps not very definite to their own minds Madame Merle waited for Osmond to release their young friend from her teteatete and the Countess waited because Madame Merle did The Countess moreover by waiting found the time ripe for one of her pretty perversities She might have desired for some minutes to place it Her brother wandered with Isabel to the end of the garden to which point her eyes followed them
My dear she then observed to her companion youll excuse me if I dont congratulate you
Very willingly for I dont in the least know why you should
Havent you a little plan that you think rather well of And the Countess nodded at the sequestered couple
Madame Merles eyes took the same direction then she looked serenely at her neighbour You know I never understand you very well she smiled
No one can understand better than you when you wish I see that just now you DONT wish
You say things to me that no one else does said Madame Merle gravely yet without bitterness
You mean things you dont like Doesnt Osmond sometimes say such things
What your brother says has a point
Yes a poisoned one sometimes If you mean that Im not so clever as he you mustnt think I shall suffer from your sense of our difference But it will be much better that you should understand me
Why so asked Madame Merle To what will it conduce
If I dont approve of your plan you ought to know it in order to appreciate the danger of my interfering with it
Madame Merle looked as if she were ready to admit that there might be something in this but in a moment she said quietly You think me more calculating than I am
Its not your calculating I think ill of its your calculating wrong Youve done so in this case
You must have made extensive calculations yourself to discover that
No Ive not had time Ive seen the girl but this once said the Countess and the conviction has suddenly come to me I like her very much
So do I Madame Merle mentioned
Youve a strange way of showing it
Surely Ive given her the advantage of making your acquaintance
That indeed piped the Countess is perhaps the best thing that could happen to her
Madame Merle said nothing for some time The Countesss manner was odious was really low but it was an old story and with her eyes upon the violet slope of Monte Morello she gave herself up to reflection My dear lady she finally resumed I advise you not to agitate yourself The matter you allude to concerns three persons much stronger of purpose than yourself
Three persons You and Osmond of course But is Miss Archer also very strong of purpose
Quite as much so as we
Ah then said the Countess radiantly if I convince her its her interest to resist you shell do so successfully
Resist us Why do you express yourself so coarsely Shes not exposed to compulsion or deception
Im not sure of that Youre capable of anything you and Osmond I dont mean Osmond by himself and I dont mean you by yourself But together youre dangerous—like some chemical combination
You had better leave us alone then smiled Madame Merle
I dont mean to touch you—but I shall talk to that girl
My poor Amy Madame Merle murmured I dont see what has got into your head
I take an interest in her—thats what has got into my head I like her
Madame Merle hesitated a moment I dont think she likes you
The Countesss bright little eyes expanded and her face was set in a grimace Ah you ARE dangerous—even by yourself
If you want her to like you dont abuse your brother to her said Madame Merle
I dont suppose you pretend she has fallen in love with him in two interviews
Madame Merle looked a moment at Isabel and at the master of the house He was leaning against the parapet facing her his arms folded and she at present was evidently not lost in the mere impersonal view persistently as she gazed at it As Madame Merle watched her she lowered her eyes she was listening possibly with a certain embarrassment while she pressed the point of her parasol into the path Madame Merle rose from her chair Yes I think so she pronounced
The shabby footboy summoned by Pansy—he might tarnished as to livery and quaint as to type have issued from some stray sketch of oldtime manners been put in by the brush of a Longhi or a Goya—had come out with a small table and placed it on the grass and then had gone back and fetched the teatray after which he had again disappeared to return with a couple of chairs Pansy had watched these proceedings with the deepest interest standing with her small hands folded together upon the front of her scanty frock but she had not presumed to offer assistance When the teatable had been arranged however she gently approached her aunt
Do you think papa would object to my making the tea
The Countess looked at her with a deliberately critical gaze and without answering her question My poor niece she said is that your best frock
Ah no Pansy answered its just a little toilette for common occasions
Do you call it a common occasion when I come to see you—to say nothing of Madame Merle and the pretty lady yonder
Pansy reflected a moment turning gravely from one of the persons mentioned to the other Then her face broke into its perfect smile I have a pretty dress but even that ones very simple Why should I expose it beside your beautiful things
Because its the prettiest you have for me you must always wear the prettiest Please put it on the next time It seems to me they dont dress you so well as they might
The child sparingly stroked down her antiquated skirt Its a good little dress to make tea—dont you think Dont you believe papa would allow me
Impossible for me to say my child said the Countess For me your fathers ideas are unfathomable Madame Merle understands them better Ask HER
Madame Merle smiled with her usual grace Its a weighty question—let me think It seems to me it would please your father to see a careful little daughter making his tea Its the proper duty of the daughter of the house—when she grows up
So it seems to me Madame Merle Pansy cried You shall see how well Ill make it A spoonful for each And she began to busy herself at the table
Two spoonfuls for me said the Countess who with Madame Merle remained for some moments watching her Listen to me Pansy the Countess resumed at last I should like to know what you think of your visitor
Ah shes not mine—shes papas Pansy objected
Miss Archer came to see you as well said Madame Merle
Im very happy to hear that She has been very polite to me
Do you like her then the Countess asked
Shes charming—charming Pansy repeated in her little neat conversational tone She pleases me thoroughly
And how do you think she pleases your father
Ah really Countess murmured Madame Merle dissuasively Go and call them to tea she went on to the child
Youll see if they dont like it Pansy declared and departed to summon the others who had still lingered at the end of the terrace
If Miss Archers to become her mother its surely interesting to know if the child likes her said the Countess
If your brother marries again it wont be for Pansys sake Madame Merle replied Shell soon be sixteen and after that shell begin to need a husband rather than a stepmother
And will you provide the husband as well
I shall certainly take an interest in her marrying fortunately I imagine youll do the same
Indeed I shant cried the Countess Why should I of all women set such a price on a husband
You didnt marry fortunately thats what Im speaking of When I say a husband I mean a good one
There are no good ones Osmond wont be a good one
Madame Merle closed her eyes a moment Youre irritated just now I dont know why she presently said I dont think youll really object either to your brothers or to your nieces marrying when the time comes for them to do so and as regards Pansy Im confident that we shall some day have the pleasure of looking for a husband for her together Your large acquaintance will be a great help
Yes Im irritated the Countess answered You often irritate me Your own coolness is fabulous Youre a strange woman
Its much better that we should always act together Madame Merle went on
Do you mean that as a threat asked the Countess rising Madame Merle shook her head as for quiet amusement No indeed youve not my coolness
Isabel and Mr Osmond were now slowly coming toward them and Isabel had taken Pansy by the hand Do you pretend to believe hed make her happy the Countess demanded
If he should marry Miss Archer I suppose hed behave like a gentleman
The Countess jerked herself into a succession of attitudes Do you mean as most gentlemen behave That would be much to be thankful for Of course Osmonds a gentleman his own sister neednt be reminded of that But does he think he can marry any girl he happens to pick out Osmonds a gentleman of course but I must say Ive NEVER no no never seen any one of Osmonds pretensions What theyre all founded on is more than I can say Im his own sister I might be supposed to know Who is he if you please What has he ever done If there had been anything particularly grand in his origin—if he were made of some superior clay—I presume I should have got some inkling of it If there had been any great honours or splendours in the family I should certainly have made the most of them they would have been quite in my line But theres nothing nothing nothing Ones parents were charming people of course but so were yours Ive no doubt Every ones a charming person nowadays Even Im a charming person dont laugh it has literally been said As for Osmond he has always appeared to believe that hes descended from the gods
You may say what you please said Madame Merle who had listened to this quick outbreak none the less attentively we may believe because her eye wandered away from the speaker and her hands busied themselves with adjusting the knots of ribbon on her dress You Osmonds are a fine race—your blood must flow from some very pure source Your brother like an intelligent man has had the conviction of it if he has not had the proofs Youre modest about it but you yourself are extremely distinguished What do you say about your niece The childs a little princess Nevertheless Madame Merle added it wont be an easy matter for Osmond to marry Miss Archer Yet he can try
I hope shell refuse him It will take him down a little
We mustnt forget that he is one of the cleverest of men
Ive heard you say that before but I havent yet discovered what he has done
What he has done He has done nothing that has had to be undone And he has known how to wait
To wait for Miss Archers money How much of it is there
Thats not what I mean said Madame Merle Miss Archer has seventy thousand pounds
Well its a pity shes so charming the Countess declared To be sacrificed any girl would do She neednt be superior
If she werent superior your brother would never look at her He must have the best
Yes returned the Countess as they went forward a little to meet the others hes very hard to satisfy That makes me tremble for her happiness
CHAPTER XXVI
Gilbert Osmond came to see Isabel again that is he came to Palazzo Crescentini He had other friends there as well and to Mrs Touchett and Madame Merle he was always impartially civil but the former of these ladies noted the fact that in the course of a fortnight he called five times and compared it with another fact that she found no difficulty in remembering Two visits a year had hitherto constituted his regular tribute to Mrs Touchetts worth and she had never observed him select for such visits those moments of almost periodical recurrence when Madame Merle was under her roof It was not for Madame Merle that he came these two were old friends and he never put himself out for her He was not fond of Ralph—Ralph had told her so—and it was not supposable that Mr Osmond had suddenly taken a fancy to her son Ralph was imperturbable—Ralph had a kind of loosefitting urbanity that wrapped him about like an illmade overcoat but of which he never divested himself he thought Mr Osmond very good company and was willing at any time to look at him in the light of hospitality But he didnt flatter himself that the desire to repair a past injustice was the motive of their visitors calls he read the situation more clearly Isabel was the attraction and in all conscience a sufficient one Osmond was a critic a student of the exquisite and it was natural he should be curious of so rare an apparition So when his mother observed to him that it was plain what Mr Osmond was thinking of Ralph replied that he was quite of her opinion Mrs Touchett had from far back found a place on her scant list for this gentleman though wondering dimly by what art and what process—so negative and so wise as they were—he had everywhere effectively imposed himself As he had never been an importunate visitor he had had no chance to be offensive and he was recommended to her by his appearance of being as well able to do without her as she was to do without him—a quality that always oddly enough affected her as providing ground for a relation with her It gave her no satisfaction however to think that he had taken it into his head to marry her niece Such an alliance on Isabels part would have an air of almost morbid perversity Mrs Touchett easily remembered that the girl had refused an English peer and that a young lady with whom Lord Warburton had not successfully wrestled should content herself with an obscure American dilettante a middleaged widower with an uncanny child and an ambiguous income this answered to nothing in Mrs Touchetts conception of success She took it will be observed not the sentimental but the political view of matrimony—a view which has always had much to recommend it I trust she wont have the folly to listen to him she said to her son to which Ralph replied that Isabels listening was one thing and Isabels answering quite another He knew she had listened to several parties as his father would have said but had made them listen in return and he found much entertainment in the idea that in these few months of his knowing her he should observe a fresh suitor at her gate She had wanted to see life and fortune was serving her to her taste a succession of fine gentlemen going down on their knees to her would do as well as anything else Ralph looked forward to a fourth a fifth a tenth besieger he had no conviction she would stop at a third She would keep the gate ajar and open a parley she would certainly not allow number three to come in He expressed this view somewhat after this fashion to his mother who looked at him as if he had been dancing a jig He had such a fanciful pictorial way of saying things that he might as well address her in the deafmutes alphabet
I dont think I know what you mean she said you use too many figures of speech I could never understand allegories The two words in the language I most respect are Yes and No If Isabel wants to marry Mr Osmond shell do so in spite of all your comparisons Let her alone to find a fine one herself for anything she undertakes I know very little about the young man in America I dont think she spends much of her time in thinking of him and I suspect he has got tired of waiting for her Theres nothing in life to prevent her marrying Mr Osmond if she only looks at him in a certain way Thats all very well no one approves more than I of ones pleasing ones self But she takes her pleasure in such odd things shes capable of marrying Mr Osmond for the beauty of his opinions or for his autograph of Michael Angelo She wants to be disinterested as if she were the only person whos in danger of not being so Will HE be so disinterested when he has the spending of her money That was her idea before your fathers death and it has acquired new charms for her since She ought to marry some one of whose disinterestedness she shall herself be sure and there would be no such proof of that as his having a fortune of his own
My dear mother Im not afraid Ralph answered Shes making fools of us all Shell please herself of course but shell do so by studying human nature at close quarters and yet retaining her liberty She has started on an exploring expedition and I dont think shell change her course at the outset at a signal from Gilbert Osmond She may have slackened speed for an hour but before we know it shell be steaming away again Excuse another metaphor
Mrs Touchett excused it perhaps but was not so much reassured as to withhold from Madame Merle the expression of her fears You who know everything she said you must know this whether that curious creatures really making love to my niece
Gilbert Osmond Madame Merle widened her clear eyes and with a full intelligence Heaven help us she exclaimed thats an idea
Hadnt it occurred to you
You make me feel an idiot but I confess it hadnt I wonder she added if it has occurred to Isabel
Oh I shall now ask her said Mrs Touchett
Madame Merle reflected Dont put it into her head The thing would be to ask Mr Osmond
I cant do that said Mrs Touchett I wont have him enquire of me—as he perfectly may with that air of his given Isabels situation—what business it is of mine
Ill ask him myself Madame Merle bravely declared
But what business—for HIM—is it of yours
Its being none whatever is just why I can afford to speak Its so much less my business than any ones else that he can put me off with anything he chooses But it will be by the way he does this that I shall know
Pray let me hear then said Mrs Touchett of the fruits of your penetration If I cant speak to him however at least I can speak to Isabel
Her companion sounded at this the note of warning Dont be too quick with her Dont inflame her imagination
I never did anything in life to any ones imagination But Im always sure of her doing something—well not of MY kind
No you wouldnt like this Madame Merle observed without the point of interrogation
Why in the world should I pray Mr Osmond has nothing the least solid to offer
Again Madame Merle was silent while her thoughtful smile drew up her mouth even more charmingly than usual toward the left corner Let us distinguish Gilbert Osmonds certainly not the first comer Hes a man who in favourable conditions might very well make a great impression He has made a great impression to my knowledge more than once
Dont tell me about his probably quite coldblooded loveaffairs theyre nothing to me Mrs Touchett cried What you says precisely why I wish he would cease his visits He has nothing in the world that I know of but a dozen or two of early masters and a more or less pert little daughter
The early masters are now worth a good deal of money said Madame Merle and the daughters a very young and very innocent and very harmless person
In other words shes an insipid little chit Is that what you mean Having no fortune she cant hope to marry as they marry here so that Isabel will have to furnish her either with a maintenance or with a dowry
Isabel probably wouldnt object to being kind to her I think she likes the poor child
Another reason then for Mr Osmonds stopping at home Otherwise a week hence we shall have my niece arriving at the conviction that her mission in lifes to prove that a stepmother may sacrifice herself—and that to prove it she must first become one
She would make a charming stepmother smiled Madame Merle but I quite agree with you that she had better not decide upon her mission too hastily Changing the form of ones missions almost as difficult as changing the shape of ones nose there they are each in the middle of ones face and ones character—one has to begin too far back But Ill investigate and report to you
All this went on quite over Isabels head she had no suspicions that her relations with Mr Osmond were being discussed Madame Merle had said nothing to put her on her guard she alluded no more pointedly to him than to the other gentlemen of Florence native and foreign who now arrived in considerable numbers to pay their respects to Miss Archers aunt Isabel thought him interesting—she came back to that she liked so to think of him She had carried away an image from her visit to his hilltop which her subsequent knowledge of him did nothing to efface and which put on for her a particular harmony with other supposed and divined things histories within histories the image of a quiet clever sensitive distinguished man strolling on a mossgrown terrace above the sweet Val dArno and holding by the hand a little girl whose belllike clearness gave a new grace to childhood The picture had no flourishes but she liked its lowness of tone and the atmosphere of summer twilight that pervaded it It spoke of the kind of personal issue that touched her most nearly of the choice between objects subjects contacts—what might she call them—of a thin and those of a rich association of a lonely studious life in a lovely land of an old sorrow that sometimes ached today of a feeling of pride that was perhaps exaggerated but that had an element of nobleness of a care for beauty and perfection so natural and so cultivated together that the career appeared to stretch beneath it in the disposed vistas and with the ranges of steps and terraces and fountains of a formal Italian garden—allowing only for arid places freshened by the natural dews of a quaint halfanxious halfhelpless fatherhood At Palazzo Crescentini Mr Osmonds manner remained the same diffident at first—oh selfconscious beyond doubt and full of the effort visible only to a sympathetic eye to overcome this disadvantage an effort which usually resulted in a great deal of easy lively very positive rather aggressive always suggestive talk Mr Osmonds talk was not injured by the indication of an eagerness to shine Isabel found no difficulty in believing that a person was sincere who had so many of the signs of strong conviction—as for instance an explicit and graceful appreciation of anything that might be said on his own side of the question said perhaps by Miss Archer in especial What continued to please this young woman was that while he talked so for amusement he didnt talk as she had heard people for effect He uttered his ideas as if odd as they often appeared he were used to them and had lived with them old polished knobs and heads and handles of precious substance that could be fitted if necessary to new walkingsticks—not switches plucked in destitution from the common tree and then too elegantly waved about One day he brought his small daughter with him and she rejoiced to renew acquaintance with the child who as she presented her forehead to be kissed by every member of the circle reminded her vividly of an ingenue in a French play Isabel had never seen a little person of this pattern American girls were very different—different too were the maidens of England Pansy was so formed and finished for her tiny place in the world and yet in imagination as one could see so innocent and infantine She sat on the sofa by Isabel she wore a small grenadine mantle and a pair of the useful gloves that Madame Merle had given her—little grey gloves with a single button She was like a sheet of blank paper—the ideal jeune fille of foreign fiction Isabel hoped that so fair and smooth a page would be covered with an edifying text
The Countess Gemini also came to call upon her but the Countess was quite another affair She was by no means a blank sheet she had been written over in a variety of hands and Mrs Touchett who felt by no means honoured by her visit pronounced that a number of unmistakeable blots were to be seen upon her surface The Countess gave rise indeed to some discussion between the mistress of the house and the visitor from Rome in which Madame Merle who was not such a fool as to irritate people by always agreeing with them availed herself felicitously enough of that large licence of dissent which her hostess permitted as freely as she practised it Mrs Touchett had declared it a piece of audacity that this highly compromised character should have presented herself at such a time of day at the door of a house in which she was esteemed so little as she must long have known herself to be at Palazzo Crescentini Isabel had been made acquainted with the estimate prevailing under that roof it represented Mr Osmonds sister as a lady who had so mismanaged her improprieties that they had ceased to hang together at all—which was at the least what one asked of such matters—and had become the mere floating fragments of a wrecked renown incommoding social circulation She had been married by her mother—a more administrative person with an appreciation of foreign titles which the daughter to do her justice had probably by this time thrown off—to an Italian nobleman who had perhaps given her some excuse for attempting to quench the consciousness of outrage The Countess however had consoled herself outrageously and the list of her excuses had now lost itself in the labyrinth of her adventures Mrs Touchett had never consented to receive her though the Countess had made overtures of old Florence was not an austere city but as Mrs Touchett said she had to draw the line somewhere
Madame Merle defended the luckless lady with a great deal of zeal and wit She couldnt see why Mrs Touchett should make a scapegoat of a woman who had really done no harm who had only done good in the wrong way One must certainly draw the line but while one was about it one should draw it straight it was a very crooked chalkmark that would exclude the Countess Gemini In that case Mrs Touchett had better shut up her house this perhaps would be the best course so long as she remained in Florence One must be fair and not make arbitrary differences the Countess had doubtless been imprudent she had not been so clever as other women She was a good creature not clever at all but since when had that been a ground of exclusion from the best society For ever so long now one had heard nothing about her and there could be no better proof of her having renounced the error of her ways than her desire to become a member of Mrs Touchetts circle Isabel could contribute nothing to this interesting dispute not even a patient attention she contented herself with having given a friendly welcome to the unfortunate lady who whatever her defects had at least the merit of being Mr Osmonds sister As she liked the brother Isabel thought it proper to try and like the sister in spite of the growing complexity of things she was still capable of these primitive sequences She had not received the happiest impression of the Countess on meeting her at the villa but was thankful for an opportunity to repair the accident Had not Mr Osmond remarked that she was a respectable person To have proceeded from Gilbert Osmond this was a crude proposition but Madame Merle bestowed upon it a certain improving polish She told Isabel more about the poor Countess than Mr Osmond had done and related the history of her marriage and its consequences The Count was a member of an ancient Tuscan family but of such small estate that he had been glad to accept Amy Osmond in spite of the questionable beauty which had yet not hampered her career with the modest dowry her mother was able to offer—a sum about equivalent to that which had already formed her brothers share of their patrimony Count Gemini since then however had inherited money and now they were well enough off as Italians went though Amy was horribly extravagant The Count was a lowlived brute he had given his wife every pretext She had no children she had lost three within a year of their birth Her mother who had bristled with pretensions to elegant learning and published descriptive poems and corresponded on Italian subjects with the English weekly journals her mother had died three years after the Countesss marriage the father lost in the grey American dawn of the situation but reputed originally rich and wild having died much earlier One could see this in Gilbert Osmond Madame Merle held—see that he had been brought up by a woman though to do him justice one would suppose it had been by a more sensible woman than the American Corinne as Mrs Osmond had liked to be called She had brought her children to Italy after her husbands death and Mrs Touchett remembered her during the year that followed her arrival She thought her a horrible snob but this was an irregularity of judgement on Mrs Touchetts part for she like Mrs Osmond approved of political marriages The Countess was very good company and not really the featherhead she seemed all one had to do with her was to observe the simple condition of not believing a word she said Madame Merle had always made the best of her for her brothers sake he appreciated any kindness shown to Amy because if it had to be confessed for him he rather felt she let down their common name Naturally he couldnt like her style her shrillness her egotism her violations of taste and above all of truth she acted badly on his nerves she was not HIS sort of woman What was his sort of woman Oh the very opposite of the Countess a woman to whom the truth should be habitually sacred Isabel was unable to estimate the number of times her visitor had in half an hour profaned it the Countess indeed had given her an impression of rather silly sincerity She had talked almost exclusively about herself how much she should like to know Miss Archer how thankful she should be for a real friend how base the people in Florence were how tired she was of the place how much she should like to live somewhere else—in Paris in London in Washington how impossible it was to get anything nice to wear in Italy except a little old lace how dear the world was growing everywhere what a life of suffering and privation she had led Madame Merle listened with interest to Isabels account of this passage but she had not needed it to feel exempt from anxiety On the whole she was not afraid of the Countess and she could afford to do what was altogether best—not to appear so
Isabel had meanwhile another visitor whom it was not even behind her back so easy a matter to patronise Henrietta Stackpole who had left Paris after Mrs Touchetts departure for San Remo and had worked her way down as she said through the cities of North Italy reached the banks of the Arno about the middle of May Madame Merle surveyed her with a single glance took her in from head to foot and after a pang of despair determined to endure her She determined indeed to delight in her She mightnt be inhaled as a rose but she might be grasped as a nettle Madame Merle genially squeezed her into insignificance and Isabel felt that in foreseeing this liberality she had done justice to her friends intelligence Henriettas arrival had been announced by Mr Bantling who coming down from Nice while she was at Venice and expecting to find her in Florence which she had not yet reached called at Palazzo Crescentini to express his disappointment Henriettas own advent occurred two days later and produced in Mr Bantling an emotion amply accounted for by the fact that he had not seen her since the termination of the episode at Versailles The humorous view of his situation was generally taken but it was uttered only by Ralph Touchett who in the privacy of his own apartment when Bantling smoked a cigar there indulged in goodness knew what strong comedy on the subject of the alljudging one and her British backer This gentleman took the joke in perfectly good part and candidly confessed that he regarded the affair as a positive intellectual adventure He liked Miss Stackpole extremely he thought she had a wonderful head on her shoulders and found great comfort in the society of a woman who was not perpetually thinking about what would be said and how what she did how what they did—and they had done things—would look Miss Stackpole never cared how anything looked and if she didnt care pray why should he But his curiosity had been roused he wanted awfully to see if she ever WOULD care He was prepared to go as far as she—he didnt see why he should break down first
Henrietta showed no signs of breaking down Her prospects had brightened on her leaving England and she was now in the full enjoyment of her copious resources She had indeed been obliged to sacrifice her hopes with regard to the inner life the social question on the Continent bristled with difficulties even more numerous than those she had encountered in England But on the Continent there was the outer life which was palpable and visible at every turn and more easily convertible to literary uses than the customs of those opaque islanders Out of doors in foreign lands as she ingeniously remarked one seemed to see the right side of the tapestry out of doors in England one seemed to see the wrong side which gave one no notion of the figure The admission costs her historian a pang but Henrietta despairing of more occult things was now paying much attention to the outer life She had been studying it for two months at Venice from which city she sent to the Interviewer a conscientious account of the gondolas the Piazza the Bridge of Sighs the pigeons and the young boatman who chanted Tasso The Interviewer was perhaps disappointed but Henrietta was at least seeing Europe Her present purpose was to get down to Rome before the malaria should come on—she apparently supposed that it began on a fixed day and with this design she was to spend at present but few days in Florence Mr Bantling was to go with her to Rome and she pointed out to Isabel that as he had been there before as he was a military man and as he had had a classical education—he had been bred at Eton where they study nothing but Latin and WhyteMelville said Miss Stackpole—he would be a most useful companion in the city of the Caesars At this juncture Ralph had the happy idea of proposing to Isabel that she also under his own escort should make a pilgrimage to Rome She expected to pass a portion of the next winter there—that was very well but meantime there was no harm in surveying the field There were ten days left of the beautiful month of May—the most precious month of all to the true Romelover Isabel would become a Romelover that was a foregone conclusion She was provided with a trusty companion of her own sex whose society thanks to the fact of other calls on this ladys attention would probably not be oppressive Madame Merle would remain with Mrs Touchett she had left Rome for the summer and wouldnt care to return She professed herself delighted to be left at peace in Florence she had locked up her apartment and sent her cook home to Palestrina She urged Isabel however to assent to Ralphs proposal and assured her that a good introduction to Rome was not a thing to be despised Isabel in truth needed no urging and the party of four arranged its little journey Mrs Touchett on this occasion had resigned herself to the absence of a duenna we have seen that she now inclined to the belief that her niece should stand alone One of Isabels preparations consisted of her seeing Gilbert Osmond before she started and mentioning her intention to him
I should like to be in Rome with you he commented I should like to see you on that wonderful ground
She scarcely faltered You might come then
But youll have a lot of people with you
Ah Isabel admitted of course I shall not be alone
For a moment he said nothing more Youll like it he went on at last Theyve spoiled it but youll rave about it
Ought I to dislike it because poor old dear—the Niobe of Nations you know—it has been spoiled she asked
No I think not It has been spoiled so often he smiled If I were to go what should I do with my little girl
Cant you leave her at the villa
I dont know that I like that—though theres a very good old woman who looks after her I cant afford a governess
Bring her with you then said Isabel promptly
Mr Osmond looked grave She has been in Rome all winter at her convent and shes too young to make journeys of pleasure
You dont like bringing her forward Isabel enquired
No I think young girls should be kept out of the world
I was brought up on a different system
You Oh with you it succeeded because you—you were exceptional
I dont see why said Isabel who however was not sure there was not some truth in the speech
Mr Osmond didnt explain he simply went on If I thought it would make her resemble you to join a social group in Rome Id take her there tomorrow
Dont make her resemble me said Isabel Keep her like herself
I might send her to my sister Mr Osmond observed He had almost the air of asking advice he seemed to like to talk over his domestic matters with Miss Archer
Yes she concurred I think that wouldnt do much towards making her resemble me
After she had left Florence Gilbert Osmond met Madame Merle at the Countess Geminis There were other people present the Countesss drawingroom was usually well filled and the talk had been general but after a while Osmond left his place and came and sat on an ottoman halfbehind halfbeside Madame Merles chair She wants me to go to Rome with her he remarked in a low voice
To go with her
To be there while shes there She proposed it
I suppose you mean that you proposed it and she assented
Of course I gave her a chance But shes encouraging—shes very encouraging
I rejoice to hear it—but dont cry victory too soon Of course youll go to Rome
Ah said Osmond it makes one work this idea of yours
Dont pretend you dont enjoy it—youre very ungrateful Youve not been so well occupied these many years
The way you take its beautiful said Osmond I ought to be grateful for that
Not too much so however Madame Merle answered She talked with her usual smile leaning back in her chair and looking round the room Youve made a very good impression and Ive seen for myself that youve received one Youve not come to Mrs Touchetts seven times to oblige me
The girls not disagreeable Osmond quietly conceded
Madame Merle dropped her eye on him a moment during which her lips closed with a certain firmness Is that all you can find to say about that fine creature
All Isnt it enough Of how many people have you heard me say more
She made no answer to this but still presented her talkative grace to the room Youre unfathomable she murmured at last Im frightened at the abyss into which I shall have cast her
He took it almost gaily You cant draw back—youve gone too far
Very good but you must do the rest yourself
I shall do it said Gilbert Osmond
Madame Merle remained silent and he changed his place again but when she rose to go he also took leave Mrs Touchetts victoria was awaiting her guest in the court and after he had helped his friend into it he stood there detaining her Youre very indiscreet she said rather wearily you shouldnt have moved when I did
He had taken off his hat he passed his hand over his forehead I always forget Im out of the habit
Youre quite unfathomable she repeated glancing up at the windows of the house a modern structure in the new part of the town
He paid no heed to this remark but spoke in his own sense Shes really very charming Ive scarcely known any one more graceful
It does me good to hear you say that The better you like her the better for me
I like her very much Shes all you described her and into the bargain capable I feel of great devotion She has only one fault
Whats that
Too many ideas
I warned you she was clever
Fortunately theyre very bad ones said Osmond
Why is that fortunate
Dame if they must be sacrificed
Madame Merle leaned back looking straight before her then she spoke to the coachman But her friend again detained her If I go to Rome what shall I do with Pansy
Ill go and see her said Madame Merle
CHAPTER XXVII
I may not attempt to report in its fulness our young womans response to the deep appeal of Rome to analyse her feelings as she trod the pavement of the Forum or to number her pulsations as she crossed the threshold of Saint Peters It is enough to say that her impression was such as might have been expected of a person of her freshness and her eagerness She had always been fond of history and here was history in the stones of the street and the atoms of the sunshine She had an imagination that kindled at the mention of great deeds and wherever she turned some great deed had been acted These things strongly moved her but moved her all inwardly It seemed to her companions that she talked less than usual and Ralph Touchett when he appeared to be looking listlessly and awkwardly over her head was really dropping on her an intensity of observation By her own measure she was very happy she would even have been willing to take these hours for the happiest she was ever to know The sense of the terrible human past was heavy to her but that of something altogether contemporary would suddenly give it wings that it could wave in the blue Her consciousness was so mixed that she scarcely knew where the different parts of it would lead her and she went about in a repressed ecstasy of contemplation seeing often in the things she looked at a great deal more than was there and yet not seeing many of the items enumerated in her Murray Rome as Ralph said confessed to the psychological moment The herd of reechoing tourists had departed and most of the solemn places had relapsed into solemnity The sky was a blaze of blue and the plash of the fountains in their mossy niches had lost its chill and doubled its music On the corners of the warm bright streets one stumbled on bundles of flowers Our friends had gone one afternoon—it was the third of their stay—to look at the latest excavations in the Forum these labours having been for some time previous largely extended They had descended from the modern street to the level of the Sacred Way along which they wandered with a reverence of step which was not the same on the part of each Henrietta Stackpole was struck with the fact that ancient Rome had been paved a good deal like New York and even found an analogy between the deep chariotruts traceable in the antique street and the overjangled iron grooves which express the intensity of American life The sun had begun to sink the air was a golden haze and the long shadows of broken column and vague pedestal leaned across the field of ruin Henrietta wandered away with Mr Bantling whom it was apparently delightful to her to hear speak of Julius Caesar as a cheeky old boy and Ralph addressed such elucidations as he was prepared to offer to the attentive ear of our heroine One of the humble archeologists who hover about the place had put himself at the disposal of the two and repeated his lesson with a fluency which the decline of the season had done nothing to impair A process of digging was on view in a remote corner of the Forum and he presently remarked that if it should please the signori to go and watch it a little they might see something of interest The proposal commended itself more to Ralph than to Isabel weary with much wandering so that she admonished her companion to satisfy his curiosity while she patiently awaited his return The hour and the place were much to her taste—she should enjoy being briefly alone Ralph accordingly went off with the cicerone while Isabel sat down on a prostrate column near the foundations of the Capitol She wanted a short solitude but she was not long to enjoy it Keen as was her interest in the rugged relics of the Roman past that lay scattered about her and in which the corrosion of centuries had still left so much of individual life her thoughts after resting a while on these things had wandered by a concatenation of stages it might require some subtlety to trace to regions and objects charged with a more active appeal From the Roman past to Isabel Archers future was a long stride but her imagination had taken it in a single flight and now hovered in slow circles over the nearer and richer field She was so absorbed in her thoughts as she bent her eyes upon a row of cracked but not dislocated slabs covering the ground at her feet that she had not heard the sound of approaching footsteps before a shadow was thrown across the line of her vision She looked up and saw a gentleman—a gentleman who was not Ralph come back to say that the excavations were a bore This personage was startled as she was startled he stood there baring his head to her perceptibly pale surprise
Lord Warburton Isabel exclaimed as she rose
I had no idea it was you I turned that corner and came upon you
She looked about her to explain Im alone but my companions have just left me My cousins gone to look at the work over there
Ah yes I see And Lord Warburtons eyes wandered vaguely in the direction she had indicated He stood firmly before her now he had recovered his balance and seemed to wish to show it though very kindly Dont let me disturb you he went on looking at her dejected pillar Im afraid youre tired
Yes Im rather tired She hesitated a moment but sat down again Dont let me interrupt you she added
Oh dear Im quite alone Ive nothing on earth to do I had no idea you were in Rome Ive just come from the East Im only passing through
Youve been making a long journey said Isabel who had learned from Ralph that Lord Warburton was absent from England
Yes I came abroad for six months—soon after I saw you last Ive been in Turkey and Asia Minor I came the other day from Athens He managed not to be awkward but he wasnt easy and after a longer look at the girl he came down to nature Do you wish me to leave you or will you let me stay a little
She took it all humanely I dont wish you to leave me Lord Warburton Im very glad to see you
Thank you for saying that May I sit down
The fluted shaft on which she had taken her seat would have afforded a restingplace to several persons and there was plenty of room even for a highlydeveloped Englishman This fine specimen of that great class seated himself near our young lady and in the course of five minutes he had asked her several questions taken rather at random and to which as he put some of them twice over he apparently somewhat missed catching the answer had given her too some information about himself which was not wasted upon her calmer feminine sense He repeated more than once that he had not expected to meet her and it was evident that the encounter touched him in a way that would have made preparation advisable He began abruptly to pass from the impunity of things to their solemnity and from their being delightful to their being impossible He was splendidly sunburnt even his multitudinous beard had been burnished by the fire of Asia He was dressed in the loosefitting heterogeneous garments in which the English traveller in foreign lands is wont to consult his comfort and affirm his nationality and with his pleasant steady eyes his bronzed complexion fresh beneath its seasoning his manly figure his minimising manner and his general air of being a gentleman and an explorer he was such a representative of the British race as need not in any clime have been disavowed by those who have a kindness for it Isabel noted these things and was glad she had always liked him He had kept evidently in spite of shocks every one of his merits—properties these partaking of the essence of great decent houses as one might put it resembling their innermost fixtures and ornaments not subject to vulgar shifting and removable only by some whole breakup They talked of the matters naturally in order her uncles death Ralphs state of health the way she had passed her winter her visit to Rome her return to Florence her plans for the summer the hotel she was staying at and then of Lord Warburtons own adventures movements intentions impressions and present domicile At last there was a silence and it said so much more than either had said that it scarce needed his final words Ive written to you several times
Written to me Ive never had your letters
I never sent them I burned them up
Ah laughed Isabel it was better that you should do that than I
I thought you wouldnt care for them he went on with a simplicity that touched her It seemed to me that after all I had no right to trouble you with letters
I should have been very glad to have news of you You know how I hoped that—that— But she stopped there would be such a flatness in the utterance of her thought
I know what youre going to say You hoped we should always remain good friends This formula as Lord Warburton uttered it was certainly flat enough but then he was interested in making it appear so
She found herself reduced simply to Please dont talk of all that a speech which hardly struck her as improvement on the other
Its a small consolation to allow me her companion exclaimed with force
I cant pretend to console you said the girl who all still as she sat there threw herself back with a sort of inward triumph on the answer that had satisfied him so little six months before He was pleasant he was powerful he was gallant there was no better man than he But her answer remained
Its very well you dont try to console me it wouldnt be in your power she heard him say through the medium of her strange elation
I hoped we should meet again because I had no fear you would attempt to make me feel I had wronged you But when you do that—the pains greater than the pleasure And she got up with a small conscious majesty looking for her companions
I dont want to make you feel that of course I cant say that I only just want you to know one or two things—in fairness to myself as it were I wont return to the subject again I felt very strongly what I expressed to you last year I couldnt think of anything else I tried to forget—energetically systematically I tried to take an interest in somebody else I tell you this because I want you to know I did my duty I didnt succeed It was for the same purpose I went abroad—as far away as possible They say travelling distracts the mind but it didnt distract mine Ive thought of you perpetually ever since I last saw you Im exactly the same I love you just as much and everything I said to you then is just as true This instant at which I speak to you shows me again exactly how to my great misfortune you just insuperably charm me There—I cant say less I dont mean however to insist its only for a moment I may add that when I came upon you a few minutes since without the smallest idea of seeing you I was upon my honour in the very act of wishing I knew where you were He had recovered his selfcontrol and while he spoke it became complete He might have been addressing a small committee—making all quietly and clearly a statement of importance aided by an occasional look at a paper of notes concealed in his hat which he had not again put on And the committee assuredly would have felt the point proved
Ive often thought of you Lord Warburton Isabel answered You may be sure I shall always do that And she added in a tone of which she tried to keep up the kindness and keep down the meaning Theres no harm in that on either side
They walked along together and she was prompt to ask about his sisters and request him to let them know she had done so He made for the moment no further reference to their great question but dipped again into shallower and safer waters But he wished to know when she was to leave Rome and on her mentioning the limit of her stay declared he was glad it was still so distant
Why do you say that if you yourself are only passing through she enquired with some anxiety
Ah when I said I was passing through I didnt mean that one would treat Rome as if it were Clapham Junction To pass through Rome is to stop a week or two
Say frankly that you mean to stay as long as I do
His flushed smile for a little seemed to sound her You wont like that Youre afraid youll see too much of me
It doesnt matter what I like I certainly cant expect you to leave this delightful place on my account But I confess Im afraid of you
Afraid Ill begin again I promise to be very careful
They had gradually stopped and they stood a moment face to face Poor Lord Warburton she said with a compassion intended to be good for both of them
Poor Lord Warburton indeed But Ill be careful
You may be unhappy but you shall not make ME so That I cant allow
If I believed I could make you unhappy I think I should try it At this she walked in advance and he also proceeded Ill never say a word to displease you
Very good If you do our friendships at an end
Perhaps some day—after a while—youll give me leave
Give you leave to make me unhappy
He hesitated To tell you again— But he checked himself Ill keep it down Ill keep it down always
Ralph Touchett had been joined in his visit to the excavation by Miss Stackpole and her attendant and these three now emerged from among the mounds of earth and stone collected round the aperture and came into sight of Isabel and her companion Poor Ralph hailed his friend with joy qualified by wonder and Henrietta exclaimed in a high voice Gracious theres that lord Ralph and his English neighbour greeted with the austerity with which after long separations English neighbours greet and Miss Stackpole rested her large intellectual gaze upon the sunburnt traveller But she soon established her relation to the crisis I dont suppose you remember me sir
Indeed I do remember you said Lord Warburton I asked you to come and see me and you never came
I dont go everywhere Im asked Miss Stackpole answered coldly
Ah well I wont ask you again laughed the master of Lockleigh
If you do Ill go so be sure
Lord Warburton for all his hilarity seemed sure enough Mr Bantling had stood by without claiming a recognition but he now took occasion to nod to his lordship who answered him with a friendly Oh you here Bantling and a handshake
Well said Henrietta I didnt know you knew him
I guess you dont know every one I know Mr Bantling rejoined facetiously
I thought that when an Englishman knew a lord he always told you
Ah Im afraid Bantling was ashamed of me Lord Warburton laughed again Isabel took pleasure in that note she gave a small sigh of relief as they kept their course homeward
The next day was Sunday she spent her morning over two long letters—one to her sister Lily the other to Madame Merle but in neither of these epistles did she mention the fact that a rejected suitor had threatened her with another appeal Of a Sunday afternoon all good Romans and the best Romans are often the northern barbarians follow the custom of going to vespers at Saint Peters and it had been agreed among our friends that they would drive together to the great church After lunch an hour before the carriage came Lord Warburton presented himself at the Hotel de Paris and paid a visit to the two ladies Ralph Touchett and Mr Bantling having gone out together The visitor seemed to have wished to give Isabel a proof of his intention to keep the promise made her the evening before he was both discreet and frank—not even dumbly importunate or remotely intense He thus left her to judge what a mere good friend he could be He talked about his travels about Persia about Turkey and when Miss Stackpole asked him whether it would pay for her to visit those countries assured her they offered a great field to female enterprise Isabel did him justice but she wondered what his purpose was and what he expected to gain even by proving the superior strain of his sincerity If he expected to melt her by showing what a good fellow he was he might spare himself the trouble She knew the superior strain of everything about him and nothing he could now do was required to light the view Moreover his being in Rome at all affected her as a complication of the wrong sort—she liked so complications of the right Nevertheless when on bringing his call to a close he said he too should be at Saint Peters and should look out for her and her friends she was obliged to reply that he must follow his convenience
In the church as she strolled over its tesselated acres he was the first person she encountered She had not been one of the superior tourists who are disappointed in Saint Peters and find it smaller than its fame the first time she passed beneath the huge leathern curtain that strains and bangs at the entrance the first time she found herself beneath the fararching dome and saw the light drizzle down through the air thickened with incense and with the reflections of marble and gilt of mosaic and bronze her conception of greatness rose and dizzily rose After this it never lacked space to soar She gazed and wondered like a child or a peasant she paid her silent tribute to the seated sublime Lord Warburton walked beside her and talked of Saint Sophia of Constantinople she feared for instance that he would end by calling attention to his exemplary conduct The service had not yet begun but at Saint Peters there is much to observe and as there is something almost profane in the vastness of the place which seems meant as much for physical as for spiritual exercise the different figures and groups the mingled worshippers and spectators may follow their various intentions without conflict or scandal In that splendid immensity individual indiscretion carries but a short distance Isabel and her companions however were guilty of none for though Henrietta was obliged in candour to declare that Michael Angelos dome suffered by comparison with that of the Capitol at Washington she addressed her protest chiefly to Mr Bantlings ear and reserved it in its more accentuated form for the columns of the Interviewer Isabel made the circuit of the church with his lordship and as they drew near the choir on the left of the entrance the voices of the Popes singers were borne to them over the heads of the large number of persons clustered outside the doors They paused a while on the skirts of this crowd composed in equal measure of Roman cockneys and inquisitive strangers and while they stood there the sacred concert went forward Ralph with Henrietta and Mr Bantling was apparently within where Isabel looking beyond the dense group in front of her saw the afternoon light silvered by clouds of incense that seemed to mingle with the splendid chant slope through the embossed recesses of high windows After a while the singing stopped and then Lord Warburton seemed disposed to move off with her Isabel could only accompany him whereupon she found herself confronted with Gilbert Osmond who appeared to have been standing at a short distance behind her He now approached with all the forms—he appeared to have multiplied them on this occasion to suit the place
So you decided to come she said as she put out her hand
Yes I came last night and called this afternoon at your hotel They told me you had come here and I looked about for you
The others are inside she decided to say
I didnt come for the others he promptly returned
She looked away Lord Warburton was watching them perhaps he had heard this Suddenly she remembered it to be just what he had said to her the morning he came to Gardencourt to ask her to marry him Mr Osmonds words had brought the colour to her cheek and this reminiscence had not the effect of dispelling it She repaired any betrayal by mentioning to each companion the name of the other and fortunately at this moment Mr Bantling emerged from the choir cleaving the crowd with British valour and followed by Miss Stackpole and Ralph Touchett I say fortunately but this is perhaps a superficial view of the matter since on perceiving the gentleman from Florence Ralph Touchett appeared to take the case as not committing him to joy He didnt hang back however from civility and presently observed to Isabel with due benevolence that she would soon have all her friends about her Miss Stackpole had met Mr Osmond in Florence but she had already found occasion to say to Isabel that she liked him no better than her other admirers—than Mr Touchett and Lord Warburton and even than little Mr Rosier in Paris I dont know what its in you she had been pleased to remark but for a nice girl you do attract the most unnatural people Mr Goodwoods the only one Ive any respect for and hes just the one you dont appreciate
Whats your opinion of Saint Peters Mr Osmond was meanwhile enquiring of our young lady
Its very large and very bright she contented herself with replying
Its too large it makes one feel like an atom
Isnt that the right way to feel in the greatest of human temples she asked with rather a liking for her phrase
I suppose its the right way to feel everywhere when one IS nobody But I like it in a church as little as anywhere else
You ought indeed to be a Pope Isabel exclaimed remembering something he had referred to in Florence
Ah I should have enjoyed that said Gilbert Osmond
Lord Warburton meanwhile had joined Ralph Touchett and the two strolled away together Whos the fellow speaking to Miss Archer his lordship demanded
His names Gilbert Osmond—he lives in Florence Ralph said
What is he besides
Nothing at all Oh yes hes an American but one forgets that—hes so little of one
Has he known Miss Archer long
Three or four weeks
Does she like him
Shes trying to find out
And will she
Find out— Ralph asked
Will she like him
Do you mean will she accept him
Yes said Lord Warburton after an instant I suppose thats what I horribly mean
Perhaps not if one does nothing to prevent it Ralph replied
His lordship stared a moment but apprehended Then we must be perfectly quiet
As quiet as the grave And only on the chance Ralph added
The chance she may
The chance she may not
Lord Warburton took this at first in silence but he spoke again Is he awfully clever
Awfully said Ralph
His companion thought And what else
What more do you want Ralph groaned
Do you mean what more does SHE
Ralph took him by the arm to turn him they had to rejoin the others She wants nothing that WE can give her
Ah well if she wont have You— said his lordship handsomely as they went
CHAPTER XXVIII
On the morrow in the evening Lord Warburton went again to see his friends at their hotel and at this establishment he learned that they had gone to the opera He drove to the opera with the idea of paying them a visit in their box after the easy Italian fashion and when he had obtained his admittance—it was one of the secondary theatres—looked about the large bare illlighted house An act had just terminated and he was at liberty to pursue his quest After scanning two or three tiers of boxes he perceived in one of the largest of these receptacles a lady whom he easily recognised Miss Archer was seated facing the stage and partly screened by the curtain of the box and beside her leaning back in his chair was Mr Gilbert Osmond They appeared to have the place to themselves and Warburton supposed their companions had taken advantage of the recess to enjoy the relative coolness of the lobby He stood a while with his eyes on the interesting pair he asked himself if he should go up and interrupt the harmony At last he judged that Isabel had seen him and this accident determined him There should be no marked holding off He took his way to the upper regions and on the staircase met Ralph Touchett slowly descending his hat at the inclination of ennui and his hands where they usually were
I saw you below a moment since and was going down to you I feel lonely and want company was Ralphs greeting
Youve some thats very good which youve yet deserted
Do you mean my cousin Oh she has a visitor and doesnt want me Then Miss Stackpole and Bantling have gone out to a cafe to eat an ice—Miss Stackpole delights in an ice I didnt think they wanted me either The operas very bad the women look like laundresses and sing like peacocks I feel very low
You had better go home Lord Warburton said without affectation
And leave my young lady in this sad place Ah no I must watch over her
She seems to have plenty of friends
Yes thats why I must watch said Ralph with the same large mockmelancholy
If she doesnt want you its probable she doesnt want me
No youre different Go to the box and stay there while I walk about
Lord Warburton went to the box where Isabels welcome was as to a friend so honourably old that he vaguely asked himself what queer temporal province she was annexing He exchanged greetings with Mr Osmond to whom he had been introduced the day before and who after he came in sat blandly apart and silent as if repudiating competence in the subjects of allusion now probable It struck her second visitor that Miss Archer had in operatic conditions a radiance even a slight exaltation as she was however at all times a keenlyglancing quicklymoving completely animated young woman he may have been mistaken on this point Her talk with him moreover pointed to presence of mind it expressed a kindness so ingenious and deliberate as to indicate that she was in undisturbed possession of her faculties Poor Lord Warburton had moments of bewilderment She had discouraged him formally as much as a woman could what business had she then with such arts and such felicities above all with such tones of reparation—preparation Her voice had tricks of sweetness but why play them on HIM The others came back the bare familiar trivial opera began again The box was large and there was room for him to remain if he would sit a little behind and in the dark He did so for half an hour while Mr Osmond remained in front leaning forward his elbows on his knees just behind Isabel Lord Warburton heard nothing and from his gloomy corner saw nothing but the clear profile of this young lady defined against the dim illumination of the house When there was another interval no one moved Mr Osmond talked to Isabel and Lord Warburton kept his corner He did so but for a short time however after which he got up and bade goodnight to the ladies Isabel said nothing to detain him but it didnt prevent his being puzzled again Why should she mark so one of his values—quite the wrong one—when she would have nothing to do with another which was quite the right He was angry with himself for being puzzled and then angry for being angry Verdis music did little to comfort him and he left the theatre and walked homeward without knowing his way through the tortuous tragic streets of Rome where heavier sorrows than his had been carried under the stars
Whats the character of that gentleman Osmond asked of Isabel after he had retired
Irreproachable—dont you see it
He owns about half England thats his character Henrietta remarked Thats what they call a free country
Ah hes a great proprietor Happy man said Gilbert Osmond
Do you call that happiness—the ownership of wretched human beings cried Miss Stackpole He owns his tenants and has thousands of them Its pleasant to own something but inanimate objects are enough for me I dont insist on flesh and blood and minds and consciences
It seems to me you own a human being or two Mr Bantling suggested jocosely I wonder if Warburton orders his tenants about as you do me
Lord Warburtons a great radical Isabel said He has very advanced opinions
He has very advanced stone walls His parks enclosed by a gigantic iron fence some thirty miles round Henrietta announced for the information of Mr Osmond I should like him to converse with a few of our Boston radicals
Dont they approve of iron fences asked Mr Bantling
Only to shut up wicked conservatives I always feel as if I were talking to YOU over something with a neat topfinish of broken glass
Do you know him well this unreformed reformer Osmond went on questioning Isabel
Well enough for all the use I have for him
And how much of a use is that
Well I like to like him
Liking to like—why it makes a passion said Osmond
No—she considered—keep that for liking to DISlike
Do you wish to provoke me then Osmond laughed to a passion for HIM
She said nothing for a moment but then met the light question with a disproportionate gravity No Mr Osmond I dont think I should ever dare to provoke you Lord Warburton at any rate she more easily added is a very nice man
Of great ability her friend enquired
Of excellent ability and as good as he looks
As good as hes goodlooking do you mean Hes very goodlooking How detestably fortunate—to be a great English magnate to be clever and handsome into the bargain and by way of finishing off to enjoy your high favour Thats a man I could envy
Isabel considered him with interest You seem to me to be always envying some one Yesterday it was the Pope today its poor Lord Warburton
My envys not dangerous it wouldnt hurt a mouse I dont want to destroy the people—I only want to BE them You see it would destroy only myself
Youd like to be the Pope said Isabel
I should love it—but I should have gone in for it earlier But why—Osmond reverted—do you speak of your friend as poor
Women—when they are very very good sometimes pity men after theyve hurt them thats their great way of showing kindness said Ralph joining in the conversation for the first time and with a cynicism so transparently ingenious as to be virtually innocent
Pray have I hurt Lord Warburton Isabel asked raising her eyebrows as if the idea were perfectly fresh
It serves him right if you have said Henrietta while the curtain rose for the ballet
Isabel saw no more of her attributive victim for the next twentyfour hours but on the second day after the visit to the opera she encountered him in the gallery of the Capitol where he stood before the lion of the collection the statue of the Dying Gladiator She had come in with her companions among whom on this occasion again Gilbert Osmond had his place and the party having ascended the staircase entered the first and finest of the rooms Lord Warburton addressed her alertly enough but said in a moment that he was leaving the gallery And Im leaving Rome he added I must bid you goodbye Isabel inconsequently enough was now sorry to hear it This was perhaps because she had ceased to be afraid of his renewing his suit she was thinking of something else She was on the point of naming her regret but she checked herself and simply wished him a happy journey which made him look at her rather unlightedly Im afraid youll think me very volatile I told you the other day I wanted so much to stop
Oh no you could easily change your mind
Thats what I have done
Bon voyage then
Youre in a great hurry to get rid of me said his lordship quite dismally
Not in the least But I hate partings
You dont care what I do he went on pitifully
Isabel looked at him a moment Ah she said youre not keeping your promise
He coloured like a boy of fifteen If Im not then its because I cant and thats why Im going
Goodbye then
Goodbye He lingered still however When shall I see you again
Isabel hesitated but soon as if she had had a happy inspiration Some day after youre married
That will never be It will be after you are
That will do as well she smiled
Yes quite as well Goodbye
They shook hands and he left her alone in the glorious room among the shining antique marbles She sat down in the centre of the circle of these presences regarding them vaguely resting her eyes on their beautiful blank faces listening as it were to their eternal silence It is impossible in Rome at least to look long at a great company of Greek sculptures without feeling the effect of their noble quietude which as with a high door closed for the ceremony slowly drops on the spirit the large white mantle of peace I say in Rome especially because the Roman air is an exquisite medium for such impressions The golden sunshine mingles with them the deep stillness of the past so vivid yet though it is nothing but a void full of names seems to throw a solemn spell upon them The blinds were partly closed in the windows of the Capitol and a clear warm shadow rested on the figures and made them more mildly human Isabel sat there a long time under the charm of their motionless grace wondering to what of their experience their absent eyes were open and how to our ears their alien lips would sound The dark red walls of the room threw them into relief the polished marble floor reflected their beauty She had seen them all before but her enjoyment repeated itself and it was all the greater because she was glad again for the time to be alone At last however her attention lapsed drawn off by a deeper tide of life An occasional tourist came in stopped and stared a moment at the Dying Gladiator and then passed out of the other door creaking over the smooth pavement At the end of half an hour Gilbert Osmond reappeared apparently in advance of his companions He strolled toward her slowly with his hands behind him and his usual enquiring yet not quite appealing smile Im surprised to find you alone I thought you had company
So I have—the best And she glanced at the Antinous and the Faun
Do you call them better company than an English peer
Ah my English peer left me some time ago She got up speaking with intention a little dryly
Mr Osmond noted her dryness which contributed for him to the interest of his question Im afraid that what I heard the other evening is true youre rather cruel to that nobleman
Isabel looked a moment at the vanquished Gladiator Its not true Im scrupulously kind
Thats exactly what I mean Gilbert Osmond returned and with such happy hilarity that his joke needs to be explained We know that he was fond of originals of rarities of the superior and the exquisite and now that he had seen Lord Warburton whom he thought a very fine example of his race and order he perceived a new attraction in the idea of taking to himself a young lady who had qualified herself to figure in his collection of choice objects by declining so noble a hand Gilbert Osmond had a high appreciation of this particular patriciate not so much for its distinction which he thought easily surpassable as for its solid actuality He had never forgiven his star for not appointing him to an English dukedom and he could measure the unexpectedness of such conduct as Isabels It would be proper that the woman he might marry should have done something of that sort
CHAPTER XXIX
Ralph Touchett in talk with his excellent friend had rather markedly qualified as we know his recognition of Gilbert Osmonds personal merits but he might really have felt himself illiberal in the light of that gentlemans conduct during the rest of the visit to Rome Osmond spent a portion of each day with Isabel and her companions and ended by affecting them as the easiest of men to live with Who wouldnt have seen that he could command as it were both tact and gaiety—which perhaps was exactly why Ralph had made his oldtime look of superficial sociability a reproach to him Even Isabels invidious kinsman was obliged to admit that he was just now a delightful associate His good humour was imperturbable his knowledge of the right fact his production of the right word as convenient as the friendly flicker of a match for your cigarette Clearly he was amused—as amused as a man could be who was so little ever surprised and that made him almost applausive It was not that his spirits were visibly high—he would never in the concert of pleasure touch the big drum by so much as a knuckle he had a mortal dislike to the high ragged note to what he called random ravings He thought Miss Archer sometimes of too precipitate a readiness It was pity she had that fault because if she had not had it she would really have had none she would have been as smooth to his general need of her as handled ivory to the palm If he was not personally loud however he was deep and during these closing days of the Roman May he knew a complacency that matched with slow irregular walks under the pines of the Villa Borghese among the small sweet meadowflowers and the mossy marbles He was pleased with everything he had never before been pleased with so many things at once Old impressions old enjoyments renewed themselves one evening going home to his room at the inn he wrote down a little sonnet to which he prefixed the title of Rome Revisited A day or two later he showed this piece of correct and ingenious verse to Isabel explaining to her that it was an Italian fashion to commemorate the occasions of life by a tribute to the muse
He took his pleasures in general singly he was too often—he would have admitted that—too sorely aware of something wrong something ugly the fertilising dew of a conceivable felicity too seldom descended on his spirit But at present he was happy—happier than he had perhaps ever been in his life and the feeling had a large foundation This was simply the sense of success—the most agreeable emotion of the human heart Osmond had never had too much of it in this respect he had the irritation of satiety as he knew perfectly well and often reminded himself Ah no Ive not been spoiled certainly Ive not been spoiled he used inwardly to repeat If I do succeed before I die I shall thoroughly have earned it He was too apt to reason as if earning this boon consisted above all of covertly aching for it and might be confined to that exercise Absolutely void of it also his career had not been he might indeed have suggested to a spectator here and there that he was resting on vague laurels But his triumphs were some of them now too old others had been too easy The present one had been less arduous than might have been expected but had been easy—that is had been rapid—only because he had made an altogether exceptional effort a greater effort than he had believed it in him to make The desire to have something or other to show for his parts—to show somehow or other—had been the dream of his youth but as the years went on the conditions attached to any marked proof of rarity had affected him more and more as gross and detestable like the swallowing of mugs of beer to advertise what one could stand If an anonymous drawing on a museum wall had been conscious and watchful it might have known this peculiar pleasure of being at last and all of a sudden identified—as from the hand of a great master—by the so high and so unnoticed fact of style His style was what the girl had discovered with a little help and now beside herself enjoying it she should publish it to the world without his having any of the trouble She should do the thing FOR him and he would not have waited in vain
Shortly before the time fixed in advance for her departure this young lady received from Mrs Touchett a telegram running as follows Leave Florence 4th June for Bellaggio and take you if you have not other views But cant wait if you dawdle in Rome The dawdling in Rome was very pleasant but Isabel had different views and she let her aunt know she would immediately join her She told Gilbert Osmond that she had done so and he replied that spending many of his summers as well as his winters in Italy he himself would loiter a little longer in the cool shadow of Saint Peters He would not return to Florence for ten days more and in that time she would have started for Bellaggio It might be months in this case before he should see her again This exchange took place in the large decorated sittingroom occupied by our friends at the hotel it was late in the evening and Ralph Touchett was to take his cousin back to Florence on the morrow Osmond had found the girl alone Miss Stackpole had contracted a friendship with a delightful American family on the fourth floor and had mounted the interminable staircase to pay them a visit Henrietta contracted friendships in travelling with great freedom and had formed in railwaycarriages several that were among her most valued ties Ralph was making arrangements for the morrows journey and Isabel sat alone in a wilderness of yellow upholstery The chairs and sofas were orange the walls and windows were draped in purple and gilt The mirrors the pictures had great flamboyant frames the ceiling was deeply vaulted and painted over with naked muses and cherubs For Osmond the place was ugly to distress the false colours the sham splendour were like vulgar bragging lying talk Isabel had taken in hand a volume of Ampere presented on their arrival in Rome by Ralph but though she held it in her lap with her finger vaguely kept in the place she was not impatient to pursue her study A lamp covered with a drooping veil of pink tissuepaper burned on the table beside her and diffused a strange pale rosiness over the scene
You say youll come back but who knows Gilbert Osmond said
I think youre much more likely to start on your voyage round the world Youre under no obligation to come back you can do exactly what you choose you can roam through space
Well Italys a part of space Isabel answered I can take it on the way
On the way round the world No dont do that Dont put us in a parenthesis—give us a chapter to ourselves I dont want to see you on your travels Id rather see you when theyre over I should like to see you when youre tired and satiated Osmond added in a moment I shall prefer you in that state
Isabel with her eyes bent fingered the pages of M Ampere You turn things into ridicule without seeming to do it though not I think without intending it Youve no respect for my travels—you think them ridiculous
Where do you find that
She went on in the same tone fretting the edge of her book with the paperknife You see my ignorance my blunders the way I wander about as if the world belonged to me simply because—because it has been put into my power to do so You dont think a woman ought to do that You think it bold and ungraceful
I think it beautiful said Osmond You know my opinions—Ive treated you to enough of them Dont you remember my telling you that one ought to make ones life a work of art You looked rather shocked at first but then I told you that it was exactly what you seemed to me to be trying to do with your own
She looked up from her book What you despise most in the world is bad is stupid art
Possibly But yours seem to me very clear and very good
If I were to go to Japan next winter you would laugh at me she went on
Osmond gave a smile—a keen one but not a laugh for the tone of their conversation was not jocose Isabel had in fact her solemnity he had seen it before You have one
Thats exactly what I say You think such an idea absurd
I would give my little finger to go to Japan its one of the countries I want most to see Cant you believe that with my taste for old lacquer
I havent a taste for old lacquer to excuse me said Isabel
Youve a better excuse—the means of going Youre quite wrong in your theory that I laugh at you I dont know what has put it into your head
It wouldnt be remarkable if you did think it ridiculous that I should have the means to travel when youve not for you know everything and I know nothing
The more reason why you should travel and learn smiled Osmond Besides he added as if it were a point to be made I dont know everything
