Pepa

“ But there is nothing so bad as to have good in it, nor woman so plain that she has no detail of beauty. Pepa indeed did not lack charms, and to some she possessed them in a high degree; her eyes were effective, small but very bright, with a sweet and caressing glance. What was most conspicuous in her was her thick red hair and the dead whiteness of her skin which gave her the effect of a statue of alabaster and gold. ”

“ Pepa’s passionate devotion, and the tenacity which made her give it the pre-eminence over every other feeling, far from causing him any anxiety, altogether bewitched him; he saw in it the offering of her whole heart without reserve, the incalculating generosity which prompts a soul to abandon itself wholly without any concealment, without cloking its faults or veiling a single thought. Those who have been beggars for love cannot repel that which flows in their way, though the tide be too strong and boils and foams. ”

“ Pepa could not help laughing. “It is she who inspires him with all these divine visions and metaphysical raptures. [Pg 207] It is a pity you should not have seen him; he is quite a character. To talk to him after reading his verses is like falling from the clouds into a mud heap. You have not only dramas in your family but farces!”
“Pepita for pity’s sake do not torture me,” said Leon rising to go. “You know that I can never get accustomed to certain things which some people do not mind at all so long as they do not go on in their own houses. ”

“ Pepa enjoyed the reputation in society of being a very funny person, though, in fact, her wit was hardly to be distinguished from audacity. Speaking always with an affectation of anger, calling things bluntly by their names, however coarse they might be, saying the most insolent things without respect of persons—these were the characteristics which had won her a certain popularity. ”

“ The Marquesa and the priest still sat whispering vehemently to each other in a corner, she more and more humble and insinuating, sitting at the very edge of her chair, and bending forward to make herself heard; he every minute more grave and rigid, closing his eyes from time to time as if he were in the confessional.
"What a pair of babies!" said Pepa to Mariana, alluding to the young couple. "Is it not a shame to think of such children being married? How much better they would be playing with their tops!" ”

“ The scandal that has dragged my name in the mud is a just punishment,” said Pepa sadly. “And if I think of it with [Pg 299] less horror than I ought to feel, it is because there is so much, so very much to excuse part—most—the foundation of the report. You are upright, honest, steadfast—I am not. I have allowed myself to cherish feelings in my heart in opposition to my duty; I am a wicked woman, Leon; I do not deserve your love; I am guilty, and I cannot feel that delicate horror of calumny you feel.”
“Pepa, Pepa, do not talk so,” said Leon grasping her hand. ”

“ Pepa looked straight into his eyes in agonised expectation of what he might say next.
“I am married; I do not love my wife, nor does she love me. We are incompatible natures; there is a gulf between us. ”

“ There is at any rate no immediate danger; but you must not allow the slightest sound in this room or in those adjoining; and she is better alone than with more than one person in the room.” He went away.
Pepa with her finger to her lips enjoined silence. Leon and the Marquis Fúcar stood speechless, gazing at the patient. At the end of half an hour Pepa said:
“She is sound asleep and seems to be comfortable. When she wakes I will come and sit with her; I will see that she has everything she needs.” ”

“ They were faint and loose-lipped with travel.
“Courage, little Pepa!” said Caron. “There is no wit-sharpener like adversity. The hungry mouse has the keenest scent.”
It was odd, in the face of his caressing diminutive, that he held himself ostentatiously the smaller of the pair. He seemed to love to show the other’s stature fine and full by comparison. Pepino, in fact, was rather tall, with a faun-like roundness in his thighs and soft olive face. ”

“ The human race must be daily decimated it would seem, to prevent its overwhelming increase.
Pepa, still dressed as she had been at the bull-fight had sunk into a chair, her hands folded, her eyes fixed; her speechless despair terrified all who were with her, and some who could not control their grief left the room to cry. She was sitting close to a little bed so daintily pretty that the fairies themselves could make nothing more innocently fresh ”

