Fergus Hume

“ Eustace was certainly not a coarse man in any sense of the word, but he had regarded the visionary Lady Errington so long as his own special property, withheld from him by the accident of her marriage with Guy, that when he saw the flesh-and-blood woman riant in all her newly-found vitality, he viewed her as a Sultan might view a fresh odalisque added to his serail. The pale lily had changed into the rich red rose, and the spiritual being of his fevered imagination had taken the form of a beautiful woman, full of temptation to an ardent lover. ”

“ Great Heaven!" said the unfortunate young man, staring wildly up at the leaden-coloured sky, "if I were only a man like that how happy I should be. But I'm not, I'm only a fellow who wants to be loved by his wife, but even that is denied me. I married Alizon for love. I loved her then, I love her now, and she cares no more for me than she does for yonder ocean."
"But surely the child is a bond of union between you?"
"The child!" repeated Errington fiercely, "no! the child, which should have drawn us closer together, has put us farther asunder than ever. ”

“ Tasker's strong arms.
"How you idolize that child, Alizon," said Eustace enviously.
"He is all I have in the world," she replied with a sigh. "I don't know what I should do without him."
"Don't inspire the angels with envy," murmured Gartney, a little cruelly, "it might be dangerous for him."
"Oh!"
She laid her hand on her heart with a cry, and a pallor over-spread her face.
"It is cruel to talk like that," she said hurriedly; "you don't think he looks ill, do you? He's such a strong child. There's no chance of his dying. Oh, Eustace, you don't think that, do you?" ”

“ The wages of sin is death! and he would be dragged down to destruction by those arms that encircled him so fondly.
But what about herself? What could she do in order to free herself from the companionship of this man who prized her less than he did his dissolute companions? Divorce! Yes, that was the way to break the chain which bound her to the husband she despised. But it was impossible that she could take advantage of the law, for it would reflect on the child in the future, and for the child's sake she would have to remain in the bondage of marriage. ”

“ If a look could have killed Gartney, he would have there and then fallen dead at the feet of the Creole, but suddenly changing her tactics, she flung herself on the sofa in a storm of tears.
"How cruel you are, oh, how cruel," she wailed, hiding her face in the cushions. "I am only a woman, you coward--only a woman."
"You're a remarkably good actress, my dear Mrs. Veilsturm;" replied Eustace coolly, in no wise moved by her sorrow, "but tears are very weak. Try something else more original." ”

“ There is always a something behind all which is never revealed, which the soul feels intensely itself, yet shrinks from disclosing even to nearest and dearest, and it is this vague secret which all feel, yet none tell, that makes humanity live in loneliest isolation from each other.
Perhaps Lady Errington was thinking of this hidden secret of her soul which none knew, nor ever would know, but Eustace, softened for the moment by the unexpected maternal emotion his song had evoked, was envying his cousin the possession of this cold, silent woman. ”

“ My prophecy concerning the incomplete Madonna has come to pass. She is a mother now, and adores her child."
"Indeed! And is she going to adore her child for the rest of her life?" asked Otterburn, flippantly.
Eustace shrugged his shoulders.
"I suppose so. She certainly can't adore her husband. Guy is a real good fellow, as I've always maintained, but no woman in the world would put him on a pedestal."
"Poor Errington! Is he as fond of his wife as ever?"
"Fonder, if possible."
"Then I pity him!" said Macjean, emphatically--"I pity any man who gives his heart to a woman to play with." ”

“ The only reason that makes me speak is that you seem to me to be fonder of the baby than of your own husband."
The murder was out, and he was prepared for a storm, but it did not come, as Alizon had quite as much self-control as himself.
"Well, and what is wrong in that?" she said coldly. "I do love my child more than my husband, any mother would."
"Isn't that rather hard on the husband?"
"No! I do not see it! Of course, I love Guy very much--much more than he loves his child," she finished with a burst of passion.
"I think Guy is very fond of the child," said Eustace quietly. ”

