m M0 \ w ' h? >. ^ 4 THE WIFE AND THE MISTRESS. A NOVEL> S.AKr, MIKEFVA-IRXSE, I E AD T. NH ALL-S T R X ET. X THE WIFE AND THE MISTRESS. IN FOUR VOLUMES. BY MARY CHARLTON, AVTHOR or THE PIRATJE OF NAPLES, ROSELlA, ANDB0NICA> 4;c. &s. •' ■ Celebrare doraestica facta." HoiACK, •• We find fit subjects for our verse at home." ROSCOMMOH. VOL. 1. fieconU ®5ition# LONDO l^t PRINTED AT THE rOR LANE AND NEWMAN, iEADENH ALL-STREET. 1803. .'Uj^o. ij/^//£>cy(?C — .. vor^i^c:? yJ^c//^d^A^j'^ /^ 8c5 . AND THE MISTRESS. '••• ^^ ^^^•^ CHAP. L EARLY two months had elapsed since the death of the Earl of Melville ; and his widow, far from deriving consolation from .,j^ the endearments of her children, or the ^vCondolements of her friends, appeared, each "4 succeeding day, to be plunged in addi- tional gloom and thoughtfulness. >;. In one of her accustomed reveries, her eyes rested on the figure of her only son, a boy about fourteen years of age, who was VOL. I. B carelessly 2 THE WIFE AND carelessly frolicking under her dressing- room windows, upon tlie lawn they over- looked. '^ No, witli liim I shall not succeed!'* she exclaimed ; '' he will be selfish, head- strong, and unfeeling ! Whatever his nature now wants of these qualities, will be amply supplied by the incense of the world, and he will be received into society with consideration and avidity ! — Eut these girls — rank, it is true, they claim ; beauty, I trust, they will possess : yet a right honourable portion often thousand pounds is but a poor auxiliary even to rank ami beauty, \\'lien ten times ten is placed in the opposite scale with the incumbrance of a commoner's ugly daughter. Years too must elapse ere I can regain distinction and importance through them : — in the in- terim — hateful recollection ! I am reduced from a splendid revenue, ofwhich my supine Lord allowed me the almost exclusive appropriation, to an insignificant jointure, I have hitherto distributed the equivalent of, as caprice alone dictated : how then 4 i«ay THE MISTRESS. 3 may I immediately soften the descent into which I am sensible I must be preci- pitated?" ** In vain, however, did Lady Melville consider, with reiterated attention, a point so essential to the gratification of her vanity and her pride : a second marriage, indeed, might yet what would a second marriage eventually do for her, could she even obtain another establishment to jus- tify such a step? Renew the fetters from M"hich she was -just freed, and either make her a slave for life, or leave her, after a few years of bondage but ill adapted to the haughtiness of her spirit, again per- haps the jointured relict of a fool, whose family regard her as a pensioned alien and an incumbrance, should she not have the good fortune to be the vehicle by which their name and honours are transmitted to posterity. She did not reflect that tins grievance extended to most women of her own rank, and even to those both in much superior and inferior gradations. — No 1 lier indig- B 2 nation 4 THE WIFE AND nation arose from tlic consideration that the case washer's individually? As she still sat immersed in thought, her eldest daughter, who had just passed her ninth year, entered the dressing-room, and observing the countenance of her mother pensive even to dejection, she tlew towards her, and, whilst her eyes filled with tears of affectionate solicitude, ca- ressed her with timid fondness. Lady Melville kissed her. '^ Go, Emily," said she; '' I wish to be alone. Tell Miss Vansittart to con- duct you and your sisters round the park." The child, v/ith lingering steps, left the room. ** She will certainly be very handsome," thought Lady Melville, pursuing the reverie Emily had interrupted; *' and might 1 not, through her, renew the consideration attached to splendour, power, or wealth ? She is affectionate and pliant ; I must create myself a supe- rior interest in her bosom, and curb her sensibility to my own exclusive guidance. Once THE MISTRESS. 5 Once more, then, may I be gazed at, as a being worthy of envy and adn^.iration, and enjoy every eifect of a renovation of yonth, and a second s;)ring of beauty ; wiiiKt I retain the libeity of thinking and actino;, the yonno: and beautiful of niv unhappy sex must barter away !" From this moment, tlie fair and gentlj Emily became tlie devoted tool of a vain, ambitious, unnatural mother, Vvdiilst licr sisteis, scQ.rcc\y yet out of the nursery, were left \vholly to the precepts and example of a mercenary governess and attendants, equally unprincipled and ignorant. Emily was never absent, even at the hour of repose, from Lady Melville, v/ho renounced all society that miilitated against her plan. Those who still, from decorum or local motives, passed a grave hour with her, invariably found her in- structing her lovely daughter in those acquirements, to the imperfect attainment of which the days of young women are B 3 devoted ; THE WIFE AND devoted ; nor was perpetual exhortation wanting, to render her the most complai- sant, insinuating, accomplished little flat- terer that ever smiled with habitual de- ception upon the aspect she most disliked. All those indefinite attentions, those caressing manners, those bewitching, though transient deferences^ that range the self-approbation and vanity of others on the side of the person thus acting, and seize applause and esteem with irresistible certaint}^ of success, Emily well knew how to practise; and the fashionable world rung with encomiums upon the exemplary conduct of the admirable Lady Melville. ** She devotes herself with unremitting zeal to the welfare of her children," pub- lished the daily papers : — *^ she sacrifices, in . the bloom of life, the incense of an adoring circle, to accomplish the most arduous of maternal duties ! — she rejects the aspiring wishes of a multitude of admirers, to deserve and obtain the more grateful applause of her own heart 1 — But the esteem of mankind follows her to her retreat. THE MISTRESS. ^ retreat, whence we hope to behold, on a future clay, the blooming inheritor of her virtues and her graces presented to an expecting world, when tiiis most tender and amiable mother grants lier to the solicitation of some illustrious lover !" Lady IMelville read this rhapsody witii considerable self-com.placency : it formed exactly the several hints she would h.erself have wished to disseminate, and pre- served in the recollection of the gay circles she compelled herself to quit, that her retirement might one day cease. " ^Vitliout such a prospect," she ex- claiiued, '' how insupportable my present existence, and how useless my cares!" What these cares were, the principles and future conduct of her daughter will yet further illustrate. The talents of Lady Emily had, indeed, been cultivated with as dil!2:ent an assi- duity as those of a Circassian slave des- tined for the haram of a princely master; and the purpose in view was not mate- rially different. Thus far the system of B 4 Lady b THE AVIFE AND Lady Melville was formed upon those of the most approved and popular writers upon the education and proper training of the gentler sex. But her naivete, the unaffected graces of thoughtless youth, that lovely bloom of the mind, Mere banished ; because real sensibility and artless innocence may sometimes be indo- cile and misplaced, and the manners of Emily were dressed up in an artificial simplicity, which quickly stole all that remained of the reality from her heart : but this accorded better Nvith the views of Lady Mdville, who could now guide every movement of her soul, and curb its every emotion. Nor did she apprehend that the world would discern and proclaim the clieat ; for her intended associates vrere too well-bred to enquire beyond the outward garb of the character ; and if that were well fancied, and stamped by tlie great seal of fashion, every one must seem to approve. Appearance, the refuge, the bulwark, the