Isabel was not struck with the oddity of his saying this gravely she was thinking that the pleasantest incident of her life—so it pleased her to qualify these too few days in Rome which she might musingly have likened to the figure of some small princess of one of the ages of dress overmuffled in a mantle of state and dragging a train that it took pages or historians to hold up—that this felicity was coming to an end That most of the interest of the time had been owing to Mr Osmond was a reflexion she was not just now at pains to make she had already done the point abundant justice But she said to herself that if there were a danger they should never meet again perhaps after all it would be as well Happy things dont repeat themselves and her adventure wore already the changed the seaward face of some romantic island from which after feasting on purple grapes she was putting off while the breeze rose She might come back to Italy and find him different—this strange man who pleased her just as he was and it would be better not to come than run the risk of that But if she was not to come the greater the pity that the chapter was closed she felt for a moment a pang that touched the source of tears The sensation kept her silent and Gilbert Osmond was silent too he was looking at her Go everywhere he said at last in a low kind voice do everything get everything out of life Be happy—be triumphant
What do you mean by being triumphant
Well doing what you like
To triumph then it seems to me is to fail Doing all the vain things one likes is often very tiresome
Exactly said Osmond with his quiet quickness As I intimated just now youll be tired some day He paused a moment and then he went on I dont know whether I had better not wait till then for something I want to say to you
Ah I cant advise you without knowing what it is But Im horrid when Im tired Isabel added with due inconsequence
I dont believe that Youre angry sometimes—that I can believe though Ive never seen it But Im sure youre never cross
Not even when I lose my temper
You dont lose it—you find it and that must be beautiful Osmond spoke with a noble earnestness They must be great moments to see
If I could only find it now Isabel nervously cried
Im not afraid I should fold my arms and admire you Im speaking very seriously He leaned forward a hand on each knee for some moments he bent his eyes on the floor What I wish to say to you he went on at last looking up is that I find Im in love with you
She instantly rose Ah keep that till I am tired
Tired of hearing it from others He sat there raising his eyes to her No you may heed it now or never as you please But after all I must say it now She had turned away but in the movement she had stopped herself and dropped her gaze upon him The two remained a while in this situation exchanging a long look—the large conscious look of the critical hours of life Then he got up and came near her deeply respectful as if he were afraid he had been too familiar Im absolutely in love with you
He had repeated the announcement in a tone of almost impersonal discretion like a man who expected very little from it but who spoke for his own needed relief The tears came into her eyes this time they obeyed the sharpness of the pang that suggested to her somehow the slipping of a fine bolt—backward forward she couldnt have said which The words he had uttered made him as he stood there beautiful and generous invested him as with the golden air of early autumn but morally speaking she retreated before them—facing him still—as she had retreated in the other cases before a like encounter Oh dont say that please she answered with an intensity that expressed the dread of having in this case too to choose and decide What made her dread great was precisely the force which as it would seem ought to have banished all dread—the sense of something within herself deep down that she supposed to be inspired and trustful passion It was there like a large sum stored in a bank—which there was a terror in having to begin to spend If she touched it it would all come out
I havent the idea that it will matter much to you said Osmond Ive too little to offer you What I have—its enough for me but its not enough for you Ive neither fortune nor fame nor extrinsic advantages of any kind So I offer nothing I only tell you because I think it cant offend you and some day or other it may give you pleasure It gives me pleasure I assure you he went on standing there before her considerately inclined to her turning his hat which he had taken up slowly round with a movement which had all the decent tremor of awkwardness and none of its oddity and presenting to her his firm refined slightly ravaged face It gives me no pain because its perfectly simple For me youll always be the most important woman in the world
Isabel looked at herself in this character—looked intently thinking she filled it with a certain grace But what she said was not an expression of any such complacency You dont offend me but you ought to remember that without being offended one may be incommoded troubled Incommoded she heard herself saying that and it struck her as a ridiculous word But it was what stupidly came to her
I remember perfectly Of course youre surprised and startled But if its nothing but that it will pass away And it will perhaps leave something that I may not be ashamed of
I dont know what it may leave You see at all events that Im not overwhelmed said Isabel with rather a pale smile Im not too troubled to think And I think that Im glad I leave Rome tomorrow
Of course I dont agree with you there
I dont at all KNOW you she added abruptly and then she coloured as she heard herself saying what she had said almost a year before to Lord Warburton
If you were not going away youd know me better
I shall do that some other time
I hope so Im very easy to know
No no she emphatically answered—there youre not sincere Youre not easy to know no one could be less so
Well he laughed I said that because I know myself It may be a boast but I do
Very likely but youre very wise
So are you Miss Archer Osmond exclaimed
I dont feel so just now Still Im wise enough to think you had better go Goodnight
God bless you said Gilbert Osmond taking the hand which she failed to surrender After which he added If we meet again youll find me as you leave me If we dont I shall be so all the same
Thank you very much Goodbye
There was something quietly firm about Isabels visitor he might go of his own movement but wouldnt be dismissed Theres one thing more I havent asked anything of you—not even a thought in the future you must do me that justice But theres a little service I should like to ask I shall not return home for several days Romes delightful and its a good place for a man in my state of mind Oh I know youre sorry to leave it but youre right to do what your aunt wishes
She doesnt even wish it Isabel broke out strangely
Osmond was apparently on the point of saying something that would match these words but he changed his mind and rejoined simply Ah well its proper you should go with her very proper Do everything thats proper I go in for that Excuse my being so patronising You say you dont know me but when you do youll discover what a worship I have for propriety
Youre not conventional Isabel gravely asked
I like the way you utter that word No Im not conventional Im convention itself You dont understand that And he paused a moment smiling I should like to explain it Then with a sudden quick bright naturalness Do come back again he pleaded There are so many things we might talk about
She stood there with lowered eyes What service did you speak of just now
Go and see my little daughter before you leave Florence Shes alone at the villa I decided not to send her to my sister who hasnt at all my ideas Tell her she must love her poor father very much said Gilbert Osmond gently
It will be a great pleasure to me to go Isabel answered Ill tell her what you say Once more goodbye
On this he took a rapid respectful leave When he had gone she stood a moment looking about her and seated herself slowly and with an air of deliberation She sat there till her companions came back with folded hands gazing at the ugly carpet Her agitation—for it had not diminished—was very still very deep What had happened was something that for a week past her imagination had been going forward to meet but here when it came she stopped—that sublime principle somehow broke down The working of this young ladys spirit was strange and I can only give it to you as I see it not hoping to make it seem altogether natural Her imagination as I say now hung back there was a last vague space it couldnt cross—a dusky uncertain tract which looked ambiguous and even slightly treacherous like a moorland seen in the winter twilight But she was to cross it yet
CHAPTER XXX
She returned on the morrow to Florence under her cousins escort and Ralph Touchett though usually restive under railway discipline thought very well of the successive hours passed in the train that hurried his companion away from the city now distinguished by Gilbert Osmonds preference—hours that were to form the first stage in a larger scheme of travel Miss Stackpole had remained behind she was planning a little trip to Naples to be carried out with Mr Bantlings aid Isabel was to have three days in Florence before the 4th of June the date of Mrs Touchetts departure and she determined to devote the last of these to her promise to call on Pansy Osmond Her plan however seemed for a moment likely to modify itself in deference to an idea of Madame Merles This lady was still at Casa Touchett but she too was on the point of leaving Florence her next station being an ancient castle in the mountains of Tuscany the residence of a noble family of that country whose acquaintance she had known them as she said forever seemed to Isabel in the light of certain photographs of their immense crenellated dwelling which her friend was able to show her a precious privilege She mentioned to this fortunate woman that Mr Osmond had asked her to take a look at his daughter but didnt mention that he had also made her a declaration of love
Ah comme cela se trouve Madame Merle exclaimed I myself have been thinking it would be a kindness to pay the child a little visit before I go off
We can go together then Isabel reasonably said reasonably because the proposal was not uttered in the spirit of enthusiasm She had prefigured her small pilgrimage as made in solitude she should like it better so She was nevertheless prepared to sacrifice this mystic sentiment to her great consideration for her friend
That personage finely meditated After all why should we both go having each of us so much to do during these last hours
Very good I can easily go alone
I dont know about your going alone—to the house of a handsome bachelor He has been married—but so long ago
Isabel stared When Mr Osmonds away what does it matter
They dont know hes away you see
They Whom do you mean
Every one But perhaps it doesnt signify
If you were going why shouldnt I Isabel asked
Because Im an old frump and youre a beautiful young woman
Granting all that youve not promised
How much you think of your promises said the elder woman in mild mockery
I think a great deal of my promises Does that surprise you
Youre right Madame Merle audibly reflected I really think you wish to be kind to the child
I wish very much to be kind to her
Go and see her then no one will be the wiser And tell her Id have come if you hadnt Or rather Madame Merle added DONT tell her She wont care
As Isabel drove in the publicity of an open vehicle along the winding way which led to Mr Osmonds hilltop she wondered what her friend had meant by no ones being the wiser Once in a while at large intervals this lady whose voyaging discretion as a general thing was rather of the open sea than of the risky channel dropped a remark of ambiguous quality struck a note that sounded false What cared Isabel Archer for the vulgar judgements of obscure people and did Madame Merle suppose that she was capable of doing a thing at all if it had to be sneakingly done Of course not she must have meant something else—something which in the press of the hours that preceded her departure she had not had time to explain Isabel would return to this some day there were sorts of things as to which she liked to be clear She heard Pansy strumming at the piano in another place as she herself was ushered into Mr Osmonds drawingroom the little girl was practising and Isabel was pleased to think she performed this duty with rigour She immediately came in smoothing down her frock and did the honours of her fathers house with a wideeyed earnestness of courtesy Isabel sat there half an hour and Pansy rose to the occasion as the small winged fairy in the pantomime soars by the aid of the dissimulated wire—not chattering but conversing and showing the same respectful interest in Isabels affairs that Isabel was so good as to take in hers Isabel wondered at her she had never had so directly presented to her nose the white flower of cultivated sweetness How well the child had been taught said our admiring young woman how prettily she had been directed and fashioned and yet how simple how natural how innocent she had been kept Isabel was fond ever of the question of character and quality of sounding as who should say the deep personal mystery and it had pleased her up to this time to be in doubt as to whether this tender slip were not really allknowing Was the extremity of her candour but the perfection of selfconsciousness Was it put on to please her fathers visitor or was it the direct expression of an unspotted nature The hour that Isabel spent in Mr Osmonds beautiful empty dusky rooms—the windows had been halfdarkened to keep out the heat and here and there through an easy crevice the splendid summer day peeped in lighting a gleam of faded colour or tarnished gilt in the rich gloom—her interview with the daughter of the house I say effectually settled this question Pansy was really a blank page a pure white surface successfully kept so she had neither art nor guile nor temper nor talent—only two or three small exquisite instincts for knowing a friend for avoiding a mistake for taking care of an old toy or a new frock Yet to be so tender was to be touching withal and she could be felt as an easy victim of fate She would have no will no power to resist no sense of her own importance she would easily be mystified easily crushed her force would be all in knowing when and where to cling She moved about the place with her visitor who had asked leave to walk through the other rooms again where Pansy gave her judgement on several works of art She spoke of her prospects her occupations her fathers intentions she was not egotistical but felt the propriety of supplying the information so distinguished a guest would naturally expect
Please tell me she said did papa in Rome go to see Madame Catherine He told me he would if he had time Perhaps he had not time Papa likes a great deal of time He wished to speak about my education it isnt finished yet you know I dont know what they can do with me more but it appears its far from finished Papa told me one day he thought he would finish it himself for the last year or two at the convent the masters that teach the tall girls are so very dear Papas not rich and I should be very sorry if he were to pay much money for me because I dont think Im worth it I dont learn quickly enough and I have no memory For what Im told yes—especially when its pleasant but not for what I learn in a book There was a young girl who was my best friend and they took her away from the convent when she was fourteen to make—how do you say it in English—to make a dot You dont say it in English I hope it isnt wrong I only mean they wished to keep the money to marry her I dont know whether it is for that that papa wishes to keep the money—to marry me It costs so much to marry Pansy went on with a sigh I think papa might make that economy At any rate Im too young to think about it yet and I dont care for any gentleman I mean for any but him If he were not my papa I should like to marry him I would rather be his daughter than the wife of—of some strange person I miss him very much but not so much as you might think for Ive been so much away from him Papa has always been principally for holidays I miss Madame Catherine almost more but you must not tell him that You shall not see him again Im very sorry and hell be sorry too Of everyone who comes here I like you the best Thats not a great compliment for there are not many people It was very kind of you to come today—so far from your house for Im really as yet only a child Oh yes Ive only the occupations of a child When did YOU give them up the occupations of a child I should like to know how old you are but I dont know whether its right to ask At the convent they told us that we must never ask the age I dont like to do anything thats not expected it looks as if one had not been properly taught I myself—I should never like to be taken by surprise Papa left directions for everything I go to bed very early When the sun goes off that side I go into the garden Papa left strict orders that I was not to get scorched I always enjoy the view the mountains are so graceful In Rome from the convent we saw nothing but roofs and belltowers I practise three hours I dont play very well You play yourself I wish very much youd play something for me papa has the idea that I should hear good music Madame Merle has played for me several times thats what I like best about Madame Merle she has great facility I shall never have facility And Ive no voice—just a small sound like the squeak of a slatepencil making flourishes
Isabel gratified this respectful wish drew off her gloves and sat down to the piano while Pansy standing beside her watched her white hands move quickly over the keys When she stopped she kissed the child goodbye held her close looked at her long Be very good she said give pleasure to your father
I think thats what I live for Pansy answered He has not much pleasure hes rather a sad man
Isabel listened to this assertion with an interest which she felt it almost a torment to be obliged to conceal It was her pride that obliged her and a certain sense of decency there were still other things in her head which she felt a strong impulse instantly checked to say to Pansy about her father there were things it would have given her pleasure to hear the child to make the child say But she no sooner became conscious of these things than her imagination was hushed with horror at the idea of taking advantage of the little girl—it was of this she would have accused herself—and of exhaling into that air where he might still have a subtle sense for it any breath of her charmed state She had come—she had come but she had stayed only an hour She rose quickly from the musicstool even then however she lingered a moment still holding her small companion drawing the childs sweet slimness closer and looking down at her almost in envy She was obliged to confess it to herself—she would have taken a passionate pleasure in talking of Gilbert Osmond to this innocent diminutive creature who was so near him But she said no other word she only kissed Pansy once again They went together through the vestibule to the door that opened on the court and there her young hostess stopped looking rather wistfully beyond I may go no further Ive promised papa not to pass this door
Youre right to obey him hell never ask you anything unreasonable
I shall always obey him But when will you come again
Not for a long time Im afraid
As soon as you can I hope Im only a little girl said Pansy but I shall always expect you And the small figure stood in the high dark doorway watching Isabel cross the clear grey court and disappear into the brightness beyond the big portone which gave a wider dazzle as it opened
CHAPTER XXXI
Isabel came back to Florence but only after several months an interval sufficiently replete with incident It is not however during this interval that we are closely concerned with her our attention is engaged again on a certain day in the late springtime shortly after her return to Palazzo Crescentini and a year from the date of the incidents just narrated She was alone on this occasion in one of the smaller of the numerous rooms devoted by Mrs Touchett to social uses and there was that in her expression and attitude which would have suggested that she was expecting a visitor The tall window was open and though its green shutters were partly drawn the bright air of the garden had come in through a broad interstice and filled the room with warmth and perfume Our young woman stood near it for some time her hands clasped behind her she gazed abroad with the vagueness of unrest Too troubled for attention she moved in a vain circle Yet it could not be in her thought to catch a glimpse of her visitor before he should pass into the house since the entrance to the palace was not through the garden in which stillness and privacy always reigned She wished rather to forestall his arrival by a process of conjecture and to judge by the expression of her face this attempt gave her plenty to do Grave she found herself and positively more weighted as by the experience of the lapse of the year she had spent in seeing the world She had ranged she would have said through space and surveyed much of mankind and was therefore now in her own eyes a very different person from the frivolous young woman from Albany who had begun to take the measure of Europe on the lawn at Gardencourt a couple of years before She flattered herself she had harvested wisdom and learned a great deal more of life than this lightminded creature had even suspected If her thoughts just now had inclined themselves to retrospect instead of fluttering their wings nervously about the present they would have evoked a multitude of interesting pictures These pictures would have been both landscapes and figurepieces the latter however would have been the more numerous With several of the images that might have been projected on such a field we are already acquainted There would be for instance the conciliatory Lily our heroines sister and Edmund Ludlows wife who had come out from New York to spend five months with her relative She had left her husband behind her but had brought her children to whom Isabel now played with equal munificence and tenderness the part of maidenaunt Mr Ludlow toward the last had been able to snatch a few weeks from his forensic triumphs and crossing the ocean with extreme rapidity had spent a month with the two ladies in Paris before taking his wife home The little Ludlows had not yet even from the American point of view reached the proper touristage so that while her sister was with her Isabel had confined her movements to a narrow circle Lily and the babies had joined her in Switzerland in the month of July and they had spent a summer of fine weather in an Alpine valley where the flowers were thick in the meadows and the shade of great chestnuts made a restingplace for such upward wanderings as might be undertaken by ladies and children on warm afternoons They had afterwards reached the French capital which was worshipped and with costly ceremonies by Lily but thought of as noisily vacant by Isabel who in these days made use of her memory of Rome as she might have done in a hot and crowded room of a phial of something pungent hidden in her handkerchief
Mrs Ludlow sacrificed as I say to Paris yet had doubts and wonderments not allayed at that altar and after her husband had joined her found further chagrin in his failure to throw himself into these speculations They all had Isabel for subject but Edmund Ludlow as he had always done before declined to be surprised or distressed or mystified or elated at anything his sisterinlaw might have done or have failed to do Mrs Ludlows mental motions were sufficiently various At one moment she thought it would be so natural for that young woman to come home and take a house in New York—the Rossiters for instance which had an elegant conservatory and was just round the corner from her own at another she couldnt conceal her surprise at the girls not marrying some member of one of the great aristocracies On the whole as I have said she had fallen from high communion with the probabilities She had taken more satisfaction in Isabels accession of fortune than if the money had been left to herself it had seemed to her to offer just the proper setting for her sisters slightly meagre but scarce the less eminent figure Isabel had developed less however than Lily had thought likely—development to Lilys understanding being somehow mysteriously connected with morningcalls and eveningparties Intellectually doubtless she had made immense strides but she appeared to have achieved few of those social conquests of which Mrs Ludlow had expected to admire the trophies Lilys conception of such achievements was extremely vague but this was exactly what she had expected of Isabel—to give it form and body Isabel could have done as well as she had done in New York and Mrs Ludlow appealed to her husband to know whether there was any privilege she enjoyed in Europe which the society of that city might not offer her We know ourselves that Isabel had made conquests—whether inferior or not to those she might have effected in her native land it would be a delicate matter to decide and it is not altogether with a feeling of complacency that I again mention that she had not rendered these honourable victories public She had not told her sister the history of Lord Warburton nor had she given her a hint of Mr Osmonds state of mind and she had had no better reason for her silence than that she didnt wish to speak It was more romantic to say nothing and drinking deep in secret of romance she was as little disposed to ask poor Lilys advice as she would have been to close that rare volume forever But Lily knew nothing of these discriminations and could only pronounce her sisters career a strange anticlimax—an impression confirmed by the fact that Isabels silence about Mr Osmond for instance was in direct proportion to the frequency with which he occupied her thoughts As this happened very often it sometimes appeared to Mrs Ludlow that she had lost her courage So uncanny a result of so exhilarating an incident as inheriting a fortune was of course perplexing to the cheerful Lily it added to her general sense that Isabel was not at all like other people
Our young ladys courage however might have been taken as reaching its height after her relations had gone home She could imagine braver things than spending the winter in Paris—Paris had sides by which it so resembled New York Paris was like smart neat prose—and her close correspondence with Madame Merle did much to stimulate such flights She had never had a keener sense of freedom of the absolute boldness and wantonness of liberty than when she turned away from the platform at the Euston Station on one of the last days of November after the departure of the train that was to convey poor Lily her husband and her children to their ship at Liverpool It had been good for her to regale she was very conscious of that she was very observant as we know of what was good for her and her effort was constantly to find something that was good enough To profit by the present advantage till the latest moment she had made the journey from Paris with the unenvied travellers She would have accompanied them to Liverpool as well only Edmund Ludlow had asked her as a favour not to do so it made Lily so fidgety and she asked such impossible questions Isabel watched the train move away she kissed her hand to the elder of her small nephews a demonstrative child who leaned dangerously far out of the window of the carriage and made separation an occasion of violent hilarity and then she walked back into the foggy London street The world lay before her—she could do whatever she chose There was a deep thrill in it all but for the present her choice was tolerably discreet she chose simply to walk back from Euston Square to her hotel The early dusk of a November afternoon had already closed in the streetlamps in the thick brown air looked weak and red our heroine was unattended and Euston Square was a long way from Piccadilly But Isabel performed the journey with a positive enjoyment of its dangers and lost her way almost on purpose in order to get more sensations so that she was disappointed when an obliging policeman easily set her right again She was so fond of the spectacle of human life that she enjoyed even the aspect of gathering dusk in the London streets—the moving crowds the hurrying cabs the lighted shops the flaring stalls the dark shining dampness of everything That evening at her hotel she wrote to Madame Merle that she should start in a day or two for Rome She made her way down to Rome without touching at Florence—having gone first to Venice and then proceeded southward by Ancona She accomplished this journey without other assistance than that of her servant for her natural protectors were not now on the ground Ralph Touchett was spending the winter at Corfu and Miss Stackpole in the September previous had been recalled to America by a telegram from the Interviewer This journal offered its brilliant correspondent a fresher field for her genius than the mouldering cities of Europe and Henrietta was cheered on her way by a promise from Mr Bantling that he would soon come over to see her Isabel wrote to Mrs Touchett to apologise for not presenting herself just yet in Florence and her aunt replied characteristically enough Apologies Mrs Touchett intimated were of no more use to her than bubbles and she herself never dealt in such articles One either did the thing or one didnt and what one would have done belonged to the sphere of the irrelevant like the idea of a future life or of the origin of things Her letter was frank but a rare case with Mrs Touchett not so frank as it pretended She easily forgave her niece for not stopping at Florence because she took it for a sign that Gilbert Osmond was less in question there than formerly She watched of course to see if he would now find a pretext for going to Rome and derived some comfort from learning that he had not been guilty of an absence Isabel on her side had not been a fortnight in Rome before she proposed to Madame Merle that they should make a little pilgrimage to the East Madame Merle remarked that her friend was restless but she added that she herself had always been consumed with the desire to visit Athens and Constantinople The two ladies accordingly embarked on this expedition and spent three months in Greece in Turkey in Egypt Isabel found much to interest her in these countries though Madame Merle continued to remark that even among the most classic sites the scenes most calculated to suggest repose and reflexion a certain incoherence prevailed in her Isabel travelled rapidly and recklessly she was like a thirsty person draining cup after cup Madame Merle meanwhile as ladyinwaiting to a princess circulating incognita panted a little in her rear It was on Isabels invitation she had come and she imparted all due dignity to the girls uncountenanced state She played her part with the tact that might have been expected of her effacing herself and accepting the position of a companion whose expenses were profusely paid The situation however had no hardships and people who met this reserved though striking pair on their travels would not have been able to tell you which was patroness and which client To say that Madame Merle improved on acquaintance states meagrely the impression she made on her friend who had found her from the first so ample and so easy At the end of an intimacy of three months Isabel felt she knew her better her character had revealed itself and the admirable woman had also at last redeemed her promise of relating her history from her own point of view—a consummation the more desirable as Isabel had already heard it related from the point of view of others This history was so sad a one in so far as it concerned the late M Merle a positive adventurer she might say though originally so plausible who had taken advantage years before of her youth and of an inexperience in which doubtless those who knew her only now would find it difficult to believe it abounded so in startling and lamentable incidents that her companion wondered a person so eprouvee could have kept so much of her freshness her interest in life Into this freshness of Madame Merles she obtained a considerable insight she seemed to see it as professional as slightly mechanical carried about in its case like the fiddle of the virtuoso or blanketed and bridled like the favourite of the jockey She liked her as much as ever but there was a corner of the curtain that never was lifted it was as if she had remained after all something of a public performer condemned to emerge only in character and in costume She had once said that she came from a distance that she belonged to the old old world and Isabel never lost the impression that she was the product of a different moral or social clime from her own that she had grown up under other stars
She believed then that at bottom she had a different morality Of course the morality of civilised persons has always much in common but our young woman had a sense in her of values gone wrong or as they said at the shops marked down She considered with the presumption of youth that a morality differing from her own must be inferior to it and this conviction was an aid to detecting an occasional flash of cruelty an occasional lapse from candour in the conversation of a person who had raised delicate kindness to an art and whose pride was too high for the narrow ways of deception Her conception of human motives might in certain lights have been acquired at the court of some kingdom in decadence and there were several in her list of which our heroine had not even heard She had not heard of everything that was very plain and there were evidently things in the world of which it was not advantageous to hear She had once or twice had a positive scare since it so affected her to have to exclaim of her friend Heaven forgive her she doesnt understand me Absurd as it may seem this discovery operated as a shock left her with a vague dismay in which there was even an element of foreboding The dismay of course subsided in the light of some sudden proof of Madame Merles remarkable intelligence but it stood for a highwatermark in the ebb and flow of confidence Madame Merle had once declared her belief that when a friendship ceases to grow it immediately begins to decline—there being no point of equilibrium between liking more and liking less A stationary affection in other words was impossible—it must move one way or the other However that might be the girl had in these days a thousand uses for her sense of the romantic which was more active than it had ever been I do not allude to the impulse it received as she gazed at the Pyramids in the course of an excursion from Cairo or as she stood among the broken columns of the Acropolis and fixed her eyes upon the point designated to her as the Strait of Salamis deep and memorable as these emotions had remained She came back by the last of March from Egypt and Greece and made another stay in Rome A few days after her arrival Gilbert Osmond descended from Florence and remained three weeks during which the fact of her being with his old friend Madame Merle in whose house she had gone to lodge made it virtually inevitable that he should see her every day When the last of April came she wrote to Mrs Touchett that she should now rejoice to accept an invitation given long before and went to pay a visit at Palazzo Crescentini Madame Merle on this occasion remaining in Rome She found her aunt alone her cousin was still at Corfu Ralph however was expected in Florence from day to day and Isabel who had not seen him for upwards of a year was prepared to give him the most affectionate welcome
CHAPTER XXXII
It was not of him nevertheless that she was thinking while she stood at the window near which we found her a while ago and it was not of any of the matters I have rapidly sketched She was not turned to the past but to the immediate impending hour She had reason to expect a scene and she was not fond of scenes She was not asking herself what she should say to her visitor this question had already been answered What he would say to her—that was the interesting issue It could be nothing in the least soothing—she had warrant for this and the conviction doubtless showed in the cloud on her brow For the rest however all clearness reigned in her she had put away her mourning and she walked in no small shimmering splendour She only felt older—ever so much and as if she were worth more for it like some curious piece in an antiquarys collection She was not at any rate left indefinitely to her apprehensions for a servant at last stood before her with a card on his tray Let the gentleman come in she said and continued to gaze out of the window after the footman had retired It was only when she had heard the door close behind the person who presently entered that she looked round
Caspar Goodwood stood there—stood and received a moment from head to foot the bright dry gaze with which she rather withheld than offered a greeting Whether his sense of maturity had kept pace with Isabels we shall perhaps presently ascertain let me say meanwhile that to her critical glance he showed nothing of the injury of time Straight strong and hard there was nothing in his appearance that spoke positively either of youth or of age if he had neither innocence nor weakness so he had no practical philosophy His jaw showed the same voluntary cast as in earlier days but a crisis like the present had in it of course something grim He had the air of a man who had travelled hard he said nothing at first as if he had been out of breath This gave Isabel time to make a reflexion Poor fellow what great things hes capable of and what a pity he should waste so dreadfully his splendid force What a pity too that one cant satisfy everybody It gave her time to do more to say at the end of a minute I cant tell you how I hoped you wouldnt come
Ive no doubt of that And he looked about him for a seat Not only had he come but he meant to settle
You must be very tired said Isabel seating herself and generously as she thought to give him his opportunity
No Im not at all tired Did you ever know me to be tired
Never I wish I had When did you arrive
Last night very late in a kind of snailtrain they call the express These Italian trains go at about the rate of an American funeral
Thats in keeping—you must have felt as if you were coming to bury me And she forced a smile of encouragement to an easy view of their situation She had reasoned the matter well out making it perfectly clear that she broke no faith and falsified no contract but for all this she was afraid of her visitor She was ashamed of her fear but she was devoutly thankful there was nothing else to be ashamed of He looked at her with his stiff insistence an insistence in which there was such a want of tact especially when the dull dark beam in his eye rested on her as a physical weight
No I didnt feel that I couldnt think of you as dead I wish I could he candidly declared
I thank you immensely
Id rather think of you as dead than as married to another man
Thats very selfish of you she returned with the ardour of a real conviction If youre not happy yourself others have yet a right to be
Very likely its selfish but I dont in the least mind your saying so I dont mind anything you can say now—I dont feel it The cruellest things you could think of would be mere pinpricks After what youve done I shall never feel anything—I mean anything but that That I shall feel all my life
Mr Goodwood made these detached assertions with dry deliberateness in his hard slow American tone which flung no atmospheric colour over propositions intrinsically crude The tone made Isabel angry rather than touched her but her anger perhaps was fortunate inasmuch as it gave her a further reason for controlling herself It was under the pressure of this control that she became after a little irrelevant When did you leave New York
He threw up his head as if calculating Seventeen days ago
You must have travelled fast in spite of your slow trains
I came as fast as I could Id have come five days ago if I had been able
It wouldnt have made any difference Mr Goodwood she coldly smiled
Not to you—no But to me
You gain nothing that I see
Thats for me to judge
Of course To me it seems that you only torment yourself And then to change the subject she asked him if he had seen Henrietta Stackpole He looked as if he had not come from Boston to Florence to talk of Henrietta Stackpole but he answered distinctly enough that this young lady had been with him just before he left America She came to see you Isabel then demanded
Yes she was in Boston and she called at my office It was the day I had got your letter
Did you tell her Isabel asked with a certain anxiety
Oh no said Caspar Goodwood simply I didnt want to do that Shell hear it quick enough she hears everything
I shall write to her and then shell write to me and scold me Isabel declared trying to smile again
Caspar however remained sternly grave I guess shell come right out he said
On purpose to scold me
I dont know She seemed to think she had not seen Europe thoroughly
Im glad you tell me that Isabel said I must prepare for her
Mr Goodwood fixed his eyes for a moment on the floor then at last raising them Does she know Mr Osmond he enquired
A little And she doesnt like him But of course I dont marry to please Henrietta she added It would have been better for poor Caspar if she had tried a little more to gratify Miss Stackpole but he didnt say so he only asked presently when her marriage would take place To which she made answer that she didnt know yet I can only say it will be soon Ive told no one but yourself and one other person—an old friend of Mr Osmonds
Is it a marriage your friends wont like he demanded
I really havent an idea As I say I dont marry for my friends
He went on making no exclamation no comment only asking questions doing it quite without delicacy Who and what then is Mr Gilbert Osmond
Who and what Nobody and nothing but a very good and very honourable man Hes not in business said Isabel Hes not rich hes not known for anything in particular
She disliked Mr Goodwoods questions but she said to herself that she owed it to him to satisfy him as far as possible The satisfaction poor Caspar exhibited was however small he sat very upright gazing at her Where does he come from Where does he belong
She had never been so little pleased with the way he said belawng He comes from nowhere He has spent most of his life in Italy
You said in your letter he was American Hasnt he a native place
Yes but he has forgotten it He left it as a small boy
Has he never gone back
Why should he go back Isabel asked flushing all defensively He has no profession
He might have gone back for his pleasure Doesnt he like the United States
He doesnt know them Then hes very quiet and very simple—he contents himself with Italy
With Italy and with you said Mr Goodwood with gloomy plainness and no appearance of trying to make an epigram What has he ever done he added abruptly
That I should marry him Nothing at all Isabel replied while her patience helped itself by turning a little to hardness If he had done great things would you forgive me any better Give me up Mr Goodwood Im marrying a perfect nonentity Dont try to take an interest in him You cant
I cant appreciate him thats what you mean And you dont mean in the least that hes a perfect nonentity You think hes grand you think hes great though no one else thinks so
Isabels colour deepened she felt this really acute of her companion and it was certainly a proof of the aid that passion might render perceptions she had never taken for fine Why do you always comeback to what others think I cant discuss Mr Osmond with you
Of course not said Caspar reasonably And he sat there with his air of stiff helplessness as if not only this were true but there were nothing else that they might discuss
You see how little you gain she accordingly broke out—how little comfort or satisfaction I can give you
I didnt expect you to give me much
I dont understand then why you came
I came because I wanted to see you once more—even just as you are
I appreciate that but if you had waited a while sooner or later we should have been sure to meet and our meeting would have been pleasanter for each of us than this
Waited till after youre married Thats just what I didnt want to do Youll be different then
Not very I shall still be a great friend of yours Youll see
That will make it all the worse said Mr Goodwood grimly
Ah youre unaccommodating I cant promise to dislike you in order to help you to resign yourself
I shouldnt care if you did
Isabel got up with a movement of repressed impatience and walked to the window where she remained a moment looking out When she turned round her visitor was still motionless in his place She came toward him again and stopped resting her hand on the back of the chair she had just quitted Do you mean you came simply to look at me Thats better for you perhaps than for me
I wished to hear the sound of your voice he said
Youve heard it and you see it says nothing very sweet
It gives me pleasure all the same And with this he got up She had felt pain and displeasure on receiving early that day the news he was in Florence and by her leave would come within an hour to see her She had been vexed and distressed though she had sent back word by his messenger that he might come when he would She had not been better pleased when she saw him his being there at all was so full of heavy implications It implied things she could never assent to—rights reproaches remonstrance rebuke the expectation of making her change her purpose These things however if implied had not been expressed and now our young lady strangely enough began to resent her visitors remarkable selfcontrol There was a dumb misery about him that irritated her there was a manly staying of his hand that made her heart beat faster She felt her agitation rising and she said to herself that she was angry in the way a woman is angry when she has been in the wrong She was not in the wrong she had fortunately not that bitterness to swallow but all the same she wished he would denounce her a little She had wished his visit would be short it had no purpose no propriety yet now that he seemed to be turning away she felt a sudden horror of his leaving her without uttering a word that would give her an opportunity to defend herself more than she had done in writing to him a month before in a few carefully chosen words to announce her engagement If she were not in the wrong however why should she desire to defend herself It was an excess of generosity on Isabels part to desire that Mr Goodwood should be angry And if he had not meanwhile held himself hard it might have made him so to hear the tone in which she suddenly exclaimed as if she were accusing him of having accused her Ive not deceived you I was perfectly free
Yes I know that said Caspar
I gave you full warning that Id do as I chose
You said youd probably never marry and you said it with such a manner that I pretty well believed it
She considered this an instant No one can be more surprised than myself at my present intention
You told me that if I heard you were engaged I was not to believe it Caspar went on I heard it twenty days ago from yourself but I remembered what you had said I thought there might be some mistake and thats partly why I came
If you wish me to repeat it by word of mouth thats soon done Theres no mistake whatever
I saw that as soon as I came into the room
What good would it do you that I shouldnt marry she asked with a certain fierceness
I should like it better than this
Youre very selfish as I said before
I know that Im selfish as iron
Even iron sometimes melts If youll be reasonable Ill see you again
Dont you call me reasonable now
I dont know what to say to you she answered with sudden humility
I shant trouble you for a long time the young man went on He made a step towards the door but he stopped Another reason why I came was that I wanted to hear what you would say in explanation of your having changed your mind
Her humbleness as suddenly deserted her In explanation Do you think Im bound to explain
He gave her one of his long dumb looks You were very positive I did believe it
So did I Do you think I could explain if I would
No I suppose not Well he added Ive done what I wished Ive seen you
How little you make of these terrible journeys she felt the poverty of her presently replying
If youre afraid Im knocked up—in any such way as that—you may he at your ease about it He turned away this time in earnest and no handshake no sign of parting was exchanged between them
At the door he stopped with his hand on the knob I shall leave Florence tomorrow he said without a quaver
Im delighted to hear it she answered passionately Five minutes after he had gone out she burst into tears
CHAPTER XXXIII
Her fit of weeping however was soon smothered and the signs of it had vanished when an hour later she broke the news to her aunt I use this expression because she had been sure Mrs Touchett would not be pleased Isabel had only waited to tell her till she had seen Mr Goodwood She had an odd impression that it would not be honourable to make the fact public before she should have heard what Mr Goodwood would say about it He had said rather less than she expected and she now had a somewhat angry sense of having lost time But she would lose no more she waited till Mrs Touchett came into the drawingroom before the midday breakfast and then she began Aunt Lydia Ive something to tell you
Mrs Touchett gave a little jump and looked at her almost fiercely You neednt tell me I know what it is
I dont know how you know
The same way that I know when the windows open—by feeling a draught Youre going to marry that man
What man do you mean Isabel enquired with great dignity
Madame Merles friend—Mr Osmond
I dont know why you call him Madame Merles friend Is that the principal thing hes known by
If hes not her friend he ought to be—after what she has done for him cried Mrs Touchett I shouldnt have expected it of her Im disappointed
If you mean that Madame Merle has had anything to do with my engagement youre greatly mistaken Isabel declared with a sort of ardent coldness
You mean that your attractions were sufficient without the gentlemans having had to be lashed up Youre quite right Theyre immense your attractions and he would never have presumed to think of you if she hadnt put him up to it He has a very good opinion of himself but he was not a man to take trouble Madame Merle took the trouble for him
He has taken a great deal for himself cried Isabel with a voluntary laugh
Mrs Touchett gave a sharp nod I think he must after all to have made you like him so much
I thought he even pleased YOU
He did at one time and thats why Im angry with him
Be angry with me not with him said the girl
Oh Im always angry with you thats no satisfaction Was it for this that you refused Lord Warburton
Please dont go back to that Why shouldnt I like Mr Osmond since others have done so
Others at their wildest moments never wanted to marry him Theres nothing OF him Mrs Touchett explained
Then he cant hurt me said Isabel
Do you think youre going to be happy No ones happy in such doings you should know
I shall set the fashion then What does one marry for
What YOU will marry for heaven only knows People usually marry as they go into partnership—to set up a house But in your partnership youll bring everything
Is it that Mr Osmond isnt rich Is that what youre talking about Isabel asked
He has no money he has no name he has no importance I value such things and I have the courage to say it I think theyre very precious Many other people think the same and they show it But they give some other reason
Isabel hesitated a little I think I value everything thats valuable I care very much for money and thats why I wish Mr Osmond to have a little
Give it to him then but marry some one else
His names good enough for me the girl went on Its a very pretty name Have I such a fine one myself
All the more reason you should improve on it There are only a dozen American names Do you marry him out of charity
It was my duty to tell you Aunt Lydia but I dont think its my duty to explain to you Even if it were I shouldnt be able So please dont remonstrate in talking about it you have me at a disadvantage I cant talk about it
I dont remonstrate I simply answer you I must give some sign of intelligence I saw it coming and I said nothing I never meddle
You never do and Im greatly obliged to you Youve been very considerate
It was not considerate—it was convenient said Mrs Touchett But I shall talk to Madame Merle
I dont see why you keep bringing her in She has been a very good friend to me
Possibly but she has been a poor one to me
What has she done to you
She has deceived me She had as good as promised me to prevent your engagement
She couldnt have prevented it
She can do anything thats what Ive always liked her for I knew she could play any part but I understood that she played them one by one I didnt understand that she would play two at the same time
I dont know what part she may have played to you Isabel said thats between yourselves To me she has been honest and kind and devoted
Devoted of course she wished you to marry her candidate She told me she was watching you only in order to interpose
She said that to please you the girl answered conscious however of the inadequacy of the explanation
To please me by deceiving me She knows me better Am I pleased today
I dont think youre ever much pleased Isabel was obliged to reply If Madame Merle knew you would learn the truth what had she to gain by insincerity
She gained time as you see While I waited for her to interfere you were marching away and she was really beating the drum
Thats very well But by your own admission you saw I was marching and even if she had given the alarm you wouldnt have tried to stop me
No but some one else would
Whom do you mean Isabel asked looking very hard at her aunt Mrs Touchetts little bright eyes active as they usually were sustained her gaze rather than returned it Would you have listened to Ralph
Not if he had abused Mr Osmond
Ralph doesnt abuse people you know that perfectly He cares very much for you
I know he does said Isabel and I shall feel the value of it now for he knows that whatever I do I do with reason
He never believed you would do this I told him you were capable of it and he argued the other way
He did it for the sake of argument the girl smiled You dont accuse him of having deceived you why should you accuse Madame Merle
He never pretended hed prevent it
Im glad of that cried Isabel gaily I wish very much she presently added that when he comes youd tell him first of my engagement
Of course Ill mention it said Mrs Touchett I shall say nothing more to you about it but I give you notice I shall talk to others
Thats as you please I only meant that its rather better the announcement should come from you than from me
I quite agree with you its much more proper And on this the aunt and the niece went to breakfast where Mrs Touchett as good as her word made no allusion to Gilbert Osmond After an interval of silence however she asked her companion from whom she had received a visit an hour before
From an old friend—an American gentleman Isabel said with a colour in her cheek
An American gentleman of course Its only an American gentleman who calls at ten oclock in the morning
It was halfpast ten he was in a great hurry he goes away this evening
Couldnt he have come yesterday at the usual time
He only arrived last night
He spends but twentyfour hours in Florence Mrs Touchett cried Hes an American gentleman truly
He is indeed said Isabel thinking with perverse admiration of what Caspar Goodwood had done for her
Two days afterward Ralph arrived but though Isabel was sure that Mrs Touchett had lost no time in imparting to him the great fact he showed at first no open knowledge of it Their prompted talk was naturally of his health Isabel had many questions to ask about Corfu She had been shocked by his appearance when he came into the room she had forgotten how ill he looked In spite of Corfu he looked very ill today and she wondered if he were really worse or if she were simply disaccustomed to living with an invalid Poor Ralph made no nearer approach to conventional beauty as he advanced in life and the now apparently complete loss of his health had done little to mitigate the natural oddity of his person Blighted and battered but still responsive and still ironic his face was like a lighted lantern patched with paper and unsteadily held his thin whisker languished upon a lean cheek the exorbitant curve of his nose defined itself more sharply Lean he was altogether lean and long and loosejointed an accidental cohesion of relaxed angles His brown velvet jacket had become perennial his hands had fixed themselves in his pockets he shambled and stumbled and shuffled in a manner that denoted great physical helplessness It was perhaps this whimsical gait that helped to mark his character more than ever as that of the humorous invalid—the invalid for whom even his own disabilities are part of the general joke They might well indeed with Ralph have been the chief cause of the want of seriousness marking his view of a world in which the reason for his own continued presence was past finding out Isabel had grown fond of his ugliness his awkwardness had become dear to her They had been sweetened by association they struck her as the very terms on which it had been given him to be charming He was so charming that her sense of his being ill had hitherto had a sort of comfort in it the state of his health had seemed not a limitation but a kind of intellectual advantage it absolved him from all professional and official emotions and left him the luxury of being exclusively personal The personality so resulting was delightful he had remained proof against the staleness of disease he had had to consent to be deplorably ill yet had somehow escaped being formally sick Such had been the girls impression of her cousin and when she had pitied him it was only on reflection As she reflected a good deal she had allowed him a certain amount of compassion but she always had a dread of wasting that essence—a precious article worth more to the giver than to any one else Now however it took no great sensibility to feel that poor Ralphs tenure of life was less elastic than it should be He was a bright free generous spirit he had all the illumination of wisdom and none of its pedantry and yet he was distressfully dying
Isabel noted afresh that life was certainly hard for some people and she felt a delicate glow of shame as she thought how easy it now promised to become for herself She was prepared to learn that Ralph was not pleased with her engagement but she was not prepared in spite of her affection for him to let this fact spoil the situation She was not even prepared or so she thought to resent his want of sympathy for it would be his privilege—it would be indeed his natural line—to find fault with any step she might take toward marriage Ones cousin always pretended to hate ones husband that was traditional classical it was a part of ones cousins always pretending to adore one Ralph was nothing if not critical and though she would certainly other things being equal have been as glad to marry to please him as to please any one it would be absurd to regard as important that her choice should square with his views What were his views after all He had pretended to believe she had better have married Lord Warburton but this was only because she had refused that excellent man If she had accepted him Ralph would certainly have taken another tone he always took the opposite You could criticise any marriage it was the essence of a marriage to be open to criticism How well she herself should she only give her mind to it might criticise this union of her own She had other employment however and Ralph was welcome to relieve her of the care Isabel was prepared to be most patient and most indulgent He must have seen that and this made it the more odd he should say nothing After three days had elapsed without his speaking our young woman wearied of waiting dislike it as he would he might at least go through the form We who know more about poor Ralph than his cousin may easily believe that during the hours that followed his arrival at Palazzo Crescentini he had privately gone through many forms His mother had literally greeted him with the great news which had been even more sensibly chilling than Mrs Touchetts maternal kiss Ralph was shocked and humiliated his calculations had been false and the person in the world in whom he was most interested was lost He drifted about the house like a rudderless vessel in a rocky stream or sat in the garden of the palace on a great cane chair his long legs extended his head thrown back and his hat pulled over his eyes He felt cold about the heart he had never liked anything less What could he do what could he say If the girl were irreclaimable could he pretend to like it To attempt to reclaim her was permissible only if the attempt should succeed To try to persuade her of anything sordid or sinister in the man to whose deep art she had succumbed would be decently discreet only in the event of her being persuaded Otherwise he should simply have damned himself It cost him an equal effort to speak his thought and to dissemble he could neither assent with sincerity nor protest with hope Meanwhile he knew—or rather he supposed—that the affianced pair were daily renewing their mutual vows Osmond at this moment showed himself little at Palazzo Crescentini but Isabel met him every day elsewhere as she was free to do after their engagement had been made public She had taken a carriage by the month so as not to be indebted to her aunt for the means of pursuing a course of which Mrs Touchett disapproved and she drove in the morning to the Cascine This suburban wilderness during the early hours was void of all intruders and our young lady joined by her lover in its quietest part strolled with him a while through the grey Italian shade and listened to the nightingales
CHAPTER XXXIV
One morning on her return from her drive some halfhour before luncheon she quitted her vehicle in the court of the palace and instead of ascending the great staircase crossed the court passed beneath another archway and entered the garden A sweeter spot at this moment could not have been imagined The stillness of noontide hung over it and the warm shade enclosed and still made bowers like spacious caves Ralph was sitting there in the clear gloom at the base of a statue of Terpsichore—a dancing nymph with taper fingers and inflated draperies in the manner of Bernini the extreme relaxation of his attitude suggested at first to Isabel that he was asleep Her light footstep on the grass had not roused him and before turning away she stood for a moment looking at him During this instant he opened his eyes upon which she sat down on a rustic chair that matched with his own Though in her irritation she had accused him of indifference she was not blind to the fact that he had visibly had something to brood over But she had explained his air of absence partly by the languor of his increased weakness partly by worries connected with the property inherited from his father—the fruit of eccentric arrangements of which Mrs Touchett disapproved and which as she had told Isabel now encountered opposition from the other partners in the bank He ought to have gone to England his mother said instead of coming to Florence he had not been there for months and took no more interest in the bank than in the state of Patagonia
Im sorry I waked you Isabel said you look too tired
I feel too tired But I was not asleep I was thinking of you
Are you tired of that
Very much so It leads to nothing The roads long and I never arrive
What do you wish to arrive at she put to him closing her parasol
At the point of expressing to myself properly what I think of your engagement
Dont think too much of it she lightly returned
Do you mean that its none of my business
Beyond a certain point yes
Thats the point I want to fix I had an idea you may have found me wanting in good manners Ive never congratulated you
Of course Ive noticed that I wondered why you were silent
There have been a good many reasons Ill tell you now Ralph said He pulled off his hat and laid it on the ground then he sat looking at her He leaned back under the protection of Bernini his head against his marble pedestal his arms dropped on either side of him his hands laid upon the rests of his wide chair He looked awkward uncomfortable he hesitated long Isabel said nothing when people were embarrassed she was usually sorry for them but she was determined not to help Ralph to utter a word that should not be to the honour of her high decision I think Ive hardly got over my surprise he went on at last You were the last person I expected to see caught
I dont know why you call it caught
Because youre going to be put into a cage
If I like my cage that neednt trouble you she answered
Thats what I wonder at thats what Ive been thinking of
If youve been thinking you may imagine how Ive thought Im satisfied that Im doing well
You must have changed immensely A year ago you valued your liberty beyond everything You wanted only to see life
Ive seen it said Isabel It doesnt look to me now I admit such an inviting expanse
I dont pretend it is only I had an idea that you took a genial view of it and wanted to survey the whole field
Ive seen that one cant do anything so general One must choose a corner and cultivate that
Thats what I think And one must choose as good a corner as possible I had no idea all winter while I read your delightful letters that you were choosing You said nothing about it and your silence put me off my guard
It was not a matter I was likely to write to you about Besides I knew nothing of the future It has all come lately If you had been on your guard however Isabel asked what would you have done
I should have said Wait a little longer
Wait for what
Well for a little more light said Ralph with rather an absurd smile while his hands found their way into his pockets
Where should my light have come from From you
I might have struck a spark or two
Isabel had drawn off her gloves she smoothed them out as they lay upon her knee The mildness of this movement was accidental for her expression was not conciliatory Youre beating about the bush Ralph You wish to say you dont like Mr Osmond and yet youre afraid
Willing to wound and yet afraid to strike Im willing to wound HIM yes—but not to wound you Im afraid of you not of him If you marry him it wont be a fortunate way for me to have spoken
IF I marry him Have you had any expectation of dissuading me
Of course that seems to you too fatuous
No said Isabel after a little it seems to me too touching
Thats the same thing It makes me so ridiculous that you pity me
She stroked out her long gloves again I know youve a great affection for me I cant get rid of that
For heavens sake dont try Keep that well in sight It will convince you how intensely I want you to do well
And how little you trust me
There was a moments silence the warm noontide seemed to listen I trust you but I dont trust him said Ralph
She raised her eyes and gave him a wide deep look Youve said it now and Im glad youve made it so clear But youll suffer by it
Not if youre just
Im very just said Isabel What better proof of it can there be than that Im not angry with you I dont know whats the matter with me but Im not I was when you began but it has passed away Perhaps I ought to be angry but Mr Osmond wouldnt think so He wants me to know everything thats what I like him for Youve nothing to gain I know that Ive never been so nice to you as a girl that you should have much reason for wishing me to remain one You give very good advice youve often done so No Im very quiet Ive always believed in your wisdom she went on boasting of her quietness yet speaking with a kind of contained exaltation It was her passionate desire to be just it touched Ralph to the heart affected him like a caress from a creature he had injured He wished to interrupt to reassure her for a moment he was absurdly inconsistent he would have retracted what he had said But she gave him no chance she went on having caught a glimpse as she thought of the heroic line and desiring to advance in that direction I see youve some special idea I should like very much to hear it Im sure its disinterested I feel that It seems a strange thing to argue about and of course I ought to tell you definitely that if you expect to dissuade me you may give it up Youll not move me an inch its too late As you say Im caught Certainly it wont be pleasant for you to remember this but your pain will be in your own thoughts I shall never reproach you
I dont think you ever will said Ralph Its not in the least the sort of marriage I thought youd make
What sort of marriage was that pray
Well I can hardly say I hadnt exactly a positive view of it but I had a negative I didnt think youd decide for—well for that type
Whats the matter with Mr Osmonds type if it be one His being so independent so individual is what I most see in him the girl declared What do you know against him You know him scarcely at all
Yes Ralph said I know him very little and I confess I havent facts and items to prove him a villain But all the same I cant help feeling that youre running a grave risk
Marriage is always a grave risk and his risks as grave as mine
Thats his affair If hes afraid let him back out I wish to God he would
Isabel reclined in her chair folding her arms and gazing a while at her cousin I dont think I understand you she said at last coldly I dont know what youre talking about
I believed youd marry a man of more importance
Cold I say her tone had been but at this a colour like a flame leaped into her face Of more importance to whom It seems to me enough that ones husband should be of importance to ones self
Ralph blushed as well his attitude embarrassed him Physically speaking he proceeded to change it he straightened himself then leaned forward resting a hand on each knee He fixed his eyes on the ground he had an air of the most respectful deliberation
Ill tell you in a moment what I mean he presently said He felt agitated intensely eager now that he had opened the discussion he wished to discharge his mind But he wished also to be superlatively gentle
Isabel waited a little—then she went on with majesty In everything that makes one care for people Mr Osmond is preeminent There may be nobler natures but Ive never had the pleasure of meeting one Mr Osmonds is the finest I know hes good enough for me and interesting enough and clever enough Im far more struck with what he has and what he represents than with what he may lack
I had treated myself to a charming vision of your future Ralph observed without answering this I had amused myself with planning out a high destiny for you There was to be nothing of this sort in it You were not to come down so easily or so soon
Come down you say
Well that renders my sense of what has happened to you You seemed to me to be soaring far up in the blue—to be sailing in the bright light over the heads of men Suddenly some one tosses up a faded rosebud—a missile that should never have reached you—and straight you drop to the ground It hurts me said Ralph audaciously hurts me as if I had fallen myself
The look of pain and bewilderment deepened in his companions face I dont understand you in the least she repeated You say you amused yourself with a project for my career—I dont understand that Dont amuse yourself too much or I shall think youre doing it at my expense
Ralph shook his head Im not afraid of your not believing that Ive had great ideas for you
What do you mean by my soaring and sailing she pursued
Ive never moved on a higher plane than Im moving on now Theres nothing higher for a girl than to marry a—a person she likes said poor Isabel wandering into the didactic
Its your liking the person we speak of that I venture to criticise my dear cousin I should have said that the man for you would have been a more active larger freer sort of nature Ralph hesitated then added I cant get over the sense that Osmond is somehow—well small He had uttered the last word with no great assurance he was afraid she would flash out again But to his surprise she was quiet she had the air of considering
Small She made it sound immense
I think hes narrow selfish He takes himself so seriously
He has a great respect for himself I dont blame him for that said Isabel It makes one more sure to respect others
Ralph for a moment felt almost reassured by her reasonable tone
Yes but everything is relative one ought to feel ones relation to things—to others I dont think Mr Osmond does that
Ive chiefly to do with his relation to me In that hes excellent
Hes the incarnation of taste Ralph went on thinking hard how he could best express Gilbert Osmonds sinister attributes without putting himself in the wrong by seeming to describe him coarsely He wished to describe him impersonally scientifically He judges and measures approves and condemns altogether by that
Its a happy thing then that his taste should be exquisite
Its exquisite indeed since it has led him to select you as his bride But have you ever seen such a taste—a really exquisite one—ruffled
I hope it may never be my fortune to fail to gratify my husbands
At these words a sudden passion leaped to Ralphs lips Ah thats wilful thats unworthy of you You were not meant to be measured in that way—you were meant for something better than to keep guard over the sensibilities of a sterile dilettante
Isabel rose quickly and he did the same so that they stood for a moment looking at each other as if he had flung down a defiance or an insult But You go too far she simply breathed
Ive said what I had on my mind—and Ive said it because I love you
Isabel turned pale was he too on that tiresome list She had a sudden wish to strike him off Ah then youre not disinterested
I love you but I love without hope said Ralph quickly forcing a smile and feeling that in that last declaration he had expressed more than he intended
Isabel moved away and stood looking into the sunny stillness of the garden but after a little she turned back to him Im afraid your talk then is the wildness of despair I dont understand it—but it doesnt matter Im not arguing with you its impossible I should Ive only tried to listen to you Im much obliged to you for attempting to explain she said gently as if the anger with which she had just sprung up had already subsided Its very good of you to try to warn me if youre really alarmed but I wont promise to think of what youve said I shall forget it as soon as possible Try and forget it yourself youve done your duty and no man can do more I cant explain to you what I feel what I believe and I wouldnt if I could She paused a moment and then went on with an inconsequence that Ralph observed even in the midst of his eagerness to discover some symptom of concession I cant enter into your idea of Mr Osmond I cant do it justice because I see him in quite another way Hes not important—no hes not important hes a man to whom importance is supremely indifferent If thats what you mean when you call him small then hes as small as you please I call that large—its the largest thing I know I wont pretend to argue with you about a person Im going to marry Isabel repeated Im not in the least concerned to defend Mr Osmond hes not so weak as to need my defence I should think it would seem strange even to yourself that I should talk of him so quietly and coldly as if he were any one else I wouldnt talk of him at all to any one but you and you after what youve said—I may just answer you once for all Pray would you wish me to make a mercenary marriage—what they call a marriage of ambition Ive only one ambition—to be free to follow out a good feeling I had others once but theyve passed away Do you complain of Mr Osmond because hes not rich Thats just what I like him for Ive fortunately money enough Ive never felt so thankful for it as today There have been moments when I should like to go and kneel down by your fathers grave he did perhaps a better thing than he knew when he put it into my power to marry a poor man—a man who has borne his poverty with such dignity with such indifference Mr Osmond has never scrambled nor struggled—he has cared for no worldly prize If thats to be narrow if thats to be selfish then its very well Im not frightened by such words Im not even displeased Im only sorry that you should make a mistake Others might have done so but Im surprised that you should You might know a gentleman when you see one—you might know a fine mind Mr Osmond makes no mistakes He knows everything he understands everything he has the kindest gentlest highest spirit Youve got hold of some false idea Its a pity but I cant help it it regards you more than me Isabel paused a moment looking at her cousin with an eye illumined by a sentiment which contradicted the careful calmness of her manner—a mingled sentiment to which the angry pain excited by his words and the wounded pride of having needed to justify a choice of which she felt only the nobleness and purity equally contributed Though she paused Ralph said nothing he saw she had more to say She was grand but she was highly solicitous she was indifferent but she was all in a passion What sort of a person should you have liked me to marry she asked suddenly You talk about ones soaring and sailing but if one marries at all one touches the earth One has human feelings and needs one has a heart in ones bosom and one must marry a particular individual Your mother has never forgiven me for not having come to a better understanding with Lord Warburton and shes horrified at my contenting myself with a person who has none of his great advantages—no property no title no honours no houses nor lands nor position nor reputation nor brilliant belongings of any sort Its the total absence of all these things that pleases me Mr Osmonds simply a very lonely a very cultivated and a very honest man—hes not a prodigious proprietor
Ralph had listened with great attention as if everything she said merited deep consideration but in truth he was only half thinking of the things she said he was for the rest simply accommodating himself to the weight of his total impression—the impression of her ardent good faith She was wrong but she believed she was deluded but she was dismally consistent It was wonderfully characteristic of her that having invented a fine theory about Gilbert Osmond she loved him not for what he really possessed but for his very poverties dressed out as honours Ralph remembered what he had said to his father about wishing to put it into her power to meet the requirements of her imagination He had done so and the girl had taken full advantage of the luxury Poor Ralph felt sick he felt ashamed Isabel had uttered her last words with a low solemnity of conviction which virtually terminated the discussion and she closed it formally by turning away and walking back to the house Ralph walked beside her and they passed into the court together and reached the big staircase Here he stopped and Isabel paused turning on him a face of elation—absolutely and perversely of gratitude His opposition had made her own conception of her conduct clearer to her Shall you not come up to breakfast she asked
No I want no breakfast Im not hungry
You ought to eat said the girl you live on air
I do very much and I shall go back into the garden and take another mouthful I came thus far simply to say this I told you last year that if you were to get into trouble I should feel terribly sold Thats how I feel today
Do you think Im in trouble
Ones in trouble when ones in error
Very well said Isabel I shall never complain of my trouble to you And she moved up the staircase
Ralph standing there with his hands in his pockets followed her with his eyes then the lurking chill of the highwalled court struck him and made him shiver so that he returned to the garden to breakfast on the Florentine sunshine
CHAPTER XXXV
Isabel when she strolled in the Cascine with her lover felt no impulse to tell him how little he was approved at Palazzo Crescentini The discreet opposition offered to her marriage by her aunt and her cousin made on the whole no great impression upon her the moral of it was simply that they disliked Gilbert Osmond This dislike was not alarming to Isabel she scarcely even regretted it for it served mainly to throw into higher relief the fact in every way so honourable that she married to please herself One did other things to please other people one did this for a more personal satisfaction and Isabels satisfaction was confirmed by her lovers admirable good conduct Gilbert Osmond was in love and he had never deserved less than during these still bright days each of them numbered which preceded the fulfilment of his hopes the harsh criticism passed upon him by Ralph Touchett The chief impression produced on Isabels spirit by this criticism was that the passion of love separated its victim terribly from every one but the loved object She felt herself disjoined from every one she had ever known before—from her two sisters who wrote to express a dutiful hope that she would be happy and a surprise somewhat more vague at her not having chosen a consort who was the hero of a richer accumulation of anecdote from Henrietta who she was sure would come out too late on purpose to remonstrate from Lord Warburton who would certainly console himself and from Caspar Goodwood who perhaps would not from her aunt who had cold shallow ideas about marriage for which she was not sorry to display her contempt and from Ralph whose talk about having great views for her was surely but a whimsical cover for a personal disappointment Ralph apparently wished her not to marry at all—that was what it really meant—because he was amused with the spectacle of her adventures as a single woman His disappointment made him say angry things about the man she had preferred even to him Isabel flattered herself that she believed Ralph had been angry It was the more easy for her to believe this because as I say she had now little free or unemployed emotion for minor needs and accepted as an incident in fact quite as an ornament of her lot the idea that to prefer Gilbert Osmond as she preferred him was perforce to break all other ties She tasted of the sweets of this preference and they made her conscious almost with awe of the invidious and remorseless tide of the charmed and possessed condition great as was the traditional honour and imputed virtue of being in love It was the tragic part of happiness ones right was always made of the wrong of some one else