“ Guy had gone away from Town without a word of farewell; therefore she was easily satisfied that he was still heart-whole. As he had acted thus, she could do absolutely nothing, for he certainly would not come back to a woman about whom he did not care. And yet she had done everything in her power to entangle him in her nets. The fool, to leave a woman like her for a pale, sickly wife. Were her charms fading, that he had treated her so scornfully? Was the prize not worth the winning? Was there really a man in the world who could turn coldly away from her beauty when she smiled invitation? ”

“ As a rule, Gartney was not to be daunted by any woman, but there was something about Alizon Errington that made him afraid to talk in his usual cynical vein. Standing a short distance away, with the child in her arms and the golden glory of the sunshine behind her, this young mother looked like the realisation of the Madonna. So pure, so calm, so lovely, with the look of motherhood in her eyes that he involuntarily turned away his head, as though he was not worthy to profane such purity even by a glance. ”

“ Gartney. Let the wife shame the husband by her fidelity to the vows which he has broken."
"And the lover?"
"Is not a true lover, or he would not wish to drag the woman he professes to love through the mud of the world."
"So you would condemn two lives to perpetual misery for the sake of one man, who does not appreciate the sacrifice?"
"Not for the sake of the one man, but for the sake of virtue, of honour, of uprightness."
Eustace was silent under the cold purity of her look. This woman was no dreamer as he had thought, but had a soul like that Roman Lucrece, who preferred death to dishonour. ”

“ Eustace wrapped himself well up in his ulster, for the winds blew very keenly across the marshes, and as the horse was restive, they soon left the village behind and were moving rapidly across the straight road which stretched a narrow white thread until it vanished on the verge of the horizon. The gables of Errington Hall showed whitely above the sombre woods around it, but after a rapid glance at the roof which covered the woman he loved, Gartney shook the reins impatiently to make the horse go faster, and stared resolutely at the red glare of the sky lowering over the wild waste landscape. ”

“ Veilsturm was asking after you."
"Very kind of her!"
"And Major Griff. I wonder Society tolerates those two, Eh?"
"Oh, Society tolerates all kinds of noxious beasts now-a-days," said Eustace, with a significant glance at Billy.
"Yes! horrid, isn't it? Those two have got hold of Dolly Thambits, you know--young fool that came in for a lot of money--rather. She's plucking him, and the Major is pocketing the feathers--yes!"
"Can't you share the spoil?" asked Eustace drily.
"No! wish I could, but Mrs. Veilsturm doesn't like me--not much! I say, look here, where do you go?" ”

“ She is not particularly brilliant, nor clever, nor exquisitely beautiful, and yet she seems to satisfy that hunger of the soul I have felt all my life. One can think, but not describe a woman's character, even the most shallow woman's; there is always something that escapes one. Alizon Errington has that something, and it is that which attracts me so powerfully. That calm, reposeful, sympathetic nature which appeals so strongly to a worn-out soul. ”

“ That recipe for happiness has been given to me before, Lady Errington, and is, I think, more charming in theory than in practice. Suppose I did take this advice you give me in the goodness of your heart, and went out into the world to play the thankless part of a philanthropist, what would I gain--only a more intimate knowledge of human selfishness and human iniquity. If I assisted A, a most deserving person from his own point of view, I've no doubt A would become my bitterest enemy because I had not done enough for him. ”

“ Any sensible man would have seen from the short conversation he had had with Lady Errington that love for the child filled her heart to the exclusion of all else, but Eustace, with supreme egotism, deemed that she loved the child simply because her husband was not worthy of her affection and when he deigned to worship her she would certainly forget the pale passion of maternal love under the fierce ardour of his devotion. ”

“ Gartney," said Victoria, pausing before him with a gay smile on her lips.
"They're not worth it," replied Eustace, looking approvingly at the charming girl before him, in her dainty white dinner dress, with a bunch of vividly scarlet geraniums at her breast. "I'll sell them as bankrupt stock."
"Haw! haw! haw!" from the Master, who was in that pleasant frame of mind when everything seems to scintillate with wit--but then it was after dinner, and a pretty woman was at his elbow. Wine, wit, and feminine influence, really the worst-tempered man would feel pleasant with such a delightful trinity. ”