shield of so many beings of her own class, their only strength, their THE MISTRESS. ^ their breast-plate and helmet— must ne- cessarily pass current : many there are who have no inchnation to penetrate beyond it, and others have not the power. At seventeen Emily was the most tract- able, the most insinuating, most unpre- suming, and fascinating young creature in the world. If any one of the compa- nions, with Avhom her mother sometimes suffered her to associate, admired the ring upon her finger, or the bracelet upon her arm, they were instantly bribed by a tender embrace, and a smiling look of entreaty, to accept it as a memorial of esteem and aftection. At the youthful dance, Mdiich Lady Melville had been induced to suffer the timid beauty to grace by her presence, she was constantly found in the humblest station amidst the expecting group ; and when drawn to her proper place by the decorous mandate of etiquette, her almost tearful eyes, and gentle regards of concern, seemed to implore forgiveness of those she was thus compelled to supersede. B 5 '< What 10 THE WIFE AND *^ What an angelic disposition ! what captivating modesty ! what sweet sensi- bility!" were repeated in the ear of the conscious parent, who smiled with a mingled emotion of triumph and disdain at the inferior merits and pretensions of surrounding daughters and surrounding mothers. The character of Emily was thus almost imperceptibly established for every grace and every virtue that can embellish and adorn ; and the loveliness of her person, not too liberally exposed to the reiterated gaze of admiration, or the eye of curiosity, was sometimes even exaggerated by ani- mated report. Yet still Lady Emily Melville had not been offered to the world as a properly matured beauty — she had not been presented ; for the Countess had regarded the effect of the prevailing sys* tern with an attentive observation : she had seen a clever husband-hunting, mar- riage making mamma dash up to London from the extremity of the kingdom, on the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth of THE MISTRESS. 11 of a wintry month, and drive a daughter, ahnost headlong, into the drawing room on the eighteenth, with a mien that strongly invited the young noblemen around her to bid up for the half- frozen, half-stunned unfortunate, thus brought upon the market. Lady Melville saw, likewise, that this might answer the wished-for purpose, when supported by very superior rank and a commanding revenue: but as the latter resource was no longer her's, she declined this kind of full- gallop charge, for gentler and more pro- mising manoeuvre. When the family of her late husband urged the immediate introduction of Lady Emily — " She is yet but a child," replied the Countess: ^^ let us appropriate another year to instruction and improvement." The Marquis of Beliingham, thougli not attached to the Melvilles by the ties of relationship, had appeared anxious upon the same subject, which he dis- cussed with the young Earl, brotiier to the fair Emily, %vho happened to be his B 6 friend; 12 THE WIFE AND friend : and when he learned that, instead of perpetually meeting this dawning con- stellation in his morning rides and his evening engagements, she must perforce remain a chikl for twelve long months; and that in this interim she was destined, of his sex, to receive only the dexjoirs of harp-masters, singing-masters, dancing- masters, tambarine-masters, lyre-masters, and masters of moonlight, fire-light, and candle-light transparencies, he appeared very much disconcerted. And Lord Melville, who did not want discernment, imparted certain ideas to his mother, very naturally arising from the emotion of the IMarquis, and with a little instruction from her, and an heroic sacrifice she in- duced him to make of an hour or two in every day, which, accompanied by his friend Bellingham, he passed with his pretty little sister, Lady Melville had, at length, the satisfaction of hearing that the conquest Vv^as completed. From that moment Emily suddenly ceased to be a child ; she passed, in four- THE MISTRESS. four and- twxnty hourrs, from childh ;. ,-_, adolescence; and, in less than a week, her mother complained to the Marquis that she was the most timid young woman, in the universe, and rii-^t her only wish M^as to be indulged in the silly plan of passing her whole life in retirement. '' But I must combat this weakness," added her Ladyship; "it is now time that this dear girl should be presented to a- world from which she so fearfully shrinks." This bias, so tenderly complained of, was very soon exemplified when the lover was introduced in form to the fair object of his passion ; who received the avowed intelligence of his devotion with tears, and taking refuge for a moment in the arms of her mother, withdrew from them only to sink at her feet, and entreat that she might not be parted from her. The Marquis found his sensibility af- fected, and he was likewise charmed with the grace she displayed, spite of the little mortification his vanity suffered at this unexpected 14 THE WIFE AND unexpected reception of his suit ; but when the lovely Emily had listened with mute respect to the reprimand of Lady Melville, for the indecorum of her conduct, and the ill-requited honour conferred upon her by the good opinion of his Lordship, and she entreated his pardon with blushes of timidity and repentance, he was com- pletely subdued, and to hasten the settle- ments and preliminaries, would have sacri- ficed half of his immense revenue, and have invested the remainder with his en- chanting bride. Indeed, he was affirming it to her brother with great vehemence, when the sudden recollection of a certain lady, in a certain beautiful cottage in a western suburb, darted upon his mind. ''Melville," cried he, '' w^hat the devil am I to do with Laura?" '' That is soon settled," replied the consulted, with his usual indifference : but the countenance of ,the lover de- manded an explanation. '' I would take her off your hands myself," continued he; ** only as Bentley has commenced a suit against THE MISTRESS. 15 against me, and turned his wife upon the pave, it would be dishonourable to give her any uneasiness just now : — however, as that is out of the question, Laura must chuse for herself. Send her, en attendant, a thousand pounds, and let her under- stand that it is a parting douceur, and must suffice until she can get another establishment." Bellingham coloured, and appeared ill at ease. '* But the child?" said he, in an em- barrassed accent. ** Oh ! let her provide for its mainte- nance." ^^ With a thousand pounds! — As for an- other establishment," added the Marquis, with a firmer voice, ^ 'I am certain — that is, I am almost assured she will never submit — " *' Well, well," interrupted the brother of the fair Emily, wishing to be relieved from the subject, '^ let her squall at a concert, or get upon the stage; and when she can support herself with proper iclat, no doubt she may encounter some princely 16 THE WIFE AND princely cher ami, who will allow her to sport liis liveries, and save her the trouble of receiving her appointments T' The Marquis affected to join in the laugh that succeeded this sally, but the effort was an avvkv/ard one ; and the figure of his deserted mistress^ weeping over her infant, and spurning the parting gift he had been so unfeelingl}' counselled to send her, rose repeatedly to his imagina- tion. Lord Melville was alarmed for the inte- rests of his sifter. He had once acciden- tally seen Laura, and had often heard the Marquis mention her in terms of tender- ness and even of respect ; and he reported to his mother the preceding conversation. ** This intelligence is not unimport- ant," thought Lady Melville; *' but we will render a circumstance, in itself rather redoubtable, subservient to our interests. I must see this Laura." And, on the follov/ing morning, she drove to the habitation indicated lo her by THE MISTRESS. 