The elation of success which surely now flamed high in Osmond emitted meanwhile very little smoke for so brilliant a blaze Contentment on his part took no vulgar form excitement in the most selfconscious of men was a kind of ecstasy of selfcontrol This disposition however made him an admirable lover it gave him a constant view of the smitten and dedicated state He never forgot himself as I say and so he never forgot to be graceful and tender to wear the appearance—which presented indeed no difficulty—of stirred senses and deep intentions He was immensely pleased with his young lady Madame Merle had made him a present of incalculable value What could be a finer thing to live with than a high spirit attuned to softness For would not the softness be all for ones self and the strenuousness for society which admired the air of superiority What could be a happier gift in a companion than a quick fanciful mind which saved one repetitions and reflected ones thought on a polished elegant surface Osmond hated to see his thought reproduced literally—that made it look stale and stupid he preferred it to be freshened in the reproduction even as words by music His egotism had never taken the crude form of desiring a dull wife this ladys intelligence was to be a silver plate not an earthen one—a plate that he might heap up with ripe fruits to which it would give a decorative value so that talk might become for him a sort of served dessert He found the silver quality in this perfection in Isabel he could tap her imagination with his knuckle and make it ring He knew perfectly though he had not been told that their union enjoyed little favour with the girls relations but he had always treated her so completely as an independent person that it hardly seemed necessary to express regret for the attitude of her family Nevertheless one morning he made an abrupt allusion to it Its the difference in our fortune they dont like he said They think Im in love with your money
Are you speaking of my aunt—of my cousin Isabel asked How do you know what they think
Youve not told me theyre pleased and when I wrote to Mrs Touchett the other day she never answered my note If they had been delighted I should have had some sign of it and the fact of my being poor and you rich is the most obvious explanation of their reserve But of course when a poor man marries a rich girl he must be prepared for imputations I dont mind them I only care for one thing—for your not having the shadow of a doubt I dont care what people of whom I ask nothing think—Im not even capable perhaps of wanting to know Ive never so concerned myself God forgive me and why should I begin today when I have taken to myself a compensation for everything I wont pretend Im sorry youre rich Im delighted I delight in everything thats yours—whether it be money or virtue Moneys a horrid thing to follow but a charming thing to meet It seems to me however that Ive sufficiently proved the limits of my itch for it I never in my life tried to earn a penny and I ought to be less subject to suspicion than most of the people one sees grubbing and grabbing I suppose its their business to suspect—that of your family its proper on the whole they should Theyll like me better some day so will you for that matter Meanwhile my business is not to make myself bad blood but simply to be thankful for life and love It has made me better loving you he said on another occasion it has made me wiser and easier and—I wont pretend to deny—brighter and nicer and even stronger I used to want a great many things before and to be angry I didnt have them Theoretically I was satisfied as I once told you I flattered myself I had limited my wants But I was subject to irritation I used to have morbid sterile hateful fits of hunger of desire Now Im really satisfied because I cant think of anything better Its just as when one has been trying to spell out a book in the twilight and suddenly the lamp comes in I had been putting out my eyes over the book of life and finding nothing to reward me for my pains but now that I can read it properly I see its a delightful story My dear girl I cant tell you how life seems to stretch there before us—what a long summer afternoon awaits us Its the latter half of an Italian day—with a golden haze and the shadows just lengthening and that divine delicacy in the light the air the landscape which I have loved all my life and which you love today Upon my honour I dont see why we shouldnt get on Weve got what we like—to say nothing of having each other Weve the faculty of admiration and several capital convictions Were not stupid were not mean were not under bonds to any kind of ignorance or dreariness Youre remarkably fresh and Im remarkably wellseasoned Weve my poor child to amuse us well try and make up some little life for her Its all soft and mellow—it has the Italian colouring
They made a good many plans but they left themselves also a good deal of latitude it was a matter of course however that they should live for the present in Italy It was in Italy that they had met Italy had been a party to their first impressions of each other and Italy should be a party to their happiness Osmond had the attachment of old acquaintance and Isabel the stimulus of new which seemed to assure her a future at a high level of consciousness of the beautiful The desire for unlimited expansion had been succeeded in her soul by the sense that life was vacant without some private duty that might gather ones energies to a point She had told Ralph she had seen life in a year or two and that she was already tired not of the act of living but of that of observing What had become of all her ardours her aspirations her theories her high estimate of her independence and her incipient conviction that she should never marry These things had been absorbed in a more primitive need—a need the answer to which brushed away numberless questions yet gratified infinite desires It simplified the situation at a stroke it came down from above like the light of the stars and it needed no explanation There was explanation enough in the fact that he was her lover her own and that she should be able to be of use to him She could surrender to him with a kind of humility she could marry him with a kind of pride she was not only taking she was giving
He brought Pansy with him two or three times to the Cascine—Pansy who was very little taller than a year before and not much older That she would always be a child was the conviction expressed by her father who held her by the hand when she was in her sixteenth year and told her to go and play while he sat down a little with the pretty lady Pansy wore a short dress and a long coat her hat always seemed too big for her She found pleasure in walking off with quick short steps to the end of the alley and then in walking back with a smile that seemed an appeal for approbation Isabel approved in abundance and the abundance had the personal touch that the childs affectionate nature craved She watched her indications as if for herself also much depended on them—Pansy already so represented part of the service she could render part of the responsibility she could face Her father took so the childish view of her that he had not yet explained to her the new relation in which he stood to the elegant Miss Archer She doesnt know he said to Isabel she doesnt guess she thinks it perfectly natural that you and I should come and walk here together simply as good friends There seems to me something enchantingly innocent in that its the way I like her to be No Im not a failure as I used to think Ive succeeded in two things Im to marry the woman I adore and Ive brought up my child as I wished in the old way
He was very fond in all things of the old way that had struck Isabel as one of his fine quiet sincere notes It occurs to me that youll not know whether youve succeeded until youve told her she said You must see how she takes your news She may be horrified—she may be jealous
Im not afraid of that shes too fond of you on her own account I should like to leave her in the dark a little longer—to see if it will come into her head that if were not engaged we ought to be
Isabel was impressed by Osmonds artistic the plastic view as it somehow appeared of Pansys innocence—her own appreciation of it being more anxiously moral She was perhaps not the less pleased when he told her a few days later that he had communicated the fact to his daughter who had made such a pretty little speech—Oh then I shall have a beautiful sister She was neither surprised nor alarmed she had not cried as he expected
Perhaps she had guessed it said Isabel
Dont say that I should be disgusted if I believed that I thought it would be just a little shock but the way she took it proves that her good manners are paramount Thats also what I wished You shall see for yourself tomorrow she shall make you her congratulations in person
The meeting on the morrow took place at the Countess Geminis whither Pansy had been conducted by her father who knew that Isabel was to come in the afternoon to return a visit made her by the Countess on learning that they were to become sistersinlaw Calling at Casa Touchett the visitor had not found Isabel at home but after our young woman had been ushered into the Countesss drawingroom Pansy arrived to say that her aunt would presently appear Pansy was spending the day with that lady who thought her of an age to begin to learn how to carry herself in company It was Isabels view that the little girl might have given lessons in deportment to her relative and nothing could have justified this conviction more than the manner in which Pansy acquitted herself while they waited together for the Countess Her fathers decision the year before had finally been to send her back to the convent to receive the last graces and Madame Catherine had evidently carried out her theory that Pansy was to be fitted for the great world
Papa has told me that youve kindly consented to marry him said this excellent womans pupil Its very delightful I think youll suit very well
You think I shall suit YOU
Youll suit me beautifully but what I mean is that you and papa will suit each other Youre both so quiet and so serious Youre not so quiet as he—or even as Madame Merle but youre more quiet than many others He should not for instance have a wife like my aunt Shes always in motion in agitation—today especially youll see when she comes in They told us at the convent it was wrong to judge our elders but I suppose theres no harm if we judge them favourably Youll be a delightful companion for papa
For you too I hope Isabel said
I speak first of him on purpose Ive told you already what I myself think of you I liked you from the first I admire you so much that I think it will be a good fortune to have you always before me Youll be my model I shall try to imitate you though Im afraid it will be very feeble Im very glad for papa—he needed something more than me Without you I dont see how he could have got it Youll be my stepmother but we mustnt use that word Theyre always said to be cruel but I dont think youll ever so much as pinch or even push me Im not afraid at all
My good little Pansy said Isabel gently I shall be ever so kind to you A vague inconsequent vision of her coming in some odd way to need it had intervened with the effect of a chill
Very well then Ive nothing to fear the child returned with her note of prepared promptitude What teaching she had had it seemed to suggest—or what penalties for nonperformance she dreaded
Her description of her aunt had not been incorrect the Countess Gemini was further than ever from having folded her wings She entered the room with a flutter through the air and kissed Isabel first on the forehead and then on each cheek as if according to some ancient prescribed rite She drew the visitor to a sofa and looking at her with a variety of turns of the head began to talk very much as if seated brush in hand before an easel she were applying a series of considered touches to a composition of figures already sketched in If you expect me to congratulate you I must beg you to excuse me I dont suppose you care if I do or not I believe youre supposed not to care—through being so clever—for all sorts of ordinary things But I care myself if I tell fibs I never tell them unless theres something rather good to be gained I dont see whats to be gained with you—especially as you wouldnt believe me I dont make professions any more than I make paper flowers or flouncey lampshades—I dont know how My lampshades would be sure to take fire my roses and my fibs to be larger than life Im very glad for my own sake that youre to marry Osmond but I wont pretend Im glad for yours Youre very brilliant—you know thats the way youre always spoken of youre an heiress and very goodlooking and original not banal so its a good thing to have you in the family Our familys very good you know Osmond will have told you that and my mother was rather distinguished—she was called the American Corinne But were dreadfully fallen I think and perhaps youll pick us up Ive great confidence in you there are ever so many things I want to talk to you about I never congratulate any girl on marrying I think they ought to make it somehow not quite so awful a steel trap I suppose Pansy oughtnt to hear all this but thats what she has come to me for—to acquire the tone of society Theres no harm in her knowing what horrors she may be in for When first I got an idea that my brother had designs on you I thought of writing to you to recommend you in the strongest terms not to listen to him Then I thought it would be disloyal and I hate anything of that kind Besides as I say I was enchanted for myself and after all Im very selfish By the way you wont respect me not one little mite and we shall never be intimate I should like it but you wont Some day all the same we shall be better friends than you will believe at first My husband will come and see you though as you probably know hes on no sort of terms with Osmond Hes very fond of going to see pretty women but Im not afraid of you In the first place I dont care what he does In the second you wont care a straw for him he wont be a bit at any time your affair and stupid as he is hell see youre not his Some day if you can stand it Ill tell you all about him Do you think my niece ought to go out of the room Pansy go and practise a little in my boudoir
Let her stay please said Isabel I would rather hear nothing that Pansy may not
CHAPTER XXXVI
One afternoon of the autumn of 1876 toward dusk a young man of pleasing appearance rang at the door of a small apartment on the third floor of an old Roman house On its being opened he enquired for Madame Merle whereupon the servant a neat plain woman with a French face and a ladys maids manner ushered him into a diminutive drawingroom and requested the favour of his name Mr Edward Rosier said the young man who sat down to wait till his hostess should appear
The reader will perhaps not have forgotten that Mr Rosier was an ornament of the American circle in Paris but it may also be remembered that he sometimes vanished from its horizon He had spent a portion of several winters at Pau and as he was a gentleman of constituted habits he might have continued for years to pay his annual visit to this charming resort In the summer of 1876 however an incident befell him which changed the current not only of his thoughts but of his customary sequences He passed a month in the Upper Engadine and encountered at Saint Moritz a charming young girl To this little person he began to pay on the spot particular attention she struck him as exactly the household angel he had long been looking for He was never precipitate he was nothing if not discreet so he forbore for the present to declare his passion but it seemed to him when they parted—the young lady to go down into Italy and her admirer to proceed to Geneva where he was under bonds to join other friends—that he should be romantically wretched if he were not to see her again The simplest way to do so was to go in the autumn to Rome where Miss Osmond was domiciled with her family Mr Rosier started on his pilgrimage to the Italian capital and reached it on the first of November It was a pleasant thing to do but for the young man there was a strain of the heroic in the enterprise He might expose himself unseasoned to the poison of the Roman air which in November lay notoriously much in wait Fortune however favours the brave and this adventurer who took three grains of quinine a day had at the end of a month no cause to deplore his temerity He had made to a certain extent good use of his time he had devoted it in vain to finding a flaw in Pansy Osmonds composition She was admirably finished she had had the last touch she was really a consummate piece He thought of her in amorous meditation a good deal as he might have thought of a Dresdenchina shepherdess Miss Osmond indeed in the bloom of her juvenility had a hint of the rococo which Rosier whose taste was predominantly for that manner could not fail to appreciate That he esteemed the productions of comparatively frivolous periods would have been apparent from the attention he bestowed upon Madame Merles drawingroom which although furnished with specimens of every style was especially rich in articles of the last two centuries He had immediately put a glass into one eye and looked round and then By Jove she has some jolly good things he had yearningly murmured The room was small and densely filled with furniture it gave an impression of faded silk and little statuettes which might totter if one moved Rosier got up and wandered about with his careful tread bending over the tables charged with knickknacks and the cushions embossed with princely arms When Madame Merle came in she found him standing before the fireplace with his nose very close to the great lace flounce attached to the damask cover of the mantel He had lifted it delicately as if he were smelling it
Its old Venetian she said its rather good
Its too good for this you ought to wear it
They tell me you have some better in Paris in the same situation
Ah but I cant wear mine smiled the visitor
I dont see why you shouldnt Ive better lace than that to wear
His eyes wandered lingeringly round the room again Youve some very good things
Yes but I hate them
Do you want to get rid of them the young man quickly asked
No its good to have something to hate one works it off
I love my things said Mr Rosier as he sat there flushed with all his recognitions But its not about them nor about yours that I came to talk to you He paused a moment and then with greater softness I care more for Miss Osmond than for all the bibelots in Europe
Madame Merle opened wide eyes Did you come to tell me that
I came to ask your advice
She looked at him with a friendly frown stroking her chin with her large white hand A man in love you know doesnt ask advice
Why not if hes in a difficult position Thats often the case with a man in love Ive been in love before and I know But never so much as this time—really never so much I should like particularly to know what you think of my prospects Im afraid that for Mr Osmond Im not—well a real collectors piece
Do you wish me to intercede Madame Merle asked with her fine arms folded and her handsome mouth drawn up to the left
If you could say a good word for me I should be greatly obliged There will be no use in my troubling Miss Osmond unless I have good reason to believe her father will consent
Youre very considerate thats in your favour But you assume in rather an offhand way that I think you a prize
Youve been very kind to me said the young man Thats why I came
Im always kind to people who have good Louis Quatorze Its very rare now and theres no telling what one may get by it With which the lefthand corner of Madame Merles mouth gave expression to the joke
But he looked in spite of it literally apprehensive and consistently strenuous Ah I thought you liked me for myself
I like you very much but if you please we wont analyse Pardon me if I seem patronising but I think you a perfect little gentleman I must tell you however that Ive not the marrying of Pansy Osmond
I didnt suppose that But youve seemed to me intimate with her family and I thought you might have influence
Madame Merle considered Whom do you call her family
Why her father and—how do you say it in English—her bellemere
Mr Osmonds her father certainly but his wife can scarcely be termed a member of her family Mrs Osmond has nothing to do with marrying her
Im sorry for that said Rosier with an amiable sigh of good faith I think Mrs Osmond would favour me
Very likely—if her husband doesnt
He raised his eyebrows Does she take the opposite line from him
In everything They think quite differently
Well said Rosier Im sorry for that but its none of my business Shes very fond of Pansy
Yes shes very fond of Pansy
And Pansy has a great affection for her She has told me how she loves her as if she were her own mother
You must after all have had some very intimate talk with the poor child said Madame Merle Have you declared your sentiments
Never cried Rosier lifting his neatlygloved hand Never till Ive assured myself of those of the parents
You always wait for that Youve excellent principles you observe the proprieties
I think youre laughing at me the young man murmured dropping back in his chair and feeling his small moustache I didnt expect that of you Madame Merle
She shook her head calmly like a person who saw things as she saw them You dont do me justice I think your conduct in excellent taste and the best you could adopt Yes thats what I think
I wouldnt agitate her—only to agitate her I love her too much for that said Ned Rosier
Im glad after all that youve told me Madame Merle went on Leave it to me a little I think I can help you
I said you were the person to come to her visitor cried with prompt elation
You were very clever Madame Merle returned more dryly When I say I can help you I mean once assuming your cause to be good Let us think a little if it is
Im awfully decent you know said Rosier earnestly I wont say Ive no faults but Ill say Ive no vices
All thats negative and it always depends also on what people call vices Whats the positive side Whats the virtuous What have you got besides your Spanish lace and your Dresden teacups
Ive a comfortable little fortune—about forty thousand francs a year With the talent I have for arranging we can live beautifully on such an income
Beautifully no Sufficiently yes Even that depends on where you live
Well in Paris I would undertake it in Paris
Madame Merles mouth rose to the left It wouldnt be famous youd have to make use of the teacups and theyd get broken
We dont want to be famous If Miss Osmond should have everything pretty it would be enough When ones as pretty as she one can afford—well quite cheap faience She ought never to wear anything but muslin—without the sprig said Rosier reflectively
Wouldnt you even allow her the sprig Shed be much obliged to you at any rate for that theory
Its the correct one I assure you and Im sure shed enter into it She understands all that thats why I love her
Shes a very good little girl and most tidy—also extremely graceful But her father to the best of my belief can give her nothing
Rosier scarce demurred I dont in the least desire that he should But I may remark all the same that he lives like a rich man
The moneys his wifes she brought him a large fortune
Mrs Osmond then is very fond of her stepdaughter she may do something
For a lovesick swain you have your eyes about you Madame Merle exclaimed with a laugh
I esteem a dot very much I can do without it but I esteem it
Mrs Osmond Madame Merle went on will probably prefer to keep her money for her own children
Her own children Surely she has none
She may have yet She had a poor little boy who died two years ago six months after his birth Others therefore may come
I hope they will if it will make her happy Shes a splendid woman
Madame Merle failed to burst into speech Ah about her theres much to be said Splendid as you like Weve not exactly made out that youre a parti The absence of vices is hardly a source of income
Pardon me I think it may be said Rosier quite lucidly
Youll be a touching couple living on your innocence
I think you underrate me
Youre not so innocent as that Seriously said Madame Merle of course forty thousand francs a year and a nice character are a combination to be considered I dont say its to be jumped at but there might be a worse offer Mr Osmond however will probably incline to believe he can do better
HE can do so perhaps but what can his daughter do She cant do better than marry the man she loves For she does you know Rosier added eagerly
She does—I know it
Ah cried the young man I said you were the person to come to
But I dont know how you know it if you havent asked her Madame Merle went on
In such a case theres no need of asking and telling as you say were an innocent couple How did YOU know it
I who am not innocent By being very crafty Leave it to me Ill find out for you
Rosier got up and stood smoothing his hat You say that rather coldly Dont simply find out how it is but try to make it as it should be
Ill do my best Ill try to make the most of your advantages
Thank you so very much Meanwhile then Ill say a word to Mrs Osmond
Gardezvousen bien And Madame Merle was on her feet Dont set her going or youll spoil everything
Rosier gazed into his hat he wondered whether his hostess HAD been after all the right person to come to I dont think I understand you Im an old friend of Mrs Osmond and I think she would like me to succeed
Be an old friend as much as you like the more old friends she has the better for she doesnt get on very well with some of her new But dont for the present try to make her take up the cudgels for you Her husband may have other views and as a person who wishes her well I advise you not to multiply points of difference between them
Poor Rosiers face assumed an expression of alarm a suit for the hand of Pansy Osmond was even a more complicated business than his taste for proper transitions had allowed But the extreme good sense which he concealed under a surface suggesting that of a careful owners best set came to his assistance I dont see that Im bound to consider Mr Osmond so very much he exclaimed No but you should consider HER You say youre an old friend Would you make her suffer
Not for the world
Then be very careful and let the matter alone till Ive taken a few soundings
Let the matter alone dear Madame Merle Remember that Im in love
Oh you wont burn up Why did you come to me if youre not to heed what I say
Youre very kind Ill be very good the young man promised But Im afraid Mr Osmonds pretty hard he added in his mild voice as he went to the door
Madame Merle gave a short laugh It has been said before But his wife isnt easy either
Ah shes a splendid woman Ned Rosier repeated for departure He resolved that his conduct should be worthy of an aspirant who was already a model of discretion but he saw nothing in any pledge he had given Madame Merle that made it improper he should keep himself in spirits by an occasional visit to Miss Osmonds home He reflected constantly on what his adviser had said to him and turned over in his mind the impression of her rather circumspect tone He had gone to her de confiance as they put it in Paris but it was possible he had been precipitate He found difficulty in thinking of himself as rash—he had incurred this reproach so rarely but it certainly was true that he had known Madame Merle only for the last month and that his thinking her a delightful woman was not when one came to look into it a reason for assuming that she would be eager to push Pansy Osmond into his arms gracefully arranged as these members might be to receive her She had indeed shown him benevolence and she was a person of consideration among the girls people where she had a rather striking appearance Rosier had more than once wondered how she managed it of being intimate without being familiar But possibly he had exaggerated these advantages There was no particular reason why she should take trouble for him a charming woman was charming to every one and Rosier felt rather a fool when he thought of his having appealed to her on the ground that she had distinguished him Very likely—though she had appeared to say it in joke—she was really only thinking of his bibelots Had it come into her head that he might offer her two or three of the gems of his collection If she would only help him to marry Miss Osmond he would present her with his whole museum He could hardly say so to her outright it would seem too gross a bribe But he should like her to believe it
It was with these thoughts that he went again to Mrs Osmonds Mrs Osmond having an evening—she had taken the Thursday of each week—when his presence could be accounted for on general principles of civility The object of Mr Rosiers wellregulated affection dwelt in a high house in the very heart of Rome a dark and massive structure overlooking a sunny piazzetta in the neighbourhood of the Farnese Palace In a palace too little Pansy lived—a palace by Roman measure but a dungeon to poor Rosiers apprehensive mind It seemed to him of evil omen that the young lady he wished to marry and whose fastidious father he doubted of his ability to conciliate should be immured in a kind of domestic fortress a pile which bore a stern old Roman name which smelt of historic deeds of crime and craft and violence which was mentioned in Murray and visited by tourists who looked on a vague survey disappointed and depressed and which had frescoes by Caravaggio in the piano nobile and a row of mutilated statues and dusty urns in the wide noblyarched loggia overhanging the damp court where a fountain gushed out of a mossy niche In a less preoccupied frame of mind he could have done justice to the Palazzo Roccanera he could have entered into the sentiment of Mrs Osmond who had once told him that on settling themselves in Rome she and her husband had chosen this habitation for the love of local colour It had local colour enough and though he knew less about architecture than about Limoges enamels he could see that the proportions of the windows and even the details of the cornice had quite the grand air But Rosier was haunted by the conviction that at picturesque periods young girls had been shut up there to keep them from their true loves and hen under the threat of being thrown into convents had been forced into unholy marriages There was one point however to which he always did justice when once he found himself in Mrs Osmonds warm richlooking receptionrooms which were on the second floor He acknowledged that these people were very strong in good things It was a taste of Osmonds own—not at all of hers this she had told him the first time he came to the house when after asking himself for a quarter of an hour whether they had even better French than he in Paris he was obliged on the spot to admit that they had very much and vanquished his envy as a gentleman should to the point of expressing to his hostess his pure admiration of her treasures He learned from Mrs Osmond that her husband had made a large collection before their marriage and that though he had annexed a number of fine pieces within the last three years he had achieved his greatest finds at a time when he had not the advantage of her advice Rosier interpreted this information according to principles of his own For advice read cash he said to himself and the fact that Gilbert Osmond had landed his highest prizes during his impecunious season confirmed his most cherished doctrine—the doctrine that a collector may freely be poor if he be only patient In general when Rosier presented himself on a Thursday evening his first recognition was for the walls of the saloon there were three or four objects his eyes really yearned for But after his talk with Madame Merle he felt the extreme seriousness of his position and now when he came in he looked about for the daughter of the house with such eagerness as might be permitted a gentleman whose smile as he crossed a threshold always took everything comfortable for granted
CHAPTER XXXVII
Pansy was not in the first of the rooms a large apartment with a concave ceiling and walls covered with old red damask it was here Mrs Osmond usually sat—though she was not in her most customary place tonight—and that a circle of more especial intimates gathered about the fire The room was flushed with subdued diffused brightness it contained the larger things and—almost always—an odour of flowers Pansy on this occasion was presumably in the next of the series the resort of younger visitors where tea was served Osmond stood before the chimney leaning back with his hands behind him he had one foot up and was warming the sole Half a dozen persons scattered near him were talking together but he was not in the conversation his eyes had an expression frequent with them that seemed to represent them as engaged with objects more worth their while than the appearances actually thrust upon them Rosier coming in unannounced failed to attract his attention but the young man who was very punctilious though he was even exceptionally conscious that it was the wife not the husband he had come to see went up to shake hands with him Osmond put out his left hand without changing his attitude
How dye do My wifes somewhere about
Never fear I shall find her said Rosier cheerfully
Osmond however took him in he had never in his life felt himself so efficiently looked at Madame Merle has told him and he doesnt like it he privately reasoned He had hoped Madame Merle would be there but she was not in sight perhaps she was in one of the other rooms or would come later He had never especially delighted in Gilbert Osmond having a fancy he gave himself airs But Rosier was not quickly resentful and where politeness was concerned had ever a strong need of being quite in the right He looked round him and smiled all without help and then in a moment I saw a jolly good piece of Capo di Monte today he said
Osmond answered nothing at first but presently while he warmed his bootsole I dont care a fig for Capo di Monte he returned
I hope youre not losing your interest
In old pots and plates Yes Im losing my interest
Rosier for an instant forgot the delicacy of his position Youre not thinking of parting with a—a piece or two
No Im not thinking of parting with anything at all Mr Rosier said Osmond with his eyes still on the eyes of his visitor
Ah you want to keep but not to add Rosier remarked brightly
Exactly Ive nothing I wish to match
Poor Rosier was aware he had blushed he was distressed at his want of assurance Ah well I have was all he could murmur and he knew his murmur was partly lost as he turned away He took his course to the adjoining room and met Mrs Osmond coming out of the deep doorway She was dressed in black velvet she looked high and splendid as he had said and yet oh so radiantly gentle We know what Mr Rosier thought of her and the terms in which to Madame Merle he had expressed his admiration Like his appreciation of her dear little stepdaughter it was based partly on his eye for decorative character his instinct for authenticity but also on a sense for uncatalogued values for that secret of a lustre beyond any recorded losing or rediscovering which his devotion to brittle wares had still not disqualified him to recognise Mrs Osmond at present might well have gratified such tastes The years had touched her only to enrich her the flower of her youth had not faded it only hung more quietly on its stem She had lost something of that quick eagerness to which her husband had privately taken exception—she had more the air of being able to wait Now at all events framed in the gilded doorway she struck our young man as the picture of a gracious lady You see Im very regular he said But who should be if Im not
Yes Ive known you longer than any one here But we mustnt indulge in tender reminiscences I want to introduce you to a young lady
Ah please what young lady Rosier was immensely obliging but this was not what he had come for
She sits there by the fire in pink and has no one to speak to Rosier hesitated a moment Cant Mr Osmond speak to her Hes within six feet of her
Mrs Osmond also hesitated Shes not very lively and he doesnt like dull people
But shes good enough for me Ah now thats hard
I only mean that youve ideas for two And then youre so obliging
No hes not—to me And Mrs Osmond vaguely smiled
Thats a sign he should be doubly so to other women
So I tell him she said still smiling
You see I want some tea Rosier went on looking wistfully beyond
Thats perfect Go and give some to my young lady
Very good but after that Ill abandon her to her fate The simple truth is Im dying to have a little talk with Miss Osmond
Ah said Isabel turning away I cant help you there
Five minutes later while he handed a teacup to the damsel in pink whom he had conducted into the other room he wondered whether in making to Mrs Osmond the profession I have just quoted he had broken the spirit of his promise to Madame Merle Such a question was capable of occupying this young mans mind for a considerable time At last however he became—comparatively speaking—reckless he cared little what promises he might break The fate to which he had threatened to abandon the damsel in pink proved to be none so terrible for Pansy Osmond who had given him the tea for his companion—Pansy was as fond as ever of making tea—presently came and talked to her Into this mild colloquy Edward Rosier entered little he sat by moodily watching his small sweetheart If we look at her now through his eyes we shall at first not see much to remind us of the obedient little girl who at Florence three years before was sent to walk short distances in the Cascine while her father and Miss Archer talked together of matters sacred to elder people But after a moment we shall perceive that if at nineteen Pansy has become a young lady she doesnt really fill out the part that if she has grown very pretty she lacks in a deplorable degree the quality known and esteemed in the appearance of females as style and that if she is dressed with great freshness she wears her smart attire with an undisguised appearance of saving it—very much as if it were lent her for the occasion Edward Rosier it would seem would have been just the man to note these defects and in point of fact there was not a quality of this young lady of any sort that he had not noted Only he called her qualities by names of his own—some of which indeed were happy enough No shes unique—shes absolutely unique he used to say to himself and you may be sure that not for an instant would he have admitted to you that she was wanting in style Style Why she had the style of a little princess if you couldnt see it you had no eye It was not modern it was not conscious it would produce no impression in Broadway the small serious damsel in her stiff little dress only looked like an Infanta of Velasquez This was enough for Edward Rosier who thought her delightfully oldfashioned Her anxious eyes her charming lips her slip of a figure were as touching as a childish prayer He had now an acute desire to know just to what point she liked him—a desire which made him fidget as he sat in his chair It made him feel hot so that he had to pat his forehead with his handkerchief he had never been so uncomfortable She was such a perfect jeune fille and one couldnt make of a jeune fille the enquiry requisite for throwing light on such a point A jeune fille was what Rosier had always dreamed of—a jeune fille who should yet not be French for he had felt that this nationality would complicate the question He was sure Pansy had never looked at a newspaper and that in the way of novels if she had read Sir Walter Scott it was the very most An American jeune fille—what could be better than that She would be frank and gay and yet would not have walked alone nor have received letters from men nor have been taken to the theatre to see the comedy of manners Rosier could not deny that as the matter stood it would be a breach of hospitality to appeal directly to this unsophisticated creature but he was now in imminent danger of asking himself if hospitality were the most sacred thing in the world Was not the sentiment that he entertained for Miss Osmond of infinitely greater importance Of greater importance to him—yes but not probably to the master of the house There was one comfort even if this gentleman had been placed on his guard by Madame Merle he would not have extended the warning to Pansy it would not have been part of his policy to let her know that a prepossessing young man was in love with her But he WAS in love with her the prepossessing young man and all these restrictions of circumstance had ended by irritating him What had Gilbert Osmond meant by giving him two fingers of his left hand If Osmond was rude surely he himself might be bold He felt extremely bold after the dull girl in so vain a disguise of rosecolour had responded to the call of her mother who came in to say with a significant simper at Rosier that she must carry her off to other triumphs The mother and daughter departed together and now it depended only upon him that he should be virtually alone with Pansy He had never been alone with her before he had never been alone with a jeune fille It was a great moment poor Rosier began to pat his forehead again There was another room beyond the one in which they stood—a small room that had been thrown open and lighted but that the company not being numerous had remained empty all the evening It was empty yet it was upholstered in pale yellow there were several lamps through the open door it looked the very temple of authorised love Rosier gazed a moment through this aperture he was afraid that Pansy would run away and felt almost capable of stretching out a hand to detain her But she lingered where the other maiden had left them making no motion to join a knot of visitors on the far side of the room For a little it occurred to him that she was frightened—too frightened perhaps to move but a second glance assured him she was not and he then reflected that she was too innocent indeed for that After a supreme hesitation he asked her if he might go and look at the yellow room which seemed so attractive yet so virginal He had been there already with Osmond to inspect the furniture which was of the First French Empire and especially to admire the clock which he didnt really admire an immense classic structure of that period He therefore felt that he had now begun to manoeuvre
Certainly you may go said Pansy and if you like Ill show you She was not in the least frightened
Thats just what I hoped youd say youre so very kind Rosier murmured
They went in together Rosier really thought the room very ugly and it seemed cold The same idea appeared to have struck Pansy Its not for winter evenings its more for summer she said Its papas taste he has so much
He had a good deal Rosier thought but some of it was very bad He looked about him he hardly knew what to say in such a situation Doesnt Mrs Osmond care how her rooms are done Has she no taste he asked
Oh yes a great deal but its more for literature said Pansy—and for conversation But papa cares also for those things I think he knows everything
Rosier was silent a little Theres one thing Im sure he knows he broke out presently He knows that when I come here its with all respect to him with all respect to Mrs Osmond whos so charming—its really said the young man to see you
To see me And Pansy raised her vaguely troubled eyes
To see you thats what I come for Rosier repeated feeling the intoxication of a rupture with authority
Pansy stood looking at him simply intently openly a blush was not needed to make her face more modest I thought it was for that
And it was not disagreeable to you
I couldnt tell I didnt know You never told me said Pansy
I was afraid of offending you
You dont offend me the young girl murmured smiling as if an angel had kissed her
You like me then Pansy Rosier asked very gently feeling very happy
Yes—I like you
They had walked to the chimneypiece where the big cold Empire clock was perched they were well within the room and beyond observation from without The tone in which she had said these four words seemed to him the very breath of nature and his only answer could be to take her hand and hold it a moment Then he raised it to his lips She submitted still with her pure trusting smile in which there was something ineffably passive She liked him—she had liked him all the while now anything might happen She was ready—she had been ready always waiting for him to speak If he had not spoken she would have waited for ever but when the word came she dropped like the peach from the shaken tree Rosier felt that if he should draw her toward him and hold her to his heart she would submit without a murmur would rest there without a question It was true that this would be a rash experiment in a yellow Empire salottino She had known it was for her he came and yet like what a perfect little lady she had carried it off
Youre very dear to me he murmured trying to believe that there was after all such a thing as hospitality
She looked a moment at her hand where he had kissed it Did you say papa knows
You told me just now he knows everything
I think you must make sure said Pansy
Ah my dear when once Im sure of YOU Rosier murmured in her ear whereupon she turned back to the other rooms with a little air of consistency which seemed to imply that their appeal should be immediate
The other rooms meanwhile had become conscious of the arrival of Madame Merle who wherever she went produced an impression when she entered How she did it the most attentive spectator could not have told you for she neither spoke loud nor laughed profusely nor moved rapidly nor dressed with splendour nor appealed in any appreciable manner to the audience Large fair smiling serene there was something in her very tranquillity that diffused itself and when people looked round it was because of a sudden quiet On this occasion she had done the quietest thing she could do after embracing Mrs Osmond which was more striking she had sat down on a small sofa to commune with the master of the house There was a brief exchange of commonplaces between these two—they always paid in public a certain formal tribute to the commonplace—and then Madame Merle whose eyes had been wandering asked if little Mr Rosier had come this evening
He came nearly an hour ago—but he has disappeared Osmond said
And wheres Pansy
In the other room There are several people there
Hes probably among them said Madame Merle
Do you wish to see him Osmond asked in a provokingly pointless tone
Madame Merle looked at him a moment she knew each of his tones to the eighth of a note Yes I should like to say to him that Ive told you what he wants and that it interests you but feebly
Dont tell him that Hell try to interest me more—which is exactly what I dont want Tell him I hate his proposal
But you dont hate it
It doesnt signify I dont love it I let him see that myself this evening I was rude to him on purpose That sort of things a great bore Theres no hurry
Ill tell him that youll take time and think it over
No dont do that Hell hang on
If I discourage him hell do the same
Yes but in the one case hell try to talk and explain—which would be exceedingly tiresome In the other hell probably hold his tongue and go in for some deeper game That will leave me quiet I hate talking with a donkey
Is that what you call poor Mr Rosier
Oh hes a nuisance—with his eternal majolica
Madame Merle dropped her eyes she had a faint smile Hes a gentleman he has a charming temper and after all an income of forty thousand francs
Its misery—genteel misery Osmond broke in Its not what Ive dreamed of for Pansy
Very good then He has promised me not to speak to her
Do you believe him Osmond asked absentmindedly
Perfectly Pansy has thought a great deal about him but I dont suppose you consider that that matters
I dont consider it matters at all but neither do I believe she has thought of him
That opinions more convenient said Madame Merle quietly
Has she told you shes in love with him
For what do you take her And for what do you take me Madame Merle added in a moment
Osmond had raised his foot and was resting his slim ankle on the other knee he clasped his ankle in his hand familiarly—his long fine forefinger and thumb could make a ring for it—and gazed a while before him This kind of thing doesnt find me unprepared Its what I educated her for It was all for this—that when such a case should come up she should do what I prefer
Im not afraid that shell not do it
Well then wheres the hitch
I dont see any But all the same I recommend you not to get rid of Mr Rosier Keep him on hand he may be useful
I cant keep him Keep him yourself
Very good Ill put him into a corner and allow him so much a day Madame Merle had for the most part while they talked been glancing about her it was her habit in this situation just as it was her habit to interpose a good many blanklooking pauses A long drop followed the last words I have quoted and before it had ended she saw Pansy come out of the adjoining room followed by Edward Rosier The girl advanced a few steps and then stopped and stood looking at Madame Merle and at her father
He has spoken to her Madame Merle went on to Osmond
Her companion never turned his head So much for your belief in his promises He ought to be horsewhipped
He intends to confess poor little man
Osmond got up he had now taken a sharp look at his daughter It doesnt matter he murmured turning away
Pansy after a moment came up to Madame Merle with her little manner of unfamiliar politeness This ladys reception of her was not more intimate she simply as she rose from the sofa gave her a friendly smile
Youre very late the young creature gently said
My dear child Im never later than I intend to be
Madame Merle had not got up to be gracious to Pansy she moved toward Edward Rosier He came to meet her and very quickly as if to get it off his mind Ive spoken to her he whispered
I know it Mr Rosier
Did she tell you
Yes she told me Behave properly for the rest of the evening and come and see me tomorrow at a quarter past five She was severe and in the manner in which she turned her back to him there was a degree of contempt which caused him to mutter a decent imprecation
He had no intention of speaking to Osmond it was neither the time nor the place But he instinctively wandered toward Isabel who sat talking with an old lady He sat down on the other side of her the old lady was Italian and Rosier took for granted she understood no English You said just now you wouldnt help me he began to Mrs Osmond Perhaps youll feel differently when you know—when you know—
Isabel met his hesitation When I know what
That shes all right
What do you mean by that
Well that weve come to an understanding
Shes all wrong said Isabel It wont do
Poor Rosier gazed at her halfpleadingly halfangrily a sudden flush testified to his sense of injury Ive never been treated so he said What is there against me after all Thats not the way Im usually considered I could have married twenty times
Its a pity you didnt I dont mean twenty times but once comfortably Isabel added smiling kindly Youre not rich enough for Pansy
She doesnt care a straw for ones money
No but her father does
Ah yes he has proved that cried the young man
Isabel got up turning away from him leaving her old lady without ceremony and he occupied himself for the next ten minutes in pretending to look at Gilbert Osmonds collection of miniatures which were neatly arranged on a series of small velvet screens But he looked without seeing his cheek burned he was too full of his sense of injury It was certain that he had never been treated that way before he was not used to being thought not good enough He knew how good he was and if such a fallacy had not been so pernicious he could have laughed at it He searched again for Pansy but she had disappeared and his main desire was now to get out of the house Before doing so he spoke once more to Isabel it was not agreeable to him to reflect that he had just said a rude thing to her—the only point that would now justify a low view of him
I referred to Mr Osmond as I shouldnt have done a while ago he began But you must remember my situation
I dont remember what you said she answered coldly
Ah youre offended and now youll never help me
She was silent an instant and then with a change of tone Its not that I wont I simply cant Her manner was almost passionate
If you COULD just a little Id never again speak of your husband save as an angel
The inducements great said Isabel gravely—inscrutably as he afterwards to himself called it and she gave him straight in the eyes a look which was also inscrutable It made him remember somehow that he had known her as a child and yet it was keener than he liked and he took himself off
CHAPTER XXXVIII
He went to see Madame Merle on the morrow and to his surprise she let him off rather easily But she made him promise that he would stop there till something should have been decided Mr Osmond had had higher expectations it was very true that as he had no intention of giving his daughter a portion such expectations were open to criticism or even if one would to ridicule But she would advise Mr Rosier not to take that tone if he would possess his soul in patience he might arrive at his felicity Mr Osmond was not favourable to his suit but it wouldnt be a miracle if he should gradually come round Pansy would never defy her father he might depend on that so nothing was to be gained by precipitation Mr Osmond needed to accustom his mind to an offer of a sort that he had not hitherto entertained and this result must come of itself—it was useless to try to force it Rosier remarked that his own situation would be in the meanwhile the most uncomfortable in the world and Madame Merle assured him that she felt for him But as she justly declared one couldnt have everything one wanted she had learned that lesson for herself There would be no use in his writing to Gilbert Osmond who had charged her to tell him as much He wished the matter dropped for a few weeks and would himself write when he should have anything to communicate that it might please Mr Rosier to hear
He doesnt like your having spoken to Pansy Ah he doesnt like it at all said Madame Merle
Im perfectly willing to give him a chance to tell me so
If you do that hell tell you more than you care to hear Go to the house for the next month as little as possible and leave the rest to me
As little as possible Whos to measure the possibility
Let me measure it Go on Thursday evenings with the rest of the world but dont go at all at odd times and dont fret about Pansy Ill see that she understands everything Shes a calm little nature shell take it quietly
Edward Rosier fretted about Pansy a good deal but he did as he was advised and awaited another Thursday evening before returning to Palazzo Roccanera There had been a party at dinner so that though he went early the company was already tolerably numerous Osmond as usual was in the first room near the fire staring straight at the door so that not to be distinctly uncivil Rosier had to go and speak to him
Im glad that you can take a hint Pansys father said slightly closing his keen conscious eyes
I take no hints But I took a message as I supposed it to be
You took it Where did you take it
It seemed to poor Rosier he was being insulted and he waited a moment asking himself how much a true lover ought to submit to Madame Merle gave me as I understood it a message from you—to the effect that you declined to give me the opportunity I desire the opportunity to explain my wishes to you And he flattered himself he spoke rather sternly
I dont see what Madame Merle has to do with it Why did you apply to Madame Merle
I asked her for an opinion—for nothing more I did so because she had seemed to me to know you very well
She doesnt know me so well as she thinks said Osmond
Im sorry for that because she has given me some little ground for hope
Osmond stared into the fire a moment I set a great price on my daughter
You cant set a higher one than I do Dont I prove it by wishing to marry her
I wish to marry her very well Osmond went on with a dry impertinence which in another mood poor Rosier would have admired
Of course I pretend shed marry well in marrying me She couldnt marry a man who loves her more—or whom I may venture to add she loves more
Im not bound to accept your theories as to whom my daughter loves—and Osmond looked up with a quick cold smile
Im not theorising Your daughter has spoken
Not to me Osmond continued now bending forward a little and dropping his eyes to his boottoes
I have her promise sir cried Rosier with the sharpness of exasperation
As their voices had been pitched very low before such a note attracted some attention from the company Osmond waited till this little movement had subsided then he said all undisturbed I think she has no recollection of having given it
They had been standing with their faces to the fire and after he had uttered these last words the master of the house turned round again to the room Before Rosier had time to reply he perceived that a gentleman—a stranger—had just come in unannounced according to the Roman custom and was about to present himself to his host The latter smiled blandly but somewhat blankly the visitor had a handsome face and a large fair beard and was evidently an Englishman
You apparently dont recognise me he said with a smile that expressed more than Osmonds
Ah yes now I do I expected so little to see you
Rosier departed and went in direct pursuit of Pansy He sought her as usual in the neighbouring room but he again encountered Mrs Osmond in his path He gave his hostess no greeting—he was too righteously indignant but said to her crudely Your husbands awfully coldblooded
She gave the same mystical smile he had noticed before You cant expect every one to be as hot as yourself
I dont pretend to be cold but Im cool What has he been doing to his daughter
Ive no idea
Dont you take any interest Rosier demanded with his sense that she too was irritating
For a moment she answered nothing then No she said abruptly and with a quickened light in her eyes which directly contradicted the word
Pardon me if I dont believe that Wheres Miss Osmond
In the corner making tea Please leave her there
Rosier instantly discovered his friend who had been hidden by intervening groups He watched her but her own attention was entirely given to her occupation What on earth has he done to her he asked again imploringly He declares to me she has given me up
She has not given you up Isabel said in a low tone and without looking at him
Ah thank you for that Now Ill leave her alone as long as you think proper
He had hardly spoken when he saw her change colour and became aware that Osmond was coming toward her accompanied by the gentleman who had just entered He judged the latter in spite of the advantage of good looks and evident social experience a little embarrassed Isabel said her husband I bring you an old friend
Mrs Osmonds face though it wore a smile was like her old friends not perfectly confident Im very happy to see Lord Warburton she said Rosier turned away and now that his talk with her had been interrupted felt absolved from the little pledge he had just taken He had a quick impression that Mrs Osmond wouldnt notice what he did
Isabel in fact to do him justice for some time quite ceased to observe him She had been startled she hardly knew if she felt a pleasure or a pain Lord Warburton however now that he was face to face with her was plainly quite sure of his own sense of the matter though his grey eyes had still their fine original property of keeping recognition and attestation strictly sincere He was heavier than of yore and looked older he stood there very solidly and sensibly
I suppose you didnt expect to see me he said Ive but just arrived Literally I only got here this evening You see Ive lost no time in coming to pay you my respects I knew you were at home on Thursdays
You see the fame of your Thursdays has spread to England Osmond remarked to his wife
Its very kind of Lord Warburton to come so soon were greatly flattered Isabel said
Ah well its better than stopping in one of those horrible inns Osmond went on
The hotel seems very good I think its the same at which I saw you four years since You know it was here in Rome that we first met its a long time ago Do you remember where I bade you goodbye his lordship asked of his hostess It was in the Capitol in the first room
I remember that myself said Osmond I was there at the time
Yes I remember you there I was very sorry to leave Rome—so sorry that somehow or other it became almost a dismal memory and Ive never cared to come back till today But I knew you were living here her old friend went on to Isabel and I assure you Ive often thought of you It must be a charming place to live in he added with a look round him at her established home in which she might have caught the dim ghost of his old ruefulness
We should have been glad to see you at any time Osmond observed with propriety
Thank you very much I havent been out of England since then Till a month ago I really supposed my travels over
Ive heard of you from time to time said Isabel who had already with her rare capacity for such inward feats taken the measure of what meeting him again meant for her
I hope youve heard no harm My life has been a remarkably complete blank
Like the good reigns in history Osmond suggested He appeared to think his duties as a host now terminated—he had performed them so conscientiously Nothing could have been more adequate more nicely measured than his courtesy to his wifes old friend It was punctilious it was explicit it was everything but natural—a deficiency which Lord Warburton who himself had on the whole a good deal of nature may be supposed to have perceived Ill leave you and Mrs Osmond together he added You have reminiscences into which I dont enter
Im afraid you lose a good deal Lord Warburton called after him as he moved away in a tone which perhaps betrayed overmuch an appreciation of his generosity Then the visitor turned on Isabel the deeper the deepest consciousness of his look which gradually became more serious Im really very glad to see you
Its very pleasant Youre very kind
Do you know that youre changed—a little
She just hesitated Yes—a good deal
I dont mean for the worse of course and yet how can I say for the better
I think I shall have no scruple in saying that to YOU she bravely returned
Ah well for me—its a long time It would be a pity there shouldnt be something to show for it They sat down and she asked him about his sisters with other enquiries of a somewhat perfunctory kind He answered her questions as if they interested him and in a few moments she saw—or believed she saw—that he would press with less of his whole weight than of yore Time had breathed upon his heart and without chilling it given it a relieved sense of having taken the air Isabel felt her usual esteem for Time rise at a bound Her friends manner was certainly that of a contented man one who would rather like people or like her at least to know him for such Theres something I must tell you without more delay he resumed Ive brought Ralph Touchett with me
Brought him with you Isabels surprise was great
Hes at the hotel he was too tired to come out and has gone to bed
Ill go to see him she immediately said
Thats exactly what I hoped youd do I had an idea you hadnt seen much of him since your marriage that in fact your relations were a—a little more formal Thats why I hesitated—like an awkward Briton
Im as fond of Ralph as ever Isabel answered But why has he come to Rome The declaration was very gentle the question a little sharp
Because hes very far gone Mrs Osmond
Rome then is no place for him I heard from him that he had determined to give up his custom of wintering abroad and to remain in England indoors in what he called an artificial climate
Poor fellow he doesnt succeed with the artificial I went to see him three weeks ago at Gardencourt and found him thoroughly ill He has been getting worse every year and now he has no strength left He smokes no more cigarettes He had got up an artificial climate indeed the house was as hot as Calcutta Nevertheless he had suddenly taken it into his head to start for Sicily I didnt believe in it—neither did the doctors nor any of his friends His mother as I suppose you know is in America so there was no one to prevent him He stuck to his idea that it would be the saving of him to spend the winter at Catania He said he could take servants and furniture could make himself comfortable but in point of fact he hasnt brought anything I wanted him at least to go by sea to save fatigue but he said he hated the sea and wished to stop at Rome After that though I thought it all rubbish I made up my mind to come with him Im acting as—what do you call it in America—as a kind of moderator Poor Ralphs very moderate now We left England a fortnight ago and he has been very bad on the way He cant keep warm and the further south we come the more he feels the cold He has got rather a good man but Im afraid hes beyond human help I wanted him to take with him some clever fellow—I mean some sharp young doctor but he wouldnt hear of it If you dont mind my saying so I think it was a most extraordinary time for Mrs Touchett to decide on going to America
Isabel had listened eagerly her face was full of pain and wonder My aunt does that at fixed periods and lets nothing turn her aside When the date comes round she starts I think shed have started if Ralph had been dying
I sometimes think he IS dying Lord Warburton said
Isabel sprang up Ill go to him then now
He checked her he was a little disconcerted at the quick effect of his words I dont mean I thought so tonight On the contrary today in the train he seemed particularly well the idea of our reaching Rome—hes very fond of Rome you know—gave him strength An hour ago when I bade him goodnight he told me he was very tired but very happy Go to him in the morning thats all I mean I didnt tell him I was coming here I didnt decide to till after we had separated Then I remembered he had told me you had an evening and that it was this very Thursday It occurred to me to come in and tell you hes here and let you know you had perhaps better not wait for him to call I think he said he hadnt written to you There was no need of Isabels declaring that she would act upon Lord Warburtons information she looked as she sat there like a winged creature held back Let alone that I wanted to see you for myself her visitor gallantly added
I dont understand Ralphs plan it seems to me very wild she said I was glad to think of him between those thick walls at Gardencourt
He was completely alone there the thick walls were his only company
You went to see him youve been extremely kind
Oh dear I had nothing to do said Lord Warburton
We hear on the contrary that youre doing great things Every one speaks of you as a great statesman and Im perpetually seeing your name in the Times which by the way doesnt appear to hold it in reverence Youre apparently as wild a radical as ever
I dont feel nearly so wild you know the world has come round to me Touchett and I have kept up a sort of parliamentary debate all the way from London I tell him hes the last of the Tories and he calls me the King of the Goths—says I have down to the details of my personal appearance every sign of the brute So you see theres life in him yet
Isabel had many questions to ask about Ralph but she abstained from asking them all She would see for herself on the morrow She perceived that after a little Lord Warburton would tire of that subject—he had a conception of other possible topics She was more and more able to say to herself that he had recovered and what is more to the point she was able to say it without bitterness He had been for her of old such an image of urgency of insistence of something to be resisted and reasoned with that his reappearance at first menaced her with a new trouble But she was now reassured she could see he only wished to live with her on good terms that she was to understand he had forgiven her and was incapable of the bad taste of making pointed allusions This was not a form of revenge of course she had no suspicion of his wishing to punish her by an exhibition of disillusionment she did him the justice to believe it had simply occurred to him that she would now take a goodnatured interest in knowing he was resigned It was the resignation of a healthy manly nature in which sentimental wounds could never fester British politics had cured him she had known they would She gave an envious thought to the happier lot of men who are always free to plunge into the healing waters of action Lord Warburton of course spoke of the past but he spoke of it without implications he even went so far as to allude to their former meeting in Rome as a very jolly time And he told her he had been immensely interested in hearing of her marriage and that it was a great pleasure for him to make Mr Osmonds acquaintance—since he could hardly be said to have made it on the other occasion He had not written to her at the time of that passage in her history but he didnt apologise to her for this The only thing he implied was that they were old friends intimate friends It was very much as an intimate friend that he said to her suddenly after a short pause which he had occupied in smiling as he looked about him like a person amused at a provincial entertainment by some innocent game of guesses—
Well now I suppose youre very happy and all that sort of thing
Isabel answered with a quick laugh the tone of his remark struck her almost as the accent of comedy Do you suppose if I were not Id tell you
Well I dont know I dont see why not
I do then Fortunately however Im very happy
Youve got an awfully good house
Yes its very pleasant But thats not my merit—its my husbands
You mean he has arranged it
Yes it was nothing when we came
He must be very clever
He has a genius for upholstery said Isabel
Theres a great rage for that sort of thing now But you must have a taste of your own
I enjoy things when theyre done but Ive no ideas I can never propose anything
Do you mean you accept what others propose
Very willingly for the most part
Thats a good thing to know I shall propose to you something
It will be very kind I must say however that Ive in a few small ways a certain initiative I should like for instance to introduce you to some of these people
Oh please dont I prefer sitting here Unless it be to that young lady in the blue dress She has a charming face
The one talking to the rosy young man Thats my husbands daughter
Lucky man your husband What a dear little maid
You must make her acquaintance
In a moment—with pleasure I like looking at her from here He ceased to look at her however very soon his eyes constantly reverted to Mrs Osmond Do you know I was wrong just now in saying you had changed he presently went on You seem to me after all very much the same
And yet I find it a great change to be married said Isabel with mild gaiety
It affects most people more than it has affected you You see I havent gone in for that
It rather surprises me
You ought to understand it Mrs Osmond But I do want to marry he added more simply
It ought to be very easy Isabel said rising—after which she reflected with a pang perhaps too visible that she was hardly the person to say this It was perhaps because Lord Warburton divined the pang that he generously forbore to call her attention to her not having contributed then to the facility
Edward Rosier had meanwhile seated himself on an ottoman beside Pansys teatable He pretended at first to talk to her about trifles and she asked him who was the new gentleman conversing with her stepmother
Hes an English lord said Rosier I dont know more
I wonder if hell have some tea The English are so fond of tea
Never mind that Ive something particular to say to you
Dont speak so loud every one will hear said Pansy
They wont hear if you continue to look that way as if your only thought in life was the wish the kettle would boil
It has just been filled the servants never know—and she sighed with the weight of her responsibility
Do you know what your father said to me just now That you didnt mean what you said a week ago
I dont mean everything I say How can a young girl do that But I mean what I say to you
He told me you had forgotten me
Ah no I dont forget said Pansy showing her pretty teeth in a fixed smile
Then everythings just the very same
Ah no not the very same Papa has been terribly severe
What has he done to you
He asked me what you had done to me and I told him everything Then he forbade me to marry you
You neednt mind that
Oh yes I must indeed I cant disobey papa
Not for one who loves you as I do and whom you pretend to love
She raised the lid of the teapot gazing into this vessel for a moment then she dropped six words into its aromatic depths I love you just as much
What good will that do me
Ah said Pansy raising her sweet vague eyes I dont know that
You disappoint me groaned poor Rosier
She was silent a little she handed a teacup to a servant Please dont talk any more
Is this to be all my satisfaction
Papa said I was not to talk with you
Do you sacrifice me like that Ah its too much
I wish youd wait a little said the girl in a voice just distinct enough to betray a quaver
Of course Ill wait if youll give me hope But you take my life away
Ill not give you up—oh no Pansy went on
Hell try and make you marry some one else
Ill never do that
What then are we to wait for
She hesitated again Ill speak to Mrs Osmond and shell help us It was in this manner that she for the most part designated her stepmother
She wont help us much Shes afraid
Afraid of what
Of your father I suppose
Pansy shook her little head Shes not afraid of any one We must have patience
Ah thats an awful word Rosier groaned he was deeply disconcerted Oblivious of the customs of good society he dropped his head into his hands and supporting it with a melancholy grace sat staring at the carpet Presently he became aware of a good deal of movement about him and as he looked up saw Pansy making a curtsey—it was still her little curtsey of the convent—to the English lord whom Mrs Osmond had introduced
CHAPTER XXXIX
It will probably not surprise the reflective reader that Ralph Touchett should have seen less of his cousin since her marriage than he had done before that event—an event of which he took such a view as could hardly prove a confirmation of intimacy He had uttered his thought as we know and after this had held his peace Isabel not having invited him to resume a discussion which marked an era in their relations That discussion had made a difference—the difference he feared rather than the one he hoped It had not chilled the girls zeal in carrying out her engagement but it had come dangerously near to spoiling a friendship No reference was ever again made between them to Ralphs opinion of Gilbert Osmond and by surrounding this topic with a sacred silence they managed to preserve a semblance of reciprocal frankness But there was a difference as Ralph often said to himself—there was a difference She had not forgiven him she never would forgive him that was all he had gained She thought she had forgiven him she believed she didnt care and as she was both very generous and very proud these convictions represented a certain reality But whether or no the event should justify him he would virtually have done her a wrong and the wrong was of the sort that women remember best As Osmonds wife she could never again be his friend If in this character she should enjoy the felicity she expected she would have nothing but contempt for the man who had attempted in advance to undermine a blessing so dear and if on the other hand his warning should be justified the vow she had taken that he should never know it would lay upon her spirit such a burden as to make her hate him So dismal had been during the year that followed his cousins marriage Ralphs prevision of the future and if his meditations appear morbid we must remember he was not in the bloom of health He consoled himself as he might by behaving as he deemed beautifully and was present at the ceremony by which Isabel was united to Mr Osmond and which was performed in Florence in the month of June He learned from his mother that Isabel at first had thought of celebrating her nuptials in her native land but that as simplicity was what she chiefly desired to secure she had finally decided in spite of Osmonds professed willingness to make a journey of any length that this characteristic would be best embodied in their being married by the nearest clergyman in the shortest time The thing was done therefore at the little American chapel on a very hot day in the presence only of Mrs Touchett and her son of Pansy Osmond and the Countess Gemini That severity in the proceedings of which I just spoke was in part the result of the absence of two persons who might have been looked for on the occasion and who would have lent it a certain richness Madame Merle had been invited but Madame Merle who was unable to leave Rome had written a gracious letter of excuses Henrietta Stackpole had not been invited as her departure from America announced to Isabel by Mr Goodwood was in fact frustrated by the duties of her profession but she had sent a letter less gracious than Madame Merles intimating that had she been able to cross the Atlantic she would have been present not only as a witness but as a critic Her return to Europe had taken place somewhat later and she had effected a meeting with Isabel in the autumn in Paris when she had indulged—perhaps a trifle too freely—her critical genius Poor Osmond who was chiefly the subject of it had protested so sharply that Henrietta was obliged to declare to Isabel that she had taken a step which put a barrier between them It isnt in the least that youve married—it is that you have married HIM she had deemed it her duty to remark agreeing it will be seen much more with Ralph Touchett than she suspected though she had few of his hesitations and compunctions Henriettas second visit to Europe however was not apparently to have been made in vain for just at the moment when Osmond had declared to Isabel that he really must object to that newspaperwoman and Isabel had answered that it seemed to her he took Henrietta too hard the good Mr Bantling had appeared upon the scene and proposed that they should take a run down to Spain Henriettas letters from Spain had proved the most acceptable she had yet published and there had been one in especial dated from the Alhambra and entitled Moors and Moonlight which generally passed for her masterpiece Isabel had been secretly disappointed at her husbands not seeing his way simply to take the poor girl for funny She even wondered if his sense of fun or of the funny—which would be his sense of humour wouldnt it—were by chance defective Of course she herself looked at the matter as a person whose present happiness had nothing to grudge to Henriettas violated conscience Osmond had thought their alliance a kind of monstrosity he couldnt imagine what they had in common For him Mr Bantlings fellow tourist was simply the most vulgar of women and he had also pronounced her the most abandoned Against this latter clause of the verdict Isabel had appealed with an ardour that had made him wonder afresh at the oddity of some of his wifes tastes Isabel could explain it only by saying that she liked to know people who were as different as possible from herself Why then dont you make the acquaintance of your washerwoman Osmond had enquired to which Isabel had answered that she was afraid her washerwoman wouldnt care for her Now Henrietta cared so much
