Mrs. Carleton

“ Henry Carleton had now perfectly regained his self-possession. He gazed at the young man with benevolence in his eye. “Yes, yes,” he assented, a little dreamily, “love, of course; that’s the great essential. With that I thoroughly agree. And yet, while with me Rose’s wishes are the first consideration—no, rather I should say the only consideration—still, as I understand you to say yourself, it must equally be a point of proper pride with every man to know that he is earning an honest living, amply sufficient for all future needs. I take it that you would hardly quarrel with that, Mr. Vaughan?” ”

“ All at once, she loosed her hands from those of her companions, drew a deep breath, whilst her forehead and neck became flushed with crimson, stood one moment irresolute, and then exclaiming, ‘There are none of them here, and you all look as if you might be my own mama’s friends!’ ran to Mrs. Carleton, and first burying her face in her lap, and then raising it, and looking beseechingly in her face, added, ‘You would not be afraid of the gipsies if they were [Pg 92] to come, would you?—There are so many of you!—You will not let them have me, will you? ”

“ I’ve always cared. You must have known. Any time, from the day you graduated from college, up to a year ago, if you’d come to me and asked me to marry you, I’d have been the happiest girl you could find anywhere—”
For an instant she paused, and Carleton raised his eyes to hers, as if both knowing and dreading [Pg 134] what her next words would be. “Well?” he asked.
“And then, Jack,” she went on, even more slowly, as if the words cost her greater and greater effort, “you began to change. And caring isn’t enough, Jack. For a girl really to love a man, she’s got to respect him—and trust him. ”

“ Carleton's dinner table that evening presented a very different atmosphere from the night before.
The hostess herself was present only by a strong effort of will power. Mrs. Carleton had been greatly overcome by the shock of the dreadful news, and, aside from the sadness and horror of the tragedy, she was exceedingly disappointed at what seemed to her the ruin of her son's future. ”

“ Carleton, what a change it has brought in your daughter, Rose! I remember her as a charming child, and behold, I met her the other afternoon at a little tea—why, Mr. Carleton, I assure you I could scarcely believe my eyes. A young lady—grown-up, self-possessed, a half-dozen young men around her. Why, I was amazed. The passage of time—”
He half paused; perhaps, if the truth were told, Henry Carleton half broke in upon him. “Yes,” the banker agreed, “it passes, as you say. And it’s valuable, Van Socum. We can’t afford to waste it, any of us.” ”

“ M'Carthy, I'm a'most fairly knocked up myself, havin' been down the counthry and through the hills the greater part of the day. I have a great number of cattle to look afther, an' am seldom off my foot.”
“Don't, sir,” said his wife, in tones which were now perfectly intelligible to him, “don't ax poor Frank to go wid you tonight; you'll be as well widout him, especially as the night's so bright and clear; he's tired indeed, and, be the same token, I don't like to be here in the clouds of the night, wid nobody wid me but myself.” ”

“ Had the girl’s mood been real, the matter-of-fact, commonplace tone must have driven her to sudden anger; as it was, her sense of humor saved her, and after a moment or two, half in spite of herself, she gave a little laugh. “Why,” she answered lightly, “from your good-looking friend, Doctor Helmar, of course,” and the next instant she could have bitten her tongue out for the chance words, as Carleton, for the moment startled into his senses, with a sudden exclamation sat bolt upright in his seat. ”

“ Mrs. Carleton's face was impassive as usual: but the surgeon saw that she watched him just as keenly as he did her. After breakfast, as if to defeat the purpose for which he was staying at Castle Wafer, she shut herself up in Mrs. St. John's room, and no one could get near her. It was during this time that the interview took place between the dean and Sir Isaac.
"I entrust it all to you, Mr. Pym," Sir Isaac had said. "Perhaps speaking to Mrs. Darling will be sufficient: but--you know the laws of hospitality--I would rather not appear at all in this matter if I can help it. ”