17 bv her son. A servant, in a plain drab frock, appeared at the door. *' Inform your Lady" said the courtly visitor, in accents of marked condescen- sion, '* that Lady Melville requests the favour of conversing five minutes with her." The countenance of tlie man evinced considerable surprise when he received this command ; and lie withdrew after having, at the motion of a guest so unex- pected, conducted her to an apartment, elegantly, but modestly fitted up. *'Sol" exclainicd Lady MelvH'e, glancing a curious and penetrating eye round the untenanted room, ** this Laura plays off the accomplished Princess, it appears 1 French and Italian books, a harp, and drawings v/hich are pretended to be her own execution, I presume !" She opened the leaves of a Metastasio, and observed, opposed to the title-page, the name of Laura, written by Lord Eellingham. ^* Oh ! the immediate gift of the faithless 18 THE WIFE AND faithless lover !" continued she, with a sarcastic smile. ** But where is this. Divinity ? Drinking a little ocean of hartshorn and water, I suppose, to enable her to sustain the horrors of my virtuous presence!'* The unfortunate young woman, thus apostrophized by the spotless lady of distinction, required indeed some potent draught to still the palpitation of her sinking heart — to steady her trembling nerves, torn by anguish, indignation, self-reproach, maternal fears, and maternal fondness— to quiet the throbbings of her aching head, and sooth the agonies of a mind that (?;2ce opposed an approving con- science to the miseries of poverty, de- pendance, and the slights of a scorning world. '^ What can Lady Melville wish Avith me?'' exclaimed she, looking wildly round her, when the servant had retired. '^ Let him — let him marry her beautiful, her innocent daughter— let him leave me to insult and ignominy — let him desert his smiling THE MISTRESS. IQ smiling babe, at once my pride and my reproach— but let tliis be the full measure of my woes ! This — this I must endure ; but I will endure no more ! Nancy," she resumed, turning to a young woman who was nursing the child, and good- naturedly dropping a tear for the evident distress of her mistress, *^ go to Lady Melville yourself: tell her that I am in- disposed — that I am ill, and cannot have the honour — the unmerited honour she proposes : tell her yet no ! Go, Nancy, T cannot see her !" Then fondly pressing the infant to her bosom, she hung over it in speechless agony ; and the attendant, still weeping, left the nursery to execute her commands. When Nancy entered the apartment A^'here the unwished-for visitant awaited the appearance of her mistress, as her person was engaging, and as her dress, though modest for the soubrette of such a household, was yet a good copy of what Lady Melville was accustomed to see, she 20 THE ^riFE AND she was mistaken for the Laura she was anxiously expecting to behold. Nancy, without advancing into the room, curtsied, and with a half sob, stam- mered — '' My Lady-— my Lady—" ^' My son is a simpleton," thought tlie visitor, ^* for entertaining any apprehen- sions upon this subject ; — there can be none. I shall give myself no further trouble about her. " *' You are confused, child," said she, assuming an air of dignity, and addressing the supposed mistic&s of the m.ansion, without the smallest idea of making any return to her salutation ; *' you are con- fused, and perhaps terrified ; but I come not to alarm and humiliate you : on the contrary " ** MCy my Lady !" exclaimed Nancy ; *• does your Ladyship suppose then No, Ma'am, I came from mi/ Lady, Vv ho desires me to say that she is ill, and can- not have the honour of seeing your Lady- ship." '' Tour THE MISTRESS. 21 *' Your Lady! — Oh! well — inform mc, child," she resumed, harmonizing her voice, and softening her manner, " is your Lady fully aware of the visitor she thus repulses ?" '* Mv mistress is broken-hearted. Madam," cried Nancy, bursting into fresh tears, '* and she is almost dis- tracted.'*' '* It is my wish and my intention to sooth any anxiety she may experience," returned Lady Melville — ^^ at least on one point. I will write to her : yet as you appear to be in her confidence " ** Me, my Lady ! I — I have never let drop a single syllable all the while I have li\ed with her, to make my poor Lady think that I — I thought any harm ; and I am sure I wouldn't noxv. Would not your Lady- ship rather chuse to write ?" *' Yes; bring me the materials." In obedience to this command, Nancy withdrew, and soon returned with a writing-stand, which she had procured in an adjoining room. ** Stay 22 THE WIFE AND '' Sta}^ here, and take my billet to your Lady," said the Countess ; ''I will not long detain you." The girl, returning to the door, stood in a deep reverie, whilst Lady Melville, after a moment of reflection, addressed the invisible object of her solicitudes, in writing. She was concluding the note, which was not a short one when the Marquis of Bellingham, with a countenance of great agitation, entered the apartment ; and Nancy, in apparent consternation, in- stantly quitted it. ^* I saw your Ladyship's carriage near this place — this house," stammered he, ** and I feared lest a misconception of the character of— of — I feared* - - " ** This anxiety is misplaced," said the Countess, recovering her recollection al- most instantaneously ; *' I could not be capable of the design of entering any dwelling with the intention of wounding the feelings of its proprietor. Mrs. Stanmore/' she proceeded; '' declined see ! no' THE MISTRESS. 23 seeing me : this letter/' presenting the one she liad just written, '• proves the purpose of my visit here. Emily," added the Countess, in a lower tone, '• M'ould have been miserable had I returned with- out making it known to the hapless and interesting creature, of whose existence and merits, however obscured, report has too well informed her." The Marquis scarce!}^ knowing what he did, received the letter from her extended hand, and cast his eye over it : tlie colour varied on his cheek, and returned with a deeper glow. '* Generous, amiable Lady Emily !" exclaimed he ; ^' and you. Madam, bene- ficent, condescending as you are, I may now acknowledge that this noble consi- deration for the future destiny of an unfor- tunate, relieves my heart from a weight of inquietude. How can I express my admi- ration !" " I merit it not," said Lady Melville ; *^ I was urged, I confess, to act as I have done, and still mean to do, by the tears and 24 THE WIFE AXD and entreaties of my spoiled girl. But this is not a place for such a discussion. Do you, my dear Marquis, bear this note to Mrs. Stanmore. — Yet no," she resumed, after a short pause, '* her conscious heart mio^ht suo-oest an intended insult in the choice of such a messenger : I will de- liver it, as I originally designed, to the young woman I have spoken to. Will you, my Lord, take the trouble of direct- ing that my carriage may drive up? I Avould quit the house as quietly as possible." He left the room \vithout replying ; and amoment after, several steps swiftly ascend- ing and descending the stairs, alarmed her; and opening a door that led to them, she beheld Nancy hastily passing with a vial of hartshorn in her hand, and terror in her countenance. Lady Melville partly com- prehending the occasion that excited it, demanded if ]\Irs. Stanmore were ill. ** She is in strong convulsions, " replied the girl : '* Jenny and William can hardly hold her. I must ask my Lord to send his groom for the Doctor." '* ?;tav !" THE MISTRESS. 25 ''Stay 1" exclaimed the Countess, de- taining her; '' / am returning to town, and I will send my own physician : mean- time dehver her this letter the moment she revives — it will sooth and restore her to composure. You must be wanted — / will inform the Marquis : hasten back to your Lady.'