Ralph had seen nothing of her for the greater part of the two years that had followed her marriage the winter that formed the beginning of her residence in Rome he had spent again at San Remo where he had been joined in the spring by his mother who afterwards had gone with him to England to see what they were doing at the bank—an operation she couldnt induce him to perform Ralph had taken a lease of his house at San Remo a small villa which he had occupied still another winter but late in the month of April of this second year he had come down to Rome It was the first time since her marriage that he had stood face to face with Isabel his desire to see her again was then of the keenest She had written to him from time to time but her letters told him nothing he wanted to know He had asked his mother what she was making of her life and his mother had simply answered that she supposed she was making the best of it Mrs Touchett had not the imagination that communes with the unseen and she now pretended to no intimacy with her niece whom she rarely encountered This young woman appeared to be living in a sufficiently honourable way but Mrs Touchett still remained of the opinion that her marriage had been a shabby affair It had given her no pleasure to think of Isabels establishment which she was sure was a very lame business From time to time in Florence she rubbed against the Countess Gemini doing her best always to minimise the contact and the Countess reminded her of Osmond who made her think of Isabel The Countess was less talked of in these days but Mrs Touchett augured no good of that it only proved how she had been talked of before There was a more direct suggestion of Isabel in the person of Madame Merle but Madame Merles relations with Mrs Touchett had undergone a perceptible change Isabels aunt had told her without circumlocution that she had played too ingenious a part and Madame Merle who never quarrelled with any one who appeared to think no one worth it and who had performed the miracle of living more or less for several years with Mrs Touchett and showing no symptom of irritation—Madame Merle now took a very high tone and declared that this was an accusation from which she couldnt stoop to defend herself She added however without stooping that her behaviour had been only too simple that she had believed only what she saw that she saw Isabel was not eager to marry and Osmond not eager to please his repeated visits had been nothing he was boring himself to death on his hilltop and he came merely for amusement Isabel had kept her sentiments to herself and her journey to Greece and Egypt had effectually thrown dust in her companions eyes Madame Merle accepted the event—she was unprepared to think of it as a scandal but that she had played any part in it double or single was an imputation against which she proudly protested It was doubtless in consequence of Mrs Touchetts attitude and of the injury it offered to habits consecrated by many charming seasons that Madame Merle had after this chosen to pass many months in England where her credit was quite unimpaired Mrs Touchett had done her a wrong there are some things that cant be forgiven But Madame Merle suffered in silence there was always something exquisite in her dignity
Ralph as I say had wished to see for himself but while engaged in this pursuit he had yet felt afresh what a fool he had been to put the girl on her guard He had played the wrong card and now he had lost the game He should see nothing he should learn nothing for him she would always wear a mask His true line would have been to profess delight in her union so that later when as Ralph phrased it the bottom should fall out of it she might have the pleasure of saying to him that he had been a goose He would gladly have consented to pass for a goose in order to know Isabels real situation At present however she neither taunted him with his fallacies nor pretended that her own confidence was justified if she wore a mask it completely covered her face There was something fixed and mechanical in the serenity painted on it this was not an expression Ralph said—it was a representation it was even an advertisement She had lost her child that was a sorrow but it was a sorrow she scarcely spoke of there was more to say about it than she could say to Ralph It belonged to the past moreover it had occurred six months before and she had already laid aside the tokens of mourning She appeared to be leading the life of the world Ralph heard her spoken of as having a charming position He observed that she produced the impression of being peculiarly enviable that it was supposed among many people to be a privilege even to know her Her house was not open to every one and she had an evening in the week to which people were not invited as a matter of course She lived with a certain magnificence but you needed to be a member of her circle to perceive it for there was nothing to gape at nothing to criticise nothing even to admire in the daily proceedings of Mr and Mrs Osmond Ralph in all this recognised the hand of the master for he knew that Isabel had no faculty for producing studied impressions She struck him as having a great love of movement of gaiety of late hours of long rides of fatigue an eagerness to be entertained to be interested even to be bored to make acquaintances to see people who were talked about to explore the neighbourhood of Rome to enter into relation with certain of the mustiest relics of its old society In all this there was much less discrimination than in that desire for comprehensiveness of development on which he had been used to exercise his wit There was a kind of violence in some of her impulses of crudity in some of her experiments which took him by surprise it seemed to him that she even spoke faster moved faster breathed faster than before her marriage Certainly she had fallen into exaggerations—she who used to care so much for the pure truth and whereas of old she had a great delight in goodhumoured argument in intellectual play she never looked so charming as when in the genial heat of discussion she received a crushing blow full in the face and brushed it away as a feather she appeared now to think there was nothing worth peoples either differing about or agreeing upon Of old she had been curious and now she was indifferent and yet in spite of her indifference her activity was greater than ever Slender still but lovelier than before she had gained no great maturity of aspect yet there was an amplitude and a brilliancy in her personal arrangements that gave a touch of insolence to her beauty Poor humanhearted Isabel what perversity had bitten her Her light step drew a mass of drapery behind it her intelligent head sustained a majesty of ornament The free keen girl had become quite another person what he saw was the fine lady who was supposed to represent something What did Isabel represent Ralph asked himself and he could only answer by saying that she represented Gilbert Osmond Good heavens what a function he then woefully exclaimed He was lost in wonder at the mystery of things
He recognised Osmond as I say he recognised him at every turn He saw how he kept all things within limits how he adjusted regulated animated their manner of life Osmond was in his element at last he had material to work with He always had an eye to effect and his effects were deeply calculated They were produced by no vulgar means but the motive was as vulgar as the art was great To surround his interior with a sort of invidious sanctity to tantalise society with a sense of exclusion to make people believe his house was different from every other to impart to the face that he presented to the world a cold originality—this was the ingenious effort of the personage to whom Isabel had attributed a superior morality He works with superior material Ralph said to himself its rich abundance compared with his former resources Ralph was a clever man but Ralph had never—to his own sense—been so clever as when he observed in petto that under the guise of caring only for intrinsic values Osmond lived exclusively for the world Far from being its master as he pretended to be he was its very humble servant and the degree of its attention was his only measure of success He lived with his eye on it from morning till night and the world was so stupid it never suspected the trick Everything he did was pose—pose so subtly considered that if one were not on the lookout one mistook it for impulse Ralph had never met a man who lived so much in the land of consideration His tastes his studies his accomplishments his collections were all for a purpose His life on his hilltop at Florence had been the conscious attitude of years His solitude his ennui his love for his daughter his good manners his bad manners were so many features of a mental image constantly present to him as a model of impertinence and mystification His ambition was not to please the world but to please himself by exciting the worlds curiosity and then declining to satisfy it It had made him feel great ever to play the world a trick The thing he had done in his life most directly to please himself was his marrying Miss Archer though in this case indeed the gullible world was in a manner embodied in poor Isabel who had been mystified to the top of her bent Ralph of course found a fitness in being consistent he had embraced a creed and as he had suffered for it he could not in honour forsake it I give this little sketch of its articles for what they may at the time have been worth It was certain that he was very skilful in fitting the facts to his theory—even the fact that during the month he spent in Rome at this period the husband of the woman he loved appeared to regard him not in the least as an enemy
For Gilbert Osmond Ralph had not now that importance It was not that he had the importance of a friend it was rather that he had none at all He was Isabels cousin and he was rather unpleasantly ill—it was on this basis that Osmond treated with him He made the proper enquiries asked about his health about Mrs Touchett about his opinion of winter climates whether he were comfortable at his hotel He addressed him on the few occasions of their meeting not a word that was not necessary but his manner had always the urbanity proper to conscious success in the presence of conscious failure For all this Ralph had had toward the end a sharp inward vision of Osmonds making it of small ease to his wife that she should continue to receive Mr Touchett He was not jealous—he had not that excuse no one could be jealous of Ralph But he made Isabel pay for her oldtime kindness of which so much was still left and as Ralph had no idea of her paying too much so when his suspicion had become sharp he had taken himself off In doing so he had deprived Isabel of a very interesting occupation she had been constantly wondering what fine principle was keeping him alive She had decided that it was his love of conversation his conversation had been better than ever He had given up walking he was no longer a humorous stroller He sat all day in a chair—almost any chair would serve and was so dependent on what you would do for him that had not his talk been highly contemplative you might have thought he was blind The reader already knows more about him than Isabel was ever to know and the reader may therefore be given the key to the mystery What kept Ralph alive was simply the fact that he had not yet seen enough of the person in the world in whom he was most interested he was not yet satisfied There was more to come he couldnt make up his mind to lose that He wanted to see what she would make of her husband—or what her husband would make of her This was only the first act of the drama and he was determined to sit out the performance His determination had held good it had kept him going some eighteen months more till the time of his return to Rome with Lord Warburton It had given him indeed such an air of intending to live indefinitely that Mrs Touchett though more accessible to confusions of thought in the matter of this strange unremunerative—and unremunerated—son of hers than she had ever been before had as we have learned not scrupled to embark for a distant land If Ralph had been kept alive by suspense it was with a good deal of the same emotion—the excitement of wondering in what state she should find him—that Isabel mounted to his apartment the day after Lord Warburton had notified her of his arrival in Rome
She spent an hour with him it was the first of several visits Gilbert Osmond called on him punctually and on their sending their carriage for him Ralph came more than once to Palazzo Roccanera A fortnight elapsed at the end of which Ralph announced to Lord Warburton that he thought after all he wouldnt go to Sicily The two men had been dining together after a day spent by the latter in ranging about the Campagna They had left the table and Warburton before the chimney was lighting a cigar which he instantly removed from his lips
Wont go to Sicily Where then will you go
Well I guess I wont go anywhere said Ralph from the sofa all shamelessly
Do you mean youll return to England
Oh dear no Ill stay in Rome
Rome wont do for you Romes not warm enough
It will have to do Ill make it do See how well Ive been
Lord Warburton looked at him a while puffing a cigar and as if trying to see it Youve been better than you were on the journey certainly I wonder how you lived through that But I dont understand your condition I recommend you to try Sicily
I cant try said poor Ralph Ive done trying I cant move further I cant face that journey Fancy me between Scylla and Charybdis I dont want to die on the Sicilian plains—to be snatched away like Proserpine in the same locality to the Plutonian shades
What the deuce then did you come for his lordship enquired
Because the idea took me I see it wont do It really doesnt matter where I am now Ive exhausted all remedies Ive swallowed all climates As Im here Ill stay I havent a single cousin in Sicily—much less a married one
Your cousins certainly an inducement But what does the doctor say
I havent asked him and I dont care a fig If I die here Mrs Osmond will bury me But I shall not die here
I hope not Lord Warburton continued to smoke reflectively Well I must say he resumed for myself Im very glad you dont insist on Sicily I had a horror of that journey
Ah but for you it neednt have mattered I had no idea of dragging you in my train
I certainly didnt mean to let you go alone
My dear Warburton I never expected you to come further than this Ralph cried
I should have gone with you and seen you settled said Lord Warburton
Youre a very good Christian Youre a very kind man
Then I should have come back here
And then youd have gone to England
No no I should have stayed
Well said Ralph if thats what we are both up to I dont see where Sicily comes in
His companion was silent he sat staring at the fire At last looking up I say tell me this he broke out did you really mean to go to Sicily when we started
Ah vous men demandez trop Let me put a question first Did you come with me quite—platonically
I dont know what you mean by that I wanted to come abroad
I suspect weve each been playing our little game
Speak for yourself I made no secret whatever of my desiring to be here a while
Yes I remember you said you wished to see the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ive seen him three times Hes very amusing
I think youve forgotten what you came for said Ralph
Perhaps I have his companion answered rather gravely
These two were gentlemen of a race which is not distinguished by the absence of reserve and they had travelled together from London to Rome without an allusion to matters that were uppermost in the mind of each There was an old subject they had once discussed but it had lost its recognised place in their attention and even after their arrival in Rome where many things led back to it they had kept the same halfdiffident halfconfident silence
I recommend you to get the doctors consent all the same Lord Warburton went on abruptly after an interval
The doctors consent will spoil it I never have it when I can help it
What then does Mrs Osmond think Ralphs friend demanded Ive not told her Shell probably say that Romes too cold and even offer to go with me to Catania Shes capable of that
In your place I should like it
Her husband wont like it
Ah well I can fancy that though it seems to me youre not bound to mind his likings Theyre his affair
I dont want to make any more trouble between them said Ralph
Is there so much already
Theres complete preparation for it Her going off with me would make the explosion Osmond isnt fond of his wifes cousin
Then of course hed make a row But wont he make a row if you stop here
Thats what I want to see He made one the last time I was in Rome and then I thought it my duty to disappear Now I think its my duty to stop and defend her
My dear Touchett your defensive powers— Lord Warburton began with a smile But he saw something in his companions face that checked him Your duty in these premises seems to me rather a nice question he observed instead
Ralph for a short time answered nothing Its true that my defensive powers are small he returned at last but as my aggressive ones are still smaller Osmond may after all not think me worth his gunpowder At any rate he added there are things Im curious to see
Youre sacrificing your health to your curiosity then
Im not much interested in my health and Im deeply interested in Mrs Osmond
So am I But not as I once was Lord Warburton added quickly This was one of the allusions he had not hitherto found occasion to make
Does she strike you as very happy Ralph enquired emboldened by this confidence
Well I dont know Ive hardly thought She told me the other night she was happy
Ah she told YOU of course Ralph exclaimed smiling
I dont know that It seems to me I was rather the sort of person she might have complained to
Complained Shell never complain She has done it—what she HAS done—and she knows it Shell complain to you least of all Shes very careful
She neednt be I dont mean to make love to her again
Im delighted to hear it There can be no doubt at least of YOUR duty
Ah no said Lord Warburton gravely none
Permit me to ask Ralph went on whether its to bring out the fact that you dont mean to make love to her that youre so very civil to the little girl
Lord Warburton gave a slight start he got up and stood before the fire looking at it hard Does that strike you as very ridiculous
Ridiculous Not in the least if you really like her
I think her a delightful little person I dont know when a girl of that age has pleased me more
Shes a charming creature Ah she at least is genuine
Of course theres the difference in our ages—more than twenty years
My dear Warburton said Ralph are you serious
Perfectly serious—as far as Ive got
Im very glad And heaven help us cried Ralph how cheeredup old Osmond will be
His companion frowned I say dont spoil it I shouldnt propose for his daughter to please HIM
Hell have the perversity to be pleased all the same
Hes not so fond of me as that said his lordship
As that My dear Warburton the drawback of your position is that people neednt be fond of you at all to wish to be connected with you Now with me in such a case I should have the happy confidence that they loved me
Lord Warburton seemed scarcely in the mood for doing justice to general axioms—he was thinking of a special case Do you judge shell be pleased
The girl herself Delighted surely
No no I mean Mrs Osmond
Ralph looked at him a moment My dear fellow what has she to do with it
Whatever she chooses Shes very fond of Pansy
Very true—very true And Ralph slowly got up Its an interesting question—how far her fondness for Pansy will carry her He stood there a moment with his hands in his pockets and rather a clouded brow I hope you know that youre very—very sure The deuce he broke off I dont know how to say it
Yes you do you know how to say everything
Well its awkward I hope youre sure that among Miss Osmonds merits her being—a—so near her stepmother isnt a leading one
Good heavens Touchett cried Lord Warburton angrily for what do you take me
CHAPTER XL
Isabel had not seen much of Madame Merle since her marriage this lady having indulged in frequent absences from Rome At one time she had spent six months in England at another she had passed a portion of a winter in Paris She had made numerous visits to distant friends and gave countenance to the idea that for the future she should be a less inveterate Roman than in the past As she had been inveterate in the past only in the sense of constantly having an apartment in one of the sunniest niches of the Pincian—an apartment which often stood empty—this suggested a prospect of almost constant absence a danger which Isabel at one period had been much inclined to deplore Familiarity had modified in some degree her first impression of Madame Merle but it had not essentially altered it there was still much wonder of admiration in it That personage was armed at all points it was a pleasure to see a character so completely equipped for the social battle She carried her flag discreetly but her weapons were polished steel and she used them with a skill which struck Isabel as more and more that of a veteran She was never weary never overcome with disgust she never appeared to need rest or consolation She had her own ideas she had of old exposed a great many of them to Isabel who knew also that under an appearance of extreme selfcontrol her highlycultivated friend concealed a rich sensibility But her will was mistress of her life there was something gallant in the way she kept going It was as if she had learned the secret of it—as if the art of life were some clever trick she had guessed Isabel as she herself grew older became acquainted with revulsions with disgusts there were days when the world looked black and she asked herself with some sharpness what it was that she was pretending to live for Her old habit had been to live by enthusiasm to fall in love with suddenlyperceived possibilities with the idea of some new adventure As a younger person she had been used to proceed from one little exaltation to the other there were scarcely any dull places between But Madame Merle had suppressed enthusiasm she fell in love nowadays with nothing she lived entirely by reason and by wisdom There were hours when Isabel would have given anything for lessons in this art if her brilliant friend had been near she would have made an appeal to her She had become aware more than before of the advantage of being like that—of having made ones self a firm surface a sort of corselet of silver
But as I say it was not till the winter during which we lately renewed acquaintance with our heroine that the personage in question made again a continuous stay in Rome Isabel now saw more of her than she had done since her marriage but by this time Isabels needs and inclinations had considerably changed It was not at present to Madame Merle that she would have applied for instruction she had lost the desire to know this ladys clever trick If she had troubles she must keep them to herself and if life was difficult it would not make it easier to confess herself beaten Madame Merle was doubtless of great use to herself and an ornament to any circle but was she—would she be—of use to others in periods of refined embarrassment The best way to profit by her friend—this indeed Isabel had always thought—was to imitate her to be as firm and bright as she She recognised no embarrassments and Isabel considering this fact determined for the fiftieth time to brush aside her own It seemed to her too on the renewal of an intercourse which had virtually been interrupted that her old ally was different was almost detached—pushing to the extreme a certain rather artificial fear of being indiscreet Ralph Touchett we know had been of the opinion that she was prone to exaggeration to forcing the note—was apt in the vulgar phrase to overdo it Isabel had never admitted this charge—had never indeed quite understood it Madame Merles conduct to her perception always bore the stamp of good taste was always quiet But in this matter of not wishing to intrude upon the inner life of the Osmond family it at last occurred to our young woman that she overdid a little That of course was not the best taste that was rather violent She remembered too much that Isabel was married that she had now other interests that though she Madame Merle had known Gilbert Osmond and his little Pansy very well better almost than any one she was not after all of the inner circle She was on her guard she never spoke of their affairs till she was asked even pressed—as when her opinion was wanted she had a dread of seeming to meddle Madame Merle was as candid as we know and one day she candidly expressed this dread to Isabel
I MUST be on my guard she said I might so easily without suspecting it offend you You would be right to be offended even if my intention should have been of the purest I must not forget that I knew your husband long before you did I must not let that betray me If you were a silly woman you might be jealous Youre not a silly woman I know that perfectly But neither am I therefore Im determined not to get into trouble A little harms very soon done a mistakes made before one knows it Of course if I had wished to make love to your husband I had ten years to do it in and nothing to prevent so it isnt likely I shall begin today when Im so much less attractive than I was But if I were to annoy you by seeming to take a place that doesnt belong to me you wouldnt make that reflection youd simply say I was forgetting certain differences Im determined not to forget them Certainly a good friend isnt always thinking of that one doesnt suspect ones friends of injustice I dont suspect you my dear in the least but I suspect human nature Dont think I make myself uncomfortable Im not always watching myself I think I sufficiently prove it in talking to you as I do now All I wish to say is however that if you were to be jealous—thats the form it would take—I should be sure to think it was a little my fault It certainly wouldnt be your husbands
Isabel had had three years to think over Mrs Touchetts theory that Madame Merle had made Gilbert Osmonds marriage We know how she had at first received it Madame Merle might have made Gilbert Osmonds marriage but she certainly had not made Isabel Archers That was the work of—Isabel scarcely knew what of nature providence fortune of the eternal mystery of things It was true her aunts complaint had been not so much of Madame Merles activity as of her duplicity she had brought about the strange event and then she had denied her guilt Such guilt would not have been great to Isabels mind she couldnt make a crime of Madame Merles having been the producing cause of the most important friendship she had ever formed This had occurred to her just before her marriage after her little discussion with her aunt and at a time when she was still capable of that large inward reference the tone almost of the philosophic historian to her scant young annals If Madame Merle had desired her change of state she could only say it had been a very happy thought With her moreover she had been perfectly straightforward she had never concealed her high opinion of Gilbert Osmond After their union Isabel discovered that her husband took a less convenient view of the matter he seldom consented to finger in talk this roundest and smoothest bead of their social rosary Dont you like Madame Merle Isabel had once said to him She thinks a great deal of you
Ill tell you once for all Osmond had answered I liked her once better than I do today Im tired of her and Im rather ashamed of it Shes so almost unnaturally good Im glad shes not in Italy it makes for relaxation—for a sort of moral detente Dont talk of her too much it seems to bring her back Shell come back in plenty of time
Madame Merle in fact had come back before it was too late—too late I mean to recover whatever advantage she might have lost But meantime if as I have said she was sensibly different Isabels feelings were also not quite the same Her consciousness of the situation was as acute as of old but it was much less satisfying A dissatisfied mind whatever else it may miss is rarely in want of reasons they bloom as thick as buttercups in June The fact of Madame Merles having had a hand in Gilbert Osmonds marriage ceased to be one of her titles to consideration it might have been written after all that there was not so much to thank her for As time went on there was less and less and Isabel once said to herself that perhaps without her these things would not have been That reflection indeed was instantly stifled she knew an immediate horror at having made it Whatever happens to me let me not be unjust she said let me bear my burdens myself and not shift them upon others This disposition was tested eventually by that ingenious apology for her present conduct which Madame Merle saw fit to make and of which I have given a sketch for there was something irritating—there was almost an air of mockery—in her neat discriminations and clear convictions In Isabels mind today there was nothing clear there was a confusion of regrets a complication of fears She felt helpless as she turned away from her friend who had just made the statements I have quoted Madame Merle knew so little what she was thinking of She was herself moreover so unable to explain Jealous of her—jealous of her with Gilbert The idea just then suggested no near reality She almost wished jealousy had been possible it would have made in a manner for refreshment Wasnt it in a manner one of the symptoms of happiness Madame Merle however was wise so wise that she might have been pretending to know Isabel better than Isabel knew herself This young woman had always been fertile in resolutions—any of them of an elevated character but at no period had they flourished in the privacy of her heart more richly than today It is true that they all had a family likeness they might have been summed up in the determination that if she was to be unhappy it should not be by a fault of her own Her poor winged spirit had always had a great desire to do its best and it had not as yet been seriously discouraged It wished therefore to hold fast to justice—not to pay itself by petty revenges To associate Madame Merle with its disappointment would be a petty revenge—especially as the pleasure to be derived from that would be perfectly insincere It might feed her sense of bitterness but it would not loosen her bonds It was impossible to pretend that she had not acted with her eyes open if ever a girl was a free agent she had been A girl in love was doubtless not a free agent but the sole source of her mistake had been within herself There had been no plot no snare she had looked and considered and chosen When a woman had made such a mistake there was only one way to repair it—just immensely oh with the highest grandeur to accept it One folly was enough especially when it was to last for ever a second one would not much set it off In this vow of reticence there was a certain nobleness which kept Isabel going but Madame Merle had been right for all that in taking her precautions
One day about a month after Ralph Touchetts arrival in Rome Isabel came back from a walk with Pansy It was not only a part of her general determination to be just that she was at present very thankful for Pansy—it was also a part of her tenderness for things that were pure and weak Pansy was dear to her and there was nothing else in her life that had the rightness of the young creatures attachment or the sweetness of her own clearness about it It was like a soft presence—like a small hand in her own on Pansys part it was more than an affection—it was a kind of ardent coercive faith On her own side her sense of the girls dependence was more than a pleasure it operated as a definite reason when motives threatened to fail her She had said to herself that we must take our duty where we find it and that we must look for it as much as possible Pansys sympathy was a direct admonition it seemed to say that here was an opportunity not eminent perhaps but unmistakeable Yet an opportunity for what Isabel could hardly have said in general to be more for the child than the child was able to be for herself Isabel could have smiled in these days to remember that her little companion had once been ambiguous for she now perceived that Pansys ambiguities were simply her own grossness of vision She had been unable to believe any one could care so much—so extraordinarily much—to please But since then she had seen this delicate faculty in operation and now she knew what to think of it It was the whole creature—it was a sort of genius Pansy had no pride to interfere with it and though she was constantly extending her conquests she took no credit for them The two were constantly together Mrs Osmond was rarely seen without her stepdaughter Isabel liked her company it had the effect of ones carrying a nosegay composed all of the same flower And then not to neglect Pansy not under any provocation to neglect her—this she had made an article of religion The young girl had every appearance of being happier in Isabels society than in that of any one save her father—whom she admired with an intensity justified by the fact that as paternity was an exquisite pleasure to Gilbert Osmond he had always been luxuriously mild Isabel knew how Pansy liked to be with her and how she studied the means of pleasing her She had decided that the best way of pleasing her was negative and consisted in not giving her trouble—a conviction which certainly could have had no reference to trouble already existing She was therefore ingeniously passive and almost imaginatively docile she was careful even to moderate the eagerness with which she assented to Isabels propositions and which might have implied that she could have thought otherwise She never interrupted never asked social questions and though she delighted in approbation to the point of turning pale when it came to her never held out her hand for it She only looked toward it wistfully—an attitude which as she grew older made her eyes the prettiest in the world When during the second winter at Palazzo Roccanera she began to go to parties to dances she always at a reasonable hour lest Mrs Osmond should be tired was the first to propose departure Isabel appreciated the sacrifice of the late dances for she knew her little companion had a passionate pleasure in this exercise taking her steps to the music like a conscientious fairy Society moreover had no drawbacks for her she liked even the tiresome parts—the heat of ballrooms the dulness of dinners the crush at the door the awkward waiting for the carriage During the day in this vehicle beside her stepmother she sat in a small fixed appreciative posture bending forward and faintly smiling as if she had been taken to drive for the first time
On the day I speak of they had been driven out of one of the gates of the city and at the end of half an hour had left the carriage to await them by the roadside while they walked away over the short grass of the Campagna which even in the winter months is sprinkled with delicate flowers This was almost a daily habit with Isabel who was fond of a walk and had a swift length of step though not so swift a one as on her first coming to Europe It was not the form of exercise that Pansy loved best but she liked it because she liked everything and she moved with a shorter undulation beside her fathers wife who afterwards on their return to Rome paid a tribute to her preferences by making the circuit of the Pincian or the Villa Borghese She had gathered a handful of flowers in a sunny hollow far from the walls of Rome and on reaching Palazzo Roccanera she went straight to her room to put them into water Isabel passed into the drawingroom the one she herself usually occupied the second in order from the large antechamber which was entered from the staircase and in which even Gilbert Osmonds rich devices had not been able to correct a look of rather grand nudity Just beyond the threshold of the drawingroom she stopped short the reason for her doing so being that she had received an impression The impression had in strictness nothing unprecedented but she felt it as something new and the soundlessness of her step gave her time to take in the scene before she interrupted it Madame Merle was there in her bonnet and Gilbert Osmond was talking to her for a minute they were unaware she had come in Isabel had often seen that before certainly but what she had not seen or at least had not noticed was that their colloquy had for the moment converted itself into a sort of familiar silence from which she instantly perceived that her entrance would startle them Madame Merle was standing on the rug a little way from the fire Osmond was in a deep chair leaning back and looking at her Her head was erect as usual but her eyes were bent on his What struck Isabel first was that he was sitting while Madame Merle stood there was an anomaly in this that arrested her Then she perceived that they had arrived at a desultory pause in their exchange of ideas and were musing face to face with the freedom of old friends who sometimes exchange ideas without uttering them There was nothing to shock in this they were old friends in fact But the thing made an image lasting only a moment like a sudden flicker of light Their relative positions their absorbed mutual gaze struck her as something detected But it was all over by the time she had fairly seen it Madame Merle had seen her and had welcomed her without moving her husband on the other hand had instantly jumped up He presently murmured something about wanting a walk and after having asked their visitor to excuse him left the room
I came to see you thinking you would have come in and as you hadnt I waited for you Madame Merle said
Didnt he ask you to sit down Isabel asked with a smile
Madame Merle looked about her Ah its very true I was going away
You must stay now
Certainly I came for a reason Ive something on my mind
Ive told you that before Isabel said—that it takes something extraordinary to bring you to this house
And you know what Ive told YOU that whether I come or whether I stay away Ive always the same motive—the affection I bear you
Yes youve told me that
You look just now as if you didnt believe it said Madame Merle
Ah Isabel answered the profundity of your motives thats the last thing I doubt
You doubt sooner of the sincerity of my words
Isabel shook her head gravely I know youve always been kind to me
As often as you would let me You dont always take it then one has to let you alone Its not to do you a kindness however that Ive come today its quite another affair Ive come to get rid of a trouble of my own—to make it over to you Ive been talking to your husband about it
Im surprised at that he doesnt like troubles
Especially other peoples I know very well But neither do you I suppose At any rate whether you do or not you must help me Its about poor Mr Rosier
Ah said Isabel reflectively its his trouble then not yours
He has succeeded in saddling me with it He comes to see me ten times a week to talk about Pansy
Yes he wants to marry her I know all about it
Madame Merle hesitated I gathered from your husband that perhaps you didnt
How should he know what I know He has never spoken to me of the matter
Its probably because he doesnt know how to speak of it
Its nevertheless the sort of question in which hes rarely at fault
Yes because as a general thing he knows perfectly well what to think Today he doesnt
Havent you been telling him Isabel asked
Madame Merle gave a bright voluntary smile Do you know youre a little dry
Yes I cant help it Mr Rosier has also talked to me
In that theres some reason Youre so near the child
Ah said Isabel for all the comfort Ive given him If you think me dry I wonder what HE thinks
I believe he thinks you can do more than you have done
I can do nothing
You can do more at least than I I dont know what mysterious connection he may have discovered between me and Pansy but he came to me from the first as if I held his fortune in my hand Now he keeps coming back to spur me up to know what hope there is to pour out his feelings
Hes very much in love said Isabel
Very much—for him
Very much for Pansy you might say as well
Madame Merle dropped her eyes a moment Dont you think shes attractive
The dearest little person possible—but very limited
She ought to be all the easier for Mr Rosier to love Mr Rosiers not unlimited
No said Isabel he has about the extent of ones pockethandkerchief—the small ones with lace borders Her humour had lately turned a good deal to sarcasm but in a moment she was ashamed of exercising it on so innocent an object as Pansys suitor Hes very kind very honest she presently added and hes not such a fool as he seems
He assures me that she delights in him said Madame Merle
I dont know Ive not asked her
Youve never sounded her a little
Its not my place its her fathers
Ah youre too literal said Madame Merle
I must judge for myself
Madame Merle gave her smile again It isnt easy to help you
To help me said Isabel very seriously What do you mean
Its easy to displease you Dont you see how wise I am to be careful I notify you at any rate as I notified Osmond that I wash my hands of the loveaffairs of Miss Pansy and Mr Edward Rosier Je ny peux rien moi I cant talk to Pansy about him Especially added Madame Merle as I dont think him a paragon of husbands
Isabel reflected a little after which with a smile You dont wash your hands then she said After which again she added in another tone You cant—youre too much interested
Madame Merle slowly rose she had given Isabel a look as rapid as the intimation that had gleamed before our heroine a few moments before Only this time the latter saw nothing Ask him the next time and youll see
I cant ask him he has ceased to come to the house Gilbert has let him know that hes not welcome
Ah yes said Madame Merle I forgot that—though its the burden of his lamentation He says Osmond has insulted him All the same she went on Osmond doesnt dislike him so much as he thinks She had got up as if to close the conversation but she lingered looking about her and had evidently more to say Isabel perceived this and even saw the point she had in view but Isabel also had her own reasons for not opening the way
That must have pleased him if youve told him she answered smiling
Certainly Ive told him as far as that goes Ive encouraged him Ive preached patience have said that his case isnt desperate if hell only hold his tongue and be quiet Unfortunately he has taken it into his head to be jealous
Jealous
Jealous of Lord Warburton who he says is always here
Isabel who was tired had remained sitting but at this she also rose Ah she exclaimed simply moving slowly to the fireplace Madame Merle observed her as she passed and while she stood a moment before the mantelglass and pushed into its place a wandering tress of hair
Poor Mr Rosier keeps saying theres nothing impossible in Lord Warburtons falling in love with Pansy Madame Merle went on Isabel was silent a little she turned away from the glass Its true—theres nothing impossible she returned at last gravely and more gently
So Ive had to admit to Mr Rosier So too your husband thinks
That I dont know
Ask him and youll see
I shall not ask him said Isabel
Pardon me I forgot you had pointed that out Of course Madame Merle added youve had infinitely more observation of Lord Warburtons behaviour than I
I see no reason why I shouldnt tell you that he likes my stepdaughter very much
Madame Merle gave one of her quick looks again Likes her you mean—as Mr Rosier means
I dont know how Mr Rosier means but Lord Warburton has let me know that hes charmed with Pansy
And youve never told Osmond This observation was immediate precipitate it almost burst from Madame Merles lips
Isabels eyes rested on her I suppose hell know in time Lord Warburton has a tongue and knows how to express himself
Madame Merle instantly became conscious that she had spoken more quickly than usual and the reflection brought the colour to her cheek She gave the treacherous impulse time to subside and then said as if she had been thinking it over a little That would be better than marrying poor Mr Rosier
Much better I think
It would be very delightful it would be a great marriage Its really very kind of him
Very kind of him
To drop his eyes on a simple little girl
I dont see that
Its very good of you But after all Pansy Osmond—
After all Pansy Osmonds the most attractive person he has ever known Isabel exclaimed
Madame Merle stared and indeed she was justly bewildered Ah a moment ago I thought you seemed rather to disparage her
I said she was limited And so she is And sos Lord Warburton
So are we all if you come to that If its no more than Pansy deserves all the better But if she fixes her affections on Mr Rosier I wont admit that she deserves it That will be too perverse
Mr Rosiers a nuisance Isabel cried abruptly
I quite agree with you and Im delighted to know that Im not expected to feed his flame For the future when he calls on me my door shall be closed to him And gathering her mantle together Madame Merle prepared to depart She was checked however on her progress to the door by an inconsequent request from Isabel
All the same you know be kind to him
She lifted her shoulders and eyebrows and stood looking at her friend I dont understand your contradictions Decidedly I shant be kind to him for it will be a false kindness I want to see her married to Lord Warburton
You had better wait till he asks her
If what you says true hell ask her Especially said Madame Merle in a moment if you make him
If I make him
Its quite in your power Youve great influence with him
Isabel frowned a little Where did you learn that
Mrs Touchett told me Not you—never said Madame Merle smiling
I certainly never told you anything of the sort
You MIGHT have done so—so far as opportunity went—when we were by way of being confidential with each other But you really told me very little Ive often thought so since
Isabel had thought so too and sometimes with a certain satisfaction But she didnt admit it now—perhaps because she wished not to appear to exult in it You seem to have had an excellent informant in my aunt she simply returned
She let me know you had declined an offer of marriage from Lord Warburton because she was greatly vexed and was full of the subject Of course I think youve done better in doing as you did But if you wouldnt marry Lord Warburton yourself make him the reparation of helping him to marry some one else
Isabel listened to this with a face that persisted in not reflecting the bright expressiveness of Madame Merles But in a moment she said reasonably and gently enough I should be very glad indeed if as regards Pansy it could be arranged Upon which her companion who seemed to regard this as a speech of good omen embraced her more tenderly than might have been expected and triumphantly withdrew
CHAPTER XLI
Osmond touched on this matter that evening for the first time coming very late into the drawingroom where she was sitting alone They had spent the evening at home and Pansy had gone to bed he himself had been sitting since dinner in a small apartment in which he had arranged his books and which he called his study At ten oclock Lord Warburton had come in as he always did when he knew from Isabel that she was to be at home he was going somewhere else and he sat for half an hour Isabel after asking him for news of Ralph said very little to him on purpose she wished him to talk with her stepdaughter She pretended to read she even went after a little to the piano she asked herself if she mightnt leave the room She had come little by little to think well of the idea of Pansys becoming the wife of the master of beautiful Lockleigh though at first it had not presented itself in a manner to excite her enthusiasm Madame Merle that afternoon had applied the match to an accumulation of inflammable material When Isabel was unhappy she always looked about her—partly from impulse and partly by theory—for some form of positive exertion She could never rid herself of the sense that unhappiness was a state of disease—of suffering as opposed to doing To do—it hardly mattered what—would therefore be an escape perhaps in some degree a remedy Besides she wished to convince herself that she had done everything possible to content her husband she was determined not to be haunted by visions of his wifes limpness under appeal It would please him greatly to see Pansy married to an English nobleman and justly please him since this nobleman was so sound a character It seemed to Isabel that if she could make it her duty to bring about such an event she should play the part of a good wife She wanted to be that she wanted to be able to believe sincerely and with proof of it that she had been that Then such an undertaking had other recommendations It would occupy her and she desired occupation It would even amuse her and if she could really amuse herself she perhaps might be saved Lastly it would be a service to Lord Warburton who evidently pleased himself greatly with the charming girl It was a little weird he should—being what he was but there was no accounting for such impressions Pansy might captivate any one—any one at least but Lord Warburton Isabel would have thought her too small too slight perhaps even too artificial for that There was always a little of the doll about her and that was not what he had been looking for Still who could say what men ever were looking for They looked for what they found they knew what pleased them only when they saw it No theory was valid in such matters and nothing was more unaccountable or more natural than anything else If he had cared for HER it might seem odd he should care for Pansy who was so different but he had not cared for her so much as he had supposed Or if he had he had completely got over it and it was natural that as that affair had failed he should think something of quite another sort might succeed Enthusiasm as I say had not come at first to Isabel but it came today and made her feel almost happy It was astonishing what happiness she could still find in the idea of procuring a pleasure for her husband It was a pity however that Edward Rosier had crossed their path
At this reflection the light that had suddenly gleamed upon that path lost something of its brightness Isabel was unfortunately as sure that Pansy thought Mr Rosier the nicest of all the young men—as sure as if she had held an interview with her on the subject It was very tiresome she should be so sure when she had carefully abstained from informing herself almost as tiresome as that poor Mr Rosier should have taken it into his own head He was certainly very inferior to Lord Warburton It was not the difference in fortune so much as the difference in the men the young American was really so light a weight He was much more of the type of the useless fine gentleman than the English nobleman It was true that there was no particular reason why Pansy should marry a statesman still if a statesman admired her that was his affair and she would make a perfect little pearl of a peeress
It may seem to the reader that Mrs Osmond had grown of a sudden strangely cynical for she ended by saying to herself that this difficulty could probably be arranged An impediment that was embodied in poor Rosier could not anyhow present itself as a dangerous one there were always means of levelling secondary obstacles Isabel was perfectly aware that she had not taken the measure of Pansys tenacity which might prove to be inconveniently great but she inclined to see her as rather letting go under suggestion than as clutching under deprecation—since she had certainly the faculty of assent developed in a very much higher degree than that of protest She would cling yes she would cling but it really mattered to her very little what she clung to Lord Warburton would do as well as Mr Rosier—especially as she seemed quite to like him she had expressed this sentiment to Isabel without a single reservation she had said she thought his conversation most interesting—he had told her all about India His manner to Pansy had been of the rightest and easiest—Isabel noticed that for herself as she also observed that he talked to her not in the least in a patronising way reminding himself of her youth and simplicity but quite as if she understood his subjects with that sufficiency with which she followed those of the fashionable operas This went far enough for attention to the music and the barytone He was careful only to be kind—he was as kind as he had been to another fluttered young chit at Gardencourt A girl might well be touched by that she remembered how she herself had been touched and said to herself that if she had been as simple as Pansy the impression would have been deeper still She had not been simple when she refused him that operation had been as complicated as later her acceptance of Osmond had been Pansy however in spite of HER simplicity really did understand and was glad that Lord Warburton should talk to her not about her partners and bouquets but about the state of Italy the condition of the peasantry the famous gristtax the pellagra his impressions of Roman society She looked at him as she drew her needle through her tapestry with sweet submissive eyes and when she lowered them she gave little quiet oblique glances at his person his hands his feet his clothes as if she were considering him Even his person Isabel might have reminded her was better than Mr Rosiers But Isabel contented herself at such moments with wondering where this gentleman was he came no more at all to Palazzo Roccanera It was surprising as I say the hold it had taken of her—the idea of assisting her husband to be pleased
It was surprising for a variety of reasons which I shall presently touch upon On the evening I speak of while Lord Warburton sat there she had been on the point of taking the great step of going out of the room and leaving her companions alone I say the great step because it was in this light that Gilbert Osmond would have regarded it and Isabel was trying as much as possible to take her husbands view She succeeded after a fashion but she fell short of the point I mention After all she couldnt rise to it something held her and made this impossible It was not exactly that it would be base or insidious for women as a general thing practise such manoeuvres with a perfectly good conscience and Isabel was instinctively much more true than false to the common genius of her sex There was a vague doubt that interposed—a sense that she was not quite sure So she remained in the drawingroom and after a while Lord Warburton went off to his party of which he promised to give Pansy a full account on the morrow After he had gone she wondered if she had prevented something which would have happened if she had absented herself for a quarter of an hour and then she pronounced—always mentally—that when their distinguished visitor should wish her to go away he would easily find means to let her know it Pansy said nothing whatever about him after he had gone and Isabel studiously said nothing as she had taken a vow of reserve until after he should have declared himself He was a little longer in coming to this than might seem to accord with the description he had given Isabel of his feelings Pansy went to bed and Isabel had to admit that she could not now guess what her stepdaughter was thinking of Her transparent little companion was for the moment not to be seen through
She remained alone looking at the fire until at the end of half an hour her husband came in He moved about a while in silence and then sat down he looked at the fire like herself But she now had transferred her eyes from the flickering flame in the chimney to Osmonds face and she watched him while he kept his silence Covert observation had become a habit with her an instinct of which it is not an exaggeration to say that it was allied to that of selfdefence had made it habitual She wished as much as possible to know his thoughts to know what he would say beforehand so that she might prepare her answer Preparing answers had not been her strong point of old she had rarely in this respect got further than thinking afterwards of clever things she might have said But she had learned caution—learned it in a measure from her husbands very countenance It was the same face she had looked into with eyes equally earnest perhaps but less penetrating on the terrace of a Florentine villa except that Osmond had grown slightly stouter since his marriage He still however might strike one as very distinguished
Has Lord Warburton been here he presently asked
Yes he stayed half an hour
Did he see Pansy
Yes he sat on the sofa beside her
Did he talk with her much
He talked almost only to her
It seems to me hes attentive Isnt that what you call it
I dont call it anything said Isabel Ive waited for you to give it a name
Thats a consideration you dont always show Osmond answered after a moment
Ive determined this time to try and act as youd like Ive so often failed of that
Osmond turned his head slowly looking at her Are you trying to quarrel with me
No Im trying to live at peace
Nothings more easy you know I dont quarrel myself
What do you call it when you try to make me angry Isabel asked
I dont try if Ive done so it has been the most natural thing in the world Moreover Im not in the least trying now
Isabel smiled It doesnt matter Ive determined never to be angry again
Thats an excellent resolve Your temper isnt good
No—its not good She pushed away the book she had been reading and took up the band of tapestry Pansy had left on the table
Thats partly why Ive not spoken to you about this business of my daughters Osmond said designating Pansy in the manner that was most frequent with him I was afraid I should encounter opposition—that you too would have views on the subject Ive sent little Rosier about his business
You were afraid Id plead for Mr Rosier Havent you noticed that Ive never spoken to you of him
Ive never given you a chance Weve so little conversation in these days I know he was an old friend of yours
Yes hes an old friend of mine Isabel cared little more for him than for the tapestry that she held in her hand but it was true that he was an old friend and that with her husband she felt a desire not to extenuate such ties He had a way of expressing contempt for them which fortified her loyalty to them even when as in the present case they were in themselves insignificant She sometimes felt a sort of passion of tenderness for memories which had no other merit than that they belonged to her unmarried life But as regards Pansy she added in a moment Ive given him no encouragement
Thats fortunate Osmond observed
Fortunate for me I suppose you mean For him it matters little
Theres no use talking of him Osmond said As I tell you Ive turned him out
Yes but a lover outsides always a lover Hes sometimes even more of one Mr Rosier still has hope
Hes welcome to the comfort of it My daughter has only to sit perfectly quiet to become Lady Warburton
Should you like that Isabel asked with a simplicity which was not so affected as it may appear She was resolved to assume nothing for Osmond had a way of unexpectedly turning her assumptions against her The intensity with which he would like his daughter to become Lady Warburton had been the very basis of her own recent reflections But that was for herself she would recognise nothing until Osmond should have put it into words she would not take for granted with him that he thought Lord Warburton a prize worth an amount of effort that was unusual among the Osmonds It was Gilberts constant intimation that for him nothing in life was a prize that he treated as from equal to equal with the most distinguished people in the world and that his daughter had only to look about her to pick out a prince It cost him therefore a lapse from consistency to say explicitly that he yearned for Lord Warburton and that if this nobleman should escape his equivalent might not be found with which moreover it was another of his customary implications that he was never inconsistent He would have liked his wife to glide over the point But strangely enough now that she was face to face with him and although an hour before she had almost invented a scheme for pleasing him Isabel was not accommodating would not glide And yet she knew exactly the effect on his mind of her question it would operate as an humiliation Never mind he was terribly capable of humiliating her—all the more so that he was also capable of waiting for great opportunities and of showing sometimes an almost unaccountable indifference to small ones Isabel perhaps took a small opportunity because she would not have availed herself of a great one
Osmond at present acquitted himself very honourably I should like it extremely it would be a great marriage And then Lord Warburton has another advantage hes an old friend of yours It would be pleasant for him to come into the family Its very odd Pansys admirers should all be your old friends
Its natural that they should come to see me In coming to see me they see Pansy Seeing her its natural they should fall in love with her
So I think But youre not bound to do so
If she should marry Lord Warburton I should be very glad Isabel went on frankly Hes an excellent man You say however that she has only to sit perfectly still Perhaps she wont sit perfectly still If she loses Mr Rosier she may jump up
Osmond appeared to give no heed to this he sat gazing at the fire Pansy would like to be a great lady he remarked in a moment with a certain tenderness of tone She wishes above all to please he added
To please Mr Rosier perhaps
No to please me
Me too a little I think said Isabel
Yes she has a great opinion of you But shell do what I like
If youre sure of that its very well she went on
Meantime said Osmond I should like our distinguished visitor to speak
He has spoken—to me He has told me it would be a great pleasure to him to believe she could care for him
Osmond turned his head quickly but at first he said nothing Then Why didnt you tell me that he asked sharply
There was no opportunity You know how we live Ive taken the first chance that has offered
Did you speak to him of Rosier
Oh yes a little
That was hardly necessary
I thought it best he should know so that so that— And Isabel paused
So that what
So that he might act accordingly
So that he might back out do you mean
No so that he might advance while theres yet time
Thats not the effect it seems to have had
You should have patience said Isabel You know Englishmen are shy
This ones not He was not when he made love to YOU
She had been afraid Osmond would speak of that it was disagreeable to her I beg your pardon he was extremely so she returned
He answered nothing for some time he took up a book and fingered the pages while she sat silent and occupied herself with Pansys tapestry You must have a great deal of influence with him Osmond went on at last The moment you really wish it you can bring him to the point
This was more offensive still but she felt the great naturalness of his saying it and it was after all extremely like what she had said to herself Why should I have influence she asked What have I ever done to put him under an obligation to me
You refused to marry him said Osmond with his eyes on his book
I must not presume too much on that she replied
He threw down the book presently and got up standing before the fire with his hands behind him Well I hold that it lies in your hands I shall leave it there With a little goodwill you may manage it Think that over and remember how much I count on you He waited a little to give her time to answer but she answered nothing and he presently strolled out of the room
CHAPTER XLII
She had answered nothing because his words had put the situation before her and she was absorbed in looking at it There was something in them that suddenly made vibrations deep so that she had been afraid to trust herself to speak After he had gone she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes and for a long time far into the night and still further she sat in the still drawingroom given up to her meditation A servant came in to attend to the fire and she bade him bring fresh candles and then go to bed Osmond had told her to think of what he had said and she did so indeed and of many other things The suggestion from another that she had a definite influence on Lord Warburton—this had given her the start that accompanies unexpected recognition Was it true that there was something still between them that might be a handle to make him declare himself to Pansy—a susceptibility on his part to approval a desire to do what would please her Isabel had hitherto not asked herself the question because she had not been forced but now that it was directly presented to her she saw the answer and the answer frightened her Yes there was something—something on Lord Warburtons part When he had first come to Rome she believed the link that united them to be completely snapped but little by little she had been reminded that it had yet a palpable existence It was as thin as a hair but there were moments when she seemed to hear it vibrate For herself nothing was changed what she once thought of him she always thought it was needless this feeling should change it seemed to her in fact a better feeling than ever But he had he still the idea that she might be more to him than other women Had he the wish to profit by the memory of the few moments of intimacy through which they had once passed Isabel knew she had read some of the signs of such a disposition But what were his hopes his pretensions and in what strange way were they mingled with his evidently very sincere appreciation of poor Pansy Was he in love with Gilbert Osmonds wife and if so what comfort did he expect to derive from it If he was in love with Pansy he was not in love with her stepmother and if he was in love with her stepmother he was not in love with Pansy Was she to cultivate the advantage she possessed in order to make him commit himself to Pansy knowing he would do so for her sake and not for the small creatures own—was this the service her husband had asked of her This at any rate was the duty with which she found herself confronted—from the moment she admitted to herself that her old friend had still an uneradicated predilection for her society It was not an agreeable task it was in fact a repulsive one She asked herself with dismay whether Lord Warburton were pretending to be in love with Pansy in order to cultivate another satisfaction and what might be called other chances Of this refinement of duplicity she presently acquitted him she preferred to believe him in perfect good faith But if his admiration for Pansy were a delusion this was scarcely better than its being an affectation Isabel wandered among these ugly possibilities until she had completely lost her way some of them as she suddenly encountered them seemed ugly enough Then she broke out of the labyrinth rubbing her eyes and declared that her imagination surely did her little honour and that her husbands did him even less Lord Warburton was as disinterested as he need be and she was no more to him than she need wish She would rest upon this till the contrary should be proved proved more effectually than by a cynical intimation of Osmonds
Such a resolution however brought her this evening but little peace for her soul was haunted with terrors which crowded to the foreground of thought as quickly as a place was made for them What had suddenly set them into livelier motion she hardly knew unless it were the strange impression she had received in the afternoon of her husbands being in more direct communication with Madame Merle than she suspected That impression came back to her from time to time and now she wondered it had never come before Besides this her short interview with Osmond half an hour ago was a striking example of his faculty for making everything wither that he touched spoiling everything for her that he looked at It was very well to undertake to give him a proof of loyalty the real fact was that the knowledge of his expecting a thing raised a presumption against it It was as if he had had the evil eye as if his presence were a blight and his favour a misfortune Was the fault in himself or only in the deep mistrust she had conceived for him This mistrust was now the clearest result of their short married life a gulf had opened between them over which they looked at each other with eyes that were on either side a declaration of the deception suffered It was a strange opposition of the like of which she had never dreamed—an opposition in which the vital principle of the one was a thing of contempt to the other It was not her fault—she had practised no deception she had only admired and believed She had taken all the first steps in the purest confidence and then she had suddenly found the infinite vista of a multiplied life to be a dark narrow alley with a dead wall at the end Instead of leading to the high places of happiness from which the world would seem to lie below one so that one could look down with a sense of exaltation and advantage and judge and choose and pity it led rather downward and earthward into realms of restriction and depression where the sound of other lives easier and freer was heard as from above and where it served to deepen the feeling of failure It was her deep distrust of her husband—this was what darkened the world That is a sentiment easily indicated but not so easily explained and so composite in its character that much time and still more suffering had been needed to bring it to its actual perfection Suffering with Isabel was an active condition it was not a chill a stupor a despair it was a passion of thought of speculation of response to every pressure She flattered herself that she had kept her failing faith to herself however—that no one suspected it but Osmond Oh he knew it and there were times when she thought he enjoyed it It had come gradually—it was not till the first year of their life together so admirably intimate at first had closed that she had taken the alarm Then the shadows had begun to gather it was as if Osmond deliberately almost malignantly had put the lights out one by one The dusk at first was vague and thin and she could still see her way in it But it steadily deepened and if now and again it had occasionally lifted there were certain corners of her prospect that were impenetrably black These shadows were not an emanation from her own mind she was very sure of that she had done her best to be just and temperate to see only the truth They were a part they were a kind of creation and consequence of her husbands very presence They were not his misdeeds his turpitudes she accused him of nothing—that is but of one thing which was NOT a crime She knew of no wrong he had done he was not violent he was not cruel she simply believed he hated her That was all she accused him of and the miserable part of it was precisely that it was not a crime for against a crime she might have found redress He had discovered that she was so different that she was not what he had believed she would prove to be He had thought at first he could change her and she had done her best to be what he would like But she was after all herself—she couldnt help that and now there was no use pretending wearing a mask or a dress for he knew her and had made up his mind She was not afraid of him she had no apprehension he would hurt her for the illwill he bore her was not of that sort He would if possible never give her a pretext never put himself in the wrong Isabel scanning the future with dry fixed eyes saw that he would have the better of her there She would give him many pretexts she would often put herself in the wrong There were times when she almost pitied him for if she had not deceived him in intention she understood how completely she must have done so in fact She had effaced herself when he first knew her she had made herself small pretending there was less of her than there really was It was because she had been under the extraordinary charm that he on his side had taken pains to put forth He was not changed he had not disguised himself during the year of his courtship any more than she But she had seen only half his nature then as one saw the disk of the moon when it was partly masked by the shadow of the earth She saw the full moon now—she saw the whole man She had kept still as it were so that he should have a free field and yet in spite of this she had mistaken a part for the whole
Ah she had been immensely under the charm It had not passed away it was there still she still knew perfectly what it was that made Osmond delightful when he chose to be He had wished to be when he made love to her and as she had wished to be charmed it was not wonderful he had succeeded He had succeeded because he had been sincere it never occurred to her now to deny him that He admired her—he had told her why because she was the most imaginative woman he had known It might very well have been true for during those months she had imagined a world of things that had no substance She had had a more wondrous vision of him fed through charmed senses and oh such a stirred fancy—she had not read him right A certain combination of features had touched her and in them she had seen the most striking of figures That he was poor and lonely and yet that somehow he was noble—that was what had interested her and seemed to give her her opportunity There had been an indefinable beauty about him—in his situation in his mind in his face She had felt at the same time that he was helpless and ineffectual but the feeling had taken the form of a tenderness which was the very flower of respect He was like a sceptical voyager strolling on the beach while he waited for the tide looking seaward yet not putting to sea It was in all this she had found her occasion She would launch his boat for him she would be his providence it would be a good thing to love him And she had loved him she had so anxiously and yet so ardently given herself—a good deal for what she found in him but a good deal also for what she brought him and what might enrich the gift As she looked back at the passion of those full weeks she perceived in it a kind of maternal strain—the happiness of a woman who felt that she was a contributor that she came with charged hands But for her money as she saw today she would never have done it And then her mind wandered off to poor Mr Touchett sleeping under English turf the beneficent author of infinite woe For this was the fantastic fact At bottom her money had been a burden had been on her mind which was filled with the desire to transfer the weight of it to some other conscience to some more prepared receptacle What would lighten her own conscience more effectually than to make it over to the man with the best taste in the world Unless she should have given it to a hospital there would have been nothing better she could do with it and there was no charitable institution in which she had been as much interested as in Gilbert Osmond He would use her fortune in a way that would make her think better of it and rub off a certain grossness attaching to the good luck of an unexpected inheritance There had been nothing very delicate in inheriting seventy thousand pounds the delicacy had been all in Mr Touchetts leaving them to her But to marry Gilbert Osmond and bring him such a portion—in that there would be delicacy for her as well There would be less for him—that was true but that was his affair and if he loved her he wouldnt object to her being rich Had he not had the courage to say he was glad she was rich
Isabels cheek burned when she asked herself if she had really married on a factitious theory in order to do something finely appreciable with her money But she was able to answer quickly enough that this was only half the story It was because a certain ardour took possession of her—a sense of the earnestness of his affection and a delight in his personal qualities He was better than any one else This supreme conviction had filled her life for months and enough of it still remained to prove to her that she could not have done otherwise The finest—in the sense of being the subtlest—manly organism she had ever known had become her property and the recognition of her having but to put out her hands and take it had been originally a sort of act of devotion She had not been mistaken about the beauty of his mind she knew that organ perfectly now She had lived with it she had lived IN it almost—it appeared to have become her habitation If she had been captured it had taken a firm hand to seize her that reflection perhaps had some worth A mind more ingenious more pliant more cultivated more trained to admirable exercises she had not encountered and it was this exquisite instrument she had now to reckon with She lost herself in infinite dismay when she thought of the magnitude of HIS deception It was a wonder perhaps in view of this that he didnt hate her more She remembered perfectly the first sign he had given of it—it had been like the bell that was to ring up the curtain upon the real drama of their life He said to her one day that she had too many ideas and that she must get rid of them He had told her that already before their marriage but then she had not noticed it it had come back to her only afterwards This time she might well have noticed it because he had really meant it The words had been nothing superficially but when in the light of deepening experience she had looked into them they had then appeared portentous He had really meant it—he would have liked her to have nothing of her own but her pretty appearance She had known she had too many ideas she had more even than he had supposed many more than she had expressed to him when he had asked her to marry him Yes she HAD been hypocritical she had liked him so much She had too many ideas for herself but that was just what one married for to share them with some one else One couldnt pluck them up by the roots though of course one might suppress them be careful not to utter them It had not been this however his objecting to her opinions this had been nothing She had no opinions—none that she would not have been eager to sacrifice in the satisfaction of feeling herself loved for it What he had meant had been the whole thing—her character the way she felt the way she judged This was what she had kept in reserve this was what he had not known until he had found himself—with the door closed behind as it were—set down face to face with it She had a certain way of looking at life which he took as a personal offence Heaven knew that now at least it was a very humble accommodating way The strange thing was that she should not have suspected from the first that his own had been so different She had thought it so large so enlightened so perfectly that of an honest man and a gentleman Hadnt he assured her that he had no superstitions no dull limitations no prejudices that had lost their freshness Hadnt he all the appearance of a man living in the open air of the world indifferent to small considerations caring only for truth and knowledge and believing that two intelligent people ought to look for them together and whether they found them or not find at least some happiness in the search He had told her he loved the conventional but there was a sense in which this seemed a noble declaration In that sense that of the love of harmony and order and decency and of all the stately offices of life she went with him freely and his warning had contained nothing ominous But when as the months had elapsed she had followed him further and he had led her into the mansion of his own habitation then THEN she had seen where she really was
She could live it over again the incredulous terror with which she had taken the measure of her dwelling Between those four walls she had lived ever since they were to surround her for the rest of her life It was the house of darkness the house of dumbness the house of suffocation Osmonds beautiful mind gave it neither light nor air Osmonds beautiful mind indeed seemed to peep down from a small high window and mock at her Of course it had not been physical suffering for physical suffering there might have been a remedy She could come and go she had her liberty her husband was perfectly polite He took himself so seriously it was something appalling Under all his culture his cleverness his amenity under his goodnature his facility his knowledge of life his egotism lay hidden like a serpent in a bank of flowers She had taken him seriously but she had not taken him so seriously as that How could she—especially when she had known him better She was to think of him as he thought of himself—as the first gentleman in Europe So it was that she had thought of him at first and that indeed was the reason she had married him But when she began to see what it implied she drew back there was more in the bond than she had meant to put her name to It implied a sovereign contempt for every one but some three or four very exalted people whom he envied and for everything in the world but half a dozen ideas of his own That was very well she would have gone with him even there a long distance for he pointed out to her so much of the baseness and shabbiness of life opened her eyes so wide to the stupidity the depravity the ignorance of mankind that she had been properly impressed with the infinite vulgarity of things and of the virtue of keeping ones self unspotted by it But this base if noble world it appeared was after all what one was to live for one was to keep it forever in ones eye in order not to enlighten or convert or redeem it but to extract from it some recognition of ones own superiority On the one hand it was despicable but on the other it afforded a standard Osmond had talked to Isabel about his renunciation his indifference the ease with which he dispensed with the usual aids to success and all this had seemed to her admirable She had thought it a grand indifference an exquisite independence But indifference was really the last of his qualities she had never seen any one who thought so much of others For herself avowedly the world had always interested her and the study of her fellow creatures been her constant passion She would have been willing however to renounce all her curiosities and sympathies for the sake of a personal life if the person concerned had only been able to make her believe it was a gain This at least was her present conviction and the thing certainly would have been easier than to care for society as Osmond cared for it