“ Twilight was falling over The Birches, and Edward Carleton, seated alone on the piazza, gazed out over the darkening fields into a world of ever blending shadows and onward creeping dusk. Always, as long as the weather permitted, after his evening meal, he loved to sit there, puffing quietly at his big, old-fashioned, curved pipe, and letting his memory roam back at will through scene after scene from the long years that now lay behind him; or sometimes, more rarely, living in the present, content merely to gaze out on blossoming flower, and tree in full leaf ”

“ I am,” he added, in a low and guarded whisper, “Frank M'Carthy: as you hope for mercy from God and life from man, listen! The door will be broken in in a few minutes; but if you are guided by me, you may yet be safe. Blacken your face forthwith, Alick; and here is a shirt marked with blood too—a circumstance that will give you more security—which I have brought you.”
“Frank M'Carthy,” exclaimed Julia, “and a Whiteboy! Oh, yes, be advised by him, Alick; as for me, I care not how soon death comes—I have little to live for now!” ”

“ William flew to her,—all of them crowded about her, and scarcely had he raised that face so pale, but now so mournfully beautiful in its insensibility, when her mother and sisters burst into tears and wailings, for they feared at the moment that their beloved one must have been previously seized with sudden illness, and was then either taken, or about to be taken from their eyes for ever. By the coolness of her father, however, they were directed how to restore her, in which, after a lapse of not less than ten minutes, they succeeded. ”

“ She looked at her father and smiled again; but that smile cut him to the heart.
“I will make the tea myself, father,” she replied, “and I won't commit any more mistakes;” and as she spoke she unconsciously poured the tea into the slop—bowl.
“Avourneen,” said her mother, “let John do it; acushla machree, let him do it.”
She then rose, and without uttering a word, passively and silently placed herself on her brother's chair—he having, at the same time, taken that on which she sat.
“Una,” said her father, taking her hand, “you must be a good girl, and you must have courage ”

“ But to everything beyond his mere assent Carleton seemed to pay scant heed. He stared at Vaughan still, but now with a strange mingling of emotions showing in his face. And curiously enough, there seemed to predominate, above all the rest, a look almost of savage relief.
“That clenches it, then,” he cried. “That settles the whole thing,” and, swift as thought, the next moment the expression faded. “No, no, Arthur,” he cried, with the most intense earnestness, “we can’t; don’t you see we can’t? See what would happen. There’d be the devil and all to pay. Rose might not marry you, even. ”

“ Let me see; yes, yes, papa, here it is. Let us not be reduced to the miserable necessity of watching each other, as we have been. Let me know the worst. You have nearly broken me down by suspense. Let me know the purport of the letter you received to-day.”
“To-day, love!” exclaimed her mother. “Yes, mamma, to-day. I made John show it me on his way from the post-office. The superscription was Mr. Osborne’s hand. Let me, O let me,” she exclaimed, dropping down upon her knees, “as you value my happiness here and hereafter, let me at once know the worst—the very worst. ”

“ Gloomily Vaughan nodded assent. “It does make things bad,” he said. “I hoped so much. And now I’m as far from Rose as ever.”
Carleton cleared his throat. “My dear Vaughan,” he said, “since you’ve chanced to mention the subject, I believe I ought to tell you that I’ve been thinking a great deal of late—as is only natural—about the position you and Rose are in. You know, of course, that I desire only her happiness, and yours, too. You know that. You believe that, I’m confident. Do you not, my boy?” ”

“ I never saw such a man. Success in everything. He’s certainly a wonder. You must feel awfully proud of him, Rose.”
She nodded gaily. “Of course I do,” she answered. “We must drink his health, anyway. He deserves it. What shall we say? The man who has brought new honors to the Carleton name!”
As they drank the toast, the butler entered with the coffee and cigars, and the girl rose, smiling down at Vaughan. “Don’t be too long, now,” she said, “remember I’m all alone.”
As the portières closed behind her, Helmar turned to Vaughan. “Well, Arthur,” he said, “you’re certainly a lucky man. ”

