“She thinks he’ll come back to marry that young woman at Bragg’s End,” said Mrs. Tappitt; “but I say that he’ll never dare to show his face in Baslehurst again.”
“That young woman is making a great fool of herself,” said Tappitt, “if she trusts to a swindler like him.”
“Perhaps, Mrs. Tappitt,” said Mrs. Cornbury, “we needn’t mind discussing Miss Ray. It’s not good to talk about a young lady in that way, and I’m sure I never said that I thought she was engaged to Mr. Rowan. Had I done so I should have been very wrong, for I know nothing about it. What little I saw of the gentleman I liked;” and as she used the word gentleman she looked Tappitt full in the face; “and for Miss Ray, I’ve a great regard for her, and think very highly of her. Independently of her acknowledged beauty and pleasant, ladylike manners, she’s a very charming girl. About the vote, Mr. Tappitt—; at any rate you’ll think of it.”
But had he not been defied in his own house? And as for her, the mother of those three finely educated girls, had not every word said in Rachel’s favour been a dagger planted in her own maternal bosom? Whose courage would not have risen under such provocation?
Mrs. Cornbury had got up to go, but the indignant, injured Tappitts resolved mutually, though without concert, that she should be answered.
“I’m an honest man, Mrs. Cornbury,” said the brewer, “and I like to speak out my mind openly. Mr. Hart is a liberal, and I mean to support my party. Will you tell Mr. Cornbury so with my compliments? It’s all nonsense about Jews not being in Parliament. It’s not the same as being mayors or churchwardens, or anything like that. I shall vote for Mr. Hart; and, what’s more, we shall put him in.”
“And Mrs. Cornbury, if you have so much regard for Miss Rachel, you’d better advise her to think no more of that young man. He’s no good; he’s not indeed. If you ask, you’ll find he’s in debt everywhere.”
“Swindler!” said Tappitt.
“I don’t suppose it can be very bad with Miss Rachel yet, for she only saw him about three times—though she was so intimate with him at our party.”
Mrs. Butler Cornbury curtseyed and smiled, and got herself out of the room. Mrs. Tappitt, as soon as she remembered herself, rang the bell, and Mr. Tappitt, following her down to the hall door, went through the pretence of putting her into her carriage.
“She’s a nasty meddlesome woman,” said Tappitt, as soon as he got back to his wife.
“And how ever she can stand up and say all those things for that girl, passes me!” said Mrs. Tappitt, holding up both her hands. “She was flighty herself, when young; she was, no doubt; and now I suppose she likes others to be the same. If that’s what she calls manners, I shouldn’t like her to take my girls about.”
“And him a gentleman!” said Tappitt. “If those are to be our gentlemen I’d sooner have all the Jews out of Jerusalem. But they’ll find out their gentleman; they’ll find him out! He’ll rob that old mother of his before he’s done; you mark my words else.” Comforting himself with this hope he took himself back to his countinghouse.
Mrs. Cornbury had smiled as she went, and had carried herself through the whole interview without any sign of temper. Even when declaring that she intended to take Rachel’s part open-mouthed, she had spoken in a half-drolling way which had divested her words of any tone of offence. But when she got into her carriage, she was in truth very angry. “I don’t believe a word of it,” she said to herself; “not a word of it.” That in which she professed to herself her own disbelief was the general assertion that Rowan was a swindler, supported by the particular assertion that he had left Baslehurst over head and ears in debt. “I don’t believe it.” And she resolved that it should be her business to find out whether the accusation were true or false. She knew the ins and outs of Baslehurst life and Baslehurst doings with tolerable accuracy, and was at any rate capable of unravelling such a mystery as that. If the Tappitts in their jealousy were striving to rob Rachel Ray of her husband by spreading false reports, she would encourage Rachel Ray in her love by spreading the truth;—if, as she believed, the truth should speak in Rowan’s favour. She would have considerable pleasure in countermining Mr. and Mrs. Tappitt.
As to Mr. Tappitt’s vote for the election;—that was gone!
XVIII
Dr. Harford
The current of events forced upon Rachel a delay of three or four days in answering her letter, or rather forced upon her that delay in learning whether or no she might answer it; and this was felt by her to be a grievous evil. It had been arranged that she should not write until such writing should have received what might almost be called a parochial sanction, and no idea of acting in opposition to that arrangement ever occurred to her; but the more she thought of it the more she was vexed; and the more she thought of it the more she learned to doubt whether or no her mother was placing her in safe tutelage. During these few weeks a great change came upon the girl’s character. When first Mrs. Prime had brought home tidings that Miss Pucker had seen her walking and