* A bell, which Nancy knew to be that in. the apartment of Mrs. Stanmore, Mas now runs: with violence, and the bewildered girl, eagerly receiving the letter, flew to the summons. " I must hurry him avray, " thought Lady Melville : " these fits might be very critically timed;" and -she descended the stairs with a quickened pace. The Marquis met her at the entrance of the house : he was surprised, and rather alarmed, that Lady ^lelville should be suffered thus to leave it v/ithout the at- tendance of a domestic ; which yet might not at that moment perhaps have struck bim, had he not been compelled to tra- verse the lawn himself, to call up her car^ riage, for his o^s'n groom had been left VOL. I. c with 26 THE WIFE AND with his horses at some distance — a pre- caution lie liad lately used when he passed a short and embarrassed hour with her, whom he still dreaded wholly to abandon. As he assisted Lady Melville into her chariot, he cast a stolen glance at the windows of the house, and her lynx-eye perceived it. *' Do you sec Emily this morning, my Lord," asked she; ^^ or shall I inform her that an important engagement will prevent you ?" '* I — I return immediately to town," he replied ; *M have no further object — I shall go immediately." '* It is warm and dusty,*' observed Lady Melville; '' you will be incom- moded if you walk. " He was very averse to let her under- stand that his horses were awaiting him in an adjacent lane, as the circumstance must have contradicted his insinuation of having entererl the house only from ob- serving her Ladyship's chariot in so un- expected a station ; for the plea, though a true one in part, had merely accelerated his THE MISTRESS. QJ his appearance in the dressing-room of the luckless i\Irs. Stanmore ; and, in his con- fusion of mind, he had forgotten to desire the groom to conje forward. Without replying to tlie remark of Lady- Melville upon the dust and heat, he fal- lowed her into the carriage ; and scarcely yet secure of victory, she directed her servants home. Tiie i\Iarquis, though approaching the dwelling of the lovely, ingenuous, and fascinating Emily, was silent and thought- ful ; and his companion, repressing her indignation at his folly, thus addressed him: — *' I did not, my Lord, intend that you sliould have heen informed of our projects concerning ^Irs. Stanmore : as it is, I know not if Emily will forgive me for divulging to you her wishes, of placing this poor unfortunate in a situation where she may return to the virtue she has aban- doned, if such be her inclination ; but I entreat that you will forbear giving the least indication of having learned her c 2 P^sn, 28 THE WIFE AND plan, as any conversation upon the sub- ject will infinitely pain her." The Marquis, in confused terms, endea- voured to express his gratitude and vene- ration ; but at this moment Lord Melville stopped the carriage, and enquiring whi- ther his mother and his friend Bellingham had been, \vas proceeding to comment upon what he termed their secret expe- dition, when an expressive glance from the lady checked him ; and turning has- tily from the varying countenance of the Marquis, he called with pretended earnest- ness to a gentleman who was passing at the moment, and galloped after him. ** This etourdi is engaged with Mr. Lumley," said his mother; *^ we will not await his return." And, to the great relief of the Marquis, his friend did not rejoin them until the carriage stopped at the door of Lady Melville, who immediately walked up to the dressing-room ot the fair Kmily; and left the Marquis teie a ttte with her son ; when, unasked, the lover instantly gave a recital of the morning's encounter. ** Your THE MISTRESS. 29 *^ Your divine sister," added he, '* com- missioned Lady jMelville to offer poor Laura an annuity, which the compas- sionate angel proposes to spare from her intended pin-money. I adore her for this amiable intention, and the tender consi- deration that embelHshes, beyond imagi- nation, in my esteem, a mind at once so unsullied, and so gentle to the frailty of another ! — But who the devil could have been malicious enough to pour this liistory in her car, which you assured me, three days since, she knew nothing of? However, Heaven be praised ! no bad effect has arisen from the information ! and my Emily shall not be compelled to forego any other gratification to support poor Laura, as I shall place any sum Lady Melville will condescend to name, in her hands for that purpose ; and, if the poor girl be tolerably happy, I shall be charmed to get rid of the business so well. I must tax your friendship, A! el vi lie, to negotiate the affair with your mother ; and remember that I insist upon ad- vancing what she may judge sufficient c 3 for -0 THE WIFE A-SD for tlie proper maintenance of Laura and her child, and that your angehc sister nuist consent to reserve her intended benevolence for other pnrposes." Lord Melville, v, ho liad now wholly withdrawn the squalling and acting plan, and remembered with a regret that partook a little of shame, the arlvice he had so recently given, agreed to be the bearer of this proposition to his mother, and report her opinion upon it. During this conference, the lovely Emily was receiving a few necessary hints from her indefatigable parent, who in- formed her of the late arrangement of the Marquis with Mrs. Stanmore, whose name and history now, for the^r^^ time, met the ear of the superseding beauty, notwithstanding the late assertions of Lady Melville to the credulous lover. Emily listened to the narrative of the fracas of the morning with graceful inte- rest, and learned the attentive solicitude of her mother with ardent acknowledg- ment : she kissed tlie hand of Lady Mel- ville, and in a tender accent hoped her dear. THE MISTRESS. 31 clear, dear mamma \ra5 not much fatigued by her kind exertions. *' No, my love," replied the parent: ** but, Emily, you understand what I would have you say to the IMarquis, if he speaks to you upon the subject?' The young lady readily acknov/ledged that she did ; and an intimation was then sent to the Marquis that he might now appear, and offer his morning adorations. CHAP. IL Lady MELVILLE had easily dis- cerned that the temper of Lord Bellingham was generous almost to excess : she had discerned, too, that his unfortunate Laura, though a degraded woman in the eye of the world, was very far from being reduced to the common standard of un- happy beings of the same class. She sus- pected, likewise, that the irresolution and c 4 the 32 THE WIFE AND the emotions the IMarquis had betrayed, proceeded from a yet lingering- affection for the mother of his child ; and with these impressions upon her mind, when her son imparted to her the intentions of his friend, slie determined to propose for Mrs. Stanmore and the infant such a provision, as woidd banish from his heart every ap^ prehension for their future weh^are, as far as it could be secured in pecuniary concerns, and ascertain, at the same time, her own liberality and equity. But this was not all her care : she did not perfectly ap- prove the vicinity of the Marquis and his deserted Laura ; and summoning to her aid every persuasive and conciliatory grace, she made another and more success- ful effort to introduce herself to the pre- sence of Mrs. Stanmore ; who, penetrated with gratitude for the soothing conde- scensions and kindness of a woman of unsullied reputation and superior rank, Mas recalled by them from despair and death, and submitted to live, that she might endeavour to atone for her offence ag-ainst virtue and herself^ and guard her child. THE MISTRESS. 