“ They say she is very elegant-looking—she always was. But she goes out very little at Ugoibea; she and her fool of a mother only walk out together to get fresh air. They say they give themselves no end of airs;—however, you are rich and the marquis—they say he is the only idiot known who has failed to get a place in the government.”
“Pepa, Pepa, for pity’s sake do not talk so wildly; you really hurt me deeply with your heedless speeches.” Pepa pulled at the rose which was now much reduced. ”

“ It is time for me to go tune the organ for vespers. I must go now. Listen, my treasure; let dinner be ready by one, and don't forget to put a couple of good potatoes into the pot. Have we any children! I am ashamed to tell him we have none. See, Pepa," said the musician, after a moment, having in mind, no doubt, the Arabic document, "if my uncle should make me his heir, or if I should ever grow rich by any other means, I swear that I will take you to the Plaza of San Antonio in Cadiz to live, and I will buy you more jewels than Our Lady of Sorrows of Granada has. ”

“ Pepa, raising her anxious eyes to look at her father lifted a face so pale that it was death-like; and with the desperation of a person who tears open a wound that it may bleed more freely, she asked:
“Is she dying?”
“That was what I was telling you, and you did not listen,” said Don Pedro, who was also suffering from a wound. “It is only our duty to show our unfortunate guest how deeply we sympathise in his misfortune. We must do something worthy of our house and name. ”

“ She had such an arch way of tossing her head and shaking her long gold earrings that there was no resisting her; and indeed Pepa was but too well aware of the fact herself, and made the best use of her knowledge.
But the dinners were still our bêtes noirs, and in these, notwithstanding all her prettiness, she could help us little better than her predecessor. The meat which we procured was simply uneatable, but happily animal food is little needed in those southern climes, and we had plenty of game. Hares, partridges, and wild ducks were most abundant ”

“ Leon answered coldly:
“Whether Pepa’s attacks or eccentricities consist in breaking china or destroying her ornaments, it matters little after all. Her father is rich enough—enormously rich and richer every day.” ”

“ I should be glad to see my wife devout, pious and good; I like your edifying folks. Leave me to recover my own footing in society in my own way. What I ask of your goodness and Catholic feeling is that, after you have gained the control of Pepa’s mind—without any idea of bringing us together, for which I do not care in the least—you will induce her to allow me to see the child. There would be no need for my coming here; I would rather not, I have always hated Suertebella ”

“ You are charitable I know, for you are tender-hearted; but Pepa, in what a foolish way! A woman comes to you for help to get masses said; you put two thousand reales into her hand. The same day comes the widow of a bricklayer who has died of an accident while at work on your house, and you give her only a dollar. You have no idea of the magnitude and proportion of the needs and miseries of the poor.
“Poor Pepita—do not wonder at my speaking to you so harshly; it is out of a sincere desire for your good. ”

“ He took her up before him on his saddle, and chuckled listening to the feverish chatter with which she seemed to beguile herself from memory.
“These jays have no yesterday,” he thought; and said aloud, “You are not Pepino? Now tell me.”
“No, I am Pepa,” she said. “I am only a man in seeming. Alack! I think a man would not forget so easily.”
“Some men,” he answered, and his hand tightened a little upon her. “Trust me, that dead rogue is already forgathering with his succuba.”
By and by he asked her: “How far to Figueras?” ”

“ Then she told: “Your eldest sister has had employment with Baker Gasparo, and it has been good employment. Signor Gasparo gave Pepa all the bread left over in the shop, and she brought it to me. There has been so much that there was enough for us all. I have been happy ever since Pepa found that employment. It will give me an old age free from care, I thought. But last Monday Pepa came home to me and wept; Signora Gasparo had turned her away.”
“What had Pepa done?” asked Nino, who was next younger to Falco. ”

“ What would Irene give for a skin like her mother's!"
"Is it better than Maria Huerta's?" asked she, in an ironical tone, which betrayed, indeed, no very great annoyance.
Pepa had, in fact, changed her plan of attack; she thought that diplomacy would be more effective than a rating.
"Listen to me," she went on, "I meant to give you a good scolding, Emilio; to talk to you seriously, very seriously, and say a great many hard things, but I cannot. I am so foolishly soft-hearted that I can find excuses for every one. ”

