Mrs. Charlton

“ Well, such is life, woman’s life at least; her reason invariably takes its colour from her heart!
One morning, post-time brought to me untold happiness. There was a short note in Mr. Charlton’s handwriting, proffering his company at the Towers for a few days during the following week, if convenient to myself and uncle. Convenient to me? it was delightful, and I went about the house all that morning singing like a lark!—to my uncle?—I suppose so, for his lips relaxed with a rare smile, and he drew me to his heart, and kissed me again and again. ”

“ Jane laughed. A plainer, duller man than Headley it would have been hard to find, even among the respectabilities of Remsen City.
"Why do you laugh?" said Charlton. "What is there absurd in a sensible marriage?"
"Would you marry a woman because she was a good housekeeper?"
"That would be one of the requirements," said Charlton. "I've sense enough to know that, no matter how much I liked a woman before marriage, it couldn't last long if she were incompetent. She'd irritate me every moment in the day. I'd lie awake of nights despising her. ”

“ Detritch had then gone at last!
Charlton’s sleeping-room was on the other side of the entry-way opposite to his wife’s. She threw open her door to hear him when he should come up to bed. She waited anxiously a full hour. She began to grow nervous. Void as her heart was of affection for her husband, something like pity crept in as she recalled his look of anguish and alarm at Vance’s disclosures. Ah! is it not sad when one has to despise while one pities! “Shall I not go, and try to cheer him?” she asked herself. Hopeless task! ”

“ If only his faithful Warren or dear old Charlton knew of his peril, how they would come to his aid! Alas, they were far away, and they did not know.
But what was that? A sound outside! A shout, and the dogs barking and raging more than ever, in a perfect fury of anger. Then a smashing of glass. Had the fire broken the windows? No. A form rising above the sill, a man who staggered as the hot smoke met him, and who bent down on all fours to creep across the room—a man who cried aloud—
"Ralph Rexworth, are you here? Are you here?"
It was Mr. Charlton; it was Mr. Charlton come to his aid. ”

“ So, to know the man or the woman we look at the property."
"That's hideously unjust," cried Jane.
"Don't be utterly egotistical," said Charlton. "Don't attach so much importance to your little, mortal, WEAK personality. Try to realize that you're a mere chip in the great game of chance. You're a chip with the letter P on it—which stands for Plutocracy. And you'll be played as you're labeled."
"You make it very hard for any one to like you." ”

“ But Charlton did not even inquire if she were hurt. After a pause she seemed to recover her recollection, and then threw up her head with a lofty gesture of resolve, and quitted the room.
Her husband sat down and read the letter. His equanimity was unruffled till he came to the passage where the writer alludes to the gold casket she had put aside for little Clara. At that disclosure he started to his feet, and gave utterance to a hearty execration upon the woman who had presumed to circumvent him by withholding any portion of her effects. He opened the door and called, “Wife!” ”

“ Lady Charlton did not wonder how Rose felt now. Rose, she thought, was wonderful; life was full of mercies; there was so much to be thankful for; and could not those who had suffered be of great consolation to others in sorrow?
They arranged to meet at Evensong in St. Paul's Chapel, and then Lady Charlton would come back and stay the night. On the next day she was due at the house of her youngest married daughter.
Rose was presently left alone, and she cried quite simply. For a moment she thought of Edmund Grosse and the sadness in his eyes. Why had he not volunteered for the war? ”

“ It was with no little satisfaction, therefore, that I called to communicate the state of his affairs in New Orleans.
“He lives on one of the avenues in a neat freestone house, such as could be hired for twenty-five hundred a year. There is a stable attached, and he keeps a carriage. Soon after he burst upon the fashionable world as a millionnaire, there was a general competition among fashionable families to secure him for one of the daughters. But Charlton, with all his wealth, did not want a wife who was merely stylish, clever, and beautiful; she must be rich into the bargain. ”