He was unable to live without it and she saw that he had never really done so he had looked at it out of his window even when he appeared to be most detached from it He had his ideal just as she had tried to have hers only it was strange that people should seek for justice in such different quarters His ideal was a conception of high prosperity and propriety of the aristocratic life which she now saw that he deemed himself always in essence at least to have led He had never lapsed from it for an hour he would never have recovered from the shame of doing so That again was very well here too she would have agreed but they attached such different ideas such different associations and desires to the same formulas Her notion of the aristocratic life was simply the union of great knowledge with great liberty the knowledge would give one a sense of duty and the liberty a sense of enjoyment But for Osmond it was altogether a thing of forms a conscious calculated attitude He was fond of the old the consecrated the transmitted so was she but she pretended to do what she chose with it He had an immense esteem for tradition he had told her once that the best thing in the world was to have it but that if one was so unfortunate as not to have it one must immediately proceed to make it She knew that he meant by this that she hadnt it but that he was better off though from what source he had derived his traditions she never learned He had a very large collection of them however that was very certain and after a little she began to see The great thing was to act in accordance with them the great thing not only for him but for her Isabel had an undefined conviction that to serve for another person than their proprietor traditions must be of a thoroughly superior kind but she nevertheless assented to this intimation that she too must march to the stately music that floated down from unknown periods in her husbands past she who of old had been so free of step so desultory so devious so much the reverse of processional There were certain things they must do a certain posture they must take certain people they must know and not know When she saw this rigid system close about her draped though it was in pictured tapestries that sense of darkness and suffocation of which I have spoken took possession of her she seemed shut up with an odour of mould and decay She had resisted of course at first very humorously ironically tenderly then as the situation grew more serious eagerly passionately pleadingly She had pleaded the cause of freedom of doing as they chose of not caring for the aspect and denomination of their life—the cause of other instincts and longings of quite another ideal
Then it was that her husbands personality touched as it never had been stepped forth and stood erect The things she had said were answered only by his scorn and she could see he was ineffably ashamed of her What did he think of her—that she was base vulgar ignoble He at least knew now that she had no traditions It had not been in his prevision of things that she should reveal such flatness her sentiments were worthy of a radical newspaper or a Unitarian preacher The real offence as she ultimately perceived was her having a mind of her own at all Her mind was to be his—attached to his own like a small gardenplot to a deerpark He would rake the soil gently and water the flowers he would weed the beds and gather an occasional nosegay It would be a pretty piece of property for a proprietor already farreaching He didnt wish her to be stupid On the contrary it was because she was clever that she had pleased him But he expected her intelligence to operate altogether in his favour and so far from desiring her mind to be a blank he had flattered himself that it would be richly receptive He had expected his wife to feel with him and for him to enter into his opinions his ambitions his preferences and Isabel was obliged to confess that this was no great insolence on the part of a man so accomplished and a husband originally at least so tender But there were certain things she could never take in To begin with they were hideously unclean She was not a daughter of the Puritans but for all that she believed in such a thing as chastity and even as decency It would appear that Osmond was far from doing anything of the sort some of his traditions made her push back her skirts Did all women have lovers Did they all lie and even the best have their price Were there only three or four that didnt deceive their husbands When Isabel heard such things she felt a greater scorn for them than for the gossip of a village parlour—a scorn that kept its freshness in a very tainted air There was the taint of her sisterinlaw did her husband judge only by the Countess Gemini This lady very often lied and she had practised deceptions that were not simply verbal It was enough to find these facts assumed among Osmonds traditions—it was enough without giving them such a general extension It was her scorn of his assumptions it was this that made him draw himself up He had plenty of contempt and it was proper his wife should be as well furnished but that she should turn the hot light of her disdain upon his own conception of things—this was a danger he had not allowed for He believed he should have regulated her emotions before she came to it and Isabel could easily imagine how his ears had scorched on his discovering he had been too confident When one had a wife who gave one that sensation there was nothing left but to hate her
She was morally certain now that this feeling of hatred which at first had been a refuge and a refreshment had become the occupation and comfort of his life The feeling was deep because it was sincere he had had the revelation that she could after all dispense with him If to herself the idea was startling if it presented itself at first as a kind of infidelity a capacity for pollution what infinite effect might it not be expected to have had upon HIM It was very simple he despised her she had no traditions and the moral horizon of a Unitarian minister Poor Isabel who had never been able to understand Unitarianism This was the certitude she had been living with now for a time that she had ceased to measure What was coming—what was before them That was her constant question What would he do—what ought SHE to do When a man hated his wife what did it lead to She didnt hate him that she was sure of for every little while she felt a passionate wish to give him a pleasant surprise Very often however she felt afraid and it used to come over her as I have intimated that she had deceived him at the very first They were strangely married at all events and it was a horrible life Until that morning he had scarcely spoken to her for a week his manner was as dry as a burnedout fire She knew there was a special reason he was displeased at Ralph Touchetts staying on in Rome He thought she saw too much of her cousin—he had told her a week before it was indecent she should go to him at his hotel He would have said more than this if Ralphs invalid state had not appeared to make it brutal to denounce him but having had to contain himself had only deepened his disgust Isabel read all this as she would have read the hour on the clockface she was as perfectly aware that the sight of her interest in her cousin stirred her husbands rage as if Osmond had locked her into her room—which she was sure was what he wanted to do It was her honest belief that on the whole she was not defiant but she certainly couldnt pretend to be indifferent to Ralph She believed he was dying at last and that she should never see him again and this gave her a tenderness for him that she had never known before Nothing was a pleasure to her now how could anything be a pleasure to a woman who knew that she had thrown away her life There was an everlasting weight on her heart—there was a livid light on everything But Ralphs little visit was a lamp in the darkness for the hour that she sat with him her ache for herself became somehow her ache for HIM She felt today as if he had been her brother She had never had a brother but if she had and she were in trouble and he were dying he would be dear to her as Ralph was Ah yes if Gilbert was jealous of her there was perhaps some reason it didnt make Gilbert look better to sit for half an hour with Ralph It was not that they talked of him—it was not that she complained His name was never uttered between them It was simply that Ralph was generous and that her husband was not There was something in Ralphs talk in his smile in the mere fact of his being in Rome that made the blasted circle round which she walked more spacious He made her feel the good of the world he made her feel what might have been He was after all as intelligent as Osmond—quite apart from his being better And thus it seemed to her an act of devotion to conceal her misery from him She concealed it elaborately she was perpetually in their talk hanging out curtains and before her again—it lived before her again—it had never had time to die—that morning in the garden at Florence when he had warned her against Osmond She had only to close her eyes to see the place to hear his voice to feel the warm sweet air How could he have known What a mystery what a wonder of wisdom As intelligent as Gilbert He was much more intelligent—to arrive at such a judgement as that Gilbert had never been so deep so just She had told him then that from her at least he should never know if he was right and this was what she was taking care of now It gave her plenty to do there was passion exaltation religion in it Women find their religion sometimes in strange exercises and Isabel at present in playing a part before her cousin had an idea that she was doing him a kindness It would have been a kindness perhaps if he had been for a single instant a dupe As it was the kindness consisted mainly in trying to make him believe that he had once wounded her greatly and that the event had put him to shame but that as she was very generous and he was so ill she bore him no grudge and even considerately forbore to flaunt her happiness in his face Ralph smiled to himself as he lay on his sofa at this extraordinary form of consideration but he forgave her for having forgiven him She didnt wish him to have the pain of knowing she was unhappy that was the great thing and it didnt matter that such knowledge would rather have righted him
For herself she lingered in the soundless saloon long after the fire had gone out There was no danger of her feeling the cold she was in a fever She heard the small hours strike and then the great ones but her vigil took no heed of time Her mind assailed by visions was in a state of extraordinary activity and her visions might as well come to her there where she sat up to meet them as on her pillow to make a mockery of rest As I have said she believed she was not defiant and what could be a better proof of it than that she should linger there half the night trying to persuade herself that there was no reason why Pansy shouldnt be married as you would put a letter in the postoffice When the clock struck four she got up she was going to bed at last for the lamp had long since gone out and the candles burned down to their sockets But even then she stopped again in the middle of the room and stood there gazing at a remembered vision—that of her husband and Madame Merle unconsciously and familiarly associated
CHAPTER XLIII
Three nights after this she took Pansy to a great party to which Osmond who never went to dances did not accompany them Pansy was as ready for a dance as ever she was not of a generalising turn and had not extended to other pleasures the interdict she had seen placed on those of love If she was biding her time or hoping to circumvent her father she must have had a prevision of success Isabel thought this unlikely it was much more likely that Pansy had simply determined to be a good girl She had never had such a chance and she had a proper esteem for chances She carried herself no less attentively than usual and kept no less anxious an eye upon her vaporous skirts she held her bouquet very tight and counted over the flowers for the twentieth time She made Isabel feel old it seemed so long since she had been in a flutter about a ball Pansy who was greatly admired was never in want of partners and very soon after their arrival she gave Isabel who was not dancing her bouquet to hold Isabel had rendered her this service for some minutes when she became aware of the near presence of Edward Rosier He stood before her he had lost his affable smile and wore a look of almost military resolution The change in his appearance would have made Isabel smile if she had not felt his case to be at bottom a hard one he had always smelt so much more of heliotrope than of gunpowder He looked at her a moment somewhat fiercely as if to notify her he was dangerous and then dropped his eyes on her bouquet After he had inspected it his glance softened and he said quickly Its all pansies it must be hers
Isabel smiled kindly Yes its hers she gave it to me to hold
May I hold it a little Mrs Osmond the poor young man asked
No I cant trust you Im afraid you wouldnt give it back
Im not sure that I should I should leave the house with it instantly But may I not at least have a single flower
Isabel hesitated a moment and then smiling still held out the bouquet Choose one yourself Its frightful what Im doing for you
Ah if you do no more than this Mrs Osmond Rosier exclaimed with his glass in one eye carefully choosing his flower
Dont put it into your buttonhole she said Dont for the world
I should like her to see it She has refused to dance with me but I wish to show her that I believe in her still
Its very well to show it to her but its out of place to show it to others Her father has told her not to dance with you
And is that all YOU can do for me I expected more from you Mrs Osmond said the young man in a tone of fine general reference You know our acquaintance goes back very far—quite into the days of our innocent childhood
Dont make me out too old Isabel patiently answered You come back to that very often and Ive never denied it But I must tell you that old friends as we are if you had done me the honour to ask me to marry you I should have refused you on the spot
Ah you dont esteem me then Say at once that you think me a mere Parisian trifler
I esteem you very much but Im not in love with you What I mean by that of course is that Im not in love with you for Pansy
Very good I see You pity me—thats all And Edward Rosier looked all round inconsequently with his single glass It was a revelation to him that people shouldnt be more pleased but he was at least too proud to show that the deficiency struck him as general
Isabel for a moment said nothing His manner and appearance had not the dignity of the deepest tragedy his little glass among other things was against that But she suddenly felt touched her own unhappiness after all had something in common with his and it came over her more than before that here in recognisable if not in romantic form was the most affecting thing in the world—young love struggling with adversity Would you really be very kind to her she finally asked in a low tone
He dropped his eyes devoutly and raised the little flower that he held in his fingers to his lips Then he looked at her You pity me but dont you pity HER a little
I dont know Im not sure Shell always enjoy life
It will depend on what you call life Mr Rosier effectively said She wont enjoy being tortured
Therell be nothing of that
Im glad to hear it She knows what shes about Youll see
I think she does and shell never disobey her father But shes coming back to me Isabel added and I must beg you to go away
Rosier lingered a moment till Pansy came in sight on the arm of her cavalier he stood just long enough to look her in the face Then he walked away holding up his head and the manner in which he achieved this sacrifice to expediency convinced Isabel he was very much in love
Pansy who seldom got disarranged in dancing looking perfectly fresh and cool after this exercise waited a moment and then took back her bouquet Isabel watched her and saw she was counting the flowers whereupon she said to herself that decidedly there were deeper forces at play than she had recognised Pansy had seen Rosier turn away but she said nothing to Isabel about him she talked only of her partner after he had made his bow and retired of the music the floor the rare misfortune of having already torn her dress Isabel was sure however she had discovered her lover to have abstracted a flower though this knowledge was not needed to account for the dutiful grace with which she responded to the appeal of her next partner That perfect amenity under acute constraint was part of a larger system She was again led forth by a flushed young man this time carrying her bouquet and she had not been absent many minutes when Isabel saw Lord Warburton advancing through the crowd He presently drew near and bade her goodevening she had not seen him since the day before He looked about him and then Wheres the little maid he asked It was in this manner that he had formed the harmless habit of alluding to Miss Osmond
Shes dancing said Isabel Youll see her somewhere
He looked among the dancers and at last caught Pansys eye She sees me but she wont notice me he then remarked Are you not dancing
As you see Im a wallflower
Wont you dance with me
Thank you Id rather you should dance with the little maid
One neednt prevent the other—especially as shes engaged
Shes not engaged for everything and you can reserve yourself She dances very hard and youll be the fresher
She dances beautifully said Lord Warburton following her with his eyes Ah at last he added she has given me a smile He stood there with his handsome easy important physiognomy and as Isabel observed him it came over her as it had done before that it was strange a man of his mettle should take an interest in a little maid It struck her as a great incongruity neither Pansys small fascinations nor his own kindness his goodnature not even his need for amusement which was extreme and constant were sufficient to account for it I should like to dance with you he went on in a moment turning back to Isabel but I think I like even better to talk with you
Yes its better and its more worthy of your dignity Great statesmen oughtnt to waltz
Dont be cruel Why did you recommend me then to dance with Miss Osmond
Ah thats different If you danced with her it would look simply like a piece of kindness—as if you were doing it for her amusement If you dance with me youll look as if you were doing it for your own
And pray havent I a right to amuse myself
No not with the affairs of the British Empire on your hands
The British Empire be hanged Youre always laughing at it
Amuse yourself with talking to me said Isabel
Im not sure its really a recreation Youre too pointed Ive always to be defending myself And you strike me as more than usually dangerous tonight Will you absolutely not dance
I cant leave my place Pansy must find me here
He was silent a little Youre wonderfully good to her he said suddenly
Isabel stared a little and smiled Can you imagine ones not being
No indeed I know how one is charmed with her But you must have done a great deal for her
Ive taken her out with me said Isabel smiling still And Ive seen that she has proper clothes
Your society must have been a great benefit to her Youve talked to her advised her helped her to develop
Ah yes if she isnt the rose she has lived near it
She laughed and her companion did as much but there was a certain visible preoccupation in his face which interfered with complete hilarity We all try to live as near it as we can he said after a moments hesitation
Isabel turned away Pansy was about to be restored to her and she welcomed the diversion We know how much she liked Lord Warburton she thought him pleasanter even than the sum of his merits warranted there was something in his friendship that appeared a kind of resource in case of indefinite need it was like having a large balance at the bank She felt happier when he was in the room there was something reassuring in his approach the sound of his voice reminded her of the beneficence of nature Yet for all that it didnt suit her that he should be too near her that he should take too much of her goodwill for granted She was afraid of that she averted herself from it she wished he wouldnt She felt that if he should come too near as it were it might be in her to flash out and bid him keep his distance Pansy came back to Isabel with another rent in her skirt which was the inevitable consequence of the first and which she displayed to Isabel with serious eyes There were too many gentlemen in uniform they wore those dreadful spurs which were fatal to the dresses of little maids It hereupon became apparent that the resources of women are innumerable Isabel devoted herself to Pansys desecrated drapery she fumbled for a pin and repaired the injury she smiled and listened to her account of her adventures Her attention her sympathy were immediate and active and they were in direct proportion to a sentiment with which they were in no way connected—a lively conjecture as to whether Lord Warburton might be trying to make love to her It was not simply his words just then it was others as well it was the reference and the continuity This was what she thought about while she pinned up Pansys dress If it were so as she feared he was of course unwitting he himself had not taken account of his intention But this made it none the more auspicious made the situation none less impossible The sooner he should get back into right relations with things the better He immediately began to talk to Pansy—on whom it was certainly mystifying to see that he dropped a smile of chastened devotion Pansy replied as usual with a little air of conscientious aspiration he had to bend toward her a good deal in conversation and her eyes as usual wandered up and down his robust person as if he had offered it to her for exhibition She always seemed a little frightened yet her fright was not of the painful character that suggests dislike on the contrary she looked as if she knew that he knew she liked him Isabel left them together a little and wandered toward a friend whom she saw near and with whom she talked till the music of the following dance began for which she knew Pansy to be also engaged The girl joined her presently with a little fluttered flush and Isabel who scrupulously took Osmonds view of his daughters complete dependence consigned her as a precious and momentary loan to her appointed partner About all this matter she had her own imaginations her own reserves there were moments when Pansys extreme adhesiveness made each of them to her sense look foolish But Osmond had given her a sort of tableau of her position as his daughters duenna which consisted of gracious alternations of concession and contraction and there were directions of his which she liked to think she obeyed to the letter Perhaps as regards some of them it was because her doing so appeared to reduce them to the absurd
After Pansy had been led away she found Lord Warburton drawing near her again She rested her eyes on him steadily she wished she could sound his thoughts But he had no appearance of confusion She has promised to dance with me later he said
Im glad of that I suppose youve engaged her for the cotillion
At this he looked a little awkward No I didnt ask her for that Its a quadrille
Ah youre not clever said Isabel almost angrily I told her to keep the cotillion in case you should ask for it
Poor little maid fancy that And Lord Warburton laughed frankly Of course I will if you like
If I like Oh if you dance with her only because I like it—
Im afraid I bore her She seems to have a lot of young fellows on her book
Isabel dropped her eyes reflecting rapidly Lord Warburton stood there looking at her and she felt his eyes on her face She felt much inclined to ask him to remove them She didnt do so however she only said to him after a minute with her own raised Please let me understand
Understand what
You told me ten days ago that youd like to marry my stepdaughter Youve not forgotten it
Forgotten it I wrote to Mr Osmond about it this morning
Ah said Isabel he didnt mention to me that he had heard from you
Lord Warburton stammered a little I—I didnt send my letter
Perhaps you forgot THAT
No I wasnt satisfied with it Its an awkward sort of letter to write you know But I shall send it tonight
At three oclock in the morning
I mean later in the course of the day
Very good You still wish then to marry her
Very much indeed
Arent you afraid that youll bore her And as her companion stared at this enquiry Isabel added If she cant dance with you for half an hour how will she be able to dance with you for life
Ah said Lord Warburton readily Ill let her dance with other people About the cotillion the fact is I thought that you—that you—
That I would do it with you I told you Id do nothing
Exactly so that while its going on I might find some quiet corner where we may sit down and talk
Oh said Isabel gravely youre much too considerate of me
When the cotillion came Pansy was found to have engaged herself thinking in perfect humility that Lord Warburton had no intentions Isabel recommended him to seek another partner but he assured her that he would dance with no one but herself As however she had in spite of the remonstrances of her hostess declined other invitations on the ground that she was not dancing at all it was not possible for her to make an exception in Lord Warburtons favour
After all I dont care to dance he said its a barbarous amusement Id much rather talk And he intimated that he had discovered exactly the corner he had been looking for—a quiet nook in one of the smaller rooms where the music would come to them faintly and not interfere with conversation Isabel had decided to let him carry out his idea she wished to be satisfied She wandered away from the ballroom with him though she knew her husband desired she should not lose sight of his daughter It was with his daughters pretendant however that would make it right for Osmond On her way out of the ballroom she came upon Edward Rosier who was standing in a doorway with folded arms looking at the dance in the attitude of a young man without illusions She stopped a moment and asked him if he were not dancing
Certainly not if I cant dance with HER he answered
You had better go away then said Isabel with the manner of good counsel
I shall not go till she does And he let Lord Warburton pass without giving him a look
This nobleman however had noticed the melancholy youth and he asked Isabel who her dismal friend was remarking that he had seen him somewhere before
Its the young man Ive told you about whos in love with Pansy
Ah yes I remember He looks rather bad
He has reason My husband wont listen to him
Whats the matter with him Lord Warburton enquired He seems very harmless
He hasnt money enough and he isnt very clever
Lord Warburton listened with interest he seemed struck with this account of Edward Rosier Dear me he looked a wellsetup young fellow
So he is but my husbands very particular
Oh I see And Lord Warburton paused a moment How much money has he got he then ventured to ask
Some forty thousand francs a year
Sixteen hundred pounds Ah but thats very good you know
So I think My husband however has larger ideas
Yes Ive noticed that your husband has very large ideas Is he really an idiot the young man
An idiot Not in the least hes charming When he was twelve years old I myself was in love with him
He doesnt look much more than twelve today Lord Warburton rejoined vaguely looking about him Then with more point Dont you think we might sit here he asked
Wherever you please The room was a sort of boudoir pervaded by a subdued rosecoloured light a lady and gentleman moved out of it as our friends came in Its very kind of you to take such an interest in Mr Rosier Isabel said
He seems to me rather illtreated He had a face a yard long I wondered what ailed him
Youre a just man said Isabel Youve a kind thought even for a rival
Lord Warburton suddenly turned with a stare A rival Do you call him my rival
Surely—if you both wish to marry the same person
Yes—but since he has no chance
I like you however that may be for putting your self in his place It shows imagination
You like me for it And Lord Warburton looked at her with an uncertain eye I think you mean youre laughing at me for it
Yes Im laughing at you a little But I like you as somebody to laugh at
Ah well then let me enter into his situation a little more What do you suppose one could do for him
Since I have been praising your imagination Ill leave you to imagine that yourself Isabel said Pansy too would like you for that
Miss Osmond Ah she I flatter myself likes me already
Very much I think
He waited a little he was still questioning her face Well then I dont understand you You dont mean that she cares for him
A quick blush sprang to his brow You told me she would have no wish apart from her fathers and as Ive gathered that he would favour me— He paused a little and then suggested Dont you see through his blush
Yes I told you she has an immense wish to please her father and that it would probably take her very far
That seems to me a very proper feeling said Lord Warburton
Certainly its a very proper feeling Isabel remained silent for some moments the room continued empty the sound of the music reached them with its richness softened by the interposing apartments Then at last she said But it hardly strikes me as the sort of feeling to which a man would wish to be indebted for a wife
I dont know if the wifes a good one and he thinks she does well
Yes of course you must think that
I do I cant help it You call that very British of course
No I dont I think Pansy would do wonderfully well to marry you and I dont know who should know it better than you But youre not in love
Ah yes I am Mrs Osmond
Isabel shook her head You like to think you are while you sit here with me But thats not how you strike me
Im not like the young man in the doorway I admit that But what makes it so unnatural Could any one in the world be more loveable than Miss Osmond
No one possibly But love has nothing to do with good reasons
I dont agree with you Im delighted to have good reasons
Of course you are If you were really in love you wouldnt care a straw for them
Ah really in love—really in love Lord Warburton exclaimed folding his arms leaning back his head and stretching himself a little You must remember that Im fortytwo years old I wont pretend Im as I once was
Well if youre sure said Isabel its all right
He answered nothing he sat there with his head back looking before him Abruptly however he changed his position he turned quickly to his friend Why are you so unwilling so sceptical She met his eyes and for a moment they looked straight at each other If she wished to be satisfied she saw something that satisfied her she saw in his expression the gleam of an idea that she was uneasy on her own account—that she was perhaps even in fear It showed a suspicion not a hope but such as it was it told her what she wanted to know Not for an instant should he suspect her of detecting in his proposal of marrying her stepdaughter an implication of increased nearness to herself or of thinking it on such a betrayal ominous In that brief extremely personal gaze however deeper meanings passed between them than they were conscious of at the moment
My dear Lord Warburton she said smiling you may do so far as Im concerned whatever comes into your head
And with this she got up and wandered into the adjoining room where within her companions view she was immediately addressed by a pair of gentlemen high personages in the Roman world who met her as if they had been looking for her While she talked with them she found herself regretting she had moved it looked a little like running away—all the more as Lord Warburton didnt follow her She was glad of this however and at any rate she was satisfied She was so well satisfied that when in passing back into the ballroom she found Edward Rosier still planted in the doorway she stopped and spoke to him again You did right not to go away Ive some comfort for you
I need it the young man softly wailed when I see you so awfully thick with him
Dont speak of him Ill do what I can for you Im afraid it wont be much but what I can Ill do
He looked at her with gloomy obliqueness What has suddenly brought you round
The sense that you are an inconvenience in doorways she answered smiling as she passed him Half an hour later she took leave with Pansy and at the foot of the staircase the two ladies with many other departing guests waited a while for their carriage Just as it approached Lord Warburton came out of the house and assisted them to reach their vehicle He stood a moment at the door asking Pansy if she had amused herself and she having answered him fell back with a little air of fatigue Then Isabel at the window detaining him by a movement of her finger murmured gently Dont forget to send your letter to her father
CHAPTER XLIV
The Countess Gemini was often extremely bored—bored in her own phrase to extinction She had not been extinguished however and she struggled bravely enough with her destiny which had been to marry an unaccommodating Florentine who insisted upon living in his native town where he enjoyed such consideration as might attach to a gentleman whose talent for losing at cards had not the merit of being incidental to an obliging disposition The Count Gemini was not liked even by those who won from him and he bore a name which having a measurable value in Florence was like the local coin of the old Italian states without currency in other parts of the peninsula In Rome he was simply a very dull Florentine and it is not remarkable that he should not have cared to pay frequent visits to a place where to carry it off his dulness needed more explanation than was convenient The Countess lived with her eyes upon Rome and it was the constant grievance of her life that she had not an habitation there She was ashamed to say how seldom she had been allowed to visit that city it scarcely made the matter better that there were other members of the Florentine nobility who never had been there at all She went whenever she could that was all she could say Or rather not all but all she said she could say In fact she had much more to say about it and had often set forth the reasons why she hated Florence and wished to end her days in the shadow of Saint Peters They are reasons however that do not closely concern us and were usually summed up in the declaration that Rome in short was the Eternal City and that Florence was simply a pretty little place like any other The Countess apparently needed to connect the idea of eternity with her amusements She was convinced that society was infinitely more interesting in Rome where you met celebrities all winter at evening parties At Florence there were no celebrities none at least that one had heard of Since her brothers marriage her impatience had greatly increased she was so sure his wife had a more brilliant life than herself She was not so intellectual as Isabel but she was intellectual enough to do justice to Rome—not to the ruins and the catacombs not even perhaps to the monuments and museums the church ceremonies and the scenery but certainly to all the rest She heard a great deal about her sisterinlaw and knew perfectly that Isabel was having a beautiful time She had indeed seen it for herself on the only occasion on which she had enjoyed the hospitality of Palazzo Roccanera She had spent a week there during the first winter of her brothers marriage but she had not been encouraged to renew this satisfaction Osmond didnt want her—that she was perfectly aware of but she would have gone all the same for after all she didnt care two straws about Osmond It was her husband who wouldnt let her and the money question was always a trouble Isabel had been very nice the Countess who had liked her sisterinlaw from the first had not been blinded by envy to Isabels personal merits She had always observed that she got on better with clever women than with silly ones like herself the silly ones could never understand her wisdom whereas the clever ones—the really clever ones—always understood her silliness It appeared to her that different as they were in appearance and general style Isabel and she had somewhere a patch of common ground that they would set their feet upon at last It was not very large but it was firm and they should both know it when once they had really touched it And then she lived with Mrs Osmond under the influence of a pleasant surprise she was constantly expecting that Isabel would look down on her and she as constantly saw this operation postponed She asked herself when it would begin like fireworks or Lent or the opera season not that she cared much but she wondered what kept it in abeyance Her sisterinlaw regarded her with none but level glances and expressed for the poor Countess as little contempt as admiration In reality Isabel would as soon have thought of despising her as of passing a moral judgement on a grasshopper She was not indifferent to her husbands sister however she was rather a little afraid of her She wondered at her she thought her very extraordinary The Countess seemed to her to have no soul she was like a bright rare shell with a polished surface and a remarkably pink lip in which something would rattle when you shook it This rattle was apparently the Countesss spiritual principle a little loose nut that tumbled about inside of her She was too odd for disdain too anomalous for comparisons Isabel would have invited her again there was no question of inviting the Count but Osmond after his marriage had not scrupled to say frankly that Amy was a fool of the worst species—a fool whose folly had the irrepressibility of genius He said at another time that she had no heart and he added in a moment that she had given it all away—in small pieces like a frosted weddingcake The fact of not having been asked was of course another obstacle to the Countesss going again to Rome but at the period with which this history has now to deal she was in receipt of an invitation to spend several weeks at Palazzo Roccanera The proposal had come from Osmond himself who wrote to his sister that she must be prepared to be very quiet Whether or no she found in this phrase all the meaning he had put into it I am unable to say but she accepted the invitation on any terms She was curious moreover for one of the impressions of her former visit had been that her brother had found his match Before the marriage she had been sorry for Isabel so sorry as to have had serious thoughts—if any of the Countesss thoughts were serious—of putting her on her guard But she had let that pass and after a little she was reassured Osmond was as lofty as ever but his wife would not be an easy victim The Countess was not very exact at measurements but it seemed to her that if Isabel should draw herself up she would be the taller spirit of the two What she wanted to learn now was whether Isabel had drawn herself up it would give her immense pleasure to see Osmond overtopped
Several days before she was to start for Rome a servant brought her the card of a visitor—a card with the simple superscription Henrietta C Stackpole The Countess pressed her fingertips to her forehead she didnt remember to have known any such Henrietta as that The servant then remarked that the lady had requested him to say that if the Countess should not recognise her name she would know her well enough on seeing her By the time she appeared before her visitor she had in fact reminded herself that there was once a literary lady at Mrs Touchetts the only woman of letters she had ever encountered—that is the only modern one since she was the daughter of a defunct poetess She recognised Miss Stackpole immediately the more so that Miss Stackpole seemed perfectly unchanged and the Countess who was thoroughly goodnatured thought it rather fine to be called on by a person of that sort of distinction She wondered if Miss Stackpole had come on account of her mother—whether she had heard of the American Corinne Her mother was not at all like Isabels friend the Countess could see at a glance that this lady was much more contemporary and she received an impression of the improvements that were taking place—chiefly in distant countries—in the character the professional character of literary ladies Her mother had been used to wear a Roman scarf thrown over a pair of shoulders timorously bared of their tight black velvet oh the old clothes and a gold laurelwreath set upon a multitude of glossy ringlets She had spoken softly and vaguely with the accent of her Creole ancestors as she always confessed she sighed a great deal and was not at all enterprising But Henrietta the Countess could see was always closely buttoned and compactly braided there was something brisk and businesslike in her appearance her manner was almost conscientiously familiar It was as impossible to imagine her ever vaguely sighing as to imagine a letter posted without its address The Countess could not but feel that the correspondent of the Interviewer was much more in the movement than the American Corinne She explained that she had called on the Countess because she was the only person she knew in Florence and that when she visited a foreign city she liked to see something more than superficial travellers She knew Mrs Touchett but Mrs Touchett was in America and even if she had been in Florence Henrietta would not have put herself out for her since Mrs Touchett was not one of her admirations
Do you mean by that that I am the Countess graciously asked
Well I like you better than I do her said Miss Stackpole I seem to remember that when I saw you before you were very interesting I dont know whether it was an accident or whether its your usual style At any rate I was a good deal struck with what you said I made use of it afterwards in print
Dear me cried the Countess staring and halfalarmed I had no idea I ever said anything remarkable I wish I had known it at the time
It was about the position of woman in this city Miss Stackpole remarked You threw a good deal of light upon it
The position of womans very uncomfortable Is that what you mean And you wrote it down and published it the Countess went on Ah do let me see it
Ill write to them to send you the paper if you like Henrietta said I didnt mention your name I only said a lady of high rank And then I quoted your views
The Countess threw herself hastily backward tossing up her clasped hands Do you know Im rather sorry you didnt mention my name I should have rather liked to see my name in the papers I forget what my views were I have so many But Im not ashamed of them Im not at all like my brother—I suppose you know my brother He thinks it a kind of scandal to be put in the papers if you were to quote him hed never forgive you
He neednt be afraid I shall never refer to him said Miss Stackpole with bland dryness Thats another reason she added why I wanted to come to see you You know Mr Osmond married my dearest friend
Ah yes you were a friend of Isabels I was trying to think what I knew about you
Im quite willing to be known by that Henrietta declared But that isnt what your brother likes to know me by He has tried to break up my relations with Isabel
Dont permit it said the Countess
Thats what I want to talk about Im going to Rome
So am I the Countess cried Well go together
With great pleasure And when I write about my journey Ill mention you by name as my companion
The Countess sprang from her chair and came and sat on the sofa beside her visitor Ah you must send me the paper My husband wont like it but he need never see it Besides he doesnt know how to read
Henriettas large eyes became immense Doesnt know how to read May I put that into my letter
Into your letter
In the Interviewer Thats my paper
Oh yes if you like with his name Are you going to stay with Isabel
Henrietta held up her head gazing a little in silence at her hostess She has not asked me I wrote to her I was coming and she answered that she would engage a room for me at a pension She gave no reason
The Countess listened with extreme interest The reasons Osmond she pregnantly remarked
Isabel ought to make a stand said Miss Stackpole Im afraid she has changed a great deal I told her she would
Im sorry to hear it I hoped she would have her own way Why doesnt my brother like you the Countess ingenuously added
I dont know and I dont care Hes perfectly welcome not to like me I dont want every one to like me I should think less of myself if some people did A journalist cant hope to do much good unless he gets a good deal hated thats the way he knows how his work goes on And its just the same for a lady But I didnt expect it of Isabel
Do you mean that she hates you the Countess enquired
I dont know I want to see Thats what Im going to Rome for
Dear me what a tiresome errand the Countess exclaimed
She doesnt write to me in the same way its easy to see theres a difference If you know anything Miss Stackpole went on I should like to hear it beforehand so as to decide on the line I shall take
The Countess thrust out her under lip and gave a gradual shrug I know very little I see and hear very little of Osmond He doesnt like me any better than he appears to like you
Yet youre not a lady correspondent said Henrietta pensively
Oh he has plenty of reasons Nevertheless theyve invited me—Im to stay in the house And the Countess smiled almost fiercely her exultation for the moment took little account of Miss Stackpoles disappointment
This lady however regarded it very placidly I shouldnt have gone if she HAD asked me That is I think I shouldnt and Im glad I hadnt to make up my mind It would have been a very difficult question I shouldnt have liked to turn away from her and yet I shouldnt have been happy under her roof A pension will suit me very well But thats not all
Romes very good just now said the Countess there are all sorts of brilliant people Did you ever hear of Lord Warburton
Hear of him I know him very well Do you consider him very brilliant Henrietta enquired
I dont know him but Im told hes extremely grand seigneur Hes making love to Isabel
Making love to her
So Im told I dont know the details said the Countess lightly But Isabels pretty safe
Henrietta gazed earnestly at her companion for a moment she said nothing When do you go to Rome she enquired abruptly
Not for a week Im afraid
I shall go tomorrow Henrietta said I think I had better not wait
Dear me Im sorry Im having some dresses made Im told Isabel receives immensely But I shall see you there I shall call on you at your pension Henrietta sat still—she was lost in thought and suddenly the Countess cried Ah but if you dont go with me you cant describe our journey
Miss Stackpole seemed unmoved by this consideration she was thinking of something else and presently expressed it Im not sure that I understand you about Lord Warburton
Understand me I mean hes very nice thats all
Do you consider it nice to make love to married women Henrietta enquired with unprecedented distinctness
The Countess stared and then with a little violent laugh Its certain all the nice men do it Get married and youll see she added
That idea would be enough to prevent me said Miss Stackpole I should want my own husband I shouldnt want any one elses Do you mean that Isabels guilty—guilty— And she paused a little choosing her expression
Do I mean shes guilty Oh dear no not yet I hope I only mean that Osmonds very tiresome and that Lord Warburton as I hear is a great deal at the house Im afraid youre scandalised
No Im just anxious Henrietta said
Ah youre not very complimentary to Isabel You should have more confidence Ill tell you the Countess added quickly if it will be a comfort to you I engage to draw him off
Miss Stackpole answered at first only with the deeper solemnity of her gaze You dont understand me she said after a while I havent the idea you seem to suppose Im not afraid for Isabel—in that way Im only afraid shes unhappy—thats what I want to get at
The Countess gave a dozen turns of the head she looked impatient and sarcastic That may very well be for my part I should like to know whether Osmond is Miss Stackpole had begun a little to bore her
If shes really changed that must be at the bottom of it Henrietta went on
Youll see shell tell you said the Countess
Ah she may NOT tell me—thats what Im afraid of
Well if Osmond isnt amusing himself—in his own old way—I flatter myself I shall discover it the Countess rejoined
I dont care for that said Henrietta
I do immensely If Isabels unhappy Im very sorry for her but I cant help it I might tell her something that would make her worse but I cant tell her anything that would console her What did she go and marry him for If she had listened to me shed have got rid of him Ill forgive her however if I find she has made things hot for him If she has simply allowed him to trample upon her I dont know that I shall even pity her But I dont think thats very likely I count upon finding that if shes miserable she has at least made HIM so
Henrietta got up these seemed to her naturally very dreadful expectations She honestly believed she had no desire to see Mr Osmond unhappy and indeed he could not be for her the subject of a flight of fancy She was on the whole rather disappointed in the Countess whose mind moved in a narrower circle than she had imagined though with a capacity for coarseness even there It will be better if they love each other she said for edification
They cant He cant love any one
I presumed that was the case But it only aggravates my fear for Isabel I shall positively start tomorrow
Isabel certainly has devotees said the Countess smiling very vividly I declare I dont pity her
It may be I cant assist her Miss Stackpole pursued as if it were well not to have illusions
You can have wanted to at any rate thats something I believe thats what you came from America for the Countess suddenly added
Yes I wanted to look after her Henrietta said serenely
Her hostess stood there smiling at her with small bright eyes and an eagerlooking nose with cheeks into each of which a flush had come Ah thats very pretty cest bien gentil Isnt it what they call friendship
I dont know what they call it I thought I had better come
Shes very happy—shes very fortunate the Countess went on She has others besides And then she broke out passionately Shes more fortunate than I Im as unhappy as she—Ive a very bad husband hes a great deal worse than Osmond And Ive no friends I thought I had but theyre gone No one man or woman would do for me what youve done for her
Henrietta was touched there was nature in this bitter effusion She gazed at her companion a moment and then Look here Countess Ill do anything for you that you like Ill wait over and travel with you
Never mind the Countess answered with a quick change of tone only describe me in the newspaper
Henrietta before leaving her however was obliged to make her understand that she could give no fictitious representation of her journey to Rome Miss Stackpole was a strictly veracious reporter On quitting her she took the way to the Lung Arno the sunny quay beside the yellow river where the brightfaced inns familiar to tourists stand all in a row She had learned her way before this through the streets of Florence she was very quick in such matters and was therefore able to turn with great decision of step out of the little square which forms the approach to the bridge of the Holy Trinity She proceeded to the left toward the Ponte Vecchio and stopped in front of one of the hotels which overlook that delightful structure Here she drew forth a small pocketbook took from it a card and a pencil and after meditating a moment wrote a few words It is our privilege to look over her shoulder and if we exercise it we may read the brief query Could I see you this evening for a few moments on a very important matter Henrietta added that she should start on the morrow for Rome Armed with this little document she approached the porter who now had taken up his station in the doorway and asked if Mr Goodwood were at home The porter replied as porters always reply that he had gone out about twenty minutes before whereupon Henrietta presented her card and begged it might be handed him on his return She left the inn and pursued her course along the quay to the severe portico of the Uffizi through which she presently reached the entrance of the famous gallery of paintings Making her way in she ascended the high staircase which leads to the upper chambers The long corridor glazed on one side and decorated with antique busts which gives admission to these apartments presented an empty vista in which the bright winter light twinkled upon the marble floor The gallery is very cold and during the midwinter weeks but scantily visited Miss Stackpole may appear more ardent in her quest of artistic beauty than she has hitherto struck us as being but she had after all her preferences and admirations One of the latter was the little Correggio of the Tribune—the Virgin kneeling down before the sacred infant who lies in a litter of straw and clapping her hands to him while he delightedly laughs and crows Henrietta had a special devotion to this intimate scene—she thought it the most beautiful picture in the world On her way at present from New York to Rome she was spending but three days in Florence and yet reminded herself that they must not elapse without her paying another visit to her favourite work of art She had a great sense of beauty in all ways and it involved a good many intellectual obligations She was about to turn into the Tribune when a gentleman came out of it whereupon she gave a little exclamation and stood before Caspar Goodwood
Ive just been at your hotel she said I left a card for you
Im very much honoured Caspar Goodwood answered as if he really meant it
It was not to honour you I did it Ive called on you before and I know you dont like it It was to talk to you a little about something
He looked for a moment at the buckle in her hat I shall be very glad to hear what you wish to say
You dont like to talk with me said Henrietta But I dont care for that I dont talk for your amusement I wrote a word to ask you to come and see me but since Ive met you here this will do as well
I was just going away Goodwood stated but of course Ill stop He was civil but not enthusiastic
Henrietta however never looked for great professions and she was so much in earnest that she was thankful he would listen to her on any terms She asked him first none the less if he had seen all the pictures
All I want to Ive been here an hour
I wonder if youve seen my Correggio said Henrietta I came up on purpose to have a look at it She went into the Tribune and he slowly accompanied her
I suppose Ive seen it but I didnt know it was yours I dont remember pictures—especially that sort She had pointed out her favourite work and he asked her if it was about Correggio she wished to talk with him
No said Henrietta its about something less harmonious They had the small brilliant room a splendid cabinet of treasures to themselves there was only a custode hovering about the Medicean Venus I want you to do me a favour Miss Stackpole went on
Caspar Goodwood frowned a little but he expressed no embarrassment at the sense of not looking eager His face was that of a much older man than our earlier friend Im sure its something I shant like he said rather loudly
No I dont think youll like it If you did it would be no favour
Well lets hear it he went on in the tone of a man quite conscious of his patience
You may say theres no particular reason why you should do me a favour Indeed I only know of one the fact that if youd let me Id gladly do you one Her soft exact tone in which there was no attempt at effect had an extreme sincerity and her companion though he presented rather a hard surface couldnt help being touched by it When he was touched he rarely showed it however by the usual signs he neither blushed nor looked away nor looked conscious He only fixed his attention more directly he seemed to consider with added firmness Henrietta continued therefore disinterestedly without the sense of an advantage I may say now indeed—it seems a good time—that if Ive ever annoyed you and I think sometimes I have its because I knew I was willing to suffer annoyance for you Ive troubled you—doubtless But Id TAKE trouble for you
Goodwood hesitated Youre taking trouble now
Yes I am—some I want you to consider whether its better on the whole that you should go to Rome
I thought you were going to say that he answered rather artlessly
You HAVE considered it then
Of course I have very carefully Ive looked all round it Otherwise I shouldnt have come so far as this Thats what I stayed in Paris two months for I was thinking it over
Im afraid you decided as you liked You decided it was best because you were so much attracted
Best for whom do you mean Goodwood demanded
Well for yourself first For Mrs Osmond next
Oh it wont do HER any good I dont flatter myself that
Wont it do her some harm—thats the question
I dont see what it will matter to her Im nothing to Mrs Osmond But if you want to know I do want to see her myself
Yes and thats why you go
Of course it is Could there be a better reason
How will it help you—thats what I want to know said Miss Stackpole
Thats just what I cant tell you Its just what I was thinking about in Paris
It will make you more discontented
Why do you say more so Goodwood asked rather sternly How do you know Im discontented
Well said Henrietta hesitating a little you seem never to have cared for another
How do you know what I care for he cried with a big blush Just now I care to go to Rome
Henrietta looked at him in silence with a sad yet luminous expression Well she observed at last I only wanted to tell you what I think I had it on my mind Of course you think its none of my business But nothing is any ones business on that principle
Its very kind of you Im greatly obliged to you for your interest said Caspar Goodwood I shall go to Rome and I shant hurt Mrs Osmond
You wont hurt her perhaps But will you help her—thats the real issue
Is she in need of help he asked slowly with a penetrating look
Most women always are said Henrietta with conscientious evasiveness and generalising less hopefully than usual If you go to Rome she added I hope youll be a true friend—not a selfish one And she turned off and began to look at the pictures
Caspar Goodwood let her go and stood watching her while she wandered round the room but after a moment he rejoined her Youve heard something about her here he then resumed I should like to know what youve heard
Henrietta had never prevaricated in her life and though on this occasion there might have been a fitness in doing so she decided after thinking some minutes to make no superficial exception Yes Ive heard she answered but as I dont want you to go to Rome I wont tell you
Just as you please I shall see for myself he said Then inconsistently for him Youve heard shes unhappy he added
Oh you wont see that Henrietta exclaimed
I hope not When do you start
Tomorrow by the evening train And you
Goodwood hung back he had no desire to make his journey to Rome in Miss Stackpoles company His indifference to this advantage was not of the same character as Gilbert Osmonds but it had at this moment an equal distinctness It was rather a tribute to Miss Stackpoles virtues than a reference to her faults He thought her very remarkable very brilliant and he had in theory no objection to the class to which she belonged Lady correspondents appeared to him a part of the natural scheme of things in a progressive country and though he never read their letters he supposed that they ministered somehow to social prosperity But it was this very eminence of their position that made him wish Miss Stackpole didnt take so much for granted She took for granted that he was always ready for some allusion to Mrs Osmond she had done so when they met in Paris six weeks after his arrival in Europe and she had repeated the assumption with every successive opportunity He had no wish whatever to allude to Mrs Osmond he was NOT always thinking of her he was perfectly sure of that He was the most reserved the least colloquial of men and this enquiring authoress was constantly flashing her lantern into the quiet darkness of his soul He wished she didnt care so much he even wished though it might seem rather brutal of him that she would leave him alone In spite of this however he just now made other reflections—which show how widely different in effect his illhumour was from Gilbert Osmonds He desired to go immediately to Rome he would have liked to go alone in the nighttrain He hated the European railwaycarriages in which one sat for hours in a vise knee to knee and nose to nose with a foreigner to whom one presently found ones self objecting with all the added vehemence of ones wish to have the window open and if they were worse at night even than by day at least at night one could sleep and dream of an American salooncar But he couldnt take a nighttrain when Miss Stackpole was starting in the morning it struck him that this would be an insult to an unprotected woman Nor could he wait until after she had gone unless he should wait longer than he had patience for It wouldnt do to start the next day She worried him she oppressed him the idea of spending the day in a European railwaycarriage with her offered a complication of irritations Still she was a lady travelling alone it was his duty to put himself out for her There could be no two questions about that it was a perfectly clear necessity He looked extremely grave for some moments and then said wholly without the flourish of gallantry but in a tone of extreme distinctness Of course if youre going tomorrow Ill go too as I may be of assistance to you
Well Mr Goodwood I should hope so Henrietta returned imperturbably
CHAPTER XLV
I have already had reason to say that Isabel knew her husband to be displeased by the continuance of Ralphs visit to Rome That knowledge was very present to her as she went to her cousins hotel the day after she had invited Lord Warburton to give a tangible proof of his sincerity and at this moment as at others she had a sufficient perception of the sources of Osmonds opposition He wished her to have no freedom of mind and he knew perfectly well that Ralph was an apostle of freedom It was just because he was this Isabel said to herself that it was a refreshment to go and see him It will be perceived that she partook of this refreshment in spite of her husbands aversion to it that is partook of it as she flattered herself discreetly She had not as yet undertaken to act in direct opposition to his wishes he was her appointed and inscribed master she gazed at moments with a sort of incredulous blankness at this fact It weighed upon her imagination however constantly present to her mind were all the traditionary decencies and sanctities of marriage The idea of violating them filled her with shame as well as with dread for on giving herself away she had lost sight of this contingency in the perfect belief that her husbands intentions were as generous as her own She seemed to see none the less the rapid approach of the day when she should have to take back something she had solemnly bestown Such a ceremony would be odious and monstrous she tried to shut her eyes to it meanwhile Osmond would do nothing to help it by beginning first he would put that burden upon her to the end He had not yet formally forbidden her to call upon Ralph but she felt sure that unless Ralph should very soon depart this prohibition would come How could poor Ralph depart The weather as yet made it impossible She could perfectly understand her husbands wish for the event she didnt to be just see how he COULD like her to be with her cousin Ralph never said a word against him but Osmonds sore mute protest was none the less founded If he should positively interpose if he should put forth his authority she would have to decide and that wouldnt be easy The prospect made her heart beat and her cheeks burn as I say in advance there were moments when in her wish to avoid an open rupture she found herself wishing Ralph would start even at a risk And it was of no use that when catching herself in this state of mind she called herself a feeble spirit a coward It was not that she loved Ralph less but that almost anything seemed preferable to repudiating the most serious act—the single sacred act—of her life That appeared to make the whole future hideous To break with Osmond once would be to break for ever any open acknowledgement of irreconcilable needs would be an admission that their whole attempt had proved a failure For them there could be no condonement no compromise no easy forgetfulness no formal readjustment They had attempted only one thing but that one thing was to have been exquisite Once they missed it nothing else would do there was no conceivable substitute for that success For the moment Isabel went to the Hotel de Paris as often as she thought well the measure of propriety was in the canon of taste and there couldnt have been a better proof that morality was so to speak a matter of earnest appreciation Isabels application of that measure had been particularly free today for in addition to the general truth that she couldnt leave Ralph to die alone she had something important to ask of him This indeed was Gilberts business as well as her own
She came very soon to what she wished to speak of I want you to answer me a question Its about Lord Warburton
I think I guess your question Ralph answered from his armchair out of which his thin legs protruded at greater length than ever
Very possibly you guess it Please then answer it
Oh I dont say I can do that
Youre intimate with him she said youve a great deal of observation of him
Very true But think how he must dissimulate
Why should he dissimulate Thats not his nature
Ah you must remember that the circumstances are peculiar said Ralph with an air of private amusement
To a certain extent—yes But is he really in love
Very much I think I can make that out
Ah said Isabel with a certain dryness
Ralph looked at her as if his mild hilarity had been touched with mystification You say that as if you were disappointed
Isabel got up slowly smoothing her gloves and eyeing them thoughtfully Its after all no business of mine
Youre very philosophic said her cousin And then in a moment May I enquire what youre talking about
Isabel stared I thought you knew Lord Warburton tells me he wants of all things in the world to marry Pansy Ive told you that before without eliciting a comment from you You might risk one this morning I think Is it your belief that he really cares for her
Ah for Pansy no cried Ralph very positively
But you said just now he did
Ralph waited a moment That he cared for you Mrs Osmond
Isabel shook her head gravely Thats nonsense you know
Of course it is But the nonsense is Warburtons not mine
That would be very tiresome She spoke as she flattered herself with much subtlety
I ought to tell you indeed Ralph went on that to me he has denied it
Its very good of you to talk about it together Has he also told you that hes in love with Pansy
He has spoken very well of her—very properly He has let me know of course that he thinks she would do very well at Lockleigh
Does he really think it
Ah what Warburton really thinks— said Ralph
Isabel fell to smoothing her gloves again they were long loose gloves on which she could freely expend herself Soon however she looked up and then Ah Ralph you give me no help she cried abruptly and passionately
It was the first time she had alluded to the need for help and the words shook her cousin with their violence He gave a long murmur of relief of pity of tenderness it seemed to him that at last the gulf between them had been bridged It was this that made him exclaim in a moment How unhappy you must be
He had no sooner spoken than she recovered her selfpossession and the first use she made of it was to pretend she had not heard him When I talk of your helping me I talk great nonsense she said with a quick smile The idea of my troubling you with my domestic embarrassments The matters very simple Lord Warburton must get on by himself I cant undertake to see him through
He ought to succeed easily said Ralph
Isabel debated Yes—but he has not always succeeded
Very true You know however how that always surprised me Is Miss Osmond capable of giving us a surprise
It will come from him rather I seem to see that after all hell let the matter drop
Hell do nothing dishonourable said Ralph
Im very sure of that Nothing can be more honourable than for him to leave the poor child alone She cares for another person and its cruel to attempt to bribe her by magnificent offers to give him up
Cruel to the other person perhaps—the one she cares for But Warburton isnt obliged to mind that
No cruel to her said Isabel She would be very unhappy if she were to allow herself to be persuaded to desert poor Mr Rosier That idea seems to amuse you of course youre not in love with him He has the merit—for Pansy—of being in love with Pansy She can see at a glance that Lord Warburton isnt
Hed be very good to her said Ralph
He has been good to her already Fortunately however he has not said a word to disturb her He could come and bid her goodbye tomorrow with perfect propriety
How would your husband like that
Not at all and he may be right in not liking it Only he must obtain satisfaction himself
Has he commissioned you to obtain it Ralph ventured to ask
It was natural that as an old friend of Lord Warburtons—an older friend that is than Gilbert—I should take an interest in his intentions
Take an interest in his renouncing them you mean
Isabel hesitated frowning a little Let me understand Are you pleading his cause
Not in the least Im very glad he shouldnt become your stepdaughters husband It makes such a very queer relation to you said Ralph smiling But Im rather nervous lest your husband should think you havent pushed him enough
Isabel found herself able to smile as well as he He knows me well enough not to have expected me to push He himself has no intention of pushing I presume Im not afraid I shall not be able to justify myself she said lightly
Her mask had dropped for an instant but she had put it on again to Ralphs infinite disappointment He had caught a glimpse of her natural face and he wished immensely to look into it He had an almost savage desire to hear her complain of her husband—hear her say that she should be held accountable for Lord Warburtons defection Ralph was certain that this was her situation he knew by instinct in advance the form that in such an event Osmonds displeasure would take It could only take the meanest and cruellest He would have liked to warn Isabel of it—to let her see at least how he judged for her and how he knew It little mattered that Isabel would know much better it was for his own satisfaction more than for hers that he longed to show her he was not deceived He tried and tried again to make her betray Osmond he felt coldblooded cruel dishonourable almost in doing so But it scarcely mattered for he only failed What had she come for then and why did she seem almost to offer him a chance to violate their tacit convention Why did she ask him his advice if she gave him no liberty to answer her How could they talk of her domestic embarrassments as it pleased her humorously to designate them if the principal factor was not to be mentioned These contradictions were themselves but an indication of her trouble and her cry for help just before was the only thing he was bound to consider Youll be decidedly at variance all the same he said in a moment And as she answered nothing looking as if she scarce understood Youll find yourselves thinking very differently he continued
That may easily happen among the most united couples She took up her parasol he saw she was nervous afraid of what he might say Its a matter we can hardly quarrel about however she added for almost all the interest is on his side Thats very natural Pansys after all his daughter—not mine And she put out her hand to wish him goodbye
Ralph took an inward resolution that she shouldnt leave him without his letting her know that he knew everything it seemed too great an opportunity to lose Do you know what his interest will make him say he asked as he took her hand She shook her head rather dryly—not discouragingly—and he went on It will make him say that your want of zeal is owing to jealousy He stopped a moment her face made him afraid
To jealousy
To jealousy of his daughter
She blushed red and threw back her head Youre not kind she said in a voice that he had never heard on her lips
Be frank with me and youll see he answered
But she made no reply she only pulled her hand out of his own which he tried still to hold and rapidly withdrew from the room She made up her mind to speak to Pansy and she took an occasion on the same day going to the girls room before dinner Pansy was already dressed she was always in advance of the time it seemed to illustrate her pretty patience and the graceful stillness with which she could sit and wait At present she was seated in her fresh array before the bedroom fire she had blown out her candles on the completion of her toilet in accordance with the economical habits in which she had been brought up sand which she was now more careful than ever to observe so that the room was lighted only by a couple of logs The rooms in Palazzo Roccanera were as spacious as they were numerous and Pansys virginal bower was an immense chamber with a dark heavilytimbered ceiling Its diminutive mistress in the midst of it appeared but a speck of humanity and as she got up with quick deference to welcome Isabel the latter was more than ever struck with her shy sincerity Isabel had a difficult task—the only thing was to perform it as simply as possible She felt bitter and angry but she warned herself against betraying this heat She was afraid even of looking too grave or at least too stern she was afraid of causing alarm Put Pansy seemed to have guessed she had come more or less as a confessor for after she had moved the chair in which she had been sitting a little nearer to the fire and Isabel had taken her place in it she kneeled down on a cushion in front of her looking up and resting her clasped hands on her stepmothers knees What Isabel wished to do was to hear from her own lips that her mind was not occupied with Lord Warburton but if she desired the assurance she felt herself by no means at liberty to provoke it The girls father would have qualified this as rank treachery and indeed Isabel knew that if Pansy should display the smallest germ of a disposition to encourage Lord Warburton her own duty was to hold her tongue It was difficult to interrogate without appearing to suggest Pansys supreme simplicity an innocence even more complete than Isabel had yet judged it gave to the most tentative enquiry something of the effect of an admonition As she knelt there in the vague firelight with her pretty dress dimly shining her hands folded half in appeal and half in submission her soft eyes raised and fixed full of the seriousness of the situation she looked to Isabel like a childish martyr decked out for sacrifice and scarcely presuming even to hope to avert it When Isabel said to her that she had never yet spoken to her of what might have been going on in relation to her getting married but that her silence had not been indifference or ignorance had only been the desire to leave her at liberty Pansy bent forward raised her face nearer and nearer and with a little murmur which evidently expressed a deep longing answered that she had greatly wished her to speak and that she begged her to advise her now
Its difficult for me to advise you Isabel returned I dont know how I can undertake that Thats for your father you must get his advice and above all you must act on it
At this Pansy dropped her eyes for a moment she said nothing I think I should like your advice better than papas she presently remarked
Thats not as it should be said Isabel coldly I love you very much but your father loves you better
It isnt because you love me—its because youre a lady Pansy answered with the air of saying something very reasonable A lady can advise a young girl better than a man
I advise you then to pay the greatest respect to your fathers wishes
Ah yes said the child eagerly I must do that
But if I speak to you now about your getting married its not for your own sake its for mine Isabel went on If I try to learn from you what you expect what you desire its only that I may act accordingly
Pansy stared and then very quickly Will you do everything I want she asked
Before I say yes I must know what such things are
Pansy presently told her that the only thing she wanted in life was to marry Mr Rosier He had asked her and she had told him she would do so if her papa would allow it Now her papa wouldnt allow it
Very well then its impossible Isabel pronounced
Yes its impossible said Pansy without a sigh and with the same extreme attention in her clear little face
You must think of something else then Isabel went on but Pansy sighing at this told her that she had attempted that feat without the least success
You think of those who think of you she said with a faint smile I know Mr Rosier thinks of me
He ought not to said Isabel loftily Your father has expressly requested he shouldnt
He cant help it because he knows I think of HIM
You shouldnt think of him Theres some excuse for him perhaps but theres none for you
I wish you would try to find one the girl exclaimed as if she were praying to the Madonna
I should be very sorry to attempt it said the Madonna with unusual frigidity If you knew some one else was thinking of you would you think of him
No one can think of me as Mr Rosier does no one has the right
Ah but I dont admit Mr Rosiers right Isabel hypocritically cried
Pansy only gazed at her evidently much puzzled and Isabel taking advantage of it began to represent to her the wretched consequences of disobeying her father At this Pansy stopped her with the assurance that she would never disobey him would never marry without his consent And she announced in the serenest simplest tone that though she might never marry Mr Rosier she would never cease to think of him She appeared to have accepted the idea of eternal singleness but Isabel of course was free to reflect that she had no conception of its meaning She was perfectly sincere she was prepared to give up her lover This might seem an important step toward taking another but for Pansy evidently it failed to lead in that direction She felt no bitterness toward her father there was no bitterness in her heart there was only the sweetness of fidelity to Edward Rosier and a strange exquisite intimation that she could prove it better by remaining single than even by marrying him
Your father would like you to make a better marriage said Isabel Mr Rosiers fortune is not at all large
How do you mean better—if that would be good enough And I have myself so little money why should I look for a fortune
Your having so little is a reason for looking for more With which Isabel was grateful for the dimness of the room she felt as if her face were hideously insincere It was what she was doing for Osmond it was what one had to do for Osmond Pansys solemn eyes fixed on her own almost embarrassed her she was ashamed to think she had made so light of the girls preference
What should you like me to do her companion softly demanded
The question was a terrible one and Isabel took refuge in timorous vagueness To remember all the pleasure its in your power to give your father
To marry some one else you mean—if he should ask me
For a moment Isabels answer caused itself to be waited for then she heard herself utter it in the stillness that Pansys attention seemed to make Yes—to marry some one else
The childs eyes grew more penetrating Isabel believed she was doubting her sincerity and the impression took force from her slowly getting up from her cushion She stood there a moment with her small hands unclasped and then quavered out Well I hope no one will ask me
There has been a question of that Some one else would have been ready to ask you
I dont think he can have been ready said Pansy
It would appear so if he had been sure hed succeed
If he had been sure Then he wasnt ready
Isabel thought this rather sharp she also got up and stood a moment looking into the fire Lord Warburton has shown you great attention she resumed of course you know its of him I speak She found herself against her expectation almost placed in the position of justifying herself which led her to introduce this nobleman more crudely than she had intended
He has been very kind to me and I like him very much But if you mean that hell propose for me I think youre mistaken
Perhaps I am But your father would like it extremely
Pansy shook her head with a little wise smile Lord Warburton wont propose simply to please papa
Your father would like you to encourage him Isabel went on mechanically
How can I encourage him
I dont know Your father must tell you that
Pansy said nothing for a moment she only continued to smile as if she were in possession of a bright assurance Theres no danger—no danger she declared at last
There was a conviction in the way she said this and a felicity in her believing it which conduced to Isabels awkwardness She felt accused of dishonesty and the idea was disgusting To repair her selfrespect she was on the point of saying that Lord Warburton had let her know that there was a danger But she didnt she only said—in her embarrassment rather wide of the mark—that he surely had been most kind most friendly
