A Woman of No Importance

epub:type="z3998:persona">Gerald Arbuthnot. Gerald Lady Hunstanton, I have such good news to tell you. Lord Illingworth has just offered to make me his secretary. Lady Hunstanton His secretary? That is good news indeed, Gerald. It means a very brilliant future in store for you. Your dear mother will be delighted. I really must try and induce her to come up here tonight. Do you think she would, Gerald? I know how difficult it is to get her to go anywhere. Gerald Oh! I am sure she would, Lady Hunstanton, if she knew Lord Illingworth had made me such an offer. Enter Footman with shawl. Lady Hunstanton I will write and tell her about it, and ask her to come up and meet him. To Footman. Just wait, Francis. Writes letter. Lady Caroline That is a very wonderful opening for so young a man as you are, Mr. Arbuthnot. Gerald It is indeed, Lady Caroline. I trust I shall be able to show myself worthy of it. Lady Caroline I trust so. Gerald To Hester. You have not congratulated me yet, Miss Worsley. Hester Are you very pleased about it? Gerald Of course I am. It means everything to me⁠—things that were out of the reach of hope before may be within hope’s reach now. Hester Nothing should be out of the reach of hope. Life is a hope. Lady Hunstanton I fancy, Caroline, that Diplomacy is what Lord Illingworth is aiming at. I heard that he was offered Vienna. But that may not be true. Lady Caroline I don’t think that England should be represented abroad by an unmarried man, Jane. It might lead to complications. Lady Hunstanton You are too nervous, Caroline. Believe me, you are too nervous. Besides, Lord Illingworth may marry any day. I was in hopes he would have married Lady Kelso. But I believe he said her family was too large. Or was it her feet? I forget which. I regret it very much. She was made to be an ambassador’s wife. Lady Caroline She certainly has a wonderful faculty of remembering people’s names, and forgetting their faces. Lady Hunstanton Well, that is very natural, Caroline, is it not? To Footman. Tell Henry to wait for an answer. I have written a line to your dear mother, Gerald, to tell her your good news, and to say she really must come to dinner. Exit Footman. Gerald That is awfully kind of you, Lady Hunstanton. To Hester. Will you come for a stroll, Miss Worsley? Hester With pleasure. Exit with Gerald. Lady Hunstanton I am very much gratified at Gerald Arbuthnot’s good fortune. He is quite a protégé of mine. And I am particularly pleased that Lord Illingworth should have made the offer of his own accord without my suggesting anything. Nobody likes to be asked favours. I remember poor Charlotte Pagden making herself quite unpopular one season, because she had a French governess she wanted to recommend to everyone. Lady Caroline I saw the governess, Jane. Lady Pagden sent her to me. It was before Eleanor came out. She was far too good-looking to be in any respectable household. I don’t wonder Lady Pagden was so anxious to get rid of her. Lady Hunstanton Ah, that explains it. Lady Caroline John, the grass is too damp for you. You had better go and put on your overshoes at once. Sir John I am quite comfortable, Caroline, I assure you. Lady Caroline You must allow me to be the best judge of that, John. Pray do as I tell you. Sir John gets up and goes off. Lady Hunstanton You spoil him, Caroline, you do indeed! Enter Mrs. Allonby and Lady Stutfield. To Mrs. Allonby. Well, dear, I hope you like the park. It is said to be well timbered. Mrs. Allonby The trees are wonderful, Lady Hunstanton. Lady Stutfield Quite, quite wonderful. Mrs. Allonby But somehow, I feel sure that if I lived in the country for six months, I should become so unsophisticated that no one would take the slightest notice of me. Lady Hunstanton I assure you, dear, that the country has not that effect at all. Why, it was from Melthorpe, which is only two miles from here, that Lady Belton eloped with Lord Fethersdale. I remember the occurrence perfectly. Poor Lord Belton died three days afterwards of joy, or gout. I forget which. We had a large party staying here at the time, so we were all very much interested in the whole affair. Mrs. Allonby I think to elope is cowardly. It’s running away from danger. And danger has become so rare in modern life. Lady Caroline As far as I can make out, the young women of the present day seem to make it the sole object of their lives to be always playing with fire. Mrs. Allonby The one advantage of playing with fire, Lady Caroline, is that one never gets even singed. It is the people who don’t know how to play with it who get burned up. Lady Stutfield Yes; I see that. It is very, very helpful. Lady Hunstanton I don’t know how the world would get on with such a theory as that, dear Mrs. Allonby. Lady Stutfield Ah! The world was made for men and not for women. Mrs. Allonby Oh, don’t say that, Lady Stutfield. We have a much better time than they have. There are far more things forbidden to us than are forbidden to them. Lady Stutfield Yes; that is quite, quite true. I had not thought of that. Enter Sir John and Mr. Kelvil. Lady Hunstanton Well, Mr. Kelvil, have you got through your work? Kelvil I have finished my writing for the day, Lady Hunstanton. It has been an arduous task. The demands on the time of a public man are very heavy nowadays, very heavy indeed. And I don’t think they meet with adequate recognition. Lady Caroline John, have you got your overshoes on? Sir John Yes, my love. Lady Caroline I think you had better come over here, John. It is more sheltered. Sir John I am quite comfortable,