“ Better still, you are rich in affection. Your little Clara is “the brightest, the loveliest, the sunniest little thing in the wide world.” So you write me; and I can well believe it from the photograph and the lock of hair you send me. Bless her! What would I give to hug her to my bosom. And you too, Henry, you too I could kiss with a kiss that should be purely maternal,—a benediction,—a kiss your wife would approve, for, after all, you are the only child I have had. Mr. Charlton has always said he would have no children till he was a rich man. ”

“ Charlton took his cue at once, and replied: “They were excellent people, and I’m sorry they’ve gone. What was the matter? Were the slave-catchers after them?”
“I don’t know,” sighed Petticum; “I shouldn’t wonder. Poor Flora! That was all she worried about. I’d like to have got my hands in the hair of the man that would have carried her off. Where’ll you find the white folks better and decenter than they was?”
“Not in New York, ma’am,” said Charlton, stealthily looking about the room, examining every article of furniture, and opening the drawers. ”

“ Charlton nodded. He was a man of few words. He said nothing when Lawrence gave him a pair of goloshes to put over his boots, and in silence the two set out for Raven Street. The place was practically deserted as they came to the house, so that to enter without being seen was a matter of no difficulty.
"We are in time," Lawrence whispered, "in good time. I felt sure I could trust the one I picked out to assist me. If I had not been detained I should have been here before. There is not much for us to do."
"Are we waiting for somebody?" Charlton asked. ”

“ The Charltons and Charlton’s lawyer, Mr. Detritch, had arrived. The ladies were removing their bonnets and shawls. Hyde drew near to Vance, and the latter threw open the door. Charlton entered first. The prospect of recovering his New Orleans property had put him in the most gracious of humors. His dyed hair, his white, well-starched vest, his glossy black dress-coat and pantaloons, showed that his personal appearance was receiving more than usual attention. He would have been called a handsome man by those who did not look deep as Lavater. ”

“ Charlton called himself a lawyer, his specialty being conveyancing and real estate transactions. His one purpose in life was to be a rich man. To this end all others must be subordinate. When a boy he had been taught to play on the flute; and his musical taste, if cultivated, might have been a saving element of grace. But finding that in a single year he had spent ten dollars in concert tickets, he indignantly repudiated music, and shut his ears even to the hand-organs in the street. He had inherited a fondness for fine horses. ”

“ Charlton's house was as secure as a convent; he had no fear that either English or American soldiers would molest a dwelling full of schoolgirls. And John Bradley could keep the door of his mouth; and he believed that a man who could do that might pursue a trade so necessary as his, with an almost certain degree of safety.
In appearance he was a short, powerful-looking man with tranquil, meditating eyes and a great talent for silence; an armed soul dwelling in a strong [Pg 52] body. Some minds reflect, shift, argue, and are like the surface of a lake ”

“ He rather suggested a professional athlete, perhaps a better class prize fighter. The weazened old financier was gazing at him with a fascinated expression—admiring, envious, amused.
Charlton was saying:
"Yes, you do look like a dead one. But that's only another of your tricks for fooling people. You'll live a dozen years unless you commit suicide. A dozen years? Probably twenty."
"You ought to be ashamed to make sport of a poor old invalid," said Hastings with a grin.
"Any man who could stand a lunch of crackers and milk for ten years could outlive anything," retorted Charlton. ”

“ I found Charlton sitting lonely in a sort of library scantily furnished with books. A well-formed man, but with a face haggard and anxious as if his life-blood were ebbing irrecoverably with every penny that went from his pockets. On my mentioning your name, his eyes brightened; for he inferred I had come with your semiannual remittances. He was at once anxious to know if rents in New Orleans had been materially affected by the war. ”

“ He's an idealist."
"Who told you that?" laughed Charlton. "He's the most practical, sensible man in this town. You people think he's a crank because he isn't crazy about money or about stepping round on the necks of his fellow beings. The truth is, he's got a sense of proportion—and a sense of humor—and an idea of a rational happy life. You're still barbarians, while he's a civilized man. Ever seen an ignorant yap jeer when a neat, clean, well-dressed person passed by? Well, you people jeering at Victor Dorn are like that yap."
"I agree with you," said Jane hastily and earnestly. ”