“ You will be so comfortable there. The people of the house are quiet respectable folks, and the silence, the stillness, the peace!...”
Pepa folded her hands devoutly to convey an idea of the peace she described. “They will not feed you very well perhaps, but you are not an epicure, and when you want a good dinner you can come to us. You have only to go down into the cow-yard, open a door—two steps....”
“Two steps?” said Leon, pleased by this tempting description. ”

“ Pepa paused to take breath and recruit her moral energies, of which she seemed to have an inexhaustible supply.
“My father,” she went on, “put forward a great many arguments and considerations. I said that the man who was brave enough to take my child from me, might come and drag her out of my arms. I believe that in my indignation I said very rude things to Gustavo. He apologized for his interference, alleging that he was merely an agent. All he wished was that we should come to an agreement, that the best course would be a friendly compromise, so as not to give rise to a scandal. ”

“ Can it be true that I have my little one? That this angel is still left to comfort me in my loneliness?”
She looked at the child and bending over her, kissed her forehead very softly, so as not to disturb her sleep. When she looked up again at her friend he noted a strange light in her eyes.
“You are too much excited,” he said. “You ought to go to bed and sleep for some time. Poor [Pg 241] little mother! You have gone through a great deal since the night before last.”
“Yes,” replied Pepa, “a great deal; but not only now; before that too; I am familiar with misery.” ”

“ Then if you chose you could be Pepa’s. Her lonely life would predispose her to mysticism. The mind of a poor weak woman, when her illusions are past, turns to the altar.”
”Well, you may have a really good and honest purpose in suggesting this. If what you desire is that I should interfere to make the best of an unhappy marriage, and snatch back to God two souls that the Devil claims, the idea seems to me a good one. But to that end, you must begin by abjuring your atrocious opinions, and become a sincere Catholic. ”

“ For less, stronger men than Pepé the ranchero have committed unimaginable crimes.
The next morning when they met in the court, Captain Ruiz stopped Pepé. “Tell her her wishes are law to me!” he said. “If she but love me, I—”
“Caramba!” cried Pepé, savagely. “Am I an old woman or a priest that I should carry your messages? She love you! she would needs have been born to lead apes, to love you.” And Pepé flung himself off in a rage, while the astounded Ruiz gazed after him in open-mouthed amazement. ”

“ Still, looking at the ingot of silver, she shook her head at Don Pépé's remark:
"If it had not been for the lawless tyranny of your government, Don Pépé, many an outlaw now with Hernandez would be living peaceable and happy by the honest work of his hands."
"Señora," cried Don Pépé, with enthusiasm, "it is true! It is as if God had given you the power to look into the very breasts of people. You have seen them working round you, Doña Emilia—meek as lambs, patient like their own burros, brave like lions. ”

“ If you are after money, I tell you you have made a mistake. I haven't any, mind you! For two days I haven't had even a morsel of bread."
"I can't go back home now," said she; "the place is all full of soldiers."
"Go away! What is that to me? Each for himself."
As she was turning away like a kicked dog, Gramigna called to her:
"Say, go and get me a jug of water, down yonder in the brook. If you want to stay with me, you must risk your skin."
Peppa went without saying a word, and when Gramigna heard the gunshots he began to laugh immoderately, and said to himself: "That was meant for me!" ”

“ With the customary apparent submission of a peasant, Pepé prepared to obey. He was in fact anxious to set forth as soon as he could be certain that no straggler was near to mark his movements. The troops and their followers had disappeared. “The Señor Don ’Guardo should leave this solitary spot on the instant,” he said with genuine concern; “in these days of revolution, one can never say what dangerous people may be wandering abroad.”
“I have nothing to fear from them,” answered Ashley, “unless it should be that they might attempt to rob me of the horse Doña Isabel has lent me. ”