33 child, which was a female, from the horror of eternal degradation, and the varied miseries attending her own error. After a considerable opposition on her part, Lady Melville overruled her scruples of delicacy, and prevailed with her to accept from the Marquis an annuity of four hundred pounds, which would be remitted to her wherever she might chuse to reside ; her illustrious patroness ob- serving to her at the same time, that she Avould wish, no doubt, to retire from the vicinity of the metropolis, Mrs. Stanmore, or rather Miss Delaunie, for that Avas her appellation, protested that no power upon earth could induce her to live near a j)lace where chance might present to her the man, whom, as the father of her hapless infant, she could jiot hate, and who, though now plighting his exclusive faith to another, she well remembered had a thousand times "'iveii himself to eternal peitiition and the wratii of an offended God, if he Used but for her ! ** Oh! vows so often uttered," she c 5 sighed, 34- THE V/IFE AND sighed, ' ' vows repeated from age to age, hi evxry clime, at every period — by millions of his sex to millions of mine, to tempt the wretch to pass that boundary, which, overstepping, brands her with an ignominy that winds round her conscious heart through life, and descends with lier to the pTavei — oaths broken ere thev minole v/ith the sighing breeze — imprecations braved hy repeated perjuries, are you re- corded by Heaven ? or does the hand of Heaven forbear to trace them, because they are breathed only to betray a hapless woman to misery, shame, and despair? Oh Eellingham ! let not those vows, which aided to win me from innocence and peace, be recorded by fate ; or what, thoughtless man ! would be the colour of thy future life ?" *' Simpleton 1" silently ejaculated Lady ^lelville, if perchance any of these apos- trophes, extorted by the anguish of the moment, met her ear; *' his future life will be chequered with many colours, like a Scotchman's cloak, as the lives of most men are 1 This absurd; sentimental, refined THE MISTRESS. 35 refined c/iere amle of a dissipated young fellow fancies, I suppose, that a host of Michaels and Gabriels are at this moment planning the punishment of rry Lord Marquis, because he is weary of her pretty face and fine sentences 1" These contemptuous comments hov/- ever, never passed tlie prudent lips of Lady Melville, and could not theiefore Mound the feelings of Airs. Stan more; who almost adored her as a superior beings when she found that her little Laura was amply provided for, and that the Marquia had deposited the future portion of the child in the hands of guardians appointed by Lady Melville, tliat, as she observed, he might not be able to recall his boun- teous intention by any fantasy of his own, or from any unlooked-for circumstance by A\ hich he might find himself urged. The \\eeping mother now bade adieu to her illustrious benefactress,, to retire, with lier little fatherless girl, to an obscure village in , where she meant to retain the name of Stanmore, and call herself a widow. As she kissed the hand c 6 of 36 THE WIFE AND of Lady Melville for the last time, she implored of Heaven to reward her bene- volence ; and, with a burning cheek and a fainter voice, extended the invocation to the young, the lovely, the innocent Emily. '' May she,'' added Mrs. Stanmore, '' in creating the happiness of Lord Bel- lingham, find her own ; and if any lurking evil strew her flowery path, let her think of ?7?j/ lot, and still bless her destiny !" ** Thank Heaven!" exclaimed Lady Melville, mIio insisted upon sending one of her servants to escort the travellers, ** thank Heaven this fatiguing, senten- tious, moralizing ]\lagdalen is fairly off the scene! AlionSy my good Marquis, "we will now conclude your nuptials with my little Emily ; who, if I mistake not, Vr'illgive infinite ^c'^/^ to your judgment in the choice of a wife !" The marriage took place immediately after the secession of Mrs. Stanmore ; and in a few months the name of the lovely Marchioness of Belllngham was in every mouth ; it was almost inconceivable — it THE MISTRESS. 57 it was fascination — it was witchcraft! At every assembly, in every private circle, at the Opera, in the Park, in the lobby of the House of Commons, at the leadins: gaming-houses, and at Madame 's, no subject could be obtaining but the beautiful, the timid, the complaisant, the Venus-formed Bellingham : her name mingled with the most admired harmony at the concert, and her ghost was exhi- bited at the Phantasmagoria. The iMarquis was perfectly satisfied with his destiny; and in the perpetual congra- tulations upon his good fortune in pos- sessing this fair constellation, forgot poor Laura and her little cherub, v/hom he had obstinately insisted should be named from, her mother; because; at the time of her birth, that mother was still dear to him. At the expiration of the second year, the Marchioness had not presented him an h.eir; but Lady Melville then announced the pregnancy of her daughter, and under- took, at the same time, to represent to Lord Bellingham that his thoughtless Emily had contracted a few debts, which 5 her 58 THE WIFE AND- ber excessive liberality incapacitated ber from discbarging, and that she feared the eifect any anxiety might then produce upon so gentle a mind. The Marquis tiembleel with the same apprehension : be ordered his London steward to enquire the sum total of the unlucky debts, and instantly discharge them ; and then in- creased tlie private purse of bis lovely Emily from one to two tliousand a-year, ac- cusinu" himself of extreme nepljcrence in not O CD <-P discovering, witliout any remembrancer, tliat the Marchioness must have found it impossible to supply herself with the gra- tiiications ber rank and situation required, upon the original stipi^nd. He was, indeed, rather surprised some weeks after, to discover that the few debts, so lightly mentioned by bis mother-in- law, amounted to more than nine thou- sand pounds; and, unfortunately, almost at the same time, as the Marchioness was still as attractive, and even more so than ever, and equally as fond of meeting ap- plause and popularity half way, she was not to be allured by entreaty or represen*- tatioii THE MISTRESS. $9 tation into the selfish foWy of remaining at her own hre-side, wliilst half London were earnestly expecting her, in the conrse of the day and night, at a hundred different places : but the unhappy conse- quence of this generous solicitude to gratify the public was, that the son and heir made a premature appearance in this miserable world, and, in the words ot' a dainty epitaph — **^ The cup of life juft to his lips he prefsM, ** Found the talk bitter, and declined the reft !" For the first time the Mai-quis now sus- pected that his Emily could be wrong ; and the grave looks resulting from this half-formed discovery, alarmed Lady Melville, who had flattered herself that the undiminished influence of the Marchioness \rould have stoo.l every test, until she could have formed her second daughter to succeed her upon the same plan. In- deed, the apostacy and rebellion of Lord Bellingham, until that happy period, would have been inexpressibly inconve- nient to this excellent mother, as the tJadcS' 40 THE WIFE AND trades-people, the purse, and the credit of her darling Emily were all equally hei's ; for the Marchioness still preserved, a little from habit perhaps, an affectionate de- ference for her dear, dear mamma ; and was, besides, naturally prodigal, lavishing her indiscriminate presents with so un- sparing a hand, that Lady Melville, who had originally encouraged the charming liberality of her disposition; was now com- pelled to restrain that unbounded profu' sion, by which she was often provoked to find herself in no way benefited. From this period, two more years elapsed; and still no prospect presented itself that might gratify the Marquis with the accomplishment of his wishes for a representation of his honours and titles ; and spite of the celebrity his beautiful. Emily still retained, he was sometimes dissatisfied with her eternal dissipation and increasing expences; for he had again relieved her from the etfects of her too great libtraUtif. Lady Melville trembled : her second daughter was only fifteen, and though very THE MISTRESS. 