Yes he has been very kind Pansy answered Thats what I like him for
Why then is the difficulty so great
Ive always felt sure of his knowing that I dont want—what did you say I should do—to encourage him He knows I dont want to marry and he wants me to know that he therefore wont trouble me Thats the meaning of his kindness Its as if he said to me I like you very much but if it doesnt please you Ill never say it again I think thats very kind very noble Pansy went on with deepening positiveness That is all weve said to each other And he doesnt care for me either Ah no theres no danger
Isabel was touched with wonder at the depths of perception of which this submissive little person was capable she felt afraid of Pansys wisdom—began almost to retreat before it You must tell your father that she remarked reservedly
I think Id rather not Pansy unreservedly answered
You oughtnt to let him have false hopes
Perhaps not but it will be good for me that he should So long as he believes that Lord Warburton intends anything of the kind you say papa wont propose any one else And that will be an advantage for me said the child very lucidly
There was something brilliant in her lucidity and it made her companion draw a long breath It relieved this friend of a heavy responsibility Pansy had a sufficient illumination of her own and Isabel felt that she herself just now had no light to spare from her small stock Nevertheless it still clung to her that she must be loyal to Osmond that she was on her honour in dealing with his daughter Under the influence of this sentiment she threw out another suggestion before she retired—a suggestion with which it seemed to her that she should have done her utmost
Your father takes for granted at least that you would like to marry a nobleman
Pansy stood in the open doorway she had drawn back the curtain for Isabel to pass I think Mr Rosier looks like one she remarked very gravely
CHAPTER XLVI
Lord Warburton was not seen in Mrs Osmonds drawingroom for several days and Isabel couldnt fail to observe that her husband said nothing to her about having received a letter from him She couldnt fail to observe either that Osmond was in a state of expectancy and that though it was not agreeable to him to betray it he thought their distinguished friend kept him waiting quite too long At the end of four days he alluded to his absence
What has become of Warburton What does he mean by treating one like a tradesman with a bill
I know nothing about him Isabel said I saw him last Friday at the German ball He told me then that he meant to write to you
He has never written to me
So I supposed from your not having told me
Hes an odd fish said Osmond comprehensively And on Isabels making no rejoinder he went on to enquire whether it took his lordship five days to indite a letter Does he form his words with such difficulty
I dont know Isabel was reduced to replying Ive never had a letter from him
Never had a letter I had an idea that you were at one time in intimate correspondence
She answered that this had not been the case and let the conversation drop On the morrow however coming into the drawingroom late in the afternoon her husband took it up again
When Lord Warburton told you of his intention of writing what did you say to him he asked
She just faltered I think I told him not to forget it
Did you believe there was a danger of that
As you say hes an odd fish
Apparently he has forgotten it said Osmond Be so good as to remind him
Should you like me to write to him she demanded
Ive no objection whatever
You expect too much of me
Ah yes I expect a great deal of you
Im afraid I shall disappoint you said Isabel
My expectations have survived a good deal of disappointment
Of course I know that Think how I must have disappointed myself If you really wish hands laid on Lord Warburton you must lay them yourself
For a couple of minutes Osmond answered nothing then he said That wont be easy with you working against me
Isabel started she felt herself beginning to tremble He had a way of looking at her through halfclosed eyelids as if he were thinking of her but scarcely saw her which seemed to her to have a wonderfully cruel intention It appeared to recognise her as a disagreeable necessity of thought but to ignore her for the time as a presence That effect had never been so marked as now I think you accuse me of something very base she returned
I accuse you of not being trustworthy If he doesnt after all come forward it will be because youve kept him off I dont know that its base it is the kind of thing a woman always thinks she may do Ive no doubt youve the finest ideas about it
I told you I would do what I could she went on
Yes that gained you time
It came over her after he had said this that she had once thought him beautiful How much you must want to make sure of him she exclaimed in a moment
She had no sooner spoken than she perceived the full reach of her words of which she had not been conscious in uttering them They made a comparison between Osmond and herself recalled the fact that she had once held this coveted treasure in her hand and felt herself rich enough to let it fall A momentary exultation took possession of her—a horrible delight in having wounded him for his face instantly told her that none of the force of her exclamation was lost He expressed nothing otherwise however he only said quickly Yes I want it immensely
At this moment a servant came in to usher a visitor and he was followed the next by Lord Warburton who received a visible check on seeing Osmond He looked rapidly from the master of the house to the mistress a movement that seemed to denote a reluctance to interrupt or even a perception of ominous conditions Then he advanced with his English address in which a vague shyness seemed to offer itself as an element of goodbreeding in which the only defect was a difficulty in achieving transitions Osmond was embarrassed he found nothing to say but Isabel remarked promptly enough that they had been in the act of talking about their visitor Upon this her husband added that they hadnt known what was become of him—they had been afraid he had gone away No he explained smiling and looking at Osmond Im only on the point of going And then he mentioned that he found himself suddenly recalled to England he should start on the morrow or the day after Im awfully sorry to leave poor Touchett he ended by exclaiming
For a moment neither of his companions spoke Osmond only leaned back in his chair listening Isabel didnt look at him she could only fancy how he looked Her eyes were on their visitors face where they were the more free to rest that those of his lordship carefully avoided them Yet Isabel was sure that had she met his glance she would have found it expressive You had better take poor Touchett with you she heard her husband say lightly enough in a moment
He had better wait for warmer weather Lord Warburton answered I shouldnt advise him to travel just now
He sat there a quarter of an hour talking as if he might not soon see them again—unless indeed they should come to England a course he strongly recommended Why shouldnt they come to England in the autumn—that struck him as a very happy thought It would give him such pleasure to do what he could for them—to have them come and spend a month with him Osmond by his own admission had been to England but once which was an absurd state of things for a man of his leisure and intelligence It was just the country for him—he would be sure to get on well there Then Lord Warburton asked Isabel if she remembered what a good time she had had there and if she didnt want to try it again Didnt she want to see Gardencourt once more Gardencourt was really very good Touchett didnt take proper care of it but it was the sort of place you could hardly spoil by letting it alone Why didnt they come and pay Touchett a visit He surely must have asked them Hadnt asked them What an illmannered wretch—and Lord Warburton promised to give the master of Gardencourt a piece of his mind Of course it was a mere accident he would be delighted to have them Spending a month with Touchett and a month with himself and seeing all the rest of the people they must know there they really wouldnt find it half bad Lord Warburton added that it would amuse Miss Osmond as well who had told him that she had never been to England and whom he had assured it was a country she deserved to see Of course she didnt need to go to England to be admired—that was her fate everywhere but she would be an immense success there she certainly would if that was any inducement He asked if she were not at home couldnt he say goodbye Not that he liked goodbyes—he always funked them When he left England the other day he hadnt said goodbye to a twolegged creature He had had half a mind to leave Rome without troubling Mrs Osmond for a final interview What could be more dreary than final interviews One never said the things one wanted—one remembered them all an hour afterwards On the other hand one usually said a lot of things one shouldnt simply from a sense that one had to say something Such a sense was upsetting it muddled ones wits He had it at present and that was the effect it produced on him If Mrs Osmond didnt think he spoke as he ought she must set it down to agitation it was no light thing to part with Mrs Osmond He was really very sorry to be going He had thought of writing to her instead of calling—but he would write to her at any rate to tell her a lot of things that would be sure to occur to him as soon as he had left the house They must think seriously about coming to Lockleigh
If there was anything awkward in the conditions of his visit or in the announcement of his departure it failed to come to the surface Lord Warburton talked about his agitation but he showed it in no other manner and Isabel saw that since he had determined on a retreat he was capable of executing it gallantly She was very glad for him she liked him quite well enough to wish him to appear to carry a thing off He would do that on any occasion—not from impudence but simply from the habit of success and Isabel felt it out of her husbands power to frustrate this faculty A complex operation as she sat there went on in her mind On one side she listened to their visitor said what was proper to him read more or less between the lines of what he said himself and wondered how he would have spoken if he had found her alone On the other she had a perfect consciousness of Osmonds emotion She felt almost sorry for him he was condemned to the sharp pain of loss without the relief of cursing He had had a great hope and now as he saw it vanish into smoke he was obliged to sit and smile and twirl his thumbs Not that he troubled himself to smile very brightly he treated their friend on the whole to as vacant a countenance as so clever a man could very well wear It was indeed a part of Osmonds cleverness that he could look consummately uncompromised His present appearance however was not a confession of disappointment it was simply a part of Osmonds habitual system which was to be inexpressive exactly in proportion as he was really intent He had been intent on this prize from the first but he had never allowed his eagerness to irradiate his refined face He had treated his possible soninlaw as he treated every one—with an air of being interested in him only for his own advantage not for any profit to a person already so generally so perfectly provided as Gilbert Osmond He would give no sign now of an inward rage which was the result of a vanished prospect of gain—not the faintest nor subtlest Isabel could be sure of that if it was any satisfaction to her Strangely very strangely it was a satisfaction she wished Lord Warburton to triumph before her husband and at the same time she wished her husband to be very superior before Lord Warburton Osmond in his way was admirable he had like their visitor the advantage of an acquired habit It was not that of succeeding but it was something almost as good—that of not attempting As he leaned back in his place listening but vaguely to the others friendly offers and suppressed explanations—as if it were only proper to assume that they were addressed essentially to his wife—he had at least since so little else was left him the comfort of thinking how well he personally had kept out of it and how the air of indifference which he was now able to wear had the added beauty of consistency It was something to be able to look as if the leavetakers movements had no relation to his own mind The latter did well certainly but Osmonds performance was in its very nature more finished Lord Warburtons position was after all an easy one there was no reason in the world why he shouldnt leave Rome He had had beneficent inclinations but they had stopped short of fruition he had never committed himself and his honour was safe Osmond appeared to take but a moderate interest in the proposal that they should go and stay with him and in his allusion to the success Pansy might extract from their visit He murmured a recognition but left Isabel to say that it was a matter requiring grave consideration Isabel even while she made this remark could see the great vista which had suddenly opened out in her husbands mind with Pansys little figure marching up the middle of it
Lord Warburton had asked leave to bid goodbye to Pansy but neither Isabel nor Osmond had made any motion to send for her He had the air of giving out that his visit must be short he sat on a small chair as if it were only for a moment keeping his hat in his hand But he stayed and stayed Isabel wondered what he was waiting for She believed it was not to see Pansy she had an impression that on the whole he would rather not see Pansy It was of course to see herself alone—he had something to say to her Isabel had no great wish to hear it for she was afraid it would be an explanation and she could perfectly dispense with explanations Osmond however presently got up like a man of good taste to whom it had occurred that so inveterate a visitor might wish to say just the last word of all to the ladies Ive a letter to write before dinner he said you must excuse me Ill see if my daughters disengaged and if she is she shall know youre here Of course when you come to Rome youll always look us up Mrs Osmond will talk to you about the English expedition she decides all those things
The nod with which instead of a handshake he wound up this little speech was perhaps rather a meagre form of salutation but on the whole it was all the occasion demanded Isabel reflected that after he left the room Lord Warburton would have no pretext for saying Your husbands very angry which would have been extremely disagreeable to her Nevertheless if he had done so she would have said Oh dont be anxious He doesnt hate you its me that he hates
It was only when they had been left alone together that her friend showed a certain vague awkwardness—sitting down in another chair handling two or three of the objects that were near him I hope hell make Miss Osmond come he presently remarked I want very much to see her
Im glad its the last time said Isabel
So am I She doesnt care for me
No she doesnt care for you
I dont wonder at it he returned Then he added with inconsequence Youll come to England wont you
I think we had better not
Ah you owe me a visit Dont you remember that you were to have come to Lockleigh once and you never did
Everythings changed since then said Isabel
Not changed for the worse surely—as far as were concerned To see you under my roof—and he hung fire but an instant—would be a great satisfaction
She had feared an explanation but that was the only one that occurred They talked a little of Ralph and in another moment Pansy came in already dressed for dinner and with a little red spot in either cheek She shook hands with Lord Warburton and stood looking up into his face with a fixed smile—a smile that Isabel knew though his lordship probably never suspected it to be near akin to a burst of tears
Im going away he said I want to bid you goodbye
Goodbye Lord Warburton Her voice perceptibly trembled
And I want to tell you how much I wish you may be very happy
Thank you Lord Warburton Pansy answered
He lingered a moment and gave a glance at Isabel You ought to be very happy—youve got a guardian angel
Im sure I shall be happy said Pansy in the tone of a person whose certainties were always cheerful
Such a conviction as that will take you a great way But if it should ever fail you remember—remember— And her interlocutor stammered a little Think of me sometimes you know he said with a vague laugh Then he shook hands with Isabel in silence and presently he was gone
When he had left the room she expected an effusion of tears from her stepdaughter but Pansy in fact treated her to something very different
I think you ARE my guardian angel she exclaimed very sweetly
Isabel shook her head Im not an angel of any kind Im at the most your good friend
Youre a very good friend then—to have asked papa to be gentle with me
Ive asked your father nothing said Isabel wondering
He told me just now to come to the drawingroom and then he gave me a very kind kiss
Ah said Isabel that was quite his own idea
She recognised the idea perfectly it was very characteristic and she was to see a great deal more of it Even with Pansy he couldnt put himself the least in the wrong They were dining out that day and after their dinner they went to another entertainment so that it was not till late in the evening that Isabel saw him alone When Pansy kissed him before going to bed he returned her embrace with even more than his usual munificence and Isabel wondered if he meant it as a hint that his daughter had been injured by the machinations of her stepmother It was a partial expression at any rate of what he continued to expect of his wife She was about to follow Pansy but he remarked that he wished she would remain he had something to say to her Then he walked about the drawingroom a little while she stood waiting in her cloak
I dont understand what you wish to do he said in a moment I should like to know—so that I may know how to act
Just now I wish to go to bed Im very tired
Sit down and rest I shall not keep you long Not there—take a comfortable place And he arranged a multitude of cushions that were scattered in picturesque disorder upon a vast divan This was not however where she seated herself she dropped into the nearest chair The fire had gone out the lights in the great room were few She drew her cloak about her she felt mortally cold I think youre trying to humiliate me Osmond went on Its a most absurd undertaking
I havent the least idea what you mean she returned
Youve played a very deep game youve managed it beautifully
What is it that Ive managed
Youve not quite settled it however we shall see him again And he stopped in front of her with his hands in his pockets looking down at her thoughtfully in his usual way which seemed meant to let her know that she was not an object but only a rather disagreeable incident of thought
If you mean that Lord Warburtons under an obligation to come back youre wrong Isabel said Hes under none whatever
Thats just what I complain of But when I say hell come back I dont mean hell come from a sense of duty
Theres nothing else to make him I think he has quite exhausted Rome
Ah no thats a shallow judgement Romes inexhaustible And Osmond began to walk about again However about that perhaps theres no hurry he added Its rather a good idea of his that we should go to England If it were not for the fear of finding your cousin there I think I should try to persuade you
It may be that youll not find my cousin said Isabel
I should like to be sure of it However I shall be as sure as possible At the same time I should like to see his house that you told me so much about at one time what do you call it—Gardencourt It must be a charming thing And then you know Ive a devotion to the memory of your uncle you made me take a great fancy to him I should like to see where he lived and died That indeed is a detail Your friend was right Pansy ought to see England
Ive no doubt she would enjoy it said Isabel
But thats a long time hence next autumns far off Osmond continued and meantime there are things that more nearly interest us Do you think me so very proud he suddenly asked
I think you very strange
You dont understand me
No not even when you insult me
I dont insult you Im incapable of it I merely speak of certain facts and if the allusions an injury to you the faults not mine Its surely a fact that you have kept all this matter quite in your own hands
Are you going back to Lord Warburton Isabel asked Im very tired of his name
You shall hear it again before weve done with it
She had spoken of his insulting her but it suddenly seemed to her that this ceased to be a pain He was going down—down the vision of such a fall made her almost giddy that was the only pain He was too strange too different he didnt touch her Still the working of his morbid passion was extraordinary and she felt a rising curiosity to know in what light he saw himself justified I might say to you that I judge youve nothing to say to me thats worth hearing she returned in a moment But I should perhaps be wrong Theres a thing that would be worth my hearing—to know in the plainest words of what it is you accuse me
Of having prevented Pansys marriage to Warburton Are those words plain enough
On the contrary I took a great interest in it I told you so and when you told me that you counted on me—that I think was what you said—I accepted the obligation I was a fool to do so but I did it
You pretended to do it and you even pretended reluctance to make me more willing to trust you Then you began to use your ingenuity to get him out of the way
I think I see what you mean said Isabel
Wheres the letter you told me he had written me her husband demanded
I havent the least idea I havent asked him
You stopped it on the way said Osmond
Isabel slowly got up standing there in her white cloak which covered her to her feet she might have represented the angel of disdain first cousin to that of pity Oh Gilbert for a man who was so fine— she exclaimed in a long murmur
I was never so fine as you Youve done everything you wanted Youve got him out of the say without appearing to do so and youve placed me in the position in which you wished to see me—that of a man who has tried to marry his daughter to a lord but has grotesquely failed
Pansy doesnt care for him Shes very glad hes gone Isabel said
That has nothing to do with the matter
And he doesnt care for Pansy
That wont do you told me he did I dont know why you wanted this particular satisfaction Osmond continued you might have taken some other It doesnt seem to me that Ive been presumptuous—that I have taken too much for granted Ive been very modest about it very quiet The idea didnt originate with me He began to show that he liked her before I ever thought of it I left it all to you
Yes you were very glad to leave it to me After this you must attend to such things yourself
He looked at her a moment then he turned away I thought you were very fond of my daughter
Ive never been more so than today
Your affection is attended with immense limitations However that perhaps is natural
Is this all you wished to say to me Isabel asked taking a candle that stood on one of the tables
Are you satisfied Am I sufficiently disappointed
I dont think that on the whole youre disappointed Youve had another opportunity to try to stupefy me
Its not that Its proved that Pansy can aim high
Poor little Pansy said Isabel as she turned away with her candle
CHAPTER XLVII
It was from Henrietta Stackpole that she learned how Caspar Goodwood had come to Rome an event that took place three days after Lord Warburtons departure This latter fact had been preceded by an incident of some importance to Isabel—the temporary absence once again of Madame Merle who had gone to Naples to stay with a friend the happy possessor of a villa at Posilippo Madame Merle had ceased to minister to Isabels happiness who found herself wondering whether the most discreet of women might not also by chance be the most dangerous Sometimes at night she had strange visions she seemed to see her husband and her friend—his friend—in dim indistinguishable combination It seemed to her that she had not done with her this lady had something in reserve Isabels imagination applied itself actively to this elusive point but every now and then it was checked by a nameless dread so that when the charming woman was away from Rome she had almost a consciousness of respite She had already learned from Miss Stackpole that Caspar Goodwood was in Europe Henrietta having written to make it known to her immediately after meeting him in Paris He himself never wrote to Isabel and though he was in Europe she thought it very possible he might not desire to see her Their last interview before her marriage had had quite the character of a complete rupture if she remembered rightly he had said he wished to take his last look at her Since then he had been the most discordant survival of her earlier time—the only one in fact with which a permanent pain was associated He had left her that morning with a sense of the most superfluous of shocks it was like a collision between vessels in broad daylight There had been no mist no hidden current to excuse it and she herself had only wished to steer wide He had bumped against her prow however while her hand was on the tiller and—to complete the metaphor—had given the lighter vessel a strain which still occasionally betrayed itself in a faint creaking It had been horrid to see him because he represented the only serious harm that to her belief she had ever done in the world he was the only person with an unsatisfied claim on her She had made him unhappy she couldnt help it and his unhappiness was a grim reality She had cried with rage after he had left her at—she hardly knew what she tried to think it had been at his want of consideration He had come to her with his unhappiness when her own bliss was so perfect he had done his best to darken the brightness of those pure rays He had not been violent and yet there had been a violence in the impression There had been a violence at any rate in something somewhere perhaps it was only in her own fit of weeping and in that aftersense of the same which had lasted three or four days
The effect of his final appeal had in short faded away and all the first year of her marriage he had dropped out of her books He was a thankless subject of reference it was disagreeable to have to think of a person who was sore and sombre about you and whom you could yet do nothing to relieve It would have been different if she had been able to doubt even a little of his unreconciled state as she doubted of Lord Warburtons unfortunately it was beyond question and this aggressive uncompromising look of it was just what made it unattractive She could never say to herself that here was a sufferer who had compensations as she was able to say in the case of her English suitor She had no faith in Mr Goodwoods compensations and no esteem for them A cotton factory was not a compensation for anything—least of all for having failed to marry Isabel Archer And yet beyond that she hardly knew what he had—save of course his intrinsic qualities Oh he was intrinsic enough she never thought of his even looking for artificial aids If he extended his business—that to the best of her belief was the only form exertion could take with him—it would be because it was an enterprising thing or good for the business not in the least because he might hope it would overlay the past This gave his figure a kind of bareness and bleakness which made the accident of meeting it in memory or in apprehension a peculiar concussion it was deficient in the social drapery commonly muffling in an overcivilized age the sharpness of human contacts His perfect silence moreover the fact that she never heard from him and very seldom heard any mention of him deepened this impression of his loneliness She asked Lily for news of him from time to time but Lily knew nothing of Boston—her imagination was all bounded on the east by Madison Avenue As time went on Isabel had thought of him oftener and with fewer restrictions she had had more than once the idea of writing to him She had never told her husband about him—never let Osmond know of his visits to her in Florence a reserve not dictated in the early period by a want of confidence in Osmond but simply by the consideration that the young mans disappointment was not her secret but his own It would be wrong of her she had believed to convey it to another and Mr Goodwoods affairs could have after all little interest for Gilbert When it had come to the point she had never written to him it seemed to her that considering his grievance the least she could do was to let him alone Nevertheless she would have been glad to be in some way nearer to him It was not that it ever occurred to her that she might have married him even after the consequences of her actual union had grown vivid to her that particular reflection though she indulged in so many had not had the assurance to present itself But on finding herself in trouble he had become a member of that circle of things with which she wished to set herself right I have mentioned how passionately she needed to feel that her unhappiness should not have come to her through her own fault She had no near prospect of dying and yet she wished to make her peace with the world—to put her spiritual affairs in order It came back to her from time to time that there was an account still to be settled with Caspar and she saw herself disposed or able to settle it today on terms easier for him than ever before Still when she learned he was coming to Rome she felt all afraid it would be more disagreeable for him than for any one else to make out—since he WOULD make it out as over a falsified balancesheet or something of that sort—the intimate disarray of her affairs Deep in her breast she believed that he had invested his all in her happiness while the others had invested only a part He was one more person from whom she should have to conceal her stress She was reassured however after he arrived in Rome for he spent several days without coming to see her
Henrietta Stackpole it may well be imagined was more punctual and Isabel was largely favoured with the society of her friend She threw herself into it for now that she had made such a point of keeping her conscience clear that was one way of proving she had not been superficial—the more so as the years in their flight had rather enriched than blighted those peculiarities which had been humorously criticised by persons less interested than Isabel and which were still marked enough to give loyalty a spice of heroism Henrietta was as keen and quick and fresh as ever and as neat and bright and fair Her remarkably open eyes lighted like great glazed railwaystations had put up no shutters her attire had lost none of its crispness her opinions none of their national reference She was by no means quite unchanged however it struck Isabel she had grown vague Of old she had never been vague though undertaking many enquiries at once she had managed to be entire and pointed about each She had a reason for everything she did she fairly bristled with motives Formerly when she came to Europe it was because she wished to see it but now having already seen it she had no such excuse She didnt for a moment pretend that the desire to examine decaying civilisations had anything to do with her present enterprise her journey was rather an expression of her independence of the old world than of a sense of further obligations to it Its nothing to come to Europe she said to Isabel it doesnt seem to me one needs so many reasons for that It is something to stay at home this is much more important It was not therefore with a sense of doing anything very important that she treated herself to another pilgrimage to Rome she had seen the place before and carefully inspected it her present act was simply a sign of familiarity of her knowing all about it of her having as good a right as any one else to be there This was all very well and Henrietta was restless she had a perfect right to be restless too if one came to that But she had after all a better reason for coming to Rome than that she cared for it so little Her friend easily recognised it and with it the worth of the others fidelity She had crossed the stormy ocean in midwinter because she had guessed that Isabel was sad Henrietta guessed a great deal but she had never guessed so happily as that Isabels satisfactions just now were few but even if they had been more numerous there would still have been something of individual joy in her sense of being justified in having always thought highly of Henrietta She had made large concessions with regard to her and had yet insisted that with all abatements she was very valuable It was not her own triumph however that she found good it was simply the relief of confessing to this confidant the first person to whom she had owned it that she was not in the least at her ease Henrietta had herself approached this point with the smallest possible delay and had accused her to her face of being wretched She was a woman she was a sister she was not Ralph nor Lord Warburton nor Caspar Goodwood and Isabel could speak
Yes Im wretched she said very mildly She hated to hear herself say it she tried to say it as judicially as possible
What does he do to you Henrietta asked frowning as if she were enquiring into the operations of a quack doctor
He does nothing But he doesnt like me
Hes very hard to please cried Miss Stackpole Why dont you leave him
I cant change that way Isabel said
Why not I should like to know You wont confess that youve made a mistake Youre too proud
I dont know whether Im too proud But I cant publish my mistake I dont think thats decent Id much rather die
You wont think so always said Henrietta
I dont know what great unhappiness might bring me to but it seems to me I shall always be ashamed One must accept ones deeds I married him before all the world I was perfectly free it was impossible to do anything more deliberate One cant change that way Isabel repeated
You HAVE changed in spite of the impossibility I hope you dont mean to say you like him
Isabel debated No I dont like him I can tell you because Im weary of my secret But thats enough I cant announce it on the housetops
Henrietta gave a laugh Dont you think youre rather too considerate
Its not of him that Im considerate—its of myself Isabel answered
It was not surprising Gilbert Osmond should not have taken comfort in Miss Stackpole his instinct had naturally set him in opposition to a young lady capable of advising his wife to withdraw from the conjugal roof When she arrived in Rome he had said to Isabel that he hoped she would leave her friend the interviewer alone and Isabel had answered that he at least had nothing to fear from her She said to Henrietta that as Osmond didnt like her she couldnt invite her to dine but they could easily see each other in other ways Isabel received Miss Stackpole freely in her own sittingroom and took her repeatedly to drive face to face with Pansy who bending a little forward on the opposite seat of the carriage gazed at the celebrated authoress with a respectful attention which Henrietta occasionally found irritating She complained to Isabel that Miss Osmond had a little look as if she should remember everything one said I dont want to be remembered that way Miss Stackpole declared I consider that my conversation refers only to the moment like the morning papers Your stepdaughter as she sits there looks as if she kept all the back numbers and would bring them out some day against me She could not teach herself to think favourably of Pansy whose absence of initiative of conversation of personal claims seemed to her in a girl of twenty unnatural and even uncanny Isabel presently saw that Osmond would have liked her to urge a little the cause of her friend insist a little upon his receiving her so that he might appear to suffer for good manners sake Her immediate acceptance of his objections put him too much in the wrong—it being in effect one of the disadvantages of expressing contempt that you cannot enjoy at the same time the credit of expressing sympathy Osmond held to his credit and yet he held to his objections—all of which were elements difficult to reconcile The right thing would have been that Miss Stackpole should come to dine at Palazzo Roccanera once or twice so that in spite of his superficial civility always so great she might judge for herself how little pleasure it gave him From the moment however that both the ladies were so unaccommodating there was nothing for Osmond but to wish the lady from New York would take herself off It was surprising how little satisfaction he got from his wifes friends he took occasion to call Isabels attention to it
Youre certainly not fortunate in your intimates I wish you might make a new collection he said to her one morning in reference to nothing visible at the moment but in a tone of ripe reflection which deprived the remark of all brutal abruptness Its as if you had taken the trouble to pick out the people in the world that I have least in common with Your cousin I have always thought a conceited ass—besides his being the most illfavoured animal I know Then its insufferably tiresome that one cant tell him so one must spare him on account of his health His health seems to me the best part of him it gives him privileges enjoyed by no one else If hes so desperately ill theres only one way to prove it but he seems to have no mind for that I cant say much more for the great Warburton When one really thinks of it the cool insolence of that performance was something rare He comes and looks at ones daughter as if she were a suite of apartments he tries the doorhandles and looks out of the windows raps on the walls and almost thinks hell take the place Will you be so good as to draw up a lease Then on the whole he decides that the rooms are too small he doesnt think he could live on a third floor he must look out for a piano nobile And he goes away after having got a months lodging in the poor little apartment for nothing Miss Stackpole however is your most wonderful invention She strikes me as a kind of monster One hasnt a nerve in ones body that she doesnt set quivering You know I never have admitted that shes a woman Do you know what she reminds me of Of a new steel pen—the most odious thing in nature She talks as a steel pen writes arent her letters by the way on ruled paper She thinks and moves and walks and looks exactly as she talks You may say that she doesnt hurt me inasmuch as I dont see her I dont see her but I hear her I hear her all day long Her voice is in my ears I cant get rid of it I know exactly what she says and every inflexion of the tone in which she says it She says charming things about me and they give you great comfort I dont like at all to think she talks about me—I feel as I should feel if I knew the footman were wearing my hat
Henrietta talked about Gilbert Osmond as his wife assured him rather less than he suspected She had plenty of other subjects in two of which the reader may be supposed to be especially interested She let her friend know that Caspar Goodwood had discovered for himself that she was unhappy though indeed her ingenuity was unable to suggest what comfort he hoped to give her by coming to Rome and yet not calling on her They met him twice in the street but he had no appearance of seeing them they were driving and he had a habit of looking straight in front of him as if he proposed to take in but one object at a time Isabel could have fancied she had seen him the day before it must have been with just that face and step that he had walked out of Mrs Touchetts door at the close of their last interview He was dressed just as he had been dressed on that day Isabel remembered the colour of his cravat and yet in spite of this familiar look there was a strangeness in his figure too something that made her feel it afresh to be rather terrible he should have come to Rome He looked bigger and more overtopping than of old and in those days he certainly reached high enough She noticed that the people whom he passed looked back after him but he went straight forward lifting above them a face like a February sky
Miss Stackpoles other topic was very different she gave Isabel the latest news about Mr Bantling He had been out in the United States the year before and she was happy to say she had been able to show him considerable attention She didnt know how much he had enjoyed it but she would undertake to say it had done him good he wasnt the same man when he left as he had been when he came It had opened his eyes and shown him that England wasnt everything He had been very much liked in most places and thought extremely simple—more simple than the English were commonly supposed to be There were people who had thought him affected she didnt know whether they meant that his simplicity was an affectation Some of his questions were too discouraging he thought all the chambermaids were farmers daughters—or all the farmers daughters were chambermaids—she couldnt exactly remember which He hadnt seemed able to grasp the great school system it had been really too much for him On the whole he had behaved as if there were too much of everything—as if he could only take in a small part The part he had chosen was the hotel system and the river navigation He had seemed really fascinated with the hotels he had a photograph of every one he had visited But the river steamers were his principal interest he wanted to do nothing but sail on the big boats They had travelled together from New York to Milwaukee stopping at the most interesting cities on the route and whenever they started afresh he had wanted to know if they could go by the steamer He seemed to have no idea of geography—had an impression that Baltimore was a Western city and was perpetually expecting to arrive at the Mississippi He appeared never to have heard of any river in America but the Mississippi and was unprepared to recognise the existence of the Hudson though obliged to confess at last that it was fully equal to the Rhine They had spent some pleasant hours in the palacecars he was always ordering icecream from the coloured man He could never get used to that idea—that you could get icecream in the cars Of course you couldnt nor fans nor candy nor anything in the English cars He found the heat quite overwhelming and she had told him she indeed expected it was the biggest he had ever experienced He was now in England hunting—hunting round Henrietta called it These amusements were those of the American red men we had left that behind long ago the pleasures of the chase It seemed to be generally believed in England that we wore tomahawks and feathers but such a costume was more in keeping with English habits Mr Bantling would not have time to join her in Italy but when she should go to Paris again he expected to come over He wanted very much to see Versailles again he was very fond of the ancient regime They didnt agree about that but that was what she liked Versailles for that you could see the ancient regime had been swept away There were no dukes and marquises there now she remembered on the contrary one day when there were five American families walking all round Mr Bantling was very anxious that she should take up the subject of England again and he thought she might get on better with it now England had changed a good deal within two or three years He was determined that if she went there he should go to see his sister Lady Pensil and that this time the invitation should come to her straight The mystery about that other one had never been explained
Caspar Goodwood came at last to Palazzo Roccanera he had written Isabel a note beforehand to ask leave This was promptly granted she would be at home at six oclock that afternoon She spent the day wondering what he was coming for—what good he expected to get of it He had presented himself hitherto as a person destitute of the faculty of compromise who would take what he had asked for or take nothing Isabels hospitality however raised no questions and she found no great difficulty in appearing happy enough to deceive him It was her conviction at least that she deceived him made him say to himself that he had been misinformed But she also saw so she believed that he was not disappointed as some other men she was sure would have been he had not come to Rome to look for an opportunity She never found out what he had come for he offered her no explanation there could be none but the very simple one that he wanted to see her In other words he had come for his amusement Isabel followed up this induction with a good deal of eagerness and was delighted to have found a formula that would lay the ghost of this gentlemans ancient grievance If he had come to Rome for his amusement this was exactly what she wanted for if he cared for amusement he had got over his heartache If he had got over his heartache everything was as it should be and her responsibilities were at an end It was true that he took his recreation a little stiffly but he had never been loose and easy and she had every reason to believe he was satisfied with what he saw Henrietta was not in his confidence though he was in hers and Isabel consequently received no sidelight upon his state of mind He was open to little conversation on general topics it came back to her that she had said of him once years before Mr Goodwood speaks a good deal but he doesnt talk He spoke a good deal now but he talked perhaps as little as ever considering that is how much there was in Rome to talk about His arrival was not calculated to simplify her relations with her husband for if Mr Osmond didnt like her friends Mr Goodwood had no claim upon his attention save as having been one of the first of them There was nothing for her to say of him but that he was the very oldest this rather meagre synthesis exhausted the facts She had been obliged to introduce him to Gilbert it was impossible she should not ask him to dinner to her Thursday evenings of which she had grown very weary but to which her husband still held for the sake not so much of inviting people as of not inviting them
To the Thursdays Mr Goodwood came regularly solemnly rather early he appeared to regard them with a good deal of gravity Isabel every now and then had a moment of anger there was something so literal about him she thought he might know that she didnt know what to do with him But she couldnt call him stupid he was not that in the least he was only extraordinarily honest To be as honest as that made a man very different from most people one had to be almost equally honest with HIM She made this latter reflection at the very time she was flattering herself she had persuaded him that she was the most lighthearted of women He never threw any doubt on this point never asked her any personal questions He got on much better with Osmond than had seemed probable Osmond had a great dislike to being counted on in such a case he had an irresistible need of disappointing you It was in virtue of this principle that he gave himself the entertainment of taking a fancy to a perpendicular Bostonian whom he had been depended upon to treat with coldness He asked Isabel if Mr Goodwood also had wanted to marry her and expressed surprise at her not having accepted him It would have been an excellent thing like living under some tall belfry which would strike all the hours and make a queer vibration in the upper air He declared he liked to talk with the great Goodwood it wasnt easy at first you had to climb up an interminable steep staircase up to the top of the tower but when you got there you had a big view and felt a little fresh breeze Osmond as we know had delightful qualities and he gave Caspar Goodwood the benefit of them all Isabel could see that Mr Goodwood thought better of her husband than he had ever wished to he had given her the impression that morning in Florence of being inaccessible to a good impression Gilbert asked him repeatedly to dinner and Mr Goodwood smoked a cigar with him afterwards and even desired to be shown his collections Gilbert said to Isabel that he was very original he was as strong and of as good a style as an English portmanteau—he had plenty of straps and buckles which would never wear out and a capital patent lock Caspar Goodwood took to riding on the Campagna and devoted much time to this exercise it was therefore mainly in the evening that Isabel saw him She bethought herself of saying to him one day that if he were willing he could render her a service And then she added smiling
I dont know however what right I have to ask a service of you
Youre the person in the world who has most right he answered Ive given you assurances that Ive never given any one else
The service was that he should go and see her cousin Ralph who was ill at the Hotel de Paris alone and be as kind to him as possible Mr Goodwood had never seen him but he would know who the poor fellow was if she was not mistaken Ralph had once invited him to Gardencourt Caspar remembered the invitation perfectly and though he was not supposed to be a man of imagination had enough to put himself in the place of a poor gentleman who lay dying at a Roman inn He called at the Hotel de Paris and on being shown into the presence of the master of Gardencourt found Miss Stackpole sitting beside his sofa A singular change had in fact occurred in this ladys relations with Ralph Touchett She had not been asked by Isabel to go and see him but on hearing that he was too ill to come out had immediately gone of her own motion After this she had paid him a daily visit—always under the conviction that they were great enemies Oh yes were intimate enemies Ralph used to say and he accused her freely—as freely as the humour of it would allow—of coming to worry him to death In reality they became excellent friends Henrietta much wondering that she should never have liked him before Ralph liked her exactly as much as he had always done he had never doubted for a moment that she was an excellent fellow They talked about everything and always differed about everything that is but Isabel—a topic as to which Ralph always had a thin forefinger on his lips Mr Bantling on the other hand proved a great resource Ralph was capable of discussing Mr Bantling with Henrietta for hours Discussion was stimulated of course by their inevitable difference of view—Ralph having amused himself with taking the ground that the genial exguardsman was a regular Machiavelli Caspar Goodwood could contribute nothing to such a debate but after he had been left alone with his host he found there were various other matters they could take up It must be admitted that the lady who had just gone out was not one of these Caspar granted all Miss Stackpoles merits in advance but had no further remark to make about her Neither after the first allusions did the two men expatiate upon Mrs Osmond—a theme in which Goodwood perceived as many dangers as Ralph He felt very sorry for that unclassable personage he couldnt bear to see a pleasant man so pleasant for all his queerness so beyond anything to be done There was always something to be done for Goodwood and he did it in this case by repeating several times his visit to the Hotel de Paris It seemed to Isabel that she had been very clever she had artfully disposed of the superfluous Caspar She had given him an occupation she had converted him into a caretaker of Ralph She had a plan of making him travel northward with her cousin as soon as the first mild weather should allow it Lord Warburton had brought Ralph to Rome and Mr Goodwood should take him away There seemed a happy symmetry in this and she was now intensely eager that Ralph should depart She had a constant fear he would die there before her eyes and a horror of the occurrence of this event at an inn by her door which he had so rarely entered Ralph must sink to his last rest in his own dear house in one of those deep dim chambers of Gardencourt where the dark ivy would cluster round the edges of the glimmering window There seemed to Isabel in these days something sacred in Gardencourt no chapter of the past was more perfectly irrecoverable When she thought of the months she had spent there the tears rose to her eyes She flattered herself as I say upon her ingenuity but she had need of all she could muster for several events occurred which seemed to confront and defy her The Countess Gemini arrived from Florence—arrived with her trunks her dresses her chatter her falsehoods her frivolity the strange the unholy legend of the number of her lovers Edward Rosier who had been away somewhere—no one not even Pansy knew where—reappeared in Rome and began to write her long letters which she never answered Madame Merle returned from Naples and said to her with a strange smile What on earth did you do with Lord Warburton As if it were any business of hers
CHAPTER XLVIII
One day toward the end of February Ralph Touchett made up his mind to return to England He had his own reasons for this decision which he was not bound to communicate but Henrietta Stackpole to whom he mentioned his intention flattered herself that she guessed them She forbore to express them however she only said after a moment as she sat by his sofa I suppose you know you cant go alone
Ive no idea of doing that Ralph answered I shall have people with me
What do you mean by people Servants whom you pay
Ah said Ralph jocosely after all theyre human beings
Are there any women among them Miss Stackpole desired to know
You speak as if I had a dozen No I confess I havent a soubrette in my employment
Well said Henrietta calmly you cant go to England that way You must have a womans care
Ive had so much of yours for the past fortnight that it will last me a good while
Youve not had enough of it yet I guess Ill go with you said Henrietta
Go with me Ralph slowly raised himself from his sofa
Yes I know you dont like me but Ill go with you all the same It would be better for your health to lie down again
Ralph looked at her a little then he slowly relapsed I like you very much he said in a moment
Miss Stackpole gave one of her infrequent laughs You neednt think that by saying that you can buy me off Ill go with you and what is more Ill take care of you
Youre a very good woman said Ralph
Wait till I get you safely home before you say that It wont be easy But you had better go all the same
Before she left him Ralph said to her Do you really mean to take care of me
Well I mean to try
I notify you then that I submit Oh I submit And it was perhaps a sign of submission that a few minutes after she had left him alone he burst into a loud fit of laughter It seemed to him so inconsequent such a conclusive proof of his having abdicated all functions and renounced all exercise that he should start on a journey across Europe under the supervision of Miss Stackpole And the great oddity was that the prospect pleased him he was gratefully luxuriously passive He felt even impatient to start and indeed he had an immense longing to see his own house again The end of everything was at hand it seemed to him he could stretch out his arm and touch the goal But he wanted to die at home it was the only wish he had left—to extend himself in the large quiet room where he had last seen his father lie and close his eyes upon the summer dawn
That same day Caspar Goodwood came to see him and he informed his visitor that Miss Stackpole had taken him up and was to conduct him back to England Ah then said Caspar Im afraid I shall be a fifth wheel to the coach Mrs Osmond has made me promise to go with you
Good heavens—its the golden age Youre all too kind
The kindness on my part is to her its hardly to you
Granting that SHES kind smiled Ralph
To get people to go with you Yes thats a sort of kindness Goodwood answered without lending himself to the joke For myself however he added Ill go so far as to say that I would much rather travel with you and Miss Stackpole than with Miss Stackpole alone
And youd rather stay here than do either said Ralph Theres really no need of your coming Henriettas extraordinarily efficient
Im sure of that But Ive promised Mrs Osmond
You can easily get her to let you off
She wouldnt let me off for the world She wants me to look after you but that isnt the principal thing The principal thing is that she wants me to leave Rome
Ah you see too much in it Ralph suggested
I bore her Goodwood went on she has nothing to say to me so she invented that
Oh then if its a convenience to her I certainly will take you with me Though I dont see why it should be a convenience Ralph added in a moment
Well said Caspar Goodwood simply she thinks Im watching her
Watching her
Trying to make out if shes happy
Thats easy to make out said Ralph Shes the most visibly happy woman I know
Exactly so Im satisfied Goodwood answered dryly For all his dryness however he had more to say Ive been watching her I was an old friend and it seemed to me I had the right She pretends to be happy that was what she undertook to be and I thought I should like to see for myself what it amounts to Ive seen he continued with a harsh ring in his voice and I dont want to see any more Im now quite ready to go
Do you know it strikes me as about time you should Ralph rejoined And this was the only conversation these gentlemen had about Isabel Osmond
Henrietta made her preparations for departure and among them she found it proper to say a few words to the Countess Gemini who returned at Miss Stackpoles pension the visit which this lady had paid her in Florence
You were very wrong about Lord Warburton she remarked to the Countess I think it right you should know that
About his making love to Isabel My poor lady he was at her house three times a day He has left traces of his passage the Countess cried
He wished to marry your niece thats why he came to the house
The Countess stared and then with an inconsiderate laugh Is that the story that Isabel tells It isnt bad as such things go If he wishes to marry my niece pray why doesnt he do it Perhaps he has gone to buy the weddingring and will come back with it next month after Im gone
No hell not come back Miss Osmond doesnt wish to marry him
Shes very accommodating I knew she was fond of Isabel but I didnt know she carried it so far
I dont understand you said Henrietta coldly and reflecting that the Countess was unpleasantly perverse I really must stick to my point—that Isabel never encouraged the attentions of Lord Warburton
My dear friend what do you and I know about it All we know is that my brothers capable of everything
I dont know what your brothers capable of said Henrietta with dignity
Its not her encouraging Warburton that I complain of its her sending him away I want particularly to see him Do you suppose she thought I would make him faithless the Countess continued with audacious insistence However shes only keeping him one can feel that The house is full of him there hes quite in the air Oh yes he has left traces Im sure I shall see him yet
Well said Henrietta after a little with one of those inspirations which had made the fortune of her letters to the Interviewer perhaps hell be more successful with you than with Isabel
When she told her friend of the offer she had made Ralph Isabel replied that she could have done nothing that would have pleased her more It had always been her faith that at bottom Ralph and this young woman were made to understand each other I dont care whether he understands me or not Henrietta declared The great thing is that he shouldnt die in the cars
He wont do that Isabel said shaking her head with an extension of faith
He wont if I can help it I see you want us all to go I dont know what you want to do
I want to be alone said Isabel
You wont be that so long as youve so much company at home
Ah theyre part of the comedy You others are spectators
Do you call it a comedy Isabel Archer Henrietta rather grimly asked
The tragedy then if you like Youre all looking at me it makes me uncomfortable
Henrietta engaged in this act for a while Youre like the stricken deer seeking the innermost shade Oh you do give me such a sense of helplessness she broke out
Im not at all helpless There are many things I mean to do
Its not you Im speaking of its myself Its too much having come on purpose to leave you just as I find you
You dont do that you leave me much refreshed Isabel said
Very mild refreshment—sour lemonade I want you to promise me something
I cant do that I shall never make another promise I made such a solemn one four years ago and Ive succeeded so ill in keeping it
Youve had no encouragement In this case I should give you the greatest Leave your husband before the worst comes thats what I want you to promise
The worst What do you call the worst
Before your character gets spoiled
Do you mean my disposition It wont get spoiled Isabel answered smiling Im taking very good care of it Im extremely struck she added turning away with the offhand way in which you speak of a womans leaving her husband Its easy to see youve never had one
Well said Henrietta as if she were beginning an argument nothing is more common in our Western cities and its to them after all that we must look in the future Her argument however does not concern this history which has too many other threads to unwind She announced to Ralph Touchett that she was ready to leave Rome by any train he might designate and Ralph immediately pulled himself together for departure Isabel went to see him at the last and he made the same remark that Henrietta had made It struck him that Isabel was uncommonly glad to get rid of them all
For all answer to this she gently laid her hand on his and said in a low tone with a quick smile My dear Ralph—
It was answer enough and he was quite contented But he went on in the same way jocosely ingenuously Ive seen less of you than I might but its better than nothing And then Ive heard a great deal about you
I dont know from whom leading the life youve done
From the voices of the air Oh from no one else I never let other people speak of you They always say youre charming and thats so flat
I might have seen more of you certainly Isabel said But when ones married one has so much occupation
Fortunately Im not married When you come to see me in England I shall be able to entertain you with all the freedom of a bachelor He continued to talk as if they should certainly meet again and succeeded in making the assumption appear almost just He made no allusion to his term being near to the probability that he should not outlast the summer If he preferred it so Isabel was willing enough the reality was sufficiently distinct without their erecting fingerposts in conversation That had been well enough for the earlier time though about this as about his other affairs Ralph had never been egotistic Isabel spoke of his journey of the stages into which he should divide it of the precautions he should take Henriettas my greatest precaution he went on The conscience of that womans sublime
Certainly shell be very conscientious
Will be She has been Its only because she thinks its her duty that she goes with me Theres a conception of duty for you
Yes its a generous one said Isabel and it makes me deeply ashamed I ought to go with you you know
Your husband wouldnt like that
No he wouldnt like it But I might go all the same
Im startled by the boldness of your imagination Fancy my being a cause of disagreement between a lady and her husband
Thats why I dont go said Isabel simply—yet not very lucidly
Ralph understood well enough however I should think so with all those occupations you speak of
It isnt that Im afraid said Isabel After a pause she repeated as if to make herself rather than him hear the words Im afraid
Ralph could hardly tell what her tone meant it was so strangely deliberate—apparently so void of emotion Did she wish to do public penance for a fault of which she had not been convicted or were her words simply an attempt at enlightened selfanalysis However this might be Ralph could not resist so easy an opportunity Afraid of your husband
Afraid of myself she said getting up She stood there a moment and then added If I were afraid of my husband that would be simply my duty Thats what women are expected to be
Ah yes laughed Ralph but to make up for it theres always some man awfully afraid of some woman
She gave no heed to this pleasantry but suddenly took a different turn With Henrietta at the head of your little band she exclaimed abruptly there will be nothing left for Mr Goodwood
Ah my dear Isabel Ralph answered hes used to that There is nothing left for Mr Goodwood
She coloured and then observed quickly that she must leave him They stood together a moment both her hands were in both of his Youve been my best friend she said
It was for you that I wanted—that I wanted to live But Im of no use to you
Then it came over her more poignantly that she should not see him again She could not accept that she could not part with him that way If you should send for me Id come she said at last
Your husband wont consent to that
Oh yes I can arrange it
I shall keep that for my last pleasure said Ralph
In answer to which she simply kissed him It was a Thursday and that evening Caspar Goodwood came to Palazzo Roccanera He was among the first to arrive and he spent some time in conversation with Gilbert Osmond who almost always was present when his wife received They sat down together and Osmond talkative communicative expansive seemed possessed with a kind of intellectual gaiety He leaned back with his legs crossed lounging and chatting while Goodwood more restless but not at all lively shifted his position played with his hat made the little sofa creak beneath him Osmonds face wore a sharp aggressive smile he was as a man whose perceptions have been quickened by good news He remarked to Goodwood that he was sorry they were to lose him he himself should particularly miss him He saw so few intelligent men—they were surprisingly scarce in Rome He must be sure to come back there was something very refreshing to an inveterate Italian like himself in talking with a genuine outsider
Im very fond of Rome you know Osmond said but theres nothing I like better than to meet people who havent that superstition The modern worlds after all very fine Now youre thoroughly modern and yet are not at all common So many of the moderns we see are such very poor stuff If theyre the children of the future were willing to die young Of course the ancients too are often very tiresome My wife and I like everything thats really new—not the mere pretence of it Theres nothing new unfortunately in ignorance and stupidity We see plenty of that in forms that offer themselves as a revelation of progress of light A revelation of vulgarity Theres a certain kind of vulgarity which I believe is really new I dont think there ever was anything like it before Indeed I dont find vulgarity at all before the present century You see a faint menace of it here and there in the last but today the air has grown so dense that delicate things are literally not recognised Now weve liked you— With which he hesitated a moment laying his hand gently on Goodwoods knee and smiling with a mixture of assurance and embarrassment Im going to say something extremely offensive and patronising but you must let me have the satisfaction of it Weve liked you because—because youve reconciled us a little to the future If there are to be a certain number of people like you—a la bonne heure Im talking for my wife as well as for myself you see She speaks for me my wife why shouldnt I speak for her Were as united you know as the candlestick and the snuffers Am I assuming too much when I say that I think Ive understood from you that your occupations have been—a—commercial Theres a danger in that you know but its the way you have escaped that strikes us Excuse me if my little compliment seems in execrable taste fortunately my wife doesnt hear me What I mean is that you might have been—a—what I was mentioning just now The whole American world was in a conspiracy to make you so But you resisted youve something about you that saved you And yet youre so modern so modern the most modern man we know We shall always be delighted to see you again
I have said that Osmond was in good humour and these remarks will give ample evidence of the fact They were infinitely more personal than he usually cared to be and if Caspar Goodwood had attended to them more closely he might have thought that the defence of delicacy was in rather odd hands We may believe however that Osmond knew very well what he was about and that if he chose to use the tone of patronage with a grossness not in his habits he had an excellent reason for the escapade Goodwood had only a vague sense that he was laying it on somehow he scarcely knew where the mixture was applied Indeed he scarcely knew what Osmond was talking about he wanted to be alone with Isabel and that idea spoke louder to him than her husbands perfectlypitched voice He watched her talking with other people and wondered when she would be at liberty and whether he might ask her to go into one of the other rooms His humour was not like Osmonds of the best there was an element of dull rage in his consciousness of things Up to this time he had not disliked Osmond personally he had only thought him very wellinformed and obliging and more than he had supposed like the person whom Isabel Archer would naturally marry His host had won in the open field a great advantage over him and Goodwood had too strong a sense of fair play to have been moved to underrate him on that account He had not tried positively to think well of him this was a flight of sentimental benevolence of which even in the days when he came nearest to reconciling himself to what had happened Goodwood was quite incapable He accepted him as rather a brilliant personage of the amateurish kind afflicted with a redundancy of leisure which it amused him to work off in little refinements of conversation But he only half trusted him he could never make out why the deuce Osmond should lavish refinements of any sort upon HIM It made him suspect that he found some private entertainment in it and it ministered to a general impression that his triumphant rival had in his composition a streak of perversity He knew indeed that Osmond could have no reason to wish him evil he had nothing to fear from him He had carried off a supreme advantage and could afford to be kind to a man who had lost everything It was true that Goodwood had at times grimly wished he were dead and would have liked to kill him but Osmond had no means of knowing this for practice had made the younger man perfect in the art of appearing inaccessible today to any violent emotion He cultivated this art in order to deceive himself but it was others that he deceived first He cultivated it moreover with very limited success of which there could be no better proof than the deep dumb irritation that reigned in his soul when he heard Osmond speak of his wifes feelings as if he were commissioned to answer for them
That was all he had had an ear for in what his host said to him this evening he had been conscious that Osmond made more of a point even than usual of referring to the conjugal harmony prevailing at Palazzo Roccanera He had been more careful than ever to speak as if he and his wife had all things in sweet community and it were as natural to each of them to say we as to say I In all this there was an air of intention that had puzzled and angered our poor Bostonian who could only reflect for his comfort that Mrs Osmonds relations with her husband were none of his business He had no proof whatever that her husband misrepresented her and if he judged her by the surface of things was bound to believe that she liked her life She had never given him the faintest sign of discontent Miss Stackpole had told him that she had lost her illusions but writing for the papers had made Miss Stackpole sensational She was too fond of early news Moreover since her arrival in Rome she had been much on her guard she had pretty well ceased to flash her lantern at him This indeed it may be said for her would have been quite against her conscience She had now seen the reality of Isabels situation and it had inspired her with a just reserve Whatever could be done to improve it the most useful form of assistance would not be to inflame her former lovers with a sense of her wrongs Miss Stackpole continued to take a deep interest in the state of Mr Goodwoods feelings but she showed it at present only by sending him choice extracts humorous and other from the American journals of which she received several by every post and which she always perused with a pair of scissors in her hand The articles she cut out she placed in an envelope addressed to Mr Goodwood which she left with her own hand at his hotel He never asked her a question about Isabel hadnt he come five thousand miles to see for himself He was thus not in the least authorised to think Mrs Osmond unhappy but the very absence of authorisation operated as an irritant ministered to the harshness with which in spite of his theory that he had ceased to care he now recognised that so far as she was concerned the future had nothing more for him He had not even the satisfaction of knowing the truth apparently he could not even be trusted to respect her if she WERE unhappy He was hopeless helpless useless To this last character she had called his attention by her ingenious plan for making him leave Rome He had no objection whatever to doing what he could for her cousin but it made him grind his teeth to think that of all the services she might have asked of him this was the one she had been eager to select There had been no danger of her choosing one that would have kept him in Rome
Tonight what he was chiefly thinking of was that he was to leave her tomorrow and that he had gained nothing by coming but the knowledge that he was as little wanted as ever About herself he had gained no knowledge she was imperturbable inscrutable impenetrable He felt the old bitterness which he had tried so hard to swallow rise again in his throat and he knew there are disappointments that last as long as life Osmond went on talking Goodwood was vaguely aware that he was touching again upon his perfect intimacy with his wife It seemed to him for a moment that the man had a kind of demonic imagination it was impossible that without malice he should have selected so unusual a topic But what did it matter after all whether he were demonic or not and whether she loved him or hated him She might hate him to the death without ones gaining a straw ones self You travel by the by with Ralph Touchett Osmond said I suppose that means youll move slowly
I dont know I shall do just as he likes
Youre very accommodating Were immensely obliged to you you must really let me say it My wife has probably expressed to you what we feel Touchett has been on our minds all winter it has looked more than once as if he would never leave Rome He ought never to have come its worse than an imprudence for people in that state to travel its a kind of indelicacy I wouldnt for the world be under such an obligation to Touchett as he has been to—to my wife and me Other people inevitably have to look after him and every one isnt so generous as you
Ive nothing else to do Caspar said dryly
Osmond looked at him a moment askance You ought to marry and then youd have plenty to do Its true that in that case you wouldnt be quite so available for deeds of mercy
Do you find that as a married man youre so much occupied the young man mechanically asked
Ah you see being marrieds in itself an occupation It isnt always active its often passive but that takes even more attention Then my wife and I do so many things together We read we study we make music we walk we drive—we talk even as when we first knew each other I delight to this hour in my wifes conversation If youre ever bored take my advice and get married Your wife indeed may bore you in that case but youll never bore yourself Youll always have something to say to yourself—always have a subject of reflection
Im not bored said Goodwood Ive plenty to think about and to say to myself
More than to say to others Osmond exclaimed with a light laugh Where shall you go next I mean after youve consigned Touchett to his natural caretakers—I believe his mothers at last coming back to look after him That little ladys superb she neglects her duties with a finish— Perhaps youll spend the summer in England
I dont know Ive no plans
Happy man Thats a little bleak but its very free
Oh yes Im very free
Free to come back to Rome I hope said Osmond as he saw a group of new visitors enter the room Remember that when you do come we count on you
Goodwood had meant to go away early but the evening elapsed without his having a chance to speak to Isabel otherwise than as one of several associated interlocutors There was something perverse in the inveteracy with which she avoided him his unquenchable rancour discovered an intention where there was certainly no appearance of one There was absolutely no appearance of one She met his eyes with her clear hospitable smile which seemed almost to ask that he would come and help her to entertain some of her visitors To such suggestions however he opposed but a stiff impatience He wandered about and waited he talked to the few people he knew who found him for the first time rather selfcontradictory This was indeed rare with Caspar Goodwood though he often contradicted others There was often music at Palazzo Roccanera and it was usually very good Under cover of the music he managed to contain himself but toward the end when he saw the people beginning to go he drew near to Isabel and asked her in a low tone if he might not speak to her in one of the other rooms which he had just assured himself was empty She smiled as if she wished to oblige him but found her self absolutely prevented Im afraid its impossible People are saying goodnight and I must be where they can see me
I shall wait till they are all gone then
She hesitated a moment Ah that will be delightful she exclaimed
And he waited though it took a long time yet There were several people at the end who seemed tethered to the carpet The Countess Gemini who was never herself till midnight as she said displayed no consciousness that the entertainment was over she had still a little circle of gentlemen in front of the fire who every now and then broke into a united laugh Osmond had disappeared—he never bade goodbye to people and as the Countess was extending her range according to her custom at this period of the evening Isabel had sent Pansy to bed Isabel sat a little apart she too appeared to wish her sisterinlaw would sound a lower note and let the last loiterers depart in peace
May I not say a word to you now Goodwood presently asked her She got up immediately smiling Certainly well go somewhere else if you like They went together leaving the Countess with her little circle and for a moment after they had crossed the threshold neither of them spoke Isabel would not sit down she stood in the middle of the room slowly fanning herself she had for him the same familiar grace She seemed to wait for him to speak Now that he was alone with her all the passion he had never stifled surged into his senses it hummed in his eyes and made things swim round him The bright empty room grew dim and blurred and through the heaving veil he felt her hover before him with gleaming eyes and parted lips If he had seen more distinctly he would have perceived her smile was fixed and a trifle forced—that she was frightened at what she saw in his own face I suppose you wish to bid me goodbye she said
Yes—but I dont like it I dont want to leave Rome he answered with almost plaintive honesty
I can well imagine Its wonderfully good of you I cant tell you how kind I think you
For a moment more he said nothing With a few words like that you make me go
You must come back some day she brightly returned
Some day You mean as long a time hence as possible
Oh no I dont mean all that
What do you mean I dont understand But I said Id go and Ill go Goodwood added
Come back whenever you like said Isabel with attempted lightness
I dont care a straw for your cousin Caspar broke out
Is that what you wished to tell me
No no I didnt want to tell you anything I wanted to ask you— he paused a moment and then—what have you really made of your life he said in a low quick tone He paused again as if for an answer but she said nothing and he went on I cant understand I cant penetrate you What am I to believe—what do you want me to think Still she said nothing she only stood looking at him now quite without pretending to ease Im told youre unhappy and if you are I should like to know it That would be something for me But you yourself say youre happy and youre somehow so still so smooth so hard Youre completely changed You conceal everything I havent really come near you
You come very near Isabel said gently but in a tone of warning
And yet I dont touch you I want to know the truth Have you done well
You ask a great deal
