首页 >出版文学> WIVES AND DAUGHTERS>第47章
  Mollybegan。Hervoicesoundedhighandunnaturaltoherself,asifsomeoneelsewasspeaking,butshemadeherwordsclear。Thesquiredidnotattempttolisten,atfirst,atanyrate。’OnedaywhenIwashere,atthetimeofMrsHamley’slastillness’(thesquireherecheckedhisconvulsivebreathing),’Iwasinthelibrary,andOsbornecamein。Hesaidhehadonlycomeinforabook,andthatIwasnottomindhim,soIwentonreading。Presently,Rogercamealongtheflaggedgarden—pathjustoutsidethewindow(whichwasopen)。HedidnotseemeinthecornerwhereIwassitting,andsaidtoOsborne,"Here’saletterfromyourwife!"’Nowthesquirewasallattention;forthefirsttimehistear—swolleneyesmettheeyesofanother,andhelookedatMollywithsearchinganxiety,asherepeated,’Hiswife!Osbornemarried!’Mollywenton,—’OsbornewasangrywithRogerforspeakingoutbeforeme,andtheymademepromisenevertomentionittoanyone;ortoalludetoittoeitherofthemagain。Inevernamedittopapatilllastnight。’’Goon,’saidMrGibson。’TellthesquireaboutOsborne’scall,—whatyoutoldme!’Stillthesquirehungonherlips,listeningwithopenmouthandeyes。’SomemonthsagoOsbornecalled。Hewasnotwell,andwantedtoseepapa。
  Papawasaway,andIwasalone。Idon’texactlyrememberhowitcameabout,buthespoketomeofhiswifeforthefirstandonlytimesincetheaffairinthelibrary。’Shelookedatherfather,asifquestioninghimastothedesirablenessoftellingthefewfurtherparticularsthatsheknew。
  Thesquire’smouthwasdryandstiff,buthetriedtosay,’Tellmeall,—everything。’AndMollyunderstoodthehalf—formedwords。’Hesaidhiswifewasagoodwoman,andthathelovedherdearly;butshewasaFrenchRomanCatholic,anda’—anotherglanceatherfather—’shehadbeenaservantonce。Thatwasall;exceptthatIhaveheraddressathome。Hewroteitdownandgaveitme。’’Well,well!’moanedthesquire。’It’sallovernow。Allover。Allpastandgone。We’llnotblamehim,—no;butIwishhe’datoldme;heandItolivetogetherwithsuchasecretinoneofus。It’snowondertomenow—nothingcanbeawonderagain,foronenevercantellwhat’sinaman’sheart。Marriedsolong!andwesittingtogetheratmeals—andlivingtogether。Why,Itoldhimeverything!Toomuch,maybe,forIshowedhimallmypassionsandill—tempers!Marriedsolong!Oh,Osborne,Osborne,youshouldhavetoldme!’’Yes,heshould!’saidMrGibson。’ButIdaresayheknewhowmuchyouwoulddislikesuchachoiceashehadmade。Butheshouldhavetoldyou!’’Youknownothingaboutit,sir,’saidthesquiresharply。’Youdon’tknowthetermswewereon。Notheartyorconfidential。Iwascrosstohimmanyatime。angrywithhimforbeingdull,poorlad—andhewithallthisweightonhismind。Iwon’thavepeopleinterferingandjudgingbetweenmeandmysons。AndRogertoo!Hecouldknowitall,andkeepitfromme!’’Osborneevidentlyhadboundhimdowntosecrecy,justasheboundme,’
  saidMolly;’Rogercouldnothelphimself。’’Osbornewassuchafellowforpersuadingpeople,andwinningthemover,’
  saidthesquire,dreamily。’Iremember—butwhat’stheuseofremembering?
  It’sallover,andOsborneisdeadwithoutopeninghishearttome。Icouldhavebeentendertohim,Icould。Buthe’llneverknowitnow!’’Butwecanguesswhatwishhehadstrongestinhismindatthelast,fromwhatwedoknowofhislife。’saidMrGibson。’What,sir?’saidthesquire,withsharpsuspicionofwhatwascoming。’Hiswifemusthavebeenhislastthought,mustshenot?’’HowdoIknowshewashiswife?Doyouthinkhe’dgoandmarryaFrenchbaggageofaservant?Itmaybeallataletrumpedup。’’Stop,squire。Idon’tcaretodefendmydaughter’struthoraccuracy。
  Butwiththedeadman’sbodylyingupstairs—hissoulwithGod—thinktwicebeforeyousaymorehastywords,impugninghischaracter;ifshewasnothiswife,whatwasshe?’’Ibegyourpardon。IhardlyknowwhatIamsaying。DidIaccuseOsborne?