41 very pretty, not sufficiently and properly formed in mind and manners to bring for- ward as the pupil of such a mother, who severely inveighed against the imprudence of the incorrigible Emily; but her influ- ence was now unequal to the task of cliecking it. Her son, she was well con- vinced, would not part with a single thousand to save his whole family from perdition ; and, unless something were promptly decided upon, she feared the indignation of the Marquis would ebulliate very unpleasantly ; for she beheld, with. inconceivable alarm, that Lady Bel- lingham was dipping very deeply into her tliird embarrassment ; and her follies might mar the establishment of her sisters, by ruining the reputation of Lady Mel- ville for having pursued tlie finest system of education in the \rorld, and being suf- ficiently persevering and clever to carry it into effect: besides this more remote sub- ject of aj)prehension, if a too rigid and harsh reform in tlie expenditure of tlie Marchioness were to be provoked from her Lord, how were the absolute neces- sities 42 THE "VriFE AND sities of her tender mamma to be supplied, until Lady Augusta should be properly disposed ot"? — After several consultations with the half-mutinous Emily, in which she represented the precipice on which they stood, she instructed her to entreat the Marquis that she niight be indulged with the society of his little Laura, as she now found herself passionately fond of children, and could not feel herself so liappy in extending her protection to any one, however engaging, as to his dear little girl. *' Siie will console me for the loss of my infant," said the fair petitioner, with a gentle air of entreaty ; ^* and I am sure I shall love her entirely, because my mother has informed me that she resembles vou." This re(juest, the manner in which it was made, and the recollection of her former intended benevolence towards the child and its mother, which it awakened, dissipated some ideas of a cast rather gloomy, which had lately occupied the mind of Lord Bellingham i but he hesitated whcu THE MISTRESS. 43 wlien he was pressed to comply witli it, froin a variety of motives ; the most pro- minent of which arose from the supposed affection and tenderness of the almost for- gotten Mrs. Stanmorefor her Laura. '' How,'' thought he, ** can she be required to part with her child, uncertain as slic must remain of the treatment it may experience from the Marchioness, or at least from her domestics and associates ? How can I demand of her to foreo-o what I believe to be her only source of consola- tion and happiness? Will the conscious- ness of the benefits Laura must derive from the patronage and protection of my Emily, prevail over the fears and weak- nesses of maternal tenderness ? Will she, in fine, sacrifice her own feelings for the certain advantage of her babe? That idea indeed may impel her to it ; for I know the goodness of her heart, and that she can form strong resolutions !" — He sighed. — " Emily too may still (I hope she will) give me children : what then ^\'ill be done with the little hapless intruder? Will she not imbibe ideas far above the situation- 44 THE WIFE ANt> situation slie must fill, and be returned to her mother, perhaps with an estranged affection ?" Lady Melville assiduously informed her- self of the obstacles to the immediate ac- complishment of the Httle arrangement she now eagerly looked for, and attempted to confute every objection the Marquis thought proper to advance. The consent of Mrs. Stanmore she was certain of ob- taining : indeed, the woman must be insane, she thouglit, to wish to deprive the child of such evident and uncommon ad- vantages, merely for the selfish gratifica- tion of beholding her daily : but, in fact, she was convinced Mrs, Stanmore had more judgment. ** In this conviction, she wrote herself to the mother of the little Laura, M'ho m as thunderstruck at the sacrifice expected of her; but after many severe struggles, she at length yielded up her only solace — her only hope — her only object on this side of the grave, to the calls of gratitude, sucli as she imagined she owed to Lady Melville THE MISTRESS. 45 Melville and lier daughter, and to the disinterested affection she bore her child. The parting was agonizing both to Mrs. Stanmore and the little girl : but Ladv Melville had promised that she should pay a yearly visit to her mother ; and to this she looked forward with eager solici- tude, after having received from her faithful Nancy, who still lived in her service, a minute narrative of the journey, in which she had attended the child, her arrival at Bellingham House, the extreme fondness of tlie Marchioness and Lady Melville, and the admiration all the ser- vants, and every body who saw her, ex- pressed for the dear little angel. *' And her fa and the Marquis," said Mrs. Stanmore hastily, *^ did not he likewise, my good Nancy — did he behold the sweet cherub without betraying any pleasure or affection?" '* I dont know, Ma'am," replied she; *' my Lord was out when wc lirst got there." ** But did you not then ever see him with 46 THE WIFE AND ^vith her?" resumed Mrs. Stanmore, anx- iously ; *' did you never hear " ** Oh yes, Ma'am, yes," returned the girl, rather embarrassed, *^ I did see my Lord M'hen Miss Laura was in the room ; but if he had been ever so fond of lier, he could not have shewn it before the Mar- chioness." *' How so?" exclaimed the poor mo- ther, turning pale. *' Oh "Ma'am ! you m.istake me," re- sumed Nancy, eagerly; '^ I mean that my Lady Marchioness was always having* the dear little creetur upon her knees, hugging and kissing it; so that nobody else could come at her v.hen she was by. And my Lady iVielville, when she gave me that letter, ordered me to teli you, Ma'am, that the sweet angel should be sei'^ed and taken care of, as much as if she was under your eyes : and you might de})end upon the promise she had made to let you know the moment any thing ailed her, if such a misfortune should happen, which God forbid! And you know, Ma'am, she has THE MISTRESS. 47 Las had the small-pox and measles : and the nursery at Bellingham House is a fine airy place, with four great rooms, going one out of anotlier, to run about in ; so I hope she will be as healthy, and grow as well as she did here — dear little crcetur ! It almost broke my heart to part with her. I wish I might have staid to wait upon her, if it had been only to do the work of the nursery !"' " I ardently wished you might have remained witli her," returned iMrs. Stan- more; *' and it is only to my Laura tliat I would give you up, Nancy : but Lady Melville informed me, v. hen I mentioned it to her, tliat the ivlarcliioness had already engaged attendants; and I could not fur- ther urge my request, without appearing to doubt her Ladyship's care and kind- ness." This was indeed the fact ; for Lady Melville, who was an universal patroness, had taken this opportunity of placing in very easy and lucrative service two people, whom she had almost promised to provide for: the one had long been her own woman, 48 THE WIFE AND woman, and v/as now much too infirm for the situation of nursery gom^ernante to a lively child ; and the other, her grand- daughter, was au contraire, too young and giddy 'to he entrusted with any thing more liahle to contusions and other grievous accidents, than a Mooden doll ! So thought poor Nancy ; but she was dis- creet enough to conceal from the appre- hensive mother her reflections upon the subject. Her description of the extreme fondness expressed by the iMarchioness for little Laura was not exa2:iJ:erated : indeed it scarcely did sufficient justice to the liveli- ness of the attachment this lady manifested for her young charge; whilst the Marquis, on the contrary, from motives of delicacy, endeavoured to check those feelings that impelled him to admire and caress the child, with as much care as Larly Bel- lingham took to exhibit hcr's. He pre- saged from the dawn of that beauty, which every one now spoke of with rap- turous applause, what would be on a fu- ture day its meridian brightness. But the idea THE MISTRESS. 