Yes—Ive always asked a great deal Of course you wont tell me I shall never know if you can help it And then its none of my business He had spoken with a visible effort to control himself to give a considerate form to an inconsiderate state of mind But the sense that it was his last chance that he loved her and had lost her that she would think him a fool whatever he should say suddenly gave him a lash and added a deep vibration to his low voice Youre perfectly inscrutable and thats what makes me think youve something to hide I tell you I dont care a straw for your cousin but I dont mean that I dont like him I mean that it isnt because I like him that I go away with him Id go if he were an idiot and you should have asked me If you should ask me Id go to Siberia tomorrow Why do you want me to leave the place You must have some reason for that if you were as contented as you pretend you are you wouldnt care Id rather know the truth about you even if its damnable than have come here for nothing That isnt what I came for I thought I shouldnt care I came because I wanted to assure myself that I neednt think of you any more I havent thought of anything else and youre quite right to wish me to go away But if I must go theres no harm in my letting myself out for a single moment is there If youre really hurt—if HE hurts you—nothing I say will hurt you When I tell you I love you its simply what I came for I thought it was for something else but it was for that I shouldnt say it if I didnt believe I should never see you again Its the last time—let me pluck a single flower Ive no right to say that I know and youve no right to listen But you dont listen you never listen youre always thinking of something else After this I must go of course so I shall at least have a reason Your asking me is no reason not a real one I cant judge by your husband he went on irrelevantly almost incoherently I dont understand him he tells me you adore each other Why does he tell me that What business is it of mine When I say that to you you look strange But you always look strange Yes youve something to hide Its none of my business—very true But I love you said Caspar Goodwood
As he said she looked strange She turned her eyes to the door by which they had entered and raised her fan as if in warning
Youve behaved so well dont spoil it she uttered softly
No one hears me Its wonderful what you tried to put me off with I love you as Ive never loved you
I know it I knew it as soon as you consented to go
You cant help it—of course not You would if you could but you cant unfortunately Unfortunately for me I mean I ask nothing—nothing that is I shouldnt But I do ask one sole satisfaction—that you tell me—that you tell me—
That I tell you what
Whether I may pity you
Should you like that Isabel asked trying to smile again
To pity you Most assuredly That at least would be doing something Id give my life to it
She raised her fan to her face which it covered all except her eyes They rested a moment on his Dont give your life to it but give a thought to it every now and then And with that she went back to the Countess Gemini
CHAPTER XLIX
Madame Merle had not made her appearance at Palazzo Roccanera on the evening of that Thursday of which I have narrated some of the incidents and Isabel though she observed her absence was not surprised by it Things had passed between them which added no stimulus to sociability and to appreciate which we must glance a little backward It has been mentioned that Madame Merle returned from Naples shortly after Lord Warburton had left Rome and that on her first meeting with Isabel whom to do her justice she came immediately to see her first utterance had been an enquiry as to the whereabouts of this nobleman for whom she appeared to hold her dear friend accountable
Please dont talk of him said Isabel for answer weve heard so much of him of late
Madame Merle bent her head on one side a little protestingly and smiled at the left corner of her mouth Youve heard yes But you must remember that Ive not in Naples I hoped to find him here and to be able to congratulate Pansy
You may congratulate Pansy still but not on marrying Lord Warburton
How you say that Dont you know I had set my heart on it Madame Merle asked with a great deal of spirit but still with the intonation of goodhumour
Isabel was discomposed but she was determined to be goodhumoured too You shouldnt have gone to Naples then You should have stayed here to watch the affair
I had too much confidence in you But do you think its too late
You had better ask Pansy said Isabel
I shall ask her what youve said to her
These words seemed to justify the impulse of selfdefence aroused on Isabels part by her perceiving that her visitors attitude was a critical one Madame Merle as we know had been very discreet hitherto she had never criticised she had been markedly afraid of intermeddling But apparently she had only reserved herself for this occasion since she now had a dangerous quickness in her eye and an air of irritation which even her admirable ease was not able to transmute She had suffered a disappointment which excited Isabels surprise—our heroine having no knowledge of her zealous interest in Pansys marriage and she betrayed it in a manner which quickened Mrs Osmonds alarm More clearly than ever before Isabel heard a cold mocking voice proceed from she knew not where in the dim void that surrounded her and declare that this bright strong definite worldly woman this incarnation of the practical the personal the immediate was a powerful agent in her destiny She was nearer to her than Isabel had yet discovered and her nearness was not the charming accident she had so long supposed The sense of accident indeed had died within her that day when she happened to be struck with the manner in which the wonderful lady and her own husband sat together in private No definite suspicion had as yet taken its place but it was enough to make her view this friend with a different eye to have been led to reflect that there was more intention in her past behaviour than she had allowed for at the time Ah yes there had been intention there had been intention Isabel said to herself and she seemed to wake from a long pernicious dream What was it that brought home to her that Madame Merles intention had not been good Nothing but the mistrust which had lately taken body and which married itself now to the fruitful wonder produced by her visitors challenge on behalf of poor Pansy There was something in this challenge which had at the very outset excited an answering defiance a nameless vitality which she could see to have been absent from her friends professions of delicacy and caution Madame Merle had been unwilling to interfere certainly but only so long as there was nothing to interfere with It will perhaps seem to the reader that Isabel went fast in casting doubt on mere suspicion on a sincerity proved by several years of good offices She moved quickly indeed and with reason for a strange truth was filtering into her soul Madame Merles interest was identical with Osmonds that was enough I think Pansy will tell you nothing that will make you more angry she said in answer to her companions last remark
Im not in the least angry Ive only a great desire to retrieve the situation Do you consider that Warburton has left us for ever
I cant tell you I dont understand you Its all over please let it rest Osmond has talked to me a great deal about it and Ive nothing more to say or to hear Ive no doubt Isabel added that hell be very happy to discuss the subject with you
I know what he thinks he came to see me last evening
As soon as you had arrived Then you know all about it and you neednt apply to me for information
It isnt information I want At bottom its sympathy I had set my heart on that marriage the idea did what so few things do—it satisfied the imagination
Your imagination yes But not that of the persons concerned
You mean by that of course that Im not concerned Of course not directly But when ones such an old friend one cant help having something at stake You forget how long Ive known Pansy You mean of course Madame Merle added that YOU are one of the persons concerned
No thats the last thing I mean Im very weary of it all
Madame Merle hesitated a little Ah yes your works done
Take care what you say said Isabel very gravely
Oh I take care never perhaps more than when it appears least Your husband judges you severely
Isabel made for a moment no answer to this she felt choked with bitterness It was not the insolence of Madame Merles informing her that Osmond had been taking her into his confidence as against his wife that struck her most for she was not quick to believe that this was meant for insolence Madame Merle was very rarely insolent and only when it was exactly right It was not right now or at least it was not right yet What touched Isabel like a drop of corrosive acid upon an open wound was the knowledge that Osmond dishonoured her in his words as well as in his thoughts Should you like to know how I judge HIM she asked at last
No because youd never tell me And it would be painful for me to know
There was a pause and for the first time since she had known her Isabel thought Madame Merle disagreeable She wished she would leave her Remember how attractive Pansy is and dont despair she said abruptly with a desire that this should close their interview
But Madame Merles expansive presence underwent no contraction She only gathered her mantle about her and with the movement scattered upon the air a faint agreeable fragrance I dont despair I feel encouraged And I didnt come to scold you I came if possible to learn the truth I know youll tell it if I ask you Its an immense blessing with you that one can count upon that No you wont believe what a comfort I take in it
What truth do you speak of Isabel asked wondering
Just this whether Lord Warburton changed his mind quite of his own movement or because you recommended it To please himself I mean or to please you Think of the confidence I must still have in you in spite of having lost a little of it Madame Merle continued with a smile to ask such a question as that She sat looking at her friend to judge the effect of her words and then went on Now dont be heroic dont be unreasonable dont take offence It seems to me I do you an honour in speaking so I dont know another woman to whom I would do it I havent the least idea that any other woman would tell me the truth And dont you see how well it is that your husband should know it Its true that he doesnt appear to have had any tact whatever in trying to extract it he has indulged in gratuitous suppositions But that doesnt alter the fact that it would make a difference in his view of his daughters prospects to know distinctly what really occurred If Lord Warburton simply got tired of the poor child thats one thing and its a pity If he gave her up to please you its another Thats a pity too but in a different way Then in the latter case youd perhaps resign yourself to not being pleased—to simply seeing your stepdaughter married Let him off—let us have him
Madame Merle had proceeded very deliberately watching her companion and apparently thinking she could proceed safely As she went on Isabel grew pale she clasped her hands more tightly in her lap It was not that her visitor had at last thought it the right time to be insolent for this was not what was most apparent It was a worse horror than that Who are you—what are you Isabel murmured What have you to do with my husband It was strange that for the moment she drew as near to him as if she had loved him
Ah then you take it heroically Im very sorry Dont think however that I shall do so
What have you to do with me Isabel went on
Madame Merle slowly got up stroking her muff but not removing her eyes from Isabels face Everything she answered
Isabel sat there looking up at her without rising her face was almost a prayer to be enlightened But the light of this womans eyes seemed only a darkness Oh misery she murmured at last and she fell back covering her face with her hands It had come over her like a highsurging wave that Mrs Touchett was right Madame Merle had married her Before she uncovered her face again that lady had left the room
Isabel took a drive alone that afternoon she wished to be far away under the sky where she could descend from her carriage and tread upon the daisies She had long before this taken old Rome into her confidence for in a world of ruins the ruin of her happiness seemed a less unnatural catastrophe She rested her weariness upon things that had crumbled for centuries and yet still were upright she dropped her secret sadness into the silence of lonely places where its very modern quality detached itself and grew objective so that as she sat in a sunwarmed angle on a winters day or stood in a mouldy church to which no one came she could almost smile at it and think of its smallness Small it was in the large Roman record and her haunting sense of the continuity of the human lot easily carried her from the less to the greater She had become deeply tenderly acquainted with Rome it interfused and moderated her passion But she had grown to think of it chiefly as the place where people had suffered This was what came to her in the starved churches where the marble columns transferred from pagan ruins seemed to offer her a companionship in endurance and the musty incense to be a compound of longunanswered prayers There was no gentler nor less consistent heretic than Isabel the firmest of worshippers gazing at dark altarpictures or clustered candles could not have felt more intimately the suggestiveness of these objects nor have been more liable at such moments to a spiritual visitation Pansy as we know was almost always her companion and of late the Countess Gemini balancing a pink parasol had lent brilliancy to their equipage but she still occasionally found herself alone when it suited her mood and where it suited the place On such occasions she had several resorts the most accessible of which perhaps was a seat on the low parapet which edges the wide grassy space before the high cold front of Saint John Lateran whence you look across the Campagna at the fartrailing outline of the Alban Mount and at that mighty plain between which is still so full of all that has passed from it After the departure of her cousin and his companions she roamed more than usual she carried her sombre spirit from one familiar shrine to the other Even when Pansy and the Countess were with her she felt the touch of a vanished world The carriage leaving the walls of Rome behind rolled through narrow lanes where the wild honeysuckle had begun to tangle itself in the hedges or waited for her in quiet places where the fields lay near while she strolled further and further over the flowerfreckled turf or sat on a stone that had once had a use and gazed through the veil of her personal sadness at the splendid sadness of the scene—at the dense warm light the far gradations and soft confusions of colour the motionless shepherds in lonely attitudes the hills where the cloudshadows had the lightness of a blush
On the afternoon I began with speaking of she had taken a resolution not to think of Madame Merle but the resolution proved vain and this ladys image hovered constantly before her She asked herself with an almost childlike horror of the supposition whether to this intimate friend of several years the great historical epithet of wicked were to be applied She knew the idea only by the Bible and other literary works to the best of her belief she had had no personal acquaintance with wickedness She had desired a large acquaintance with human life and in spite of her having flattered herself that she cultivated it with some success this elementary privilege had been denied her Perhaps it was not wicked—in the historic sense—to be even deeply false for that was what Madame Merle had been—deeply deeply deeply Isabels Aunt Lydia had made this discovery long before and had mentioned it to her niece but Isabel had flattered herself at this time that she had a much richer view of things especially of the spontaneity of her own career and the nobleness of her own interpretations than poor stifflyreasoning Mrs Touchett Madame Merle had done what she wanted she had brought about the union of her two friends a reflection which could not fail to make it a matter of wonder that she should so much have desired such an event There were people who had the matchmaking passion like the votaries of art for art but Madame Merle great artist as she was was scarcely one of these She thought too ill of marriage too ill even of life she had desired that particular marriage but had not desired others She had therefore had a conception of gain and Isabel asked herself where she had found her profit It took her naturally a long time to discover and even then her discovery was imperfect It came back to her that Madame Merle though she had seemed to like her from their first meeting at Gardencourt had been doubly affectionate after Mr Touchetts death and after learning that her young friend had been subject to the good old mans charity She had found her profit not in the gross device of borrowing money but in the more refined idea of introducing one of her intimates to the young womans fresh and ingenuous fortune She had naturally chosen her closest intimate and it was already vivid enough to Isabel that Gilbert occupied this position She found herself confronted in this manner with the conviction that the man in the world whom she had supposed to be the least sordid had married her like a vulgar adventurer for her money Strange to say it had never before occurred to her if she had thought a good deal of harm of Osmond she had not done him this particular injury This was the worst she could think of and she had been saying to herself that the worst was still to come A man might marry a woman for her money perfectly well the thing was often done But at least he should let her know She wondered whether since he had wanted her money her money would now satisfy him Would he take her money and let her go Ah if Mr Touchetts great charity would but help her today it would be blessed indeed It was not slow to occur to her that if Madame Merle had wished to do Gilbert a service his recognition to her of the boon must have lost its warmth What must be his feelings today in regard to his too zealous benefactress and what expression must they have found on the part of such a master of irony It is a singular but a characteristic fact that before Isabel returned from her silent drive she had broken its silence by the soft exclamation Poor poor Madame Merle
Her compassion would perhaps have been justified if on this same afternoon she had been concealed behind one of the valuable curtains of timesoftened damask which dressed the interesting little salon of the lady to whom it referred the carefullyarranged apartment to which we once paid a visit in company with the discreet Mr Rosier In that apartment towards six oclock Gilbert Osmond was seated and his hostess stood before him as Isabel had seen her stand on an occasion commemorated in this history with an emphasis appropriate not so much to its apparent as to its real importance
I dont believe youre unhappy I believe you like it said Madame Merle
Did I say I was unhappy Osmond asked with a face grave enough to suggest that he might have been
No but you dont say the contrary as you ought in common gratitude
Dont talk about gratitude he returned dryly And dont aggravate me he added in a moment
Madame Merle slowly seated herself with her arms folded and her white hands arranged as a support to one of them and an ornament as it were to the other She looked exquisitely calm but impressively sad On your side dont try to frighten me I wonder if you guess some of my thoughts
I trouble about them no more than I can help Ive quite enough of my own
Thats because theyre so delightful
Osmond rested his head against the back of his chair and looked at his companion with a cynical directness which seemed also partly an expression of fatigue You do aggravate me he remarked in a moment Im very tired
Eh moi donc cried Madame Merle
With you its because you fatigue yourself With me its not my own fault
When I fatigue myself its for you Ive given you an interest Thats a great gift
Do you call it an interest Osmond enquired with detachment
Certainly since it helps you to pass your time
The time has never seemed longer to me than this winter
Youve never looked better youve never been so agreeable so brilliant
Damn my brilliancy he thoughtfully murmured How little after all you know me
If I dont know you I know nothing smiled Madame Merle Youve the feeling of complete success
No I shall not have that till Ive made you stop judging me
I did that long ago I speak from old knowledge But you express yourself more too
Osmond just hung fire I wish youd express yourself less
You wish to condemn me to silence Remember that Ive never been a chatterbox At any rate there are three or four things I should like to say to you first Your wife doesnt know what to do with herself she went on with a change of tone
Pardon me she knows perfectly She has a line sharply drawn She means to carry out her ideas
Her ideas today must be remarkable
Certainly they are She has more of them than ever
She was unable to show me any this morning said Madame Merle She seemed in a very simple almost in a stupid state of mind She was completely bewildered
You had better say at once that she was pathetic
Ah no I dont want to encourage you too much
He still had his head against the cushion behind him the ankle of one foot rested on the other knee So he sat for a while I should like to know whats the matter with you he said at last
The matter—the matter— And here Madame Merle stopped Then she went on with a sudden outbreak of passion a burst of summer thunder in a clear sky The matter is that I would give my right hand to be able to weep and that I cant
What good would it do you to weep
It would make me feel as I felt before I knew you
If Ive dried your tears thats something But Ive seen you shed them
Oh I believe youll make me cry still I mean make me howl like a wolf Ive a great hope Ive a great need of that I was vile this morning I was horrid she said
If Isabel was in the stupid state of mind you mention she probably didnt perceive it Osmond answered
It was precisely my deviltry that stupefied her I couldnt help it I was full of something bad Perhaps it was something good I dont know Youve not only dried up my tears youve dried up my soul
Its not I then that am responsible for my wifes condition Osmond said Its pleasant to think that I shall get the benefit of your influence upon her Dont you know the soul is an immortal principle How can it suffer alteration
I dont believe at all that its an immortal principle I believe it can perfectly be destroyed Thats what has happened to mine which was a very good one to start with and its you I have to thank for it Youre VERY bad she added with gravity in her emphasis
Is this the way were to end Osmond asked with the same studied coldness
I dont know how were to end I wish I did—How do bad people end—especially as to their COMMON crimes You have made me as bad as yourself
I dont understand you You seem to me quite good enough said Osmond his conscious indifference giving an extreme effect to the words
Madame Merles selfpossession tended on the contrary to diminish and she was nearer losing it than on any occasion on which we have had the pleasure of meeting her The glow of her eye turners sombre her smile betrayed a painful effort Good enough for anything that Ive done with myself I suppose thats what you mean
Good enough to be always charming Osmond exclaimed smiling too
Oh God his companion murmured and sitting there in her ripe freshness she had recourse to the same gesture she had provoked on Isabels part in the morning she bent her face and covered it with her hands
Are you going to weep after all Osmond asked and on her remaining motionless he went on Have I ever complained to you
She dropped her hands quickly No youve taken your revenge otherwise—you have taken it on HER
Osmond threw back his head further he looked a while at the ceiling and might have been supposed to be appealing in an informal way to the heavenly powers Oh the imagination of women Its always vulgar at bottom You talk of revenge like a thirdrate novelist
Of course you havent complained Youve enjoyed your triumph too much
Im rather curious to know what you call my triumph
Youve made your wife afraid of you
Osmond changed his position he leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees and looking a while at a beautiful old Persian rug at his feet He had an air of refusing to accept any ones valuation of anything even of time and of preferring to abide by his own a peculiarity which made him at moments an irritating person to converse with Isabels not afraid of me and its not what I wish he said at last To what do you want to provoke me when you say such things as that
Ive thought over all the harm you can do me Madame Merle answered Your wife was afraid of me this morning but in me it was really you she feared
You may have said things that were in very bad taste Im not responsible for that I didnt see the use of your going to see her at all youre capable of acting without her Ive not made you afraid of me that I can see he went on how then should I have made her Youre at least as brave I cant think where youve picked up such rubbish one might suppose you knew me by this time He got up as he spoke and walked to the chimney where he stood a moment bending his eye as if he had seen them for the first time on the delicate specimens of rare porcelain with which it was covered He took up a small cup and held it in his hand then still holding it and leaning his arm on the mantel he pursued You always see too much in everything you overdo it you lose sight of the real Im much simpler than you think
I think youre very simple And Madame Merle kept her eye on her cup Ive come to that with time I judged you as I say of old but its only since your marriage that Ive understood you Ive seen better what you have been to your wife than I ever saw what you were for me Please be very careful of that precious object
It already has a wee bit of a tiny crack said Osmond dryly as he put it down If you didnt understand me before I married it was cruelly rash of you to put me into such a box However I took a fancy to my box myself I thought it would be a comfortable fit I asked very little I only asked that she should like me
That she should like you so much
So much of course in such a case one asks the maximum That she should adore me if you will Oh yes I wanted that
I never adored you said Madame Merle
Ah but you pretended to
Its true that you never accused me of being a comfortable fit Madame Merle went on
My wife has declined—declined to do anything of the sort said Osmond If youre determined to make a tragedy of that the tragedys hardly for her
The tragedys for me Madame Merle exclaimed rising with a long low sigh but having a glance at the same time for the contents of her mantelshelf
It appears that Im to be severely taught the disadvantages of a false position
You express yourself like a sentence in a copybook We must look for our comfort where we can find it If my wife doesnt like me at least my child does I shall look for compensations in Pansy Fortunately I havent a fault to find with her
Ah she said softly if I had a child—
Osmond waited and then with a little formal air The children of others may be a great interest he announced
Youre more like a copybook than I Theres something after all that holds us together
Is it the idea of the harm I may do you Osmond asked
No its the idea of the good I may do for you Its that Madame Merle pursued that made me so jealous of Isabel I want it to be MY work she added with her face which had grown hard and bitter relaxing to its habit of smoothness
Her friend took up his hat and his umbrella and after giving the former article two or three strokes with his coatcuff On the whole I think he said you had better leave it to me
After he had left her she went the first thing and lifted from the mantelshelf the attenuated coffeecup in which he had mentioned the existence of a crack but she looked at it rather abstractedly Have I been so vile all for nothing she vaguely wailed
CHAPTER L
As the Countess Gemini was not acquainted with the ancient monuments Isabel occasionally offered to introduce her to these interesting relics and to give their afternoon drive an antiquarian aim The Countess who professed to think her sisterinlaw a prodigy of learning never made an objection and gazed at masses of Roman brickwork as patiently as if they had been mounds of modern drapery She had not the historic sense though she had in some directions the anecdotic and as regards herself the apologetic but she was so delighted to be in Rome that she only desired to float with the current She would gladly have passed an hour every day in the damp darkness of the Baths of Titus if it had been a condition of her remaining at Palazzo Roccanera Isabel however was not a severe cicerone she used to visit the ruins chiefly because they offered an excuse for talking about other matters than the love affairs of the ladies of Florence as to which her companion was never weary of offering information It must be added that during these visits the Countess forbade herself every form of active research her preference was to sit in the carriage and exclaim that everything was most interesting It was in this manner that she had hitherto examined the Coliseum to the infinite regret of her niece who—with all the respect that she owed her—could not see why she should not descend from the vehicle and enter the building Pansy had so little chance to ramble that her view of the case was not wholly disinterested it may be divined that she had a secret hope that once inside her parents guest might be induced to climb to the upper tiers There came a day when the Countess announced her willingness to undertake this feat—a mild afternoon in March when the windy month expressed itself in occasional puffs of spring The three ladies went into the Coliseum together but Isabel left her companions to wander over the place She had often ascended to those desolate ledges from which the Roman crowd used to bellow applause and where now the wild flowers when they are allowed bloom in the deep crevices and today she felt weary and disposed to sit in the despoiled arena It made an intermission too for the Countess often asked more from ones attention than she gave in return and Isabel believed that when she was alone with her niece she let the dust gather for a moment on the ancient scandals of the Arnide She so remained below therefore while Pansy guided her undiscriminating aunt to the steep brick staircase at the foot of which the custodian unlocks the tall wooden gate The great enclosure was half in shadow the western sun brought out the pale red tone of the great blocks of travertine—the latent colour that is the only living element in the immense ruin Here and there wandered a peasant or a tourist looking up at the far skyline where in the clear stillness a multitude of swallows kept circling and plunging Isabel presently became aware that one of the other visitors planted in the middle of the arena had turned his attention to her own person and was looking at her with a certain little poise of the head which she had some weeks before perceived to be characteristic of baffled but indestructible purpose Such an attitude today could belong only to Mr Edward Rosier and this gentleman proved in fact to have been considering the question of speaking to her When he had assured himself that she was unaccompanied he drew near remarking that though she would not answer his letters she would perhaps not wholly close her ears to his spoken eloquence She replied that her stepdaughter was close at hand and that she could only give him five minutes whereupon he took out his watch and sat down upon a broken block
Its very soon told said Edward Rosier Ive sold all my bibelots Isabel gave instinctively an exclamation of horror it was as if he had told her he had had all his teeth drawn Ive sold them by auction at the Hotel Drouot he went on The sale took place three days ago and theyve telegraphed me the result Its magnificent
Im glad to hear it but I wish you had kept your pretty things
I have the money instead—fifty thousand dollars Will Mr Osmond think me rich enough now
Is it for that you did it Isabel asked gently
For what else in the world could it be Thats the only thing I think of I went to Paris and made my arrangements I couldnt stop for the sale I couldnt have seen them going off I think it would have killed me But I put them into good hands and they brought high prices I should tell you I have kept my enamels Now I have the money in my pocket and he cant say Im poor the young man exclaimed defiantly
Hell say now that youre not wise said Isabel as if Gilbert Osmond had never said this before
Rosier gave her a sharp look Do you mean that without my bibelots Im nothing Do you mean they were the best thing about me Thats what they told me in Paris oh they were very frank about it But they hadnt seen HER
My dear friend you deserve to succeed said Isabel very kindly
You say that so sadly that its the same as if you said I shouldnt And he questioned her eyes with the clear trepidation of his own He had the air of a man who knows he has been the talk of Paris for a week and is full half a head taller in consequence but who also has a painful suspicion that in spite of this increase of stature one or two persons still have the perversity to think him diminutive I know what happened here while I was away he went on What does Mr Osmond expect after she has refused Lord Warburton
Isabel debated That shell marry another nobleman
What other nobleman
One that hell pick out
Rosier slowly got up putting his watch into his waistcoatpocket Youre laughing at some one but this time I dont think its at me
I didnt mean to laugh said Isabel I laugh very seldom Now you had better go away
I feel very safe Rosier declared without moving This might be but it evidently made him feel more so to make the announcement in rather a loud voice balancing himself a little complacently on his toes and looking all round the Coliseum as if it were filled with an audience Suddenly Isabel saw him change colour there was more of an audience than he had suspected She turned and perceived that her two companions had returned from their excursion You must really go away she said quickly Ah my dear lady pity me Edward Rosier murmured in a voice strangely at variance with the announcement I have just quoted And then he added eagerly like a man who in the midst of his misery is seized by a happy thought Is that lady the Countess Gemini Ive a great desire to be presented to her
Isabel looked at him a moment She has no influence with her brother
Ah what a monster you make him out And Rosier faced the Countess who advanced in front of Pansy with an animation partly due perhaps to the fact that she perceived her sisterinlaw to be engaged in conversation with a very pretty young man
Im glad youve kept your enamels Isabel called as she left him She went straight to Pansy who on seeing Edward Rosier had stopped short with lowered eyes Well go back to the carriage she said gently
Yes its getting late Pansy returned more gently still And she went on without a murmur without faltering or glancing back Isabel however allowing herself this last liberty saw that a meeting had immediately taken place between the Countess and Mr Rosier He had removed his hat and was bowing and smiling he had evidently introduced himself while the Countesss expressive back displayed to Isabels eye a gracious inclination These facts none the less were presently lost to sight for Isabel and Pansy took their places again in the carriage Pansy who faced her stepmother at first kept her eyes fixed on her lap then she raised them and rested them on Isabels There shone out of each of them a little melancholy ray—a spark of timid passion which touched Isabel to the heart At the same time a wave of envy passed over her soul as she compared the tremulous longing the definite ideal of the child with her own dry despair Poor little Pansy she affectionately said
Oh never mind Pansy answered in the tone of eager apology And then there was a silence the Countess was a long time coming Did you show your aunt everything and did she enjoy it Isabel asked at last
Yes I showed her everything I think she was very much pleased
And youre not tired I hope
Oh no thank you Im not tired
The Countess still remained behind so that Isabel requested the footman to go into the Coliseum and tell her they were waiting He presently returned with the announcement that the Signora Contessa begged them not to wait—she would come home in a cab
About a week after this ladys quick sympathies had enlisted themselves with Mr Rosier Isabel going rather late to dress for dinner found Pansy sitting in her room The girl seemed to have been awaiting her she got up from her low chair Pardon my taking the liberty she said in a small voice It will be the last—for some time
Her voice was strange and her eyes widely opened had an excited frightened look Youre not going away Isabel exclaimed
Im going to the convent
To the convent
Pansy drew nearer till she was near enough to put her arms round Isabel and rest her head on her shoulder She stood this way a moment perfectly still but her companion could feel her tremble The quiver of her little body expressed everything she was unable to say Isabel nevertheless pressed her Why are you going to the convent
Because papa thinks it best He says a young girls better every now and then for making a little retreat He says the world always the world is very bad for a young girl This is just a chance for a little seclusion—a little reflexion Pansy spoke in short detached sentences as if she could scarce trust herself and then she added with a triumph of selfcontrol I think papas right Ive been so much in the world this winter
Her announcement had a strange effect on Isabel it seemed to carry a larger meaning than the girl herself knew When was this decided she asked Ive heard nothing of it
Papa told me half an hour ago he thought it better it shouldnt be too much talked about in advance Madame Catherines to come for me at a quarter past seven and Im only to take two frocks Its only for a few weeks Im sure it will be very good I shall find all those ladies who used to be so kind to me and I shall see the little girls who are being educated Im very fond of little girls said Pansy with an effect of diminutive grandeur And Im also very fond of Mother Catherine I shall be very quiet and think a great deal
Isabel listened to her holding her breath she was almost awestruck Think of ME sometimes
Ah come and see me soon cried Pansy and the cry was very different from the heroic remarks of which she had just delivered herself
Isabel could say nothing more she understood nothing she only felt how little she yet knew her husband Her answer to his daughter was a long tender kiss
Half an hour later she learned from her maid that Madame Catherine had arrived in a cab and had departed again with the signorina On going to the drawingroom before dinner she found the Countess Gemini alone and this lady characterised the incident by exclaiming with a wonderful toss of the head En voila ma chere une pose But if it was an affectation she was at a loss to see what her husband affected She could only dimly perceive that he had more traditions than she supposed It had become her habit to be so careful as to what she said to him that strange as it may appear she hesitated for several minutes after he had come in to allude to his daughters sudden departure she spoke of it only after they were seated at table But she had forbidden herself ever to ask Osmond a question All she could do was to make a declaration and there was one that came very naturally I shall miss Pansy very much
He looked a while with his head inclined a little at the basket of flowers in the middle of the table Ah yes he said at last I had thought of that You must go and see her you know but not too often I dare say you wonder why I sent her to the good sisters but I doubt if I can make you understand It doesnt matter dont trouble yourself about it Thats why I had not spoken of it I didnt believe you would enter into it But Ive always had the idea Ive always thought it a part of the education of ones daughter Ones daughter should be fresh and fair she should be innocent and gentle With the manners of the present time she is liable to become so dusty and crumpled Pansys a little dusty a little dishevelled she has knocked about too much This bustling pushing rabble that calls itself society—one should take her out of it occasionally Convents are very quiet very convenient very salutary I like to think of her there in the old garden under the arcade among those tranquil virtuous women Many of them are gentlewomen born several of them are noble She will have her books and her drawing she will have her piano Ive made the most liberal arrangements There is to be nothing ascetic theres just to be a certain little sense of sequestration Shell have time to think and theres something I want her to think about Osmond spoke deliberately reasonably still with his head on one side as if he were looking at the basket of flowers His tone however was that of a man not so much offering an explanation as putting a thing into words—almost into pictures—to see himself how it would look He considered a while the picture he had evoked and seemed greatly pleased with it And then he went on The Catholics are very wise after all The convent is a great institution we cant do without it it corresponds to an essential need in families in society Its a school of good manners its a school of repose Oh I dont want to detach my daughter from the world he added I dont want to make her fix her thoughts on any other This ones very well as SHE should take it and she may think of it as much as she likes Only she must think of it in the right way
Isabel gave an extreme attention to this little sketch she found it indeed intensely interesting It seemed to show her how far her husbands desire to be effective was capable of going—to the point of playing theoretic tricks on the delicate organism of his daughter She could not understand his purpose no—not wholly but she understood it better than he supposed or desired inasmuch as she was convinced that the whole proceeding was an elaborate mystification addressed to herself and destined to act upon her imagination He had wanted to do something sudden and arbitrary something unexpected and refined to mark the difference between his sympathies and her own and show that if he regarded his daughter as a precious work of art it was natural he should be more and more careful about the finishing touches If he wished to be effective he had succeeded the incident struck a chill into Isabels heart Pansy had known the convent in her childhood and had found a happy home there she was fond of the good sisters who were very fond of her and there was therefore for the moment no definite hardship in her lot But all the same the girl had taken fright the impression her father desired to make would evidently be sharp enough The old Protestant tradition had never faded from Isabels imagination and as her thoughts attached themselves to this striking example of her husbands genius—she sat looking like him at the basket of flowers—poor little Pansy became the heroine of a tragedy Osmond wished it to be known that he shrank from nothing and his wife found it hard to pretend to eat her dinner There was a certain relief presently in hearing the high strained voice of her sisterinlaw The Countess too apparently had been thinking the thing out but had arrived at a different conclusion from Isabel
Its very absurd my dear Osmond she said to invent so many pretty reasons for poor Pansys banishment Why dont you say at once that you want to get her out of my way Havent you discovered that I think very well of Mr Rosier I do indeed he seems to me simpaticissimo He has made me believe in true love I never did before Of course youve made up your mind that with those convictions Im dreadful company for Pansy
Osmond took a sip of a glass of wine he looked perfectly goodhumoured My dear Amy he answered smiling as if he were uttering a piece of gallantry I dont know anything about your convictions but if I suspected that they interfere with mine it would be much simpler to banish YOU
CHAPTER LI
The Countess was not banished but she felt the insecurity of her tenure of her brothers hospitality A week after this incident Isabel received a telegram from England dated from Gardencourt and bearing the stamp of Mrs Touchetts authorship Ralph cannot last many days it ran and if convenient would like to see you Wishes me to say that you must come only if youve not other duties Say for myself that you used to talk a good deal about your duty and to wonder what it was shall be curious to see whether youve found it out Ralph is really dying and theres no other company Isabel was prepared for this news having received from Henrietta Stackpole a detailed account of her journey to England with her appreciative patient Ralph had arrived more dead than alive but she had managed to convey him to Gardencourt where he had taken to his bed which as Miss Stackpole wrote he evidently would never leave again She added that she had really had two patients on her hands instead of one inasmuch as Mr Goodwood who had been of no earthly use was quite as ailing in a different way as Mr Touchett Afterwards she wrote that she had been obliged to surrender the field to Mrs Touchett who had just returned from America and had promptly given her to understand that she didnt wish any interviewing at Gardencourt Isabel had written to her aunt shortly after Ralph came to Rome letting her know of his critical condition and suggesting that she should lose no time in returning to Europe Mrs Touchett had telegraphed an acknowledgement of this admonition and the only further news Isabel received from her was the second telegram I have just quoted
Isabel stood a moment looking at the latter missive then thrusting it into her pocket she went straight to the door of her husbands study Here she again paused an instant after which she opened the door and went in Osmond was seated at the table near the window with a folio volume before him propped against a pile of books This volume was open at a page of small coloured plates and Isabel presently saw that he had been copying from it the drawing of an antique coin A box of watercolours and fine brushes lay before him and he had already transferred to a sheet of immaculate paper the delicate finelytinted disk His back was turned toward the door but he recognised his wife without looking round
Excuse me for disturbing you she said
When I come to your room I always knock he answered going on with his work
I forgot I had something else to think of My cousins dying
Ah I dont believe that said Osmond looking at his drawing through a magnifying glass He was dying when we married hell outlive us all
Isabel gave herself no time no thought to appreciate the careful cynicism of this declaration she simply went on quickly full of her own intention My aunt has telegraphed for me I must go to Gardencourt
Why must you go to Gardencourt Osmond asked in the tone of impartial curiosity
To see Ralph before he dies
To this for some time he made no rejoinder he continued to give his chief attention to his work which was of a sort that would brook no negligence I dont see the need of it he said at last He came to see you here I didnt like that I thought his being in Rome a great mistake But I tolerated it because it was to be the last time you should see him Now you tell me its not to have been the last Ah youre not grateful
What am I to be grateful for
Gilbert Osmond laid down his little implements blew a speck of dust from his drawing slowly got up and for the first time looked at his wife For my not having interfered while he was here
Oh yes I am I remember perfectly how distinctly you let me know you didnt like it I was very glad when he went away
Leave him alone then Dont run after him
Isabel turned her eyes away from him they rested upon his little drawing I must go to England she said with a full consciousness that her tone might strike an irritable man of taste as stupidly obstinate
I shall not like it if you do Osmond remarked
Why should I mind that You wont like it if I dont You like nothing I do or dont do You pretend to think I lie
Osmond turned slightly pale he gave a cold smile Thats why you must go then Not to see your cousin but to take a revenge on me
I know nothing about revenge
I do said Osmond Dont give me an occasion
Youre only too eager to take one You wish immensely that I would commit some folly
I should be gratified in that case if you disobeyed me
If I disobeyed you said Isabel in a low tone which had the effect of mildness
Let it be clear If you leave Rome today it will be a piece of the most deliberate the most calculated opposition
How can you call it calculated I received my aunts telegram but three minutes ago
You calculate rapidly its a great accomplishment I dont see why we should prolong our discussion you know my wish And he stood there as if he expected to see her withdraw
But she never moved she couldnt move strange as it may seem she still wished to justify herself he had the power in an extraordinary degree of making her feel this need There was something in her imagination he could always appeal to against her judgement Youve no reason for such a wish said Isabel and Ive every reason for going I cant tell you how unjust you seem to me But I think you know Its your own opposition thats calculated Its malignant
She had never uttered her worst thought to her husband before and the sensation of hearing it was evidently new to Osmond But he showed no surprise and his coolness was apparently a proof that he had believed his wife would in fact be unable to resist for ever his ingenious endeavour to draw her out Its all the more intense then he answered And he added almost as if he were giving her a friendly counsel This is a very important matter She recognised that she was fully conscious of the weight of the occasion she knew that between them they had arrived at a crisis Its gravity made her careful she said nothing and he went on You say Ive no reason I have the very best I dislike from the bottom of my soul what you intend to do Its dishonourable its indelicate its indecent Your cousin is nothing whatever to me and Im under no obligation to make concessions to him Ive already made the very handsomest Your relations with him while he was here kept me on pins and needles but I let that pass because from week to week I expected him to go Ive never liked him and he has never liked me Thats why you like him—because he hates me said Osmond with a quick barely audible tremor in his voice Ive an ideal of what my wife should do and should not do She should not travel across Europe alone in defiance of my deepest desire to sit at the bedside of other men Your cousins nothing to you hes nothing to us You smile most expressively when I talk about US but I assure you that WE WE Mrs Osmond is all I know I take our marriage seriously you appear to have found a way of not doing so Im not aware that were divorced or separated for me were indissolubly united You are nearer to me than any human creature and Im nearer to you It may be a disagreeable proximity its one at any rate of our own deliberate making You dont like to be reminded of that I know but Im perfectly willing because—because— And he paused a moment looking as if he had something to say which would be very much to the point Because I think we should accept the consequences of our actions and what I value most in life is the honour of a thing
He spoke gravely and almost gently the accent of sarcasm had dropped out of his tone It had a gravity which checked his wifes quick emotion the resolution with which she had entered the room found itself caught in a mesh of fine threads His last words were not a command they constituted a kind of appeal and though she felt that any expression of respect on his part could only be a refinement of egotism they represented something transcendent and absolute like the sign of the cross or the flag of ones country He spoke in the name of something sacred and precious—the observance of a magnificent form They were as perfectly apart in feeling as two disillusioned lovers had ever been but they had never yet separated in act Isabel had not changed her old passion for justice still abode within her and now in the very thick of her sense of her husbands blasphemous sophistry it began to throb to a tune which for a moment promised him the victory It came over her that in his wish to preserve appearances he was after all sincere and that this as far as it went was a merit Ten minutes before she had felt all the joy of irreflective action—a joy to which she had so long been a stranger but action had been suddenly changed to slow renunciation transformed by the blight of Osmonds touch If she must renounce however she would let him know she was a victim rather than a dupe I know youre a master of the art of mockery she said How can you speak of an indissoluble union—how can you speak of your being contented Wheres our union when you accuse me of falsity Wheres your contentment when you have nothing but hideous suspicion in your heart
It is in our living decently together in spite of such drawbacks
We dont live decently together cried Isabel
Indeed we dont if you go to England
Thats very little thats nothing I might do much more
He raised his eyebrows and even his shoulders a little he had lived long enough in Italy to catch this trick Ah if youve come to threaten me I prefer my drawing And he walked back to his table where he took up the sheet of paper on which he had been working and stood studying it
I suppose that if I go youll not expect me to come back said Isabel
He turned quickly round and she could see this movement at least was not designed He looked at her a little and then Are you out of your mind he enquired
How can it be anything but a rupture she went on especially if all you say is true She was unable to see how it could be anything but a rupture she sincerely wished to know what else it might be
He sat down before his table I really cant argue with you on the hypothesis of your defying me he said And he took up one of his little brushes again
She lingered but a moment longer long enough to embrace with her eye his whole deliberately indifferent yet most expressive figure after which she quickly left the room Her faculties her energy her passion were all dispersed again she felt as if a cold dark mist had suddenly encompassed her Osmond possessed in a supreme degree the art of eliciting any weakness On her way back to her room she found the Countess Gemini standing in the open doorway of a little parlour in which a small collection of heterogeneous books had been arranged The Countess had an open volume in her hand she appeared to have been glancing down a page which failed to strike her as interesting At the sound of Isabels step she raised her head
Ah my dear she said you who are so literary do tell me some amusing book to read Everything heres of a dreariness— Do you think this would do me any good
Isabel glanced at the title of the volume she held out but without reading or understanding it Im afraid I cant advise you Ive had bad news My cousin Ralph Touchett is dying
The Countess threw down her book Ah he was so simpatico Im awfully sorry for you
You would be sorrier still if you knew
What is there to know You look very badly the Countess added You must have been with Osmond
Half an hour before Isabel would have listened very coldly to an intimation that she should ever feel a desire for the sympathy of her sisterinlaw and there can be no better proof of her present embarrassment than the fact that she almost clutched at this ladys fluttering attention Ive been with Osmond she said while the Countesss bright eyes glittered at her
Im sure then he has been odious the Countess cried Did he say he was glad poor Mr Touchetts dying
He said its impossible I should go to England
The Countesss mind when her interests were concerned was agile she already foresaw the extinction of any further brightness in her visit to Rome Ralph Touchett would die Isabel would go into mourning and then there would be no more dinnerparties Such a prospect produced for a moment in her countenance an expressive grimace but this rapid picturesque play of feature was her only tribute to disappointment After all she reflected the game was almost played out she had already overstayed her invitation And then she cared enough for Isabels trouble to forget her own and she saw that Isabels trouble was deep
It seemed deeper than the mere death of a cousin and the Countess had no hesitation in connecting her exasperating brother with the expression of her sisterinlaws eyes Her heart beat with an almost joyous expectation for if she had wished to see Osmond overtopped the conditions looked favourable now Of course if Isabel should go to England she herself would immediately leave Palazzo Roccanera nothing would induce her to remain there with Osmond Nevertheless she felt an immense desire to hear that Isabel would go to England Nothings impossible for you my dear she said caressingly Why else are you rich and clever and good
Why indeed I feel stupidly weak
Why does Osmond say its impossible the Countess asked in a tone which sufficiently declared that she couldnt imagine
From the moment she thus began to question her however Isabel drew back she disengaged her hand which the Countess had affectionately taken But she answered this enquiry with frank bitterness Because were so happy together that we cant separate even for a fortnight
Ah cried the Countess while Isabel turned away when I want to make a journey my husband simply tells me I can have no money
Isabel went to her room where she walked up and down for an hour It may appear to some readers that she gave herself much trouble and it is certain that for a woman of a high spirit she had allowed herself easily to be arrested It seemed to her that only now she fully measured the great undertaking of matrimony Marriage meant that in such a case as this when one had to choose one chose as a matter of course for ones husband Im afraid—yes Im afraid she said to herself more than once stopping short in her walk But what she was afraid of was not her husband—his displeasure his hatred his revenge it was not even her own later judgement of her conduct a consideration which had often held her in check it was simply the violence there would be in going when Osmond wished her to remain A gulf of difference had opened between them but nevertheless it was his desire that she should stay it was a horror to him that she should go She knew the nervous fineness with which he could feel an objection What he thought of her she knew what he was capable of saying to her she had felt yet they were married for all that and marriage meant that a woman should cleave to the man with whom uttering tremendous vows she had stood at the altar She sank down on her sofa at last and buried her head in a pile of cushions
When she raised her head again the Countess Gemini hovered before her She had come in all unperceived she had a strange smile on her thin lips and her whole face had grown in an hour a shining intimation She lived assuredly it might be said at the window of her spirit but now she was leaning far out I knocked she began but you didnt answer me So I ventured in Ive been looking at you for the past five minutes Youre very unhappy
Yes but I dont think you can comfort me
Will you give me leave to try And the Countess sat down on the sofa beside her She continued to smile and there was something communicative and exultant in her expression She appeared to have a deal to say and it occurred to Isabel for the first time that her sisterinlaw might say something really human She made play with her glittering eyes in which there was an unpleasant fascination After all she soon resumed I must tell you to begin with that I dont understand your state of mind You seem to have so many scruples so many reasons so many ties When I discovered ten years ago that my husbands dearest wish was to make me miserable—of late he has simply let me alone—ah it was a wonderful simplification My poor Isabel youre not simple enough
No Im not simple enough said Isabel
Theres something I want you to know the Countess declared—because I think you ought to know it Perhaps you do perhaps youve guessed it But if you have all I can say is that I understand still less why you shouldnt do as you like
What do you wish me to know Isabel felt a foreboding that made her heart beat faster The Countess was about to justify herself and this alone was portentous
But she was nevertheless disposed to play a little with her subject In your place I should have guessed it ages ago Have you never really suspected
Ive guessed nothing What should I have suspected I dont know what you mean
Thats because youve such a beastly pure mind I never saw a woman with such a pure mind cried the Countess
Isabel slowly got up Youre going to tell me something horrible
You can call it by whatever name you will And the Countess rose also while her gathered perversity grew vivid and dreadful She stood a moment in a sort of glare of intention and as seemed to Isabel even then of ugliness after which she said My first sisterinlaw had no children
Isabel stared back at her the announcement was an anticlimax Your first sisterinlaw
I suppose you know at least if one may mention it that Osmond has been married before Ive never spoken to you of his wife I thought it mightnt be decent or respectful But others less particular must have done so The poor little woman lived hardly three years and died childless It wasnt till after her death that Pansy arrived
Isabels brow had contracted to a frown her lips were parted in pale vague wonder She was trying to follow there seemed so much more to follow than she could see Pansys not my husbands child then
Your husbands—in perfection But no one elses husbands Some one elses wifes Ah my good Isabel cried the Countess with you one must dot ones is
I dont understand Whose wifes Isabel asked
The wife of a horrid little Swiss who died—how long—a dozen more than fifteen years ago He never recognised Miss Pansy nor knowing what he was about would have anything to say to her and there was no reason why he should Osmond did and that was better though he had to fit on afterwards the whole rigmarole of his own wifes having died in childbirth and of his having in grief and horror banished the little girl from his sight for as long as possible before taking her home from nurse His wife had really died you know of quite another matter and in quite another place in the Piedmontese mountains where they had gone one August because her health appeared to require the air but where she was suddenly taken worse—fatally ill The story passed sufficiently it was covered by the appearances so long as nobody heeded as nobody cared to look into it But of course I knew—without researches the Countess lucidly proceeded as also youll understand without a word said between us—I mean between Osmond and me Dont you see him looking at me in silence that way to settle it—that is to settle ME if I should say anything I said nothing right or left—never a word to a creature if you can believe that of me on my honour my dear I speak of the thing to you now after all this time as Ive never never spoken It was to be enough for me from the first that the child was my niece—from the moment she was my brothers daughter As for her veritable mother— But with this Pansys wonderful aunt dropped—as involuntarily from the impression of her sisterinlaws face out of which more eyes might have seemed to look at her than she had ever had to meet
She had spoken no name yet Isabel could but check on her own lips an echo of the unspoken She sank to her seat again hanging her head Why have you told me this she asked in a voice the Countess hardly recognised
Because Ive been so bored with your not knowing Ive been bored frankly my dear with not having told you as if stupidly all this time I couldnt have managed Ca me depasse if you dont mind my saying so the things all round you that youve appeared to succeed in not knowing Its a sort of assistance—aid to innocent ignorance—that Ive always been a bad hand at rendering and in this connexion that of keeping quiet for my brother my virtue has at any rate finally found itself exhausted Its not a black lie moreover you know the Countess inimitably added The facts are exactly what I tell you
I had no idea said Isabel presently and looked up at her in a manner that doubtless matched the apparent witlessness of this confession
So I believed—though it was hard to believe Had it never occurred to you that he was for six or seven years her lover
I dont know Things HAVE occurred to me and perhaps that was what they all meant
She has been wonderfully clever she has been magnificent about Pansy the Countess before all this view of it cried
Oh no idea for me Isabel went on ever DEFINITELY took that form She appeared to be making out to herself what had been and what hadnt And as it is—I dont understand
She spoke as one troubled and puzzled yet the poor Countess seemed to have seen her revelation fall below its possibilities of effect She had expected to kindle some responsive blaze but had barely extracted a spark Isabel showed as scarce more impressed than she might have been as a young woman of approved imagination with some fine sinister passage of public history Dont you recognise how the child could never pass for HER husbands—that is with M Merle himself her companion resumed They had been separated too long for that and he had gone to some far country—I think to South America If she had ever had children—which Im not sure of—she had lost them The conditions happened to make it workable under stress I mean at so awkward a pinch that Osmond should acknowledge the little girl His wife was dead—very true but she had not been dead too long to put a certain accommodation of dates out of the question—from the moment I mean that suspicion wasnt started which was what they had to take care of What was more natural than that poor Mrs Osmond at a distance and for a world not troubling about trifles should have left behind her poverina the pledge of her brief happiness that had cost her her life With the aid of a change of residence—Osmond had been living with her at Naples at the time of their stay in the Alps and he in due course left it for ever—the whole history was successfully set going My poor sisterinlaw in her grave couldnt help herself and the real mother to save HER skin renounced all visible property in the child
Ah poor poor woman cried Isabel who herewith burst into tears It was a long time since she had shed any she had suffered a high reaction from weeping But now they flowed with an abundance in which the Countess Gemini found only another discomfiture
Its very kind of you to pity her she discordantly laughed Yes indeed you have a way of your own—
He must have been false to his wife—and so very soon said Isabel with a sudden check
Thats all thats wanting—that you should take up her cause the Countess went on I quite agree with you however that it was much too soon
But to me to me— And Isabel hesitated as if she had not heard as if her question—though it was sufficiently there in her eyes—were all for herself
To you he has been faithful Well it depends my dear on what you call faithful When he married you he was no longer the lover of another woman—SUCH a lover as he had been cara mia between their risks and their precautions while the thing lasted That state of affairs had passed away the lady had repented or at all events for reasons of her own drawn back she had always had too a worship of appearances so intense that even Osmond himself had got bored with it You may therefore imagine what it was—when he couldnt patch it on conveniently to ANY of those he goes in for But the whole past was between them
Yes Isabel mechanically echoed the whole past is between them
Ah this later past is nothing But for six or seven years as I say they had kept it up
She was silent a little Why then did she want him to marry me
Ah my dear thats her superiority Because you had money and because she believed you would be good to Pansy
Poor woman—and Pansy who doesnt like her cried Isabel
Thats the reason she wanted some one whom Pansy would like She knows it she knows everything
Will she know that youve told me this
That will depend upon whether you tell her Shes prepared for it and do you know what she counts upon for her defence On your believing that I lie Perhaps you do dont make yourself uncomfortable to hide it Only as it happens this time I dont Ive told plenty of little idiotic fibs but theyve never hurt any one but myself
Isabel sat staring at her companions story as at a bale of fantastic wares some strolling gypsy might have unpacked on the carpet at her feet Why did Osmond never marry her she finally asked
Because she had no money The Countess had an answer for everything and if she lied she lied well No one knows no one has ever known what she lives on or how she has got all those beautiful things I dont believe Osmond himself knows Besides she wouldnt have married him
How can she have loved him then
She doesnt love him in that way She did at first and then I suppose she would have married him but at that time her husband was living By the time M Merle had rejoined—I wont say his ancestors because he never had any—her relations with Osmond had changed and she had grown more ambitious Besides she has never had about him the Countess went on leaving Isabel to wince for it so tragically afterwards—she HAD never had what you might call any illusions of INTELLIGENCE She hoped she might marry a great man that has always been her idea She has waited and watched and plotted and prayed but she has never succeeded I dont call Madame Merle a success you know I dont know what she may accomplish yet but at present she has very little to show The only tangible result she has ever achieved—except of course getting to know every one and staying with them free of expense—has been her bringing you and Osmond together Oh she did that my dear you neednt look as if you doubted it Ive watched them for years I know everything—everything Im thought a great scatterbrain but Ive had enough application of mind to follow up those two She hates me and her way of showing it is to pretend to be for ever defending me When people say Ive had fifteen lovers she looks horrified and declares that quite half of them were never proved She has been afraid of me for years and she has taken great comfort in the vile false things people have said about me She has been afraid Id expose her and she threatened me one day when Osmond began to pay his court to you It was at his house in Florence do you remember that afternoon when she brought you there and we had tea in the garden She let me know then that if I should tell tales two could play at that game She pretends theres a good deal more to tell about me than about her It would be an interesting comparison I dont care a fig what she may say simply because I know YOU dont care a fig You cant trouble your head about me less than you do already So she may take her revenge as she chooses I dont think shell frighten you very much Her great idea has been to be tremendously irreproachable—a kind of fullblown lily—the incarnation of propriety She has always worshipped that god There should be no scandal about Caesars wife you know and as I say she has always hoped to marry Caesar That was one reason she wouldnt marry Osmond the fear that on seeing her with Pansy people would put things together—would even see a resemblance She has had a terror lest the mother should betray herself She has been awfully careful the mother has never done so
Yes yes the mother has done so said Isabel who had listened to all this with a face more and more wan She betrayed herself to me the other day though I didnt recognise her There appeared to have been a chance of Pansys making a great marriage and in her disappointment at its not coming off she almost dropped the mask
Ah thats where shed dish herself cried the Countess She has failed so dreadfully that shes determined her daughter shall make it up
Isabel started at the words her daughter which her guest threw off so familiarly It seems very wonderful she murmured and in this bewildering impression she had almost lost her sense of being personally touched by the story
Now dont go and turn against the poor innocent child the Countess went on Shes very nice in spite of her deplorable origin I myself have liked Pansy not naturally because she was hers but because she had become yours
Yes she has become mine And how the poor woman must have suffered at seeing me— Isabel exclaimed while she flushed at the thought
I dont believe she has suffered on the contrary she has enjoyed Osmonds marriage has given his daughter a great little lift Before that she lived in a hole And do you know what the mother thought That you might take such a fancy to the child that youd do something for her Osmond of course could never give her a portion Osmond was really extremely poor but of course you know all about that Ah my dear cried the Countess why did you ever inherit money She stopped a moment as if she saw something singular in Isabels face Dont tell me now that youll give her a dot Youre capable of that but I would refuse to believe it Dont try to be too good Be a little easy and natural and nasty feel a little wicked for the comfort of it once in your life
Its very strange I suppose I ought to know but Im sorry Isabel said Im much obliged to you
Yes you seem to be cried the Countess with a mocking laugh Perhaps you are—perhaps youre not You dont take it as I should have thought
How should I take it Isabel asked
Well I should say as a woman who has been made use of Isabel made no answer to this she only listened and the Countess went on Theyve always been bound to each other they remained so even after she broke off—or HE did But he has always been more for her than she has been for him When their little carnival was over they made a bargain that each should give the other complete liberty but that each should also do everything possible to help the other on You may ask me how I know such a thing as that I know it by the way theyve behaved Now see how much better women are than men She has found a wife for Osmond but Osmond has never lifted a little finger for HER She has worked for him plotted for him suffered for him she has even more than once found money for him and the end of it is that hes tired of her Shes an old habit there are moments when he needs her but on the whole he wouldnt miss her if she were removed And whats more today she knows it So you neednt be jealous the Countess added humorously
Isabel rose from her sofa again she felt bruised and scant of breath her head was humming with new knowledge Im much obliged to you she repeated And then she added abruptly in quite a different tone How do you know all this
This enquiry appeared to ruffle the Countess more than Isabels expression of gratitude pleased her She gave her companion a bold stare with which Let us assume that Ive invented it she cried She too however suddenly changed her tone and laying her hand on Isabels arm said with the penetration of her sharp bright smile Now will you give up your journey
Isabel started a little she turned away But she felt weak and in a moment had to lay her arm upon the mantelshelf for support She stood a minute so and then upon her arm she dropped her dizzy head with closed eyes and pale lips
Ive done wrong to speak—Ive made you ill the Countess cried
Ah I must see Ralph Isabel wailed not in resentment not in the quick passion her companion had looked for but in a tone of farreaching infinite sadness
CHAPTER LII
There was a train for Turin and Paris that evening and after the Countess had left her Isabel had a rapid and decisive conference with her maid who was discreet devoted and active After this she thought except of her journey only of one thing She must go and see Pansy from her she couldnt turn away She had not seen her yet as Osmond had given her to understand that it was too soon to begin She drove at five oclock to a high floor in a narrow street in the quarter of the Piazza Navona and was admitted by the portress of the convent a genial and obsequious person Isabel had been at this institution before she had come with Pansy to see the sisters She knew they were good women and she saw that the large rooms were clean and cheerful and that the wellused garden had sun for winter and shade for spring But she disliked the place which affronted and almost frightened her not for the world would she have spent a night there It produced today more than before the impression of a wellappointed prison for it was not possible to pretend Pansy was free to leave it This innocent creature had been presented to her in a new and violent light but the secondary effect of the revelation was to make her reach out a hand
The portress left her to wait in the parlour of the convent while she went to make it known that there was a visitor for the dear young lady The parlour was a vast cold apartment with newlooking furniture a large clean stove of white porcelain unlighted a collection of wax flowers under glass and a series of engravings from religious pictures on the walls On the other occasion Isabel had thought it less like Rome than like Philadelphia but today she made no reflexions the apartment only seemed to her very empty and very soundless The portress returned at the end of some five minutes ushering in another person Isabel got up expecting to see one of the ladies of the sisterhood but to her extreme surprise found herself confronted with Madame Merle The effect was strange for Madame Merle was already so present to her vision that her appearance in the flesh was like suddenly and rather awfully seeing a painted picture move Isabel had been thinking all day of her falsity her audacity her ability her probable suffering and these dark things seemed to flash with a sudden light as she entered the room Her being there at all had the character of ugly evidence of handwritings of profaned relics of grim things produced in court It made Isabel feel faint if it had been necessary to speak on the spot she would have been quite unable But no such necessity was distinct to her it seemed to her indeed that she had absolutely nothing to say to Madame Merle In ones relations with this lady however there were never any absolute necessities she had a manner which carried off not only her own deficiencies but those of other people But she was different from usual she came in slowly behind the portress and Isabel instantly perceived that she was not likely to depend upon her habitual resources For her too the occasion was exceptional and she had undertaken to treat it by the light of the moment This gave her a peculiar gravity she pretended not even to smile and though Isabel saw that she was more than ever playing a part it seemed to her that on the whole the wonderful woman had never been so natural She looked at her young friend from head to foot but not harshly nor defiantly with a cold gentleness rather and an absence of any air of allusion to their last meeting It was as if she had wished to mark a distinction She had been irritated then she was reconciled now
You can leave us alone she said to the portress in five minutes this lady will ring for you And then she turned to Isabel who after noting what has just been mentioned had ceased to notice and had let her eyes wander as far as the limits of the room would allow She wished never to look at Madame Merle again Youre surprised to find me here and Im afraid youre not pleased this lady went on You dont see why I should have come its as if I had anticipated you I confess Ive been rather indiscreet—I ought to have asked your permission There was none of the oblique movement of irony in this it was said simply and mildly but Isabel far afloat on a sea of wonder and pain could not have told herself with what intention it was uttered But Ive not been sitting long Madame Merle continued that is Ive not been long with Pansy I came to see her because it occurred to me this afternoon that she must be rather lonely and perhaps even a little miserable It may be good for a small girl I know so little about small girls I cant tell At any rate its a little dismal Therefore I came—on the chance I knew of course that youd come and her father as well still I had not been told other visitors were forbidden The good woman—whats her name Madame Catherine—made no objection whatever I stayed twenty minutes with Pansy she has a charming little room not in the least conventual with a piano and flowers She has arranged it delightfully she has so much taste Of course its all none of my business but I feel happier since Ive seen her She may even have a maid if she likes but of course she has no occasion to dress She wears a little black frock she looks so charming I went afterwards to see Mother Catherine who has a very good room too I assure you I dont find the poor sisters at all monastic Mother Catherine has a most coquettish little toilettable with something that looked uncommonly like a bottle of eaudeCologne She speaks delightfully of Pansy says its a great happiness for them to have her Shes a little saint of heaven and a model to the oldest of them Just as I was leaving Madame Catherine the portress came to say to her that there was a lady for the signorina Of course I knew it must be you and I asked her to let me go and receive you in her place She demurred greatly—I must tell you that—and said it was her duty to notify the Mother Superior it was of such high importance that you should be treated with respect I requested her to let the Mother Superior alone and asked her how she supposed I would treat you