  Oh,mylad,mylad—thoumighthavetrustedthyolddad!Heusedtocallmehis"olddad"whenhewasalittlechapnotbiggerthanthis,’indicatingacertainheightwithhishand。’Inevermeanttosayhewasnot—notwhatonewouldwishtothinkhimnow—hissoulwithGod,asyousayveryjustly—forIamsureitisthere—’’Well!but,squire,’saidMrGibson,tryingtochecktheother’srambling,’toreturntohiswife——’’Andthechild,’whisperedMollytoherfather。Lowasthewhisperwas,itstruckonthesquire’sear。’What?’saidhe,turningroundtohersuddenly,’—child!Younevernamedthat?Isthereachild?Husbandandfather,andIneverknew!GodblessOsborne’schild!Isay,Godblessit!’Hestoodupreverently,andtheothertwoinstinctivelyrose。Heclosedhishandsasifinmomentaryprayer。
  Thenexhaustedhesatedownagain,andputouthishandtoMolly。’You’reagoodgirl。Thankyou。TellmewhatIoughttodo,andI’lldoit。’ThistoMrGibson。’Iamalmostasmuchpuzzledasyouare,squire,’repliedhe。’Ifullybelievethewholestory;butIthinktheremustbesomewrittenconfirmationofit,whichperhapsoughttobefoundatonce,beforeweact。MostprobablythisistobediscoveredamongOsborne’spapers。Willyoulookoverthematonce?Mollyshallreturnwithme,andfindtheaddressthatOsbornegaveher,whileyouarebusy——’’She’llcomebackagain?’saidthesquireeagerly。’You—shewon’tleavemetomyself?’’No!Sheshallcomebackthisevening。I’llmanagetosendhersomehow。
  Butshehasnoclothesbutthehabitshecamein,andIwantmyhorsethatsherodeawayupon。’’Takethecarriage,’saidthesquire。’Takeanything。I’llgiveorders。
  You’llcomebackagain,too?’’No!I’mafraidnot,to—day。I’llcometo—morrow,early。Mollyshallreturnthisevening,wheneveritsuitsyoutosendforher。’’Thisafternoon;thecarriageshallbeatyourhouseatthree。IdarenotlookatOsborne’s—atthepaperswithoutoneofyouwithme;andyetI
  shallneverresttillIknowmore。’’IwillsendthedeskinbyRobinsonbeforeIleave。And—canyougivemesomelunchbeforeIgo?’Littlebylittleheledthesquiretocatamorselorsooffood;andso,strengtheninghimphysically,andencouraginghimmentally,MrGibsonhopedthathewouldbeginhisresearchesduringMolly’sabsence。Therewassomethingtouchinginthesquire’swistfullooksafterMollyasshemovedabout。AstrangermighthaveimaginedhertobehisdaughterinsteadofMrGibson’s。Themeek,broken—down,consideratewaysofthebereavedfathernevershowedthemselvesmorestronglythanwhenhecalledthembacktohischair,outofwhichheseemedtoolanguidtorise,andsaid,asifbyanafter—thought,—’GivemylovetoMissKirkpatrick;tellherIlookuponherasquiteoneofthefamily。Ishallbegladtoseeherafter—afterthefuneral。Idon’tthinkIcanbefore。’’HeknowsnothingofCynthia’sresolutiontogiveupRoger,’saidMrGibsonastheyrodeaway。’Ihadalongtalkwithherlastnight,butshewasasresoluteasever。Fromwhatyourmammatellsme,thereisathirdloverinLondon,whomshe’salreadyrefused。I’mthankfulthatyou’venoloveratall,Molly,unlessthatabortiveattemptofMrCoxe’satanoffer,longago,canbecalledalover。’’Ineverheardofit,papa,’saidMolly。’Oh,no。Iforgot。WhatafoolIwas!Why,don’tyourememberthehurryIwasintogetyouofftoHamleyHall,theveryfirsttimeyoueverwent?