49 idea was not wholly free from unpleasant reflections ; from the observations he had made, and he had lately been by some means led to be particularly observant on this point, eminent beauty, and those sen- timents and ideas that produce peace and happiness, were seldom united in the same being. It w^as scarcely possible indeed they should unite, when the rare possession of personal perfection attracts in every age the dangerous incense of praises which no effort of virtue has procured, and is the certain mark for the malignant envy of one sex to aim at, and for the libertine pursuits of the other. Neither rank nor situation, however exalted or apparently secure, can shield a beautiful Moman from the successful attempts of the seducer; — so the annals of the times informed him— the manners of the age, its morals — moi^als ! — the word itself sounded strange to his ear." " By Heaven!" thought the Marquis, ^^ every lesson of morality I myself ever received, might be engraved in the com- pass of this eye-glass! and fortunate I VOL. I. D may so THE WIFE AND may think myself, that I learned in good time to distinguish where the opinion of mankind places the barrier of dishonour to their vices. But this poor little girl — • will she reject, some years hence, the |)lea of the seducer ; or distinguish, in the little crowd of lovers her beauty and her portion, small though it be, may attract, the man who will most calmly endure the diminution of either? And who, in the interim, will give her those lessons I wish her to learn?" That he should himself become the Mentor of his daughter, never entered his imagination : such an idea would have appeared too absurd, romantic, and outree, to be admitted for a moment — that a Nobleman should give up his morning rides, and his evenings at Brookes's, to form the mind of his child, would have been the act of a wild enthusiast or a madman. No, my Lord Marquis of Bel- lingham had the faculty of thinking, and sometimes he was seized with an inchnation to exert this faculty; but it was a whim that a few moments 4 outlived ! THE MISTRESS. 51 outlived ! He would even reflect very profoundly while he took his breakfast, or whilst his valet dressed him, but his eccen- tricities reached no further : indeed the Marchioness mi2:ht have claimed the merit of creating this singularity in the charac- ter of a man of fashion ; for until he became acquainted with the effects of her too great liberality, and had entirely ceased to expect her return to her home, during the whole winter season, until five or six in the morning, he had never been much em>barrassed by the trouble of form- ing reasoning soliloquies : and in the course of his life he had scarcely ever found occasion for any particular exertion to the attainment of a favourite purpose, except in the single instance of the ruin and degradation of Laura ; and as that could not be accomplished by wishes or commands, he was compelled to resort to other methods : but a man of more feel- ing would have been withheld by com- passion from throwing into a cup of sor- row the most fell and bitter ingredient. Laura D?laanie (such vras her real appcl- D 2 lation,) 52 THE V/IFE AND lation), was already sufficiently wretched ere she sunk into guilt. Fate had woven around her a web of misery, that suspended every pov/er of her mind, and each de- spairing struggle only gave her to expe- rience the full force of her bonds. CHAP. III. Lord BELLINGHA.M beheUl with extreme regret, but without any effort to prevent it, the manners and temper of the little Laura insensibly changed by indis- criminate and lavish fondness, from in- fantine modesty, docility, and urbanity, to passionate supplication for improper indulgencies, and fits of tumultuous in- dignation, if blandishment and entreaty failed to procure an assent to the most extravagant demands upon the well-expe- rienced weakness of her beautiful mamma BtUingham, who, ha\ing plumed herself for THE MISTRESS. 53 for five minutes upon her strength of mind in refusing, invariably conceded to tears, sobs, and outcries. To this point of juvenile perfection had the little idol of the household arrived, when the period of her promised visit to her longing mother brought Nancy to town, with a letter from Mrs. Stanmore, to Lady Melville, reminding her of the eagerly expected indulgence, and hinting, in gentle terms, that she could not much longer sustain a separation from her child. The Marchioness, who now really expe- rienced the affection she might perhaps have originally feigned, was inconsolable at the prospect of losing her pet and her plaything even for a short time : but common humanity urged her compliance with the almost forgotten stipulation made by the anxious parent ; as Nancy reported that she had drooped from the moment Miss Laura had left her. Lady Bellingham insisted, however, that the dear angel should return in less than a month ; she would not part from her, if Mrs. Stanmore did not promise to T> 3 send 64 THE WIFE AND send her back in that time : and having harassed the feehngs of tlie child by cry- ing over her for several hours on the day appointed for her departure, she resolved to conduct her half the length of her journey. After the separation, the Marchioness had hysterics, and then returned to town, where she shut herself up the whole of the next day, and received tickets of con- dolence from her intimates. The cry of the hour was now the noble generosity of her attachment to the little protSgScj and the extreme sensibility of soul of the divine Lady Beliinghan). Several sonnets were composed ou the happiness of the unconscious Laura, and the extreme envy which many nameless authors experienced on witnessing tlie tender regrets her absence occasioned. But the Marquis, who was really concerned to lose the prattle of the child, and forego the amusement of caressing her, which Lady Beilingham herself promoted, did not however by any means participate in an equal degree with the rest of the world, in THE MISTRESS. 55 in the admiration her generosity and sen- sibility excited ; for, unluckily, her third embarrassment was just now developed to him. He was heard, upon this occasion, to execrate her ruinous extravagance, and very solemnly to assure Lady Melville, ^vho on this, as on former dilemmas, broke the affair to him, that no fortune, how- ever ample, could support such d — n — d thoughtless proceedings. During this little Jracas at the late habitation of the altered Laura, her mother had received her back to her arms with transport, had admired her rapid growth and improved appearance, ana had like- wise discovered those seeds of quickly grov\'ing t\i\ that had been sufrered to choke the infant virtues she had laboured with patient assiduity to implant. ** Never, never again, my babe," ex- claimed Mrs. Stdnmore, ^* will I resign thee, to the certain destruction of thy future happiness ! No, Lady Meh ille ; much as I owe to you and to your daughter, I cannot repay the debt by D 4 sacrificing 56' THE WIFE ANP sacrificing this beloved child to your partiality, mistaken and ill judged as I now find it to be." The young nurse, who had accompa- Tiied Laura to the habitation of her mother, Mrs. Stan more immediately dis- missed; because she encouraged every capricious whim, and submitted with a parade of obedience to the commands and tyranny of her young Lady. The distressed Mrs. Stanmore then wrote her determination to Lady Melville, in terms the lea^t likely to offend : she acknowledged the condescension of the Marchioness with the utmost respect, and spoke with deference and gratitude of her kind intentions towards the child ; but slie declared that her constitution was not equal to the anxiety of a second separation, and implored Lady Melville to represent this, with her accustomed bene- volence and goodness, to her daughter and the Marquis. This letter was not immediately noticed, because it had arrived during the hmri- cane occasioned by the insolent urgency of THE MISTRESS. 