“ Nothing was said, however, until, after a moment's silence, Guy looked up at Gartney's face with a frown.
"Good Lord, man, have you left your tongue behind in Arabia?" he said roughly, leaning his cheek on his hand.
Eustace laughed a little bitterly.
"Perhaps it would have been as well if I had done so," he said deliberately, "it might save my soul the burden of many lies."
"As whimsical as ever!"
"Do you think so? No doubt! Solitude is rather apt to confirm a man in his eccentric habits. By-the-way, you have not told me how your wife is?" ”

“ But we did not come to any agreement on the subject, because we were interrupted."
"History repeats itself," said Lady Errington, rising, "for here come Mrs. Trubbles and Guy."
"And Macjean and Miss Sheldon. Farewell, Minerva--Momus is King."
"Wisdom gives place to Folly--well, is not that a very good thing," said Alizon laughing, "you would grow weary of a world without change."
"I daresay. To no moment of my life could I have said with Faust, 'Stay, thou art so fair.'"
"Alizon, Mrs. Trubbles is going," said Sir Guy's voice, as the ponderous matron rolled towards his wife like a war-chariot. ”

“ Love is fierce and dark and tragic.
Cypress mingles with the roses."
It was Eustace Gartney in the flesh, returned to quiet old England after his perilous wanderings in distant lands beyond the verge of civilization, and Otterburn felt most unaccountably glad to see him once more. Why this should be the case seems somewhat strange, seeing that they had tired of one another in their former intimacy, and parted with mutual satisfaction, yet in the heart of each there lurked a kindly feeling which cast a certain glamour round their old friendship, and made them mutually glad to meet again. ”

“ Eustace Gartney had been right in his estimate of Alizon's character, for the birth of the child transformed her from a cold statue into a loving, breathing woman, rendered perfect by her motherhood. No one who saw her, with her delicate face flushed with joy bending over the cradle of the child, would have thought it was the same woman who had been so chill and impassive in her appearance and demeanour. ”

“ Suddenly, with a sigh, Lady Errington lifted up her eyes and saw Eustace looking at her, respectfully enough, yet with a certain meaning in his gaze which caused her vague embarrassment, she knew not why.
"Your music has made me dream, Mr. Gartney," she said, nervously opening her fan.
"You are of a sensitive nature, perhaps."
She sighed again.
"Yes, very sensitive. It is a most unhappy thing to be impressionable, one feels things other people count as nothing."
"Other people are wise," said Eustace in an ironical tone, "they take Talleyrand's advice about a happy life, and--are happy." ”

“ Eustace, knowing what her experience had been, looked curiously at her fair placid face as she said this, and she must have guessed his thoughts, for a flush burned in her cheeks under his searching gaze.
"That's what I say," cried Guy, referring to his wife's remark. "If a fellow's got health, wealth and a good temper, the world's a very jolly sort of place."
"The best of all possible worlds, according to Voltaire," remarked Eustace, leaning back with a disbelieving smile, "but you've left out one ingredient which some people consider very necessary." ”

“ He spoke with great emotion, and although Eustace failed in a great measure to understand his deep feelings on the subject, he could not but see that his cousin had great cause to speak. A young man of ardent nature, to whom love is a necessity, finding himself tied to a woman who chilled every demonstration of affection, and lavished all her adoration on the child of which he was the father--it was truly a pitiable situation, and yet one at which the world would laugh, because the tragic elements therein were so simple. ”

“ She's never away from him, she never stops talking about him, she lives in the nursery, and never comes near me. If I offer to caress her, she frowns and resents any display of affection. All her love, all her heart, is given to the child, and I've got to be content with cold looks, and about five minutes' conversation a day. I hardly ever see her, sometimes she doesn't even come to meals, and when I remonstrated with her, she turned on me in a cold fury, and asked me if I wanted her to neglect the child. What am I to do, Eustace? I can't force her to love me against her will. ”