  ItwasallbecauseIgotholdofadesperatelove—letterfromCoxe,addressedtoyou。’ButMollywastootiredtobeamused,oreveninterested。Shecouldnotgetoverthesightofthestraightbodycoveredwithasheet,whichyetlettheoutlinesbeseen,—allthatremainedofOsborne。Herfatherhadtrustedtoomuchtothemotionoftheride,andthechangeofscenefromthedarkenedhouse。Hesawhismistake。’SomeonemustwritetoMrsOsborneHamley,’saidhe。’Ibelievehertohavealegalrighttothename;butwhetherorno,shemustbetoldthatthefatherofherchildisdead。Shallyoudoit,orI?’’Oh,you,please,papa!’’Iwill,ifyouwish,Butshemayhaveheardofyouasafriendofherdeadhusband’s;whileofme—amerecountrydoctor—it’sveryprobableshehasneverheardthename。’’IfIought,Iwilldoit。’MrGibsondidnotlikethisreadyacquiescence,giveninsofewwords,too。’There’sHollingfordchurch—spire,’saidshepresently,astheydrewnearthetown,andcaughtaglimpseofthechurchthroughthetrees。’IthinkIneverwishtogooutofsightofitagain。’’Nonsense!’saidhe。’Why,you’veallyourtravellingtodoyet;andifthesenewfangledrailwaysspread,astheysaytheywill,weshallallbespinningabouttheworld;"sittingontea—kettles,"asPhoebeBrowningcallsit。MissBrowningwrotesuchacapitalletterofadvicetoMissHornblower。
  IheardofitattheMillers’。MissHornblowerwasgoingtotravelbyrailroadforthefirsttime;andSallywasveryanxious,andsentherdirectionsforherconduct;onepieceofadvicewasnottositontheboiler。’Mollylaughedalittle,asshewasexpectedtodo。’Hereweareathome,atlast。’MrsGibsongaveMollyawarmwelcome。Foronething,Cynthiawasindisgrace;
  foranother,Mollycamefromthecentreofnews;forathird,MrsGibsonwasreallyfondofthegirl,inherway,andsorrytoseeherpaleheavylooks。’Tothinkofitallbeingsosuddenatlast!NotbutwhatIalwaysexpectedit!Andsoprovoking!JustwhenCynthiahadgivenupRoger!Ifshehadonlywaitedaday!Whatdoesthesquiresaytoitall?’’Heisbeatendownwithgrief,’repliedMolly。’Indeed!Ishouldnothavefanciedhehadlikedtheengagementsomuch。’’Whatengagement?’’Why,RogertoCynthia,tobesure。Iaskedyouhowthesquiretookherletter,announcingthebreakingofitoff?’’Oh—Imadeamistake。Hehasnotopenedhislettersto—day。IsawCynthia’samongthem。’’NowthatIcallpositivedisrespect。’’Idon’tknow。Hedidnotmeanitforsuch。WhereisCynthia?’’Goneoutintothemeadow—garden。She’llbeindirectly。Iwantedhertodosomeerrandsforme,butsheflatlyrefusedtogointothetown。Iamafraidshemismanagesheraffairssadly。Butshewon’tallowmetointerfere。
  Ihatetolookatsuchthingsinamercenaryspirit,butitisprovokingtoseeherthrowovertwosuchgoodmatches。FirstMrHenderson,andnowRogerHamley。WhendoesthesquireexpectRoger?DoeshethinkhewillcomebacksoonerforpoordearOsborne’sdeath?’’Idon’tknow。HehardlyseemstothinkofanythingbutOsborne。Heseemstometohavealmostforgotteneveryoneelse。ButperhapsthenewsofOsborne’sbeingmarried,andofthechild,mayrousehimup。’MollyhadnodoubtthatOsbornewasreallyandtrulymarried,norhadsheanyideathatherfatherhadneverbreathedthefactsofwhichshehadtoldhimonthepreviousnight,tohiswifeorCynthia。ButMrGibsonhadbeenslightlydubiousofthefulllegalityofthemarriage,andhadnotfeltinclinedtospeakofittohiswifeuntilthathadbeenascertainedonewayoranother。SoMrsGibsonexclaimed,’Whatdoyoumean,child?Married!Osbornemarried。Whosaysso?’’Oh,dear!IsupposeIoughtnottohavenamedit。Iamverystupidto—day。
  Yes!Osbornehasbeenmarriedalongtime;butthesquiredidnotknowofituntilthismorning。Ithinkithasdonehimgood。ButIdon’tknow。’’Whoisthelady?Why,Icallitashametogoaboutasasingleman,andbemarriedallthetime!Ifthereisonethingthatrevoltsme,itisduplicity。