So Madame Merle went on with much of the brilliancy of a woman who had long been a mistress of the art of conversation But there were phases and gradations in her speech not one of which was lost upon Isabels ear though her eyes were absent from her companions face She had not proceeded far before Isabel noted a sudden break in her voice a lapse in her continuity which was in itself a complete drama This subtle modulation marked a momentous discovery—the perception of an entirely new attitude on the part of her listener Madame Merle had guessed in the space of an instant that everything was at end between them and in the space of another instant she had guessed the reason why The person who stood there was not the same one she had seen hitherto but was a very different person—a person who knew her secret This discovery was tremendous and from the moment she made it the most accomplished of women faltered and lost her courage But only for that moment Then the conscious stream of her perfect manner gathered itself again and flowed on as smoothly as might be to the end But it was only because she had the end in view that she was able to proceed She had been touched with a point that made her quiver and she needed all the alertness of her will to repress her agitation Her only safety was in her not betraying herself She resisted this but the startled quality of her voice refused to improve—she couldnt help it—while she heard herself say she hardly knew what The tide of her confidence ebbed and she was able only just to glide into port faintly grazing the bottom
Isabel saw it all as distinctly as if it had been reflected in a large clear glass It might have been a great moment for her for it might have been a moment of triumph That Madame Merle had lost her pluck and saw before her the phantom of exposure—this in itself was a revenge this in itself was almost the promise of a brighter day And for a moment during which she stood apparently looking out of the window with her back halfturned Isabel enjoyed that knowledge On the other side of the window lay the garden of the convent but this is not what she saw she saw nothing of the budding plants and the glowing afternoon She saw in the crude light of that revelation which had already become a part of experience and to which the very frailty of the vessel in which it had been offered her only gave an intrinsic price the dry staring fact that she had been an applied handled hungup tool as senseless and convenient as mere shaped wood and iron All the bitterness of this knowledge surged into her soul again it was as if she felt on her lips the taste of dishonour There was a moment during which if she had turned and spoken she would have said something that would hiss like a lash But she closed her eyes and then the hideous vision dropped What remained was the cleverest woman in the world standing there within a few feet of her and knowing as little what to think as the meanest Isabels only revenge was to be silent still—to leave Madame Merle in this unprecedented situation She left her there for a period that must have seemed long to this lady who at last seated herself with a movement which was in itself a confession of helplessness Then Isabel turned slow eyes looking down at her Madame Merle was very pale her own eyes covered Isabels face She might see what she would but her danger was over Isabel would never accuse her never reproach her perhaps because she never would give her the opportunity to defend herself
Im come to bid Pansy goodbye our young woman said at last I go to England tonight
Go to England tonight Madame Merle repeated sitting there and looking up at her
Im going to Gardencourt Ralph Touchetts dying
Ah youll feel that Madame Merle recovered herself she had a chance to express sympathy Do you go alone
Yes without my husband
Madame Merle gave a low vague murmur a sort of recognition of the general sadness of things Mr Touchett never liked me but Im sorry hes dying Shall you see his mother
Yes she has returned from America
She used to be very kind to me but she has changed Others too have changed said Madame Merle with a quiet noble pathos She paused a moment then added And youll see dear old Gardencourt again
I shall not enjoy it much Isabel answered
Naturally—in your grief But its on the whole of all the houses I know and I know many the one I should have liked best to live in I dont venture to send a message to the people Madame Merle added but I should like to give my love to the place
Isabel turned away I had better go to Pansy Ive not much time
While she looked about her for the proper egress the door opened and admitted one of the ladies of the house who advanced with a discreet smile gently rubbing under her long loose sleeves a pair of plump white hands Isabel recognised Madame Catherine whose acquaintance she had already made and begged that she would immediately let her see Miss Osmond Madame Catherine looked doubly discreet but smiled very blandly and said It will be good for her to see you Ill take you to her myself Then she directed her pleased guarded vision to Madame Merle
Will you let me remain a little this lady asked Its so good to be here
You may remain always if you like And the good sister gave a knowing laugh
She led Isabel out of the room through several corridors and up a long staircase All these departments were solid and bare light and clean so thought Isabel are the great penal establishments Madame Catherine gently pushed open the door of Pansys room and ushered in the visitor then stood smiling with folded hands while the two others met and embraced
Shes glad to see you she repeated it will do her good And she placed the best chair carefully for Isabel But she made no movement to seat herself she seemed ready to retire How does this dear child look she asked of Isabel lingering a moment
She looks pale Isabel answered
Thats the pleasure of seeing you Shes very happy Elle eclaire la maison said the good sister
Pansy wore as Madame Merle had said a little black dress it was perhaps this that made her look pale Theyre very good to me—they think of everything she exclaimed with all her customary eagerness to accommodate
We think of you always—youre a precious charge Madame Catherine remarked in the tone of a woman with whom benevolence was a habit and whose conception of duty was the acceptance of every care It fell with a leaden weight on Isabels ears it seemed to represent the surrender of a personality the authority of the Church
When Madame Catherine had left them together Pansy kneeled down and hid her head in her stepmothers lap So she remained some moments while Isabel gently stroked her hair Then she got up averting her face and looking about the room Dont you think Ive arranged it well Ive everything I have at home
Its very pretty youre very comfortable Isabel scarcely knew what she could say to her On the one hand she couldnt let her think she had come to pity her and on the other it would be a dull mockery to pretend to rejoice with her So she simply added after a moment Ive come to bid you goodbye Im going to England
Pansys white little face turned red To England Not to come back
I dont know when I shall come back
Ah Im sorry Pansy breathed with faintness She spoke as if she had no right to criticise but her tone expressed a depth of disappointment
My cousin Mr Touchett is very ill hell probably die I wish to see him Isabel said
Ah yes you told me he would die Of course you must go And will papa go
No I shall go alone
For a moment the girl said nothing Isabel had often wondered what she thought of the apparent relations of her father with his wife but never by a glance by an intimation had she let it be seen that she deemed them deficient in an air of intimacy She made her reflexions Isabel was sure and she must have had a conviction that there were husbands and wives who were more intimate than that But Pansy was not indiscreet even in thought she would as little have ventured to judge her gentle stepmother as to criticise her magnificent father Her heart may have stood almost as still as it would have done had she seen two of the saints in the great picture in the convent chapel turn their painted heads and shake them at each other But as in this latter case she would for very solemnitys sake never have mentioned the awful phenomenon so she put away all knowledge of the secrets of larger lives than her own Youll be very far away she presently went on
Yes I shall be far away But it will scarcely matter Isabel explained since so long as youre here I cant be called near you
Yes but you can come and see me though youve not come very often
Ive not come because your father forbade it Today I bring nothing with me I cant amuse you
Im not to be amused Thats not what papa wishes
Then it hardly matters whether Im in Rome or in England
Youre not happy Mrs Osmond said Pansy
Not very But it doesnt matter
Thats what I say to myself What does it matter But I should like to come out
I wish indeed you might
Dont leave me here Pansy went on gently
Isabel said nothing for a minute her heart beat fast Will you come away with me now she asked
Pansy looked at her pleadingly Did papa tell you to bring me
No its my own proposal
I think I had better wait then Did papa send me no message
I dont think he knew I was coming
He thinks Ive not had enough said Pansy But I have The ladies are very kind to me and the little girls come to see me There are some very little ones—such charming children Then my room—you can see for yourself All thats very delightful But Ive had enough Papa wished me to think a little—and Ive thought a great deal
What have you thought
Well that I must never displease papa
You knew that before
Yes but I know it better Ill do anything—Ill do anything said Pansy Then as she heard her own words a deep pure blush came into her face Isabel read the meaning of it she saw the poor girl had been vanquished It was well that Mr Edward Rosier had kept his enamels Isabel looked into her eyes and saw there mainly a prayer to be treated easily She laid her hand on Pansys as if to let her know that her look conveyed no diminution of esteem for the collapse of the girls momentary resistance mute and modest thought it had been seemed only her tribute to the truth of things She didnt presume to judge others but she had judged herself she had seen the reality She had no vocation for struggling with combinations in the solemnity of sequestration there was something that overwhelmed her She bowed her pretty head to authority and only asked of authority to be merciful Yes it was very well that Edward Rosier had reserved a few articles
Isabel got up her time was rapidly shortening Goodbye then I leave Rome tonight
Pansy took hold of her dress there was a sudden change in the childs face You look strange you frighten me
Oh Im very harmless said Isabel
Perhaps you wont come back
Perhaps not I cant tell
Ah Mrs Osmond you wont leave me
Isabel now saw she had guessed everything My dear child what can I do for you she asked
I dont know—but Im happier when I think of you
You can always think of me
Not when youre so far Im a little afraid said Pansy
What are you afraid of
Of papa—a little And of Madame Merle She has just been to see me
You must not say that Isabel observed
Oh Ill do everything they want Only if youre here I shall do it more easily
Isabel considered I wont desert you she said at last Goodbye my child
Then they held each other a moment in a silent embrace like two sisters and afterwards Pansy walked along the corridor with her visitor to the top of the staircase Madame Merle has been here she remarked as they went and as Isabel answered nothing she added abruptly I dont like Madame Merle
Isabel hesitated then stopped You must never say that—that you dont like Madame Merle
Pansy looked at her in wonder but wonder with Pansy had never been a reason for noncompliance I never will again she said with exquisite gentleness At the top of the staircase they had to separate as it appeared to be part of the mild but very definite discipline under which Pansy lived that she should not go down Isabel descended and when she reached the bottom the girl was standing above Youll come back she called out in a voice that Isabel remembered afterwards
Yes—Ill come back
Madame Catherine met Mrs Osmond below and conducted her to the door of the parlour outside of which the two stood talking a minute I wont go in said the good sister Madame Merles waiting for you
At this announcement Isabel stiffened she was on the point of asking if there were no other egress from the convent But a moments reflexion assured her that she would do well not to betray to the worthy nun her desire to avoid Pansys other friend Her companion grasped her arm very gently and fixing her a moment with wise benevolent eyes said in French and almost familiarly Eh bien chere Madame quen pensezvous
About my stepdaughter Oh it would take long to tell you
We think its enough Madame Catherine distinctly observed And she pushed open the door of the parlour
Madame Merle was sitting just as Isabel had left her like a woman so absorbed in thought that she had not moved a little finger As Madame Catherine closed the door she got up and Isabel saw that she had been thinking to some purpose She had recovered her balance she was in full possession of her resources I found I wished to wait for you she said urbanely But its not to talk about Pansy
Isabel wondered what it could be to talk about and in spite of Madame Merles declaration she answered after a moment Madame Catherine says its enough
Yes it also seems to me enough I wanted to ask you another word about poor Mr Touchett Madame Merle added Have you reason to believe that hes really at his last
Ive no information but a telegram Unfortunately it only confirms a probability
Im going to ask you a strange question said Madame Merle Are you very fond of your cousin And she gave a smile as strange as her utterance
Yes Im very fond of him But I dont understand you
She just hung fire Its rather hard to explain Something has occurred to me which may not have occurred to you and I give you the benefit of my idea Your cousin did you once a great service Have you never guessed it
He has done me many services
Yes but one was much above the rest He made you a rich woman
HE made me—
Madame Merle appearing to see herself successful she went on more triumphantly He imparted to you that extra lustre which was required to make you a brilliant match At bottom its him youve to thank She stopped there was something in Isabels eyes
I dont understand you It was my uncles money
Yes it was your uncles money but it was your cousins idea He brought his father over to it Ah my dear the sum was large
Isabel stood staring she seemed today to live in a world illumined by lurid flashes I dont know why you say such things I dont know what you know
I know nothing but what Ive guessed But Ive guessed that
Isabel went to the door and when she had opened it stood a moment with her hand on the latch Then she said—it was her only revenge I believed it was you I had to thank
Madame Merle dropped her eyes she stood there in a kind of proud penance Youre very unhappy I know But Im more so
Yes I can believe that I think I should like never to see you again
Madame Merle raised her eyes I shall go to America she quietly remarked while Isabel passed out
CHAPTER LIII
It was not with surprise it was with a feeling which in other circumstances would have had much of the effect of joy that as Isabel descended from the Paris Mail at Charing Cross she stepped into the arms as it were—or at any rate into the hands—of Henrietta Stackpole She had telegraphed to her friend from Turin and though she had not definitely said to herself that Henrietta would meet her she had felt her telegram would produce some helpful result On her long journey from Rome her mind had been given up to vagueness she was unable to question the future She performed this journey with sightless eyes and took little pleasure in the countries she traversed decked out though they were in the richest freshness of spring Her thoughts followed their course through other countries—strangelooking dimlylighted pathless lands in which there was no change of seasons but only as it seemed a perpetual dreariness of winter She had plenty to think about but it was neither reflexion nor conscious purpose that filled her mind Disconnected visions passed through it and sudden dull gleams of memory of expectation The past and the future came and went at their will but she saw them only in fitful images which rose and fell by a logic of their own It was extraordinary the things she remembered Now that she was in the secret now that she knew something that so much concerned her and the eclipse of which had made life resemble an attempt to play whist with an imperfect pack of cards the truth of things their mutual relations their meaning and for the most part their horror rose before her with a kind of architectural vastness She remembered a thousand trifles they started to life with the spontaneity of a shiver She had thought them trifles at the time now she saw that they had been weighted with lead Yet even now they were trifles after all for of what use was it to her to understand them Nothing seemed of use to her today All purpose all intention was suspended all desire too save the single desire to reach her muchembracing refuge Gardencourt had been her startingpoint and to those muffled chambers it was at least a temporary solution to return She had gone forth in her strength she would come back in her weakness and if the place had been a rest to her before it would be a sanctuary now She envied Ralph his dying for if one were thinking of rest that was the most perfect of all To cease utterly to give it all up and not know anything more—this idea was as sweet as the vision of a cool bath in a marble tank in a darkened chamber in a hot land
She had moments indeed in her journey from Rome which were almost as good as being dead She sat in her corner so motionless so passive simply with the sense of being carried so detached from hope and regret that she recalled to herself one of those Etruscan figures couched upon the receptacle of their ashes There was nothing to regret now—that was all over Not only the time of her folly but the time of her repentance was far The only thing to regret was that Madame Merle had been so—well so unimaginable Just here her intelligence dropped from literal inability to say what it was that Madame Merle had been Whatever it was it was for Madame Merle herself to regret it and doubtless she would do so in America where she had announced she was going It concerned Isabel no more she only had an impression that she should never again see Madame Merle This impression carried her into the future of which from time to time she had a mutilated glimpse She saw herself in the distant years still in the attitude of a woman who had her life to live and these intimations contradicted the spirit of the present hour It might be desirable to get quite away really away further away than little greygreen England but this privilege was evidently to be denied her Deep in her soul—deeper than any appetite for renunciation—was the sense that life would be her business for a long time to come And at moments there was something inspiring almost enlivening in the conviction It was a proof of strength—it was a proof she should some day be happy again It couldnt be she was to live only to suffer she was still young after all and a great many things might happen to her yet To live only to suffer—only to feel the injury of life repeated and enlarged—it seemed to her she was too valuable too capable for that Then she wondered if it were vain and stupid to think so well of herself When had it even been a guarantee to be valuable Wasnt all history full of the destruction of precious things Wasnt it much more probable that if one were fine one would suffer It involved then perhaps an admission that one had a certain grossness but Isabel recognised as it passed before her eyes the quick vague shadow of a long future She should never escape she should last to the end Then the middle years wrapped her about again and the grey curtain of her indifference closed her in
Henrietta kissed her as Henrietta usually kissed as if she were afraid she should be caught doing it and then Isabel stood there in the crowd looking about her looking for her servant She asked nothing she wished to wait She had a sudden perception that she should be helped She rejoiced Henrietta had come there was something terrible in an arrival in London The dusky smoky fararching vault of the station the strange livid light the dense dark pushing crowd filled her with a nervous fear and made her put her arm into her friends She remembered she had once liked these things they seemed part of a mighty spectacle in which there was something that touched her She remembered how she walked away from Euston in the winter dusk in the crowded streets five years before She could not have done that today and the incident came before her as the deed of another person
Its too beautiful that you should have come said Henrietta looking at her as if she thought Isabel might be prepared to challenge the proposition If you hadnt—if you hadnt well I dont know remarked Miss Stackpole hinting ominously at her powers of disapproval
Isabel looked about without seeing her maid Her eyes rested on another figure however which she felt she had seen before and in a moment she recognised the genial countenance of Mr Bantling He stood a little apart and it was not in the power of the multitude that pressed about him to make him yield an inch of the ground he had taken—that of abstracting himself discreetly while the two ladies performed their embraces
Theres Mr Bantling said Isabel gently irrelevantly scarcely caring much now whether she should find her maid or not
Oh yes he goes everywhere with me Come here Mr Bantling Henrietta exclaimed Whereupon the gallant bachelor advanced with a smile—a smile tempered however by the gravity of the occasion Isnt it lovely she has come Henrietta asked He knows all about it she added we had quite a discussion He said you wouldnt I said you would
I thought you always agreed Isabel smiled in return She felt she could smile now she had seen in an instant in Mr Bantlings brave eyes that he had good news for her They seemed to say he wished her to remember he was an old friend of her cousin—that he understood that it was all right Isabel gave him her hand she thought of him extravagantly as a beautiful blameless knight
Oh I always agree said Mr Bantling But she doesnt you know
Didnt I tell you that a maid was a nuisance Henrietta enquired Your young lady has probably remained at Calais
I dont care said Isabel looking at Mr Bantling whom she had never found so interesting
Stay with her while I go and see Henrietta commanded leaving the two for a moment together
They stood there at first in silence and then Mr Bantling asked Isabel how it had been on the Channel
Very fine No I believe it was very rough she said to her companions obvious surprise After which she added Youve been to Gardencourt I know
Now how do you know that
I cant tell you—except that you look like a person who has been to Gardencourt
Do you think I look awfully sad Its awfully sad there you know
I dont believe you ever look awfully sad You look awfully kind said Isabel with a breadth that cost her no effort It seemed to her she should never again feel a superficial embarrassment
Poor Mr Bantling however was still in this inferior stage He blushed a good deal and laughed he assured her that he was often very blue and that when he was blue he was awfully fierce You can ask Miss Stackpole you know I was at Gardencourt two days ago
Did you see my cousin
Only for a little But he had been seeing people Warburton had been there the day before Ralph was just the same as usual except that he was in bed and that he looks tremendously ill and that he cant speak Mr Bantling pursued He was awfully jolly and funny all the same He was just as clever as ever Its awfully wretched
Even in the crowded noisy station this simple picture was vivid Was that late in the day
Yes I went on purpose We thought youd like to know
Im greatly obliged to you Can I go down tonight
Ah I dont think SHELL let you go said Mr Bantling She wants you to stop with her I made Touchetts man promise to telegraph me today and I found the telegram an hour ago at my club Quiet and easy thats what it says and its dated two oclock So you see you can wait till tomorrow You must be awfully tired
Yes Im awfully tired And I thank you again
Oh said Mr Bantling We were certain you would like the last news On which Isabel vaguely noted that he and Henrietta seemed after all to agree Miss Stackpole came back with Isabels maid whom she had caught in the act of proving her utility This excellent person instead of losing herself in the crowd had simply attended to her mistresss luggage so that the latter was now at liberty to leave the station You know youre not to think of going to the country tonight Henrietta remarked to her It doesnt matter whether theres a train or not Youre to come straight to me in Wimpole Street There isnt a corner to be had in London but Ive got you one all the same It isnt a Roman palace but it will do for a night
Ill do whatever you wish Isabel said
Youll come and answer a few questions thats what I wish
She doesnt say anything about dinner does she Mrs Osmond Mr Bantling enquired jocosely
Henrietta fixed him a moment with her speculative gaze I see youre in a great hurry to get your own Youll be at the Paddington Station tomorrow morning at ten
Dont come for my sake Mr Bantling said Isabel
Hell come for mine Henrietta declared as she ushered her friend into a cab And later in a large dusky parlour in Wimpole Street—to do her justice there had been dinner enough—she asked those questions to which she had alluded at the station Did your husband make you a scene about your coming That was Miss Stackpoles first enquiry
No I cant say he made a scene
He didnt object then
Yes he objected very much But it was not what youd call a scene
What was it then
It was a very quiet conversation
Henrietta for a moment regarded her guest It must have been hellish she then remarked And Isabel didnt deny that it had been hellish But she confined herself to answering Henriettas questions which was easy as they were tolerably definite For the present she offered her no new information Well said Miss Stackpole at last Ive only one criticism to make I dont see why you promised little Miss Osmond to go back
Im not sure I myself see now Isabel replied But I did then
If youve forgotten your reason perhaps you wont return
Isabel waited a moment Perhaps I shall find another
Youll certainly never find a good one
In default of a better my having promised will do Isabel suggested
Yes thats why I hate it
Dont speak of it now Ive a little time Coming away was a complication but what will going back be
You must remember after all that he wont make you a scene said Henrietta with much intention
He will though Isabel answered gravely It wont be the scene of a moment it will be a scene of the rest of my life
For some minutes the two women sat and considered this remainder and then Miss Stackpole to change the subject as Isabel had requested announced abruptly Ive been to stay with Lady Pensil
Ah the invitation came at last
Yes it took five years But this time she wanted to see me
Naturally enough
It was more natural than I think you know said Henrietta who fixed her eyes on a distant point And then she added turning suddenly Isabel Archer I beg your pardon You dont know why Because I criticised you and yet Ive gone further than you Mr Osmond at least was born on the other side
It was a moment before Isabel grasped her meaning this sense was so modestly or at least so ingeniously veiled Isabels mind was not possessed at present with the comicality of things but she greeted with a quick laugh the image that her companion had raised She immediately recovered herself however and with the right excess of intensity Henrietta Stackpole she asked are you going to give up your country
Yes my poor Isabel I am I wont pretend to deny it I look the fact in the face Im going to marry Mr Bantling and locate right here in London
It seems very strange said Isabel smiling now
Well yes I suppose it does Ive come to it little by little I think I know what Im doing but I dont know as I can explain
One cant explain ones marriage Isabel answered And yours doesnt need to be explained Mr Bantling isnt a riddle
No he isnt a bad pun—or even a high flight of American humour He has a beautiful nature Henrietta went on Ive studied him for many years and I see right through him Hes as clear as the style of a good prospectus Hes not intellectual but he appreciates intellect On the other hand he doesnt exaggerate its claims I sometimes think we do in the United States
Ah said Isabel youre changed indeed Its the first time Ive ever heard you say anything against your native land
I only say that were too infatuated with mere brainpower that after all isnt a vulgar fault But I AM changed a woman has to change a good deal to marry
I hope youll be very happy You will at last—over here—see something of the inner life
Henrietta gave a little significant sigh Thats the key to the mystery I believe I couldnt endure to be kept off Now Ive as good a right as any one she added with artless elation Isabel was duly diverted but there was a certain melancholy in her view Henrietta after all had confessed herself human and feminine Henrietta whom she had hitherto regarded as a light keen flame a disembodied voice It was a disappointment to find she had personal susceptibilities that she was subject to common passions and that her intimacy with Mr Bantling had not been completely original There was a want of originality in her marrying him—there was even a kind of stupidity and for a moment to Isabels sense the dreariness of the world took on a deeper tinge A little later indeed she reflected that Mr Bantling himself at least was original But she didnt see how Henrietta could give up her country She herself had relaxed her hold of it but it had never been her country as it had been Henriettas She presently asked her if she had enjoyed her visit to Lady Pensil
Oh yes said Henrietta she didnt know what to make of me
And was that very enjoyable
Very much so because shes supposed to be a master mind She thinks she knows everything but she doesnt understand a woman of my modern type It would be so much easier for her if I were only a little better or a little worse Shes so puzzled I believe she thinks its my duty to go and do something immoral She thinks its immoral that I should marry her brother but after all that isnt immoral enough And shell never understand my mixture—never
Shes not so intelligent as her brother then said Isabel He appears to have understood
Oh no he hasnt cried Miss Stackpole with decision I really believe thats what he wants to marry me for—just to find out the mystery and the proportions of it Thats a fixed idea—a kind of fascination
Its very good in you to humour it
Oh well said Henrietta Ive something to find out too And Isabel saw that she had not renounced an allegiance but planned an attack She was at last about to grapple in earnest with England
Isabel also perceived however on the morrow at the Paddington Station where she found herself at ten oclock in the company both of Miss Stackpole and Mr Bantling that the gentleman bore his perplexities lightly If he had not found out everything he had found out at least the great point—that Miss Stackpole would not be wanting in initiative It was evident that in the selection of a wife he had been on his guard against this deficiency
Henrietta has told me and Im very glad Isabel said as she gave him her hand
I dare say you think it awfully odd Mr Bantling replied resting on his neat umbrella
Yes I think it awfully odd
You cant think it so awfully odd as I do But Ive always rather liked striking out a line said Mr Bantling serenely
CHAPTER LIV
Isabels arrival at Gardencourt on this second occasion was even quieter than it had been on the first Ralph Touchett kept but a small household and to the new servants Mrs Osmond was a stranger so that instead of being conducted to her own apartment she was coldly shown into the drawingroom and left to wait while her name was carried up to her aunt She waited a long time Mrs Touchett appeared in no hurry to come to her She grew impatient at last she grew nervous and scared—as scared as if the objects about her had begun to show for conscious things watching her trouble with grotesque grimaces The day was dark and cold the dusk was thick in the corners of the wide brown rooms The house was perfectly still—with a stillness that Isabel remembered it had filled all the place for days before the death of her uncle She left the drawingroom and wandered about—strolled into the library and along the gallery of pictures where in the deep silence her footstep made an echo Nothing was changed she recognised everything she had seen years before it might have been only yesterday she had stood there She envied the security of valuable pieces which change by no hairs breadth only grow in value while their owners lose inch by inch youth happiness beauty and she became aware that she was walking about as her aunt had done on the day she had come to see her in Albany She was changed enough since then—that had been the beginning It suddenly struck her that if her Aunt Lydia had not come that day in just that way and found her alone everything might have been different She might have had another life and she might have been a woman more blest She stopped in the gallery in front of a small picture—a charming and precious Bonington—upon which her eyes rested a long time But she was not looking at the picture she was wondering whether if her aunt had not come that day in Albany she would have married Caspar Goodwood
Mrs Touchett appeared at last just after Isabel had returned to the big uninhabited drawingroom She looked a good deal older but her eye was as bright as ever and her head as erect her thin lips seemed a repository of latent meanings She wore a little grey dress of the most undecorated fashion and Isabel wondered as she had wondered the first time if her remarkable kinswoman resembled more a queenregent or the matron of a gaol Her lips felt very thin indeed on Isabels hot cheek
Ive kept you waiting because Ive been sitting with Ralph Mrs Touchett said The nurse had gone to luncheon and I had taken her place He has a man whos supposed to look after him but the mans good for nothing hes always looking out of the window—as if there were anything to see I didnt wish to move because Ralph seemed to be sleeping and I was afraid the sound would disturb him I waited till the nurse came back I remembered you knew the house
I find I know it better even than I thought Ive been walking everywhere Isabel answered And then she asked if Ralph slept much
He lies with his eyes closed he doesnt move But Im not sure that its always sleep
Will he see me Can he speak to me
Mrs Touchett declined the office of saying You can try him was the limit of her extravagance And then she offered to conduct Isabel to her room I thought they had taken you there but its not my house its Ralphs and I dont know what they do They must at least have taken your luggage I dont suppose youve brought much Not that I care however I believe theyve given you the same room you had before when Ralph heard you were coming he said you must have that one
Did he say anything else
Ah my dear he doesnt chatter as he used cried Mrs Touchett as she preceded her niece up the staircase
It was the same room and something told Isabel it had not been slept in since she occupied it Her luggage was there and was not voluminous Mrs Touchett sat down a moment with her eyes upon it Is there really no hope our young woman asked as she stood before her
None whatever There never has been It has not been a successful life
No—it has only been a beautiful one Isabel found herself already contradicting her aunt she was irritated by her dryness
I dont know what you mean by that theres no beauty without health That is a very odd dress to travel in
Isabel glanced at her garment I left Rome at an hours notice I took the first that came
Your sisters in America wished to know how you dress That seemed to be their principal interest I wasnt able to tell them—but they seemed to have the right idea that you never wear anything less than black brocade
They think Im more brilliant than I am Im afraid to tell them the truth said Isabel Lily wrote me you had dined with her
She invited me four times and I went once After the second time she should have let me alone The dinner was very good it must have been expensive Her husband has a very bad manner Did I enjoy my visit to America Why should I have enjoyed it I didnt go for my pleasure
These were interesting items but Mrs Touchett soon left her niece whom she was to meet in half an hour at the midday meal For this repast the two ladies faced each other at an abbreviated table in the melancholy diningroom Here after a little Isabel saw her aunt not to be so dry as she appeared and her old pity for the poor womans inexpressiveness her want of regret of disappointment came back to her Unmistakeably she would have found it a blessing today to be able to feel a defeat a mistake even a shame or two She wondered if she were not even missing those enrichments of consciousness and privately trying—reaching out for some aftertaste of life dregs of the banquet the testimony of pain or the cold recreation of remorse On the other hand perhaps she was afraid if she should begin to know remorse at all it might take her too far Isabel could perceive however how it had come over her dimly that she had failed of something that she saw herself in the future as an old woman without memories Her little sharp face looked tragical She told her niece that Ralph had as yet not moved but that he probably would be able to see her before dinner And then in a moment she added that he had seen Lord Warburton the day before an announcement which startled Isabel a little as it seemed an intimation that this personage was in the neighbourhood and that an accident might bring them together Such an accident would not be happy she had not come to England to struggle again with Lord Warburton She none the less presently said to her aunt that he had been very kind to Ralph she had seen something of that in Rome
He has something else to think of now Mrs Touchett returned And she paused with a gaze like a gimlet
Isabel saw she meant something and instantly guessed what she meant But her reply concealed her guess her heart beat faster and she wished to gain a moment Ah yes—the House of Lords and all that
Hes not thinking of the Lords hes thinking of the ladies At least hes thinking of one of them he told Ralph hes engaged to be married
Ah to be married Isabel mildly exclaimed
Unless he breaks it off He seemed to think Ralph would like to know Poor Ralph cant go to the wedding though I believe its to take place very soon
And whos the young lady
A member of the aristocracy Lady Flora Lady Felicia—something of that sort
Im very glad Isabel said It must be a sudden decision
Sudden enough I believe a courtship of three weeks It has only just been made public
Im very glad Isabel repeated with a larger emphasis She knew her aunt was watching her—looking for the signs of some imputed soreness and the desire to prevent her companion from seeing anything of this kind enabled her to speak in the tone of quick satisfaction the tone almost of relief Mrs Touchett of course followed the tradition that ladies even married ones regard the marriage of their old lovers as an offence to themselves Isabels first care therefore was to show that however that might be in general she was not offended now But meanwhile as I say her heart beat faster and if she sat for some moments thoughtful—she presently forgot Mrs Touchetts observation—it was not because she had lost an admirer Her imagination had traversed half Europe it halted panting and even trembling a little in the city of Rome She figured herself announcing to her husband that Lord Warburton was to lead a bride to the altar and she was of course not aware how extremely wan she must have looked while she made this intellectual effort But at last she collected herself and said to her aunt He was sure to do it some time or other
Mrs Touchett was silent then she gave a sharp little shake of the head Ah my dear youre beyond me she cried suddenly They went on with their luncheon in silence Isabel felt as if she had heard of Lord Warburtons death She had known him only as a suitor and now that was all over He was dead for poor Pansy by Pansy he might have lived A servant had been hovering about at last Mrs Touchett requested him to leave them alone She had finished her meal she sat with her hands folded on the edge of the table I should like to ask you three questions she observed when the servant had gone
Three are a great many
I cant do with less Ive been thinking Theyre all very good ones
Thats what Im afraid of The best questions are the worst Isabel answered Mrs Touchett had pushed back her chair and as her niece left the table and walked rather consciously to one of the deep windows she felt herself followed by her eyes
Have you ever been sorry you didnt marry Lord Warburton Mrs Touchett enquired
Isabel shook her head slowly but not heavily No dear aunt
Good I ought to tell you that I propose to believe what you say
Your believing mes an immense temptation she declared smiling still
A temptation to lie I dont recommend you to do that for when Im misinformed Im as dangerous as a poisoned rat I dont mean to crow over you
Its my husband who doesnt get on with me said Isabel
I could have told him he wouldnt I dont call that crowing over YOU Mrs Touchett added Do you still like Serena Merle she went on
Not as I once did But it doesnt matter for shes going to America
To America She must have done something very bad
Yes—very bad
May I ask what it is
She made a convenience of me
Ah cried Mrs Touchett so she did of me She does of every one
Shell make a convenience of America said Isabel smiling again and glad that her aunts questions were over
It was not till the evening that she was able to see Ralph He had been dozing all day at least he had been lying unconscious The doctor was there but after a while went away—the local doctor who had attended his father and whom Ralph liked He came three or four times a day he was deeply interested in his patient Ralph had had Sir Matthew Hope but he had got tired of this celebrated man to whom he had asked his mother to send word he was now dead and was therefore without further need of medical advice Mrs Touchett had simply written to Sir Matthew that her son disliked him On the day of Isabels arrival Ralph gave no sign as I have related for many hours but toward evening he raised himself and said he knew that she had come
How he knew was not apparent inasmuch as for fear of exciting him no one had offered the information Isabel came in and sat by his bed in the dim light there was only a shaded candle in a corner of the room She told the nurse she might go—she herself would sit with him for the rest of the evening He had opened his eyes and recognised her and had moved his hand which lay helpless beside him so that she might take it But he was unable to speak he closed his eyes again and remained perfectly still only keeping her hand in his own She sat with him a long time—till the nurse came back but he gave no further sign He might have passed away while she looked at him he was already the figure and pattern of death She had thought him far gone in Rome and this was worse there was but one change possible now There was a strange tranquillity in his face it was as still as the lid of a box With this he was a mere lattice of bones when he opened his eyes to greet her it was as if she were looking into immeasurable space It was not till midnight that the nurse came back but the hours to Isabel had not seemed long it was exactly what she had come for If she had come simply to wait she found ample occasion for he lay three days in a kind of grateful silence He recognised her and at moments seemed to wish to speak but he found no voice Then he closed his eyes again as if he too were waiting for something—for something that certainly would come He was so absolutely quiet that it seemed to her what was coming had already arrived and yet she never lost the sense that they were still together But they were not always together there were other hours that she passed in wandering through the empty house and listening for a voice that was not poor Ralphs She had a constant fear she thought it possible her husband would write to her But he remained silent and she only got a letter from Florence and from the Countess Gemini Ralph however spoke at last—on the evening of the third day
I feel better tonight he murmured abruptly in the soundless dimness of her vigil I think I can say something She sank upon her knees beside his pillow took his thin hand in her own begged him not to make an effort—not to tire himself His face was of necessity serious—it was incapable of the muscular play of a smile but its owner apparently had not lost a perception of incongruities What does it matter if Im tired when Ive all eternity to rest Theres no harm in making an effort when its the very last of all Dont people always feel better just before the end Ive often heard of that its what I was waiting for Ever since youve been here I thought it would come I tried two or three times I was afraid youd get tired of sitting there He spoke slowly with painful breaks and long pauses his voice seemed to come from a distance When he ceased he lay with his face turned to Isabel and his large unwinking eyes open into her own It was very good of you to come he went on I thought you would but I wasnt sure
I was not sure either till I came said Isabel
Youve been like an angel beside my bed You know they talk about the angel of death Its the most beautiful of all Youve been like that as if you were waiting for me
I was not waiting for your death I was waiting for—for this This is not death dear Ralph
Not for you—no Theres nothing makes us feel so much alive as to see others die Thats the sensation of life—the sense that we remain Ive had it—even I But now Im of no use but to give it to others With me its all over And then he paused Isabel bowed her head further till it rested on the two hands that were clasped upon his own She couldnt see him now but his faraway voice was close to her ear Isabel he went on suddenly I wish it were over for you She answered nothing she had burst into sobs she remained so with her buried face He lay silent listening to her sobs at last he gave a long groan Ah what is it you have done for me
What is it you did for me she cried her now extreme agitation half smothered by her attitude She had lost all her shame all wish to hide things Now he must know she wished him to know for it brought them supremely together and he was beyond the reach of pain You did something once—you know it O Ralph youve been everything What have I done for you—what can I do today I would die if you could live But I dont wish you to live I would die myself not to lose you Her voice was as broken as his own and full of tears and anguish
You wont lose me—youll keep me Keep me in your heart I shall be nearer to you than Ive ever been Dear Isabel life is better for in life theres love Death is good—but theres no love
I never thanked you—I never spoke—I never was what I should be Isabel went on She felt a passionate need to cry out and accuse herself to let her sorrow possess her All her troubles for the moment became single and melted together into this present pain What must you have thought of me Yet how could I know I never knew and I only know today because there are people less stupid than I
Dont mind people said Ralph I think Im glad to leave people
She raised her head and her clasped hands she seemed for a moment to pray to him Is it true—is it true she asked
True that youve been stupid Oh no said Ralph with a sensible intention of wit
That you made me rich—that all I have is yours
He turned away his head and for some time said nothing Then at last Ah dont speak of that—that was not happy Slowly he moved his face toward her again and they once more saw each other But for that—but for that— And he paused I believe I ruined you he wailed
She was full of the sense that he was beyond the reach of pain he seemed already so little of this world But even if she had not had it she would still have spoken for nothing mattered now but the only knowledge that was not pure anguish—the knowledge that they were looking at the truth together
He married me for the money she said She wished to say everything she was afraid he might die before she had done so He gazed at her a little and for the first time his fixed eyes lowered their lids But he raised them in a moment and then He was greatly in love with you he answered
Yes he was in love with me But he wouldnt have married me if I had been poor I dont hurt you in saying that How can I I only want you to understand I always tried to keep you from understanding but thats all over
I always understood said Ralph
I thought you did and I didnt like it But now I like it
You dont hurt me—you make me very happy And as Ralph said this there was an extraordinary gladness in his voice She bent her head again and pressed her lips to the back of his hand I always understood he continued though it was so strange—so pitiful You wanted to look at life for yourself—but you were not allowed you were punished for your wish You were ground in the very mill of the conventional
Oh yes Ive been punished Isabel sobbed
He listened to her a little and then continued Was he very bad about your coming
He made it very hard for me But I dont care
It is all over then between you
Oh no I dont think anythings over
Are you going back to him Ralph gasped
I dont know—I cant tell I shall stay here as long as I may I dont want to think—I neednt think I dont care for anything but you and thats enough for the present It will last a little yet Here on my knees with you dying in my arms Im happier than I have been for a long time And I want you to be happy—not to think of anything sad only to feel that Im near you and I love you Why should there be pain— In such hours as this what have we to do with pain Thats not the deepest thing theres something deeper
Ralph evidently found from moment to moment greater difficulty in speaking he had to wait longer to collect himself At first he appeared to make no response to these last words he let a long time elapse Then he murmured simply You must stay here
I should like to stay—as long as seems right
As seems right—as seems right He repeated her words Yes you think a great deal about that
Of course one must Youre very tired said Isabel
Im very tired You said just now that pains not the deepest thing No—no But its very deep If I could stay—
For me youll always be here she softly interrupted It was easy to interrupt him
But he went on after a moment It passes after all its passing now But love remains I dont know why we should suffer so much Perhaps I shall find out There are many things in life Youre very young
I feel very old said Isabel
Youll grow young again Thats how I see you I dont believe—I dont believe— But he stopped again his strength failed him
She begged him to be quiet now We neednt speak to understand each other she said
I dont believe that such a generous mistake as yours can hurt you for more than a little
Oh Ralph Im very happy now she cried through her tears
And remember this he continued that if youve been hated youve also been loved Ah but Isabel—ADORED he just audibly and lingeringly breathed
Oh my brother she cried with a movement of still deeper prostration
CHAPTER LV
He had told her the first evening she ever spent at Gardencourt that if she should live to suffer enough she might some day see the ghost with which the old house was duly provided She apparently had fulfilled the necessary condition for the next morning in the cold faint dawn she knew that a spirit was standing by her bed She had lain down without undressing it being her belief that Ralph would not outlast the night She had no inclination to sleep she was waiting and such waiting was wakeful But she closed her eyes she believed that as the night wore on she should hear a knock at her door She heard no knock but at the time the darkness began vaguely to grow grey she started up from her pillow as abruptly as if she had received a summons It seemed to her for an instant that he was standing there—a vague hovering figure in the vagueness of the room She stared a moment she saw his white face—his kind eyes then she saw there was nothing She was not afraid she was only sure She quitted the place and in her certainty passed through dark corridors and down a flight of oaken steps that shone in the vague light of a hallwindow Outside Ralphs door she stopped a moment listening but she seemed to hear only the hush that filled it She opened the door with a hand as gentle as if she were lifting a veil from the face of the dead and saw Mrs Touchett sitting motionless and upright beside the couch of her son with one of his hands in her own The doctor was on the other side with poor Ralphs further wrist resting in his professional fingers The two nurses were at the foot between them Mrs Touchett took no notice of Isabel but the doctor looked at her very hard then he gently placed Ralphs hand in a proper position close beside him The nurse looked at her very hard too and no one said a word but Isabel only looked at what she had come to see It was fairer than Ralph had ever been in life and there was a strange resemblance to the face of his father which six years before she had seen lying on the same pillow She went to her aunt and put her arm around her and Mrs Touchett who as a general thing neither invited nor enjoyed caresses submitted for a moment to this one rising as might be to take it But she was stiff and dryeyed her acute white face was terrible
Dear Aunt Lydia Isabel murmured
Go and thank God youve no child said Mrs Touchett disengaging herself
Three days after this a considerable number of people found time at the height of the London season to take a morning train down to a quiet station in Berkshire and spend half an hour in a small grey church which stood within an easy walk It was in the green burialplace of this edifice that Mrs Touchett consigned her son to earth She stood herself at the edge of the grave and Isabel stood beside her the sexton himself had not a more practical interest in the scene than Mrs Touchett It was a solemn occasion but neither a harsh nor a heavy one there was a certain geniality in the appearance of things The weather had changed to fair the day one of the last of the treacherous Maytime was warm and windless and the air had the brightness of the hawthorn and the blackbird If it was sad to think of poor Touchett it was not too sad since death for him had had no violence He had been dying so long he was so ready everything had been so expected and prepared There were tears in Isabels eyes but they were not tears that blinded She looked through them at the beauty of the day the splendour of nature the sweetness of the old English churchyard the bowed heads of good friends Lord Warburton was there and a group of gentlemen all unknown to her several of whom as she afterwards learned were connected with the bank and there were others whom she knew Miss Stackpole was among the first with honest Mr Bantling beside her and Caspar Goodwood lifting his head higher than the rest—bowing it rather less During much of the time Isabel was conscious of Mr Goodwoods gaze he looked at her somewhat harder than he usually looked in public while the others had fixed their eyes upon the churchyard turf But she never let him see that she saw him she thought of him only to wonder that he was still in England She found she had taken for granted that after accompanying Ralph to Gardencourt he had gone away she remembered how little it was a country that pleased him He was there however very distinctly there and something in his attitude seemed to say that he was there with a complex intention She wouldnt meet his eyes though there was doubtless sympathy in them he made her rather uneasy With the dispersal of the little group he disappeared and the only person who came to speak to her—though several spoke to Mrs Touchett—was Henrietta Stackpole Henrietta had been crying
Ralph had said to Isabel that he hoped she would remain at Gardencourt and she made no immediate motion to leave the place She said to herself that it was but common charity to stay a little with her aunt It was fortunate she had so good a formula otherwise she might have been greatly in want of one Her errand was over she had done what she had left her husband to do She had a husband in a foreign city counting the hours of her absence in such a case one needed an excellent motive He was not one of the best husbands but that didnt alter the case Certain obligations were involved in the very fact of marriage and were quite independent of the quantity of enjoyment extracted from it Isabel thought of her husband as little as might be but now that she was at a distance beyond its spell she thought with a kind of spiritual shudder of Rome There was a penetrating chill in the image and she drew back into the deepest shade of Gardencourt She lived from day to day postponing closing her eyes trying not to think She knew she must decide but she decided nothing her coming itself had not been a decision On that occasion she had simply started Osmond gave no sound and now evidently would give none he would leave it all to her From Pansy she heard nothing but that was very simple her father had told her not to write
Mrs Touchett accepted Isabels company but offered her no assistance she appeared to be absorbed in considering without enthusiasm but with perfect lucidity the new conveniences of her own situation Mrs Touchett was not an optimist but even from painful occurrences she managed to extract a certain utility This consisted in the reflexion that after all such things happened to other people and not to herself Death was disagreeable but in this case it was her sons death not her own she had never flattered herself that her own would be disagreeable to any one but Mrs Touchett She was better off than poor Ralph who had left all the commodities of life behind him and indeed all the security since the worst of dying was to Mrs Touchetts mind that it exposed one to be taken advantage of For herself she was on the spot there was nothing so good as that She made known to Isabel very punctually—it was the evening her son was buried—several of Ralphs testamentary arrangements He had told her everything had consulted her about everything He left her no money of course she had no need of money He left her the furniture of Gardencourt exclusive of the pictures and books and the use of the place for a year after which it was to be sold The money produced by the sale was to constitute an endowment for a hospital for poor persons suffering from the malady of which he died and of this portion of the will Lord Warburton was appointed executor The rest of his property which was to be withdrawn from the bank was disposed of in various bequests several of them to those cousins in Vermont to whom his father had already been so bountiful Then there were a number of small legacies
Some of them are extremely peculiar said Mrs Touchett he has left considerable sums to persons I never heard of He gave me a list and I asked then who some of them were and he told me they were people who at various times had seemed to like him Apparently he thought you didnt like him for he hasnt left you a penny It was his opinion that you had been handsomely treated by his father which Im bound to say I think you were—though I dont mean that I ever heard him complain of it The pictures are to be dispersed he has distributed them about one by one as little keepsakes The most valuable of the collection goes to Lord Warburton And what do you think he has done with his library It sounds like a practical joke He has left it to your friend Miss Stackpole—in recognition of her services to literature Does he mean her following him up from Rome Was that a service to literature It contains a great many rare and valuable books and as she cant carry it about the world in her trunk he recommends her to sell it at auction She will sell it of course at Christies and with the proceeds shell set up a newspaper Will that be a service to literature
This question Isabel forbore to answer as it exceeded the little interrogatory to which she had deemed it necessary to submit on her arrival Besides she had never been less interested in literature than today as she found when she occasionally took down from the shelf one of the rare and valuable volumes of which Mrs Touchett had spoken She was quite unable to read her attention had never been so little at her command One afternoon in the library about a week after the ceremony in the churchyard she was trying to fix it for an hour but her eyes often wandered from the book in her hand to the open window which looked down the long avenue It was in this way that she saw a modest vehicle approach the door and perceived Lord Warburton sitting in rather an uncomfortable attitude in a corner of it He had always had a high standard of courtesy and it was therefore not remarkable under the circumstances that he should have taken the trouble to come down from London to call on Mrs Touchett It was of course Mrs Touchett he had come to see and not Mrs Osmond and to prove to herself the validity of this thesis Isabel presently stepped out of the house and wandered away into the park Since her arrival at Gardencourt she had been but little out of doors the weather being unfavourable for visiting the grounds This evening however was fine and at first it struck her as a happy thought to have come out The theory I have just mentioned was plausible enough but it brought her little rest and if you had seen her pacing about you would have said she had a bad conscience She was not pacified when at the end of a quarter of an hour finding herself in view of the house she saw Mrs Touchett emerge from the portico accompanied by her visitor Her aunt had evidently proposed to Lord Warburton that they should come in search of her She was in no humour for visitors and if she had had a chance would have drawn back behind one of the great trees But she saw she had been seen and that nothing was left her but to advance As the lawn at Gardencourt was a vast expanse this took some time during which she observed that as he walked beside his hostess Lord Warburton kept his hands rather stiffly behind him and his eyes upon the ground Both persons apparently were silent but Mrs Touchetts thin little glance as she directed it toward Isabel had even at a distance an expression It seemed to say with cutting sharpness Heres the eminently amenable nobleman you might have married When Lord Warburton lifted his own eyes however that was not what they said They only said This is rather awkward you know and I depend upon you to help me He was very grave very proper and for the first time since Isabel had known him greeted her without a smile Even in his days of distress he had always begun with a smile He looked extremely selfconscious
Lord Warburton has been so good as to come out to see me said Mrs Touchett He tells me he didnt know you were still here I know hes an old friend of yours and as I was told you were not in the house I brought him out to see for himself
Oh I saw there was a good train at 640 that would get me back in time for dinner Mrs Touchetts companion rather irrelevantly explained Im so glad to find youve not gone
Im not here for long you know Isabel said with a certain eagerness
I suppose not but I hope its for some weeks You came to England sooner than—a—than you thought
Yes I came very suddenly
Mrs Touchett turned away as if she were looking at the condition of the grounds which indeed was not what it should be while Lord Warburton hesitated a little Isabel fancied he had been on the point of asking about her husband—rather confusedly—and then had checked himself He continued immitigably grave either because he thought it becoming in a place over which death had just passed or for more personal reasons If he was conscious of personal reasons it was very fortunate that he had the cover of the former motive he could make the most of that Isabel thought of all this It was not that his face was sad for that was another matter but it was strangely inexpressive
My sisters would have been so glad to come if they had known you were still here—if they had thought you would see them Lord Warburton went on Do kindly let them see you before you leave England
It would give me great pleasure I have such a friendly recollection of them
I dont know whether you would come to Lockleigh for a day or two You know theres always that old promise And his lordship coloured a little as he made this suggestion which gave his face a somewhat more familiar air Perhaps Im not right in saying that just now of course youre not thinking of visiting But I meant what would hardly be a visit My sisters are to be at Lockleigh at Whitsuntide for five days and if you could come then—as you say youre not to be very long in England—I would see that there should be literally no one else
Isabel wondered if not even the young lady he was to marry would be there with her mamma but she did not express this idea
Thank you extremely she contented herself with saying Im afraid I hardly know about Whitsuntide
But I have your promise—havent I—for some other time
There was an interrogation in this but Isabel let it pass She looked at her interlocutor a moment and the result of her observation was that—as had happened before—she felt sorry for him Take care you dont miss your train she said And then she added I wish you every happiness
He blushed again more than before and he looked at his watch Ah yes 640 I havent much time but Ive a fly at the door Thank you very much It was not apparent whether the thanks applied to her having reminded him of his train or to the more sentimental remark Goodbye Mrs Osmond goodbye He shook hands with her without meeting her eyes and then he turned to Mrs Touchett who had wandered back to them With her his parting was equally brief and in a moment the two ladies saw him move with long steps across the lawn
Are you very sure hes to be married Isabel asked of her aunt
I cant be surer than he but he seems sure I congratulated him and he accepted it
Ah said Isabel I give it up—while her aunt returned to the house and to those avocations which the visitor had interrupted
She gave it up but she still thought of it—thought of it while she strolled again under the great oaks whose shadows were long upon the acres of turf At the end of a few minutes she found herself near a rustic bench which a moment after she had looked at it struck her as an object recognised It was not simply that she had seen it before nor even that she had sat upon it it was that on this spot something important had happened to her—that the place had an air of association Then she remembered that she had been sitting there six years before when a servant brought her from the house the letter in which Caspar Goodwood informed her that he had followed her to Europe and that when she had read the letter she looked up to hear Lord Warburton announcing that he should like to marry her It was indeed an historical an interesting bench she stood and looked at it as if it might have something to say to her She wouldnt sit down on it now—she felt rather afraid of it She only stood before it and while she stood the past came back to her in one of those rushing waves of emotion by which persons of sensibility are visited at odd hours The effect of this agitation was a sudden sense of being very tired under the influence of which she overcame her scruples and sank into the rustic seat I have said that she was restless and unable to occupy herself and whether or no if you had seen her there you would have admired the justice of the former epithet you would at least have allowed that at this moment she was the image of a victim of idleness Her attitude had a singular absence of purpose her hands hanging at her sides lost themselves in the folds of her black dress her eyes gazed vaguely before her There was nothing to recall her to the house the two ladies in their seclusion dined early and had tea at an indefinite hour How long she had sat in this position she could not have told you but the twilight had grown thick when she became aware that she was not alone She quickly straightened herself glancing about and then saw what had become of her solitude She was sharing it with Caspar Goodwood who stood looking at her a few yards off and whose footfall on the unresonant turf as he came near she had not heard It occurred to her in the midst of this that it was just so Lord Warburton had surprised her of old
She instantly rose and as soon as Goodwood saw he was seen he started forward She had had time only to rise when with a motion that looked like violence but felt like—she knew not what he grasped her by the wrist and made her sink again into the seat She closed her eyes he had not hurt her it was only a touch which she had obeyed But there was something in his face that she wished not to see That was the way he had looked at her the other day in the churchyard only at present it was worse He said nothing at first she only felt him close to her—beside her on the bench and pressingly turned to her It almost seemed to her that no one had ever been so close to her as that All this however took but an instant at the end of which she had disengaged her wrist turning her eyes upon her visitant Youve frightened me she said
I didnt mean to he answered but if I did a little no matter I came from London a while ago by the train but I couldnt come here directly There was a man at the station who got ahead of me He took a fly that was there and I heard him give the order to drive here I dont know who he was but I didnt want to come with him I wanted to see you alone So Ive been waiting and walking about Ive walked all over and I was just coming to the house when I saw you here There was a keeper or someone who met me but that was all right because I had made his acquaintance when I came here with your cousin Is that gentleman gone Are you really alone I want to speak to you Goodwood spoke very fast he was as excited as when they had parted in Rome Isabel had hoped that condition would subside and she shrank into herself as she perceived that on the contrary he had only let out sail She had a new sensation he had never produced it before it was a feeling of danger There was indeed something really formidable in his resolution She gazed straight before her he with a hand on each knee leaned forward looking deeply into her face The twilight seemed to darken round them I want to speak to you he repeated Ive something particular to say I dont want to trouble you—as I did the other day in Rome That was of no use it only distressed you I couldnt help it I knew I was wrong But Im not wrong now please dont think I am he went on with his hard deep voice melting a moment into entreaty I came here today for a purpose Its very different It was vain for me to speak to you then but now I can help you
She couldnt have told you whether it was because she was afraid or because such a voice in the darkness seemed of necessity a boon but she listened to him as she had never listened before his words dropped deep into her soul They produced a sort of stillness in all her being and it was with an effort in a moment that she answered him How can you help me she asked in a low tone as if she were taking what he had said seriously enough to make the enquiry in confidence
By inducing you to trust me Now I know—today I know Do you remember what I asked you in Rome Then I was quite in the dark But today I know on good authority everythings clear to me today It was a good thing when you made me come away with your cousin He was a good man a fine man one of the best he told me how the case stands for you He explained everything he guessed my sentiments He was a member of your family and he left you—so long as you should be in England—to my care said Goodwood as if he were making a great point Do you know what he said to me the last time I saw him—as he lay there where he died He said Do everything you can for her do everything shell let you
Isabel suddenly got up You had no business to talk about me
Why not—why not when we talked in that way he demanded following her fast And he was dying—when a mans dying its different She checked the movement she had made to leave him she was listening more than ever it was true that he was not the same as that last time That had been aimless fruitless passion but at present he had an idea which she scented in all her being But it doesnt matter he exclaimed pressing her still harder though now without touching a hem of her garment If Touchett had never opened his mouth I should have known all the same I had only to look at you at your cousins funeral to see whats the matter with you You cant deceive me any more for Gods sake be honest with a man whos so honest with you Youre the most unhappy of women and your husbands the deadliest of fiends
She turned on him as if he had struck her Are you mad she cried
Ive never been so sane I see the whole thing Dont think its necessary to defend him But I wont say another word against him Ill speak only of you Goodwood added quickly How can you pretend youre not heartbroken You dont know what to do—you dont know where to turn Its too late to play a part didnt you leave all that behind you in Rome Touchett knew all about it and I knew it too—what it would cost you to come here It will have cost you your life Say it will—and he flared almost into anger give me one word of truth When I know such a horror as that how can I keep myself from wishing to save you What would you think of me if I should stand still and see you go back to your reward Its awful what shell have to pay for it—thats what Touchett said to me I may tell you that maynt I He was such a near relation cried Goodwood making his queer grim point again Id sooner have been shot than let another man say those things to me but he was different he seemed to me to have the right It was after he got home—when he saw he was dying and when I saw it too I understand all about it youre afraid to go back Youre perfectly alone you dont know where to turn You cant turn anywhere you know that perfectly Now it is therefore that I want you to think of ME
To think of you Isabel said standing before him in the dusk The idea of which she had caught a glimpse a few moments before now loomed large She threw back her head a little she stared at it as if it had been a comet in the sky
You dont know where to turn Turn straight to me I want to persuade you to trust me Goodwood repeated And then he paused with his shining eyes Why should you go back—why should you go through that ghastly form
To get away from you she answered But this expressed only a little of what she felt The rest was that she had never been loved before She had believed it but this was different this was the hot wind of the desert at the approach of which the others dropped dead like mere sweet airs of the garden It wrapped her about it lifted her off her feet while the very taste of it as of something potent acrid and strange forced open her set teeth
At first in rejoinder to what she had said it seemed to her that he would break out into greater violence But after an instant he was perfectly quiet he wished to prove he was sane that he had reasoned it all out I want to prevent that and I think I may if youll only for once listen to me Its too monstrous of you to think of sinking back into that misery of going to open your mouth to that poisoned air Its you that are out of your mind Trust me as if I had the care of you Why shouldnt we be happy—when its here before us when its so easy Im yours for ever—for ever and ever Here I stand Im as firm as a rock What have you to care about Youve no children that perhaps would be an obstacle As it is youve nothing to consider You must save what you can of your life you mustnt lose it all simply because youve lost a part It would be an insult to you to assume that you care for the look of the thing for what people will say for the bottomless idiocy of the world Weve nothing to do with all that were quite out of it we look at things as they are You took the great step in coming away the next is nothing its the natural one I swear as I stand here that a woman deliberately made to suffer is justified in anything in life—in going down into the streets if that will help her I know how you suffer and thats why Im here We can do absolutely as we please to whom under the sun do we owe anything What is it that holds us what is it that has the smallest right to interfere in such a question as this Such a question is between ourselves—and to say that is to settle it Were we born to rot in our misery—were we born to be afraid I never knew YOU afraid If youll only trust me how little you will be disappointed The worlds all before us—and the worlds very big I know something about that
Isabel gave a long murmur like a creature in pain it was as if he were pressing something that hurt her
The worlds very small she said at random she had an immense desire to appear to resist She said it at random to hear herself say something but it was not what she meant The world in truth had never seemed so large it seemed to open out all round her to take the form of a mighty sea where she floated in fathomless waters She had wanted help and here was help it had come in a rushing torrent I know not whether she believed everything he said but she believed just then that to let him take her in his arms would be the next best thing to her dying This belief for a moment was a kind of rapture in which she felt herself sink and sink In the movement she seemed to beat with her feet in order to catch herself to feel something to rest on
Ah be mine as Im yours she heard her companion cry He had suddenly given up argument and his voice seemed to come harsh and terrible through a confusion of vaguer sounds
This however of course was but a subjective fact as the metaphysicians say the confusion the noise of waters all the rest of it were in her own swimming head In an instant she became aware of this Do me the greatest kindness of all she panted I beseech you to go away
Ah dont say that Dont kill me he cried
She clasped her hands her eyes were streaming with tears As you love me as you pity me leave me alone
He glared at her a moment through the dusk and the next instant she felt his arms about her and his lips on her own lips His kiss was like white lightning a flash that spread and spread again and stayed and it was extraordinarily as if while she took it she felt each thing in his hard manhood that had least pleased her each aggressive fact of his face his figure his presence justified of its intense identity and made one with this act of possession So had she heard of those wrecked and under water following a train of images before they sink But when darkness returned she was free She never looked about her she only darted from the spot There were lights in the windows of the house they shone far across the lawn In an extraordinarily short time—for the distance was considerable—she had moved through the darkness for she saw nothing and reached the door Here only she paused She looked all about her she listened a little then she put her hand on the latch She had not known where to turn but she knew now There was a very straight path
Two days afterwards Caspar Goodwood knocked at the door of the house in Wimpole Street in which Henrietta Stackpole occupied furnished lodgings He had hardly removed his hand from the knocker when the door was opened and Miss Stackpole herself stood before him She had on her hat and jacket she was on the point of going out Oh goodmorning he said I was in hopes I should find Mrs Osmond
Henrietta kept him waiting a moment for her reply but there was a good deal of expression about Miss Stackpole even when she was silent Pray what led you to suppose she was here
I went down to Gardencourt this morning and the servant told me she had come to London He believed she was to come to you
Again Miss Stackpole held him—with an intention of perfect kindness—in suspense She came here yesterday and spent the night But this morning she started for Rome
Caspar Goodwood was not looking at her his eyes were fastened on the doorstep Oh she started— he stammered And without finishing his phrase or looking up he stiffly averted himself But he couldnt otherwise move
Henrietta had come out closing the door behind her and now she put out her hand and grasped his arm Look here Mr Goodwood she said just you wait
On which he looked up at her—but only to guess from her face with a revulsion that she simply meant he was young She stood shining at him with that cheap comfort and it added on the spot thirty years to his life She walked him away with her however as if she had given him now the key to patience