'Yes, so they have; though not many wretcheder things. I would sooner see you in your grave, Ethelberta, than Lord Mountclere's wife, or the wife of anybody like him, great as the honour would be.'
'Of course that was only something to say; I don't know the man even.'
'I know his valet. However, marry who you may, I hope you'll be happy, my dear girl. You would be still more divided from us in that event; but when your mother and I are dead, it will make little difference.'
Ethelberta placed her hand upon his shoulder, and smiled cheerfully.
'Now, father, don't despond. All will be well, and we shall see no such misfortune as that for many a year. Leave all to me. I am a rare hand at contrivances.'
'You are indeed, Berta. It seems to me quite wonderful that we should be living so near together and nobody suspect the relationship, because of the precautions you have taken.'
'Yet the precautions were rather Lady Petherwin's than mine, as you know. Consider how she kept me abroad. My marriage being so secret made it easy to cut off all traces, unless anybody had made it a special business to search for them. That people should suspect as yet would be by far the more wonderful thing of the two. But we must, for one thing, have no visiting between our girls and the servants here, or they soon will suspect.'
Ethelberta then laid down a few laws on the subject, and, explaining the other details of her visit, told her father soon that she must leave him.
He took her along the passage and into the area. They were standing at the bottom of the steps, saying a few parting words about Picotee's visit to see the dinner, when a female figure appeared by the railing above, slipped in at the gate, and flew down the steps past the father and daughter. At the moment of passing she whispered breathlessly to him, 'Is that you, Mr. Chickerel?'
'Yes,' said the butler.
She tossed into his arms a quantity of wearing apparel, and adding, 'Please take them upstairs for me--I am late,' rushed into the house.
'Good heavens, what does that mean?' said Ethelberta, holding her father's arm in her uneasiness.
'That's the new lady's-maid, just come in from an evening walk--that young scamp's sweetheart, if what you tell me is true. I don't yet know what her character is, but she runs neck and neck with time closer than any woman I ever met. She stays out at night like this till the last moment, and often throws off her dashing courting-clothes in this way, as she runs down the steps, to save a journey to the top of the house to her room before going to Mrs.
Doncastle's, who is in fact at this minute waiting for her. Only look here.' Chickerel gathered up a hat decked with feathers and flowers, a parasol, and a light muslin train-skirt, out of the pocket of the latter tumbling some long golden tresses of hair.
'What an extraordinary woman,' said Ethelberta. 'A perfect Cinderella. The idea of Joey getting desperate about a woman like that; no doubt she has just come in from meeting him.'
'No doubt--a blockhead. That's his taste, is it! I'll soon see if I can't cure his taste if it inclines towards Mrs. Menlove.'
'Mrs. what?'
'Menlove; that's her name. She came about a fortnight ago.'
'And is that Menlove--what shall we do!' exclaimed Ethelberta. 'The idea of the boy singling out her--why it is ruin to him, to me, and to us all!'
She hastily explained to her father that Menlove had been Lady Petherwin's maid and her own at some time before the death of her mother-in-law, that she had only stayed with them through a three months' tour because of her flightiness, and hence had learnt nothing of Ethelberta's history, and probably had never thought at all about it. But nevertheless they were as well acquainted as a lady and her maid well could be in the time. 'Like all such doubtful characters,' continued Ethelberta, 'she was one of the cleverest and lightest-handed women we ever had about us. When she first came, my hair was getting quite weak; but by brushing it every day in a peculiar manner, and treating it as only she knew how, she brought it into splendid condition.'
'Well, this is the devil to pay, upon my life!' said Mr. Chickerel, with a miserable gaze at the bundle of clothes and the general situation at the same time. 'Unfortunately for her friendship, Ihave snubbed her two or three times already, for I don't care about her manner. You know she has a way of trading on a man's sense of honour till it puts him into an awkward position. She is perfectly well aware that, whatever scrape I find her out in, I shall not have the conscience to report her, because I am a man, and she is a defenceless woman; and so she takes advantage of one's feeling by ****** me, or either of the menservants, her bottle-holder, as you see she has done now.'
'This is all simply dreadful,' said Ethelberta. 'Joey is shrewd and trustworthy; but in the hands of such a woman as that! I suppose she did not recognize me.'
'There was no chance of that in the dark.'
'Well, I cannot do anything in it,' said she. 'I cannot manage Joey at all.'
'I will see if I can,' said Mr. Chickerel. 'Courting at his age, indeed--what shall we hear next!'
Chickerel then accompanied his daughter along the street till an empty cab passed them, and putting her into it he returned to the house again.