  Whoisthelady?Dotellmeallyouknowaboutit,there’sadear。’’SheisFrench,andaRomanCatholic,’saidMolly。’French!Theyaresuchbeguilingwomen;andhewassomuchabroad!Yousaidtherewasachild,—isitaboyorgirl?’’Ididnothear。Ididnotask。’Mollydidnotthinkitnecessarytodomorethananswerquestions;indeed,shewasvexedenoughtohavetoldanythingofwhatherfatherevidentlyconsidereditdesirabletokeepsecret。JustthenCynthiacamewanderingintotheroomwithacareless,hopelesslookinherface,whichMollynoticedatonce。ShehadnotheardofMolly’sarrival,andhadnoideathatshewasreturneduntilshesawhersittingthere。’Molly,darling!Isthatyou?You’reaswelcomeastheflowersinMay,thoughyou’venotbeengonetwenty—fourhours。Butthehouseisnotthesamewhenyouareaway!’’Andshebringsussuchnewstoo!’saidMrsGibson。’I’mreallyalmostgladyouwrotetothesquireyesterday,forifyouhadwaitedtillto—day—Ithoughtyouwereintoogreatahurryatthetime—hemighthavethoughtyouhadsomeinterestedreasonforgivingupyourengagement。OsborneHamleywasmarriedallthistimeunknowntoeverybody,andhasgotachildtoo。’’Osbornemarried!’exclaimedCynthia。’Ifeveramanlookedabachelor,hedid。PoorOsborne!withhisfairdelicateelegance,—helookedsoyoungandboyish!’’Yes!itwasagreatpieceofdeceit,andIcan’teasilyforgivehimforit。Onlythink!Ifhehadpaideitherofyouanyparticularattention,andyouhadfalleninlovewithhim!Why,hemighthavebrokenyourheart,orMolly’seither。Ican’tforgivehim,eventhoughheisdead,poorfellow!’Well,asheneverdidpayeitherofusanyparticularattention,andasweneitherofusdidfallinlovewithhim,IthinkIonlyfeelsorrythathehadallthetroubleandworryofconcealment。’Cynthiaspokewithaprettykeenrecollectionofhowmuchtroubleandworryherconcealmenthadcosther。’Andnowofcourseitisason,andwillbetheheir,andRogerwilljustbeaspoorlyoffasever。Ihopeyou’lltakecareandletthesquireknowCynthiawasquiteignorantofthesenewfactsthathavecomeoutwhenshewrotethoseletters,Molly?IshouldnotlikeasuspicionofworldlinesstorestuponanyonewithwhomIhadanyconcern。’’HehasnotreadCynthia’sletteryet。Oh,doletmebringithomeunopened,’
  saidMolly。’SendanotherlettertoRoger—now—atonce;itwillreachhimatthesametime;hewillgetbothwhenhearrivesattheCape,andmakehimunderstandwhichisthelast—therealone。Think!hewillhearofOsborne’sdeathatthesametime—twosuchsadthings!Do,Cynthia!’’No,mydear,’saidMrsGibson。’Icouldnotallowthat,evenifCynthiafeltinclinedforit。Askingtobere—engagedtohim!Atanyrate,shemustwaitnowuntilheproposesagain,andweseehowthingsturnout。’ButMollykeptherpleadingeyesfixedonCynthia。’No!’saidCynthiafirmly,butnotwithoutconsideration。’Itcannotbe。
  IhavefeltmorecontentthislastnightthanIhavedoneforweekspast。
  Iamgladtobefree。IdreadedRoger’sgoodness,andlearning,andallthat。Itwasnotinmyway,andIdon’tbelieveIshouldhaveevermarriedhim,evenwithoutknowingofalltheseill—naturedstoriesthatarecirculatingaboutme,andwhichhewouldhearof,andexpectmetoexplain,andbesorryfor,andpenitentandhumble。Iknowhecouldnothavemademehappy,andIdon’tbelievehewouldhavebeenhappywithme。Itmuststayasitis。Iwouldratherbeagovernessthanmarriedtohim。Ishouldgetwearyofhimeverydayofmylife。’’WearyofRoger!’saidMollytoherself。’Itisbestasitis,Isee,’