“ Moved by that same infatuation which compels a giddy man to look over the precipice which is luring him to jump, Charlton, with a deplorable affectation of composure, wiped the perspiration from his brow, and said: “Well, sir, bring on these proofs that you pretend are so irresistible. I think we can afford to hear them,—eh, Detritch?”
“First,” said Vance, “I produce the confession of Hyde, here present, and of Quattles, deceased, that the infant child of Mr. Berwick was saved by them from the wreck of the Pontiac, taken to New Orleans, and sold at auction as a slave. ”

“ His silk handkerchief, shirt, and boots were of the best. There was in his movements an easy and graceful deliberation, but back of his slowness was a chill, wary strength.
Roy discovered shortly that Charlton was a local Admirable Crichton. He was known as a crack rider, a good roper, and a dead shot. Moreover, he had the reputation of being ready to fight at the drop of the hat. To the Rutherford boys he was a hero. Whether he was one also to Beulah her guest had not yet learned, but it took no wiseacre to guess that he wanted to be. ”

“ Charlton is young and good-looking, madame, and he is probably well aware that, in the event of his being left a widower, it would not be difficult for him to form a marriage connection that would bring him a much larger income than that you supply.”
“Nothing more likely, Toussaint. How strange that I can talk of these things so calmly,—eating my breakfast, thus! They say that a woman who has once truly loved must always love. What do you think, Toussaint?” ”

“ A man of Charlton's temper who is really in love, can bring himself to admire any traits in the object of his love. Had Helen Minorkey shown some little enthusiasm, Charlton would have exaggerated it, admired it, and rejoiced in it as a priceless quality. ”

“ Charlton, with the prompt manliness and humanity which characterized him, at once volunteered his services. These were gratefully accepted, and his devotion was so pronounced and so successful that after a short incarceration in Fort Warren, Massachusetts, the enemy treated him as the British had his great grandfather under similar circumstances and turned their backs while he walked out, with the understanding that he would not return south. ”

“ Jane lowered the light and went down to join Charlton on the front veranda, where he was smoking a cigarette. She said:
"He's asleep."
"He's all right for the next few days," said Charlton. "After that—I don't know. I'm very doubtful."
Jane was depressed, but not so depressed as she would have been had not her father so long looked like death and so often been near dying.
"Stay at home until I see how this is going to turn out. Telephone your sister to be within easy call. But don't let her come here. She's not fit to be about an ill person. ”

“ Charlton sang across. "I'm sinking fast."
"Is there any way for Miss Rutherford to get over to your horse?" asked Roy quickly.
"She can cross the wash two hundred yards below here. It's perfectly safe."
As Roy plunged forward, he gave Beulah orders without turning his head. "You hear, dear. Run down and get across. But go over very carefully. If you come to a bad place, go back at once. When you get over tie Charlton's rope to his saddle-horn and throw him the looped end. The horse will drag him out." ”

“ Edward Charlton died in 1767, leaving a widow and a son, then under age. The son married in 1778, and died in 1797, leaving a son, an infant. The question was, whether, under the circumstances, a conveyance either from Edward Charlton or William Charlton to the Reed family might be presumed. ”

“ And then, without warning the light flashed on, and the culprits stood revealed to the accusing eyes of Miss Charlton, the teacher on their hall. [Pg 61]
For a long minute they faced each other, the girls too dismayed and startled to speak a word in their own behalf. At length Miss Charlton said slowly and very distinctly,
"I thought so. Marcia West and Rosalind Forrest, I shall report you absent without leave. You will both go to Miss Harland's office after chapel tomorrow morning. She will deal with you as she thinks best. Go to your rooms now. Goodnight!" ”