“ Jack Carleton’s eyebrows were raised half grimly, half ruefully. Something of a kind of hysterical humor seemed to him to exist in the idea of asking a man with such seriousness whether or not he was eager to die. “Yes,” he returned, “you can assume that. That’s a good point to start with.”
There was something in his tone, despite the solemnity of the discussion, that made Henry Carleton force a sickly smile, which faded almost before it had come. “And second,” he said, “you’ll keep quiet as long as any one else will.” ”

“ I hadn't any fear of him then, and was so afraid he'd sell my children that every time a stranger was round I listened. Well, one night I listened," then turning to Mrs. Carleton, "be strong honey, and cast all your trouble on the Lord Jesus, that's the way I do, and when I feels very wicked he comes and quiets me and tells me about his crown of thorns, and how he suffered that I might be good, and then I feel's willin' to bear it all, but it will come over me again when I forgets him." ”

“ Schuyler Carleton started as if he had been physically struck.
"What do you mean?" he cried.
"You know what I mean," said Fessenden gently. "You did not love the woman you were about to marry. You do love another. Can you deny it?"
"No," said Carleton, settling back into his apathy. "And since you know that, I may as well tell you all. I admired and respected Madeleine Van Norman, and when I asked her to marry me I thought I loved her. After that I met some one else. You know this?" ”

“ Glory be to God! no, avourneen machree. Och, och! but it 'ud be the black sight, an' the black day, that 'ud see my brave, boy, the staff of our support, an' the bread of our mouth, taken away from us!—No, no, Kathleen dear, it's not that bad wid me yet. I hope we'll never live to see his manly head laid down before us. 'Twas his own manliness, indeed, brought it an him—backin' the sack when he was bringin' home our last meldhre * from the mill; for you see he should do it, the crathur, to show his strinth, an' the sack, when he got it an was too heavy for him, an' hurted the small of his back ”

“ Carleton.
"There has not been so fine a color on your face for months."
They had entered Mrs. Carleton's elegant residence, and were sitting in one of her luxurious parlors.
"Shall I tell you why?" added the doctor.
Mrs. Carleton bowed.
"You have had some healthy heart-beats."
She did not answer.
"And I pray you, dear madam, let the strokes go on," continued Dr. Farleigh. "Let your mind become interested in some good work, and your hands obey your thoughts, and you will be a healthy woman, in body and soul. Your disease is mental inaction." ”

“ She then clasped her hands, and sitting down under the shade of the yew tree, mused and murmured to herself alternately, but in such an evident spirit of desolation and despair, as made her father fear that her heart would literally break down under the heavy burden of her misery. When she had sat here nearly an hour, he approached her and gently taking her hand, which felt as cold as marble, said—
“Will you not come home, darling? Your mamma is anxious you should return to her. Come,” and he attempted gently to draw her with him. ”

“ Carleton was proud, and at first her daughter’s growing intimacy with the wife of a mechanic had given her pride a pang, but a closer acquaintance had dispelled the foolish prejudice, for she saw in the gentle Annie unmistakable marks of education and refinement, while she was not insensible to the charm thrown round the beautiful stranger by the lovely Christian character which shone so brightly now in the dark hour of affliction. ”

“ Surely Henry Carleton’s little evening had been enjoyed to the full by every one. And, as it chanced, even the humblest actor in it was to have his share of luck. Tom Satterlee, with some two thirds of his journey to Mr. Sheldon’s accomplished, suddenly gripped the reins more tightly as a warning blast fell on his ears, and a moment later a big motor whizzed past him from the rear. Instantly he recognized the chauffeur, driving alone, and the next moment his cheerful hail had brought the motor to a halt. ”

“ Carleton looked troubled. He was not of a frank nature, and it was always difficult for him to confide his personal affairs to anybody. Fessenden saw this, and resolved upon strong measures.
"You must tell me everything," he said somewhat sternly. "You must do this at the sacrifice of your own wishes. You must ignore yourself, and lay your whole heart bare to me, for the sake of your mother, and—for the sake of the woman you love." ”