  sheansweredaloud。’OnlyIamverysorryforhim,very。Hedidloveyouso。Youwillnevergetanyonetoloveyoulikehim!’’Verywell。Imusttakemychance。Andtoomuchloveisratheroppressivetome,Ibelieve。Ilikeagreatdeal,widelyspreadabout;notallconfinedtooneindividuallover。’’Idon’tbelieveyou,’saidMolly。’Butdon’tletustalkanymoreaboutit。Itisbestasitis。Ithought—Ialmostfeltsureyouwouldbesorrythismorning。Butwewillleaveitalonenow。’Shesatesilentlylookingoutofthewindow,herheartsorelystirred,shescarcelyknewhoworwhy。
  Butshecouldnothavespoken。Mostlikelyshewouldhavebeguntocryifshehadspoken。Cynthiastolesoftlyuptoherafterawhile。’Youarevexedwithme,Molly,’shebeganinalowvoice。ButMollyturnedsharplyround。’I!Ihavenobusinessatallintheaffair。Itisforyoutojudge。Dowhatyouthinkright。Ibelieveyouhavedoneright。OnlyIdon’twanttodiscussit,andpawitoverwithtalk。Iamverymuchtired,dear’—
  gentlynowshespoke,—’andIhardlyknowwhatIsay。IfIspeakcrossly,don’tmindit。’Cynthiadidnotreplyatonce。Thenshesaid,—’DoyouthinkImightgowithyou,andhelpyou?Imighthavedoneyesterday;
  andyousayhehasnotopenedmyletter,sohehasnotheardasyet。AndIwasalwaysfondofpoorOsborne,inmyway,youknow。’’Icannottell;Ihavenorighttosay,’repliedMolly,scarcelyunderstandingCynthia’smotives,which,afterall,wereonlyimpulsesinthiscase。’Papawouldbeabletojudge;Ithink,perhaps,youhadbetternot。Butdon’tgobymyopinion,IcanonlytellwhatIshouldwishtodoinyourplace。’’Itwasasmuchforyoursakeasanyone’s,Molly,’saidCynthia。’Oh,then,don’t!Iamtiredto—daywithsittingup;butto—morrowIshallbeallright;andIshouldnotlikeit,if,formysake,youcameintothehouseatsosolemnatime。’’Verywell!’saidCynthia,half—gladthatherimpulsiveofferwasdeclined;
  for,asshesaid,thinkingtoherself,’Itwouldhavebeenawkwardafterall,’SoMollywentbackinthecarriagealone,wonderinghowsheshouldfindthesquire,wonderingwhatdiscoverieshehadmadeamongOsborne’spapers;andatwhatconvictionhewouldhavearrived。
  chapter53CHAPTERLIIIUNLOOKED—FORARRIVALSRobinsonopenedthedoorforMollyalmostbeforethecarriagehadfairlydrawnupattheHall,andtoldherthatthesquirehadbeenveryanxiousforherreturn,andhadmorethanoncesenthimtoanupstairswindow,fromwhichaglimpseofthehill—roadbetweenHollingfordandHamleycouldbeperceived,toknowifthecarriagewasnotyetinsight。Mollywentintothedrawing—room。Thesquirewasstandinginthemiddleofthefloor,awaitingher;infact,longingtogooutandmeether,butrestrainedbyafeelingofsolemnetiquette,whichpreventedhismovingaboutasusualinthathouseofmourning。Heheldapaperinhishands,whichweretremblingwithexcitementandemotion;andfourorfiveopenletterswerestrewedonatablenearhim。’It’salltrue,’hebegan;’she’shiswife,andhe’sherhusband—washerhusband—that’sthewordforit—was!Poorlad!poorlad!it’scosthimadeal。PrayGod,itwasnotmyfault。Readthis,mydear。It’sacertificate。
  It’sallregular—OsborneHamleytoMarie—Aimé;eScherer,—parish—churchandall,andwitnessed。Oh,dear!’Hesatedowninthenearestchairandgroaned。Mollytookaseatbyhim,andreadthelegalpaper,theperusalofwhichwasnotneededtoconvinceherofthefactofthemarriage。Shehelditinherhandaftershehadfinishedreadingit,waitingforthesquire’snextcoherentwords;forhekepttalkingtohimselfinbrokensentences。’Ay,ay!thatcomeso’temper,andcrabbedness。Shewastheonlyoneascould—andI’vebeenworsesinceshewasgone。Worse!worse!
  andseewhatithascometo。Hewasafraidofme—ay—afraid。That’sthetruthofit—afraid。Anditmadehimkeepalltohimself,andcarekilledhim。Theymaycallitheart—disease—Omylad,mylad,Iknowbetternow;butit’stoolate—that’sthestingofit—toolate,toolate!’
  Hecoveredhisface,andmovedhimselfbackwardsandforwardstillMollycouldbearitnolonger。’Therearesomeletters,’saidshe:’mayIreadanyofthem?’Atanothertimeshewouldnothaveasked;butshewasdriventoitnowbyherimpatienceofthespeechlessgriefoftheoldman。’Ay,read’em,read’em,’saidhe。’Maybeyoucan。Icanonlypickoutawordhereandthere。Iput’emthereforyoutolookat;andtellmewhatisin’em。’Molly’sknowledgeofwrittenFrenchofthepresentdaywasnotsogreatasherknowledgeoftheFrenchoftheMé;moiresdeSully,andneitherthespellingnorthewritingoftheletterswasofthebest;
  butshemanagedtotranslateintogoodenoughcolloquialEnglishsomeinnocentsentencesoflove,andsubmissiontoOsborne’swill—asifhisjudgmentwasinfallible,—andfaithinhispurposes;—littlesentencesin’littlelanguage’thatwenthometothesquire’sheart。PerhapsifMollyhadreadFrenchmoreeasilyshemightnothavetranslatedthemintosuchtouching,homely,brokenwords。Hereandthere,therewereexpressionsinEnglish;
  thesethehungry—heartedsquirehadreadwhilewaitingforMolly’sreturn。
  Everytimeshestopped,hesaid,’Goon。’Hekepthisfaceshaded,andonlyrepeatedthosetwowordsateverypause。ShegotuptofindsomemoreofAimé;e’sletters。Inexaminingthepapers,shecameupononeinparticular。’Haveyouseenthis,sir?Thiscertificateofbaptism’(readingaloud)’ofRogerStephenOsborneHamley,bornJune21,183—,childofOsborneHamleyandMarie—Aimé;ehiswife—’’Giveitme,’saidthesquire,hisvoicebreakingnow,andstretchingforthhiseagerhand。’"Roger,"that’sme,"Stephen,"that’smypooroldfather:
  hediedwhenhewasnotsooldasIam;butI’vealwaysthoughtonhimasveryold。HewasmainandfondofOsborne,whenhewasquitealittleone。It’sgoodoftheladtohavethoughtonmyfatherStephen。Ay!thatwashisname。AndOsborne—OsborneHamley!OneOsborneHamleyliesdeadonhisbed—andt’other—t’otherIhaveneverseen,andneverheardontillto—day。HemustbecalledOsborne:Molly。ThereisaRoger—there’stwoforthatmatter;butoneisagood—for—nothingoldman;andthere’sneveranOsborneanymore,unlessthislittlethingiscalledOsborne:
  we’lltakehimhere,andgetanurseforhim;andmakehismothercomfortableforlifeinherowncountry。I’llkeepthis,Molly。You’reagoodlassforfindingit。OsborneHamley!AndifGodwillgivemegrace,heshallneverhearacrosswordfromme—never。Heshan’tbeafeardofme。Oh,myOsborne,myOsborne’(heburstout),’doyouknownowhowbitterandsoreismyheartforeveryhardwordasIeverspoketoyou?DoyouknownowhowIlovedyou—myboy—myboy?’FromthegeneraltoneofthelettersMollydoubtedifthemotherwouldconsent,soeasilyasthesquireseemedtoexpect,tobepartedfromherchild;theletterswerenotverywise,perhaps(thoughofthisMollyneverthought),butaheartfulloflovespoketenderwordsineveryline。Still,itwasnotforMollytotalkofthisdoubtofhersjustthen;rathertodwellontheprobablegracesandcharmsofthelittleRogerStephenOsborneHamley。Sheletthesquireexhausthimselfinwonderingastotheparticularsofeveryevent,helpinghimoutinconjectures;andbothofthem,fromtheirimperfectknowledgeofpossibilities,madethemostcurious,fantastic,andimprobableguessesatthetruth。Andsothatdaypassedover,andthenightcame。Therewerenotmanypeoplewhohadanyrighttobeinvitedtothefuneral,andoftheseMrGibsonandthesquire’shereditarymanofbusinesshadtakencharge。ButwhenMrGibsoncame,earlyonthefollowingmorning,Mollyreferredthequestiontohim,whichhadsuggesteditselftohermind,thoughapparentlynottothesquire’s。Whatintimationofherlossshouldbesenttothewidow,livingsolitarynearWinchester,watchingandwaiting,ifnotforhiscomingwholaydeadinhisdistanthome,atleastforhisletters?Aletterhadalreadycomeinherforeignhandwritingtothepost—officetowhichallhercommunicationswereusuallysent,butofcoursetheyattheHallknewnothingofthis。’Shemustbetold!’saidMrGibson,musing。’Yes,shemust,’repliedherdaughter。’Buthow?’’Adayortwoofwaitingwilldonoharm,’saidhe,almostasifhewasanxioustodelaythesolutionoftheproblem。’Itwillmakeheranxious,poorthing,andallsortsofgloomypossibilitieswillsuggestthemselvestohermind—amongstthemthetruth;itwillbeakindofpreparation。’’Forwhat?Somethingmustbedoneatlast,’saidMolly。’Yes;true。Supposeyouwrite,andsayheisveryill;writeto—morrow。
  Idaresaytheyhaveindulgedthemselvesindailypostage,andthenshe’llhavehadthreedays’silence。Yousayhowyoucometoknowallhowandaboutit;Ithinksheoughttoknowheisveryill—ingreatdanger,ifyoulike:andyoucanfollowitupnextdaywiththefulltruth。Iwouldnotworrythesquireaboutit。Afterthefuneralwewillhaveatalkaboutthechild。’’Shewillneverpartwithit,’saidMolly。’Whew!TillIseethewomanIcan’ttell,’saidherfather;(somewomenwould。Itwillbewellprovidedfor,accordingtowhatyousay。Andsheisaforeigner,andmayverylikelywishtogobacktoherownpeopleandkindred。There’smuchtobesaidonbothsides。’’Soyoualwayssay,papa。ButinthiscaseIthinkyou’llfindI’mright。
  Ijudgefromherletters;butIthinkI’mright。’’Soyoualwayssay,daughter。Timewillshow。Sothechildisaboy?MrsGibsontoldmeparticularlytoask。ItwillgofartoreconcilinghertoCynthia’sdismissalofRoger。Butindeeditisquiteaswellforbothofthem,thoughofcoursehewillbealongtimebeforehethinksso。Theywerenotsuitedtoeachother。PoorRoger!Itwashardworkwritingtohimyesterday;andwhoknowswhatmayhavebecomeofhim!Well,well!onehastogetthroughtheworldsomehow。I’mglad,however,thislittleladhasturneduptobetheheir。IshouldnothavelikedthepropertytogototheIrishHamleys,whoarethenextheirs,asOsborneoncetoldme。
  Nowwritethatletter,Molly,tothepoorlittleFrenchwomanoutyonder。
  Itwillprepareherforit;andwemustthinkabithowtosparehertheshock,forOsborne’ssake。’ThewritingthisletterwasratherdifficultworkforMolly,andshetoreuptwoorthreecopiesbeforeshecouldmanageittohersatisfaction;
  andatlast,indespairofeverdoingitbetter,shesentitoffwithoutre—readingit。Thenextdaywaseasier;thefactofOsborne’sdeathwastoldbrieflyandtenderly。Butwhenthissecondletterwassentoff,Molly’sheartbegantobleedforthepoorcreature,bereftofherhusband,inaforeignland,andheatadistancefromher,deadandburiedwithouthereverhavinghadthechanceofprintinghisdearfeaturesonhermemorybyonelastlonglingeringlook。WithherthoughtsfulloftheunknownAimé;e,Mollytalkedmuchaboutherthatdaytothesquire。Hewouldlistenforevertoanyconjecture,howeverwild,aboutthegrandchild,butperpetuallywincedawayfromalldiscourseabout’theFrenchwoman,’
  ashecalledher;notunkindly,buttohismindshewassimplytheFrenchwoman—chattering,dark—eyed,demonstrative,andpossiblyevenrouged。Hewouldtreatherwithrespectashisson’swidow,andwouldtryevennottothinkuponthefemaleinveiglementinwhichhebelieved。Hewouldmakeheranallowancetotheextentofhisduty;buthehopedandtrustedhemightneverbecalledupontoseeher。Hissolicitor,Gibson,anybodyandeverybody,shouldbecalledupontoformaphalanxofdefenceagainstthatdanger。Andallthistimealittle,young,grey—eyedwomanwasmakingherway;