5/ of some of Lady Bellingham's creditors^ who either were, or professed to be, al- most ruined by the liberatiti) of her orders. One of the half dozen milliners employed by her Ladyship, had presented to tlie Intendant of the Marquis a bill of IvvtIvc hundred and fifty pounds ; and the igno- rant fellow^, astonished at the magnitude of the sum, worked up on the sale of what he called trifling articles, had taken the liberty of examining the charges of Madame Doncastre, and discovered, with extreme indio-nation, that this very eles-ant Frenchified Englishwoman must have falsely inserted nine- tenths of the pre- tended purchases of his Lady. Full of this discovery, and eager to extricate the Marchioness from some of her difficulties, for she was much beloved by her domes- tics and dependants, he hastened to the Marquis with the bill in his hand ; who, having examined its contents, took it with equal expedition to his half- disgraced Emily. ** What the devil is all this?" exclaimed he, shewing her the baleful paper : '' look, D 5 Emily — 58 THE WIFE AND Emily — prithee look over this ! You can- not surely have had a twentieth part of the fripperies which this Doncastre, or Doncaster, (whatever her name may be) has chargerl to you at twelve hundred pounds ! Williamson thinks, and so do I, that it is a palpable fraud." ** Indeed I almost forget, my dear Lord," returned the Marchioness, with a look half frightened and half tender; ** but if you will allow me to summon Boden, I dare say she will recollect some- thing of it." The Marquis, rather discomposed at the expedient, assented, however; and Eoden, Lady Bellingham's ^xstfemme'de-chamb^e^ was admitted to the conference, who re- ceived instructions to look over the bill, and declare her opinion of the justice of it. The woman obeyed. ** I believe her Ladyship to have had every one of these articles, my Lord," said she, with a sullen mien: ** indeed I re- member my Lady to have had most of them myself." '' How THE MISTRESS. 59 '' How could that be !" exclaimed tlie Marquis '* Could your Lady wear twelve hats and bonnets in one week, as it is here written besides the devil knows v.hat of capS; and aigrettes, and flov/ers, and other trumpery ?" '* My Lady did not have them all for herself," replied Eoden, in a half-stifled passion to be thus called to account, by one to whom she did not by any means think herself responsible. *' For whom then were all these things?" said the Marquis, addressing his languid Lady. '' I cannot at this instant recall for whom exactly," she replied ; ** but I dare say Boden can remember something of it." '^ One of the witching hats," said Boden, in a pouting accent, ^* your Ladyship knows was for Lady Augdsia, and one of the Obi's; the others your Ladyship kept for your own use. My Lady Melville had the large straw, and Lady Madalina and Lady Sophia had the Egyptian bonnets ; their governess had the Brighton poke of cambric and lace, j> 6 and 60 THE WIFE AND and your Ladyship gave two more to Jane and me, for taking care of Miss Laura when Mrs. Tribner was ill. Miss Laura had two of the lace caps ; and your Ladyship sent one gold aigrette to Lady Barbara Mordaunt, and another to Mis. Darwin ; the Brussels-lace cloak* *" The Marquis interrupted the history of the Brussels-lace cloak by a vehement oath, and instantly flew out of the room, leaving Mrs. Boden in a transport of in- dio'nation at such reiterated aifronts, and his Lady quite aghast at such unaccount- able behaviour. However, she failed not to compose the fluttered spirits of her femme- dc-chambre with her accustomed conde- scension, and soothed her anger by an i m m ed i a te liberality. Lord Bellingham, en attendant^ had hastily left the house, and more than a week elapsed ere he was again visible. Whither he was gone no one could divine ; for he had not taken a single attendant with him, or left any intimation by which the anxious Lady Melville and her terri- lied Emily could trace him : but in ten days THE mistre:., 61 days he re-appeared, remaining, however, wholly silent upon the nv^uve of his eclipse ; and neither the Marchioness nor her mother were yet siifiiciently assured of his disposition towards them, to vt iture upon a strict, or even a diiect enquire, as, though he did not retain any violent symptom of displeasure; he appeared gloomy and thoughtful. A short time alter the return of Lord 13ellingham, he desired the Marchioness to send for Laura; and Lady Melville then produced the letter of Mrs. Stan- more, which he read Avithout surprise, but not without indignation. '^ She shall nevertheless give up the child!" exclaimed he : '' with her own consent proper guardians have been ap- pointed for her, and I will take care that they attend to their duty in placing Laura with people of respectability." Lady Melville appeared amazed. '' Have you heard any thing of the present conduct of Mrs. Stanmore,'* de- manded she, ** that renders her an impro- per protectress for the dear little girl? I confess 62 THE WIFE AND confess I did not expect this ; and yet I always thought there was a little too much of parade in her fine sentiments," *' No, Madam, I must do her justice," replied the Marquis ; '* I kno\y that she — that is, 1 believe her conduct is now strictly decorous : but I chuse that the child should quit her ; and if Emily does not entirely Avish to have her here, she must be placed at some house, some school, I suppose." The Marchioness declared that she would receive back her little darling with transport ; and taking the hand of her Lord — ** How kind you are to indulge me thus !" she added. Far from replying as he ought to have done to this condescension. Lord Bel- lingham withdrew his hand rather abruptly, and uttering a peevish ejaculation, left the apartment. Lady Melville discerned in this affair something she could not wholly fathom, and felt a secret alarm she could not define even to herself; it impelled her, however, THE rvIISTllESS. d3 however, to certain little expedients not entirely consonant with propriety, to dis- cover where the Marquis had concealed himself whilst he was absent from Bel- lingham House. Her own woman was the intervenino- ao-ent betv/een herself and one of her footmen, a trusty and active fellow, who was charged to learn, by any means in his power, if the Marquis had left town, or returned to it in a hack- chaise; and if so, what had been his route. Lord Bellingham had, however, so well contrived to elude observation, that the man, after having assiduously carried his enquiries to every post-house on every high road round London, to the distance of twenty miles, could mt procure the information he sought. But when he had given up all hopes of success, t^e head groom of a nobleman, with whom he was acquainted, having been with his Lord on a hunting excursion, enquired of him, at an accidental meeting, what the Marquis, his Lady's son-in-law, could be doing at the 64 THE WIFE AND the far end of Berkshire, riding about in hired chaises without attendants. '' My brother Tom," added the intel- h'gencer, '* swears he saw him skulking, as it were, near Newbury ; — Tom keeps the King's Head, you know. My mind misgives me that your Marquis was after no good. I thought your old Lady knew better than to let him slip his lead- ing-strings." When Lady Melville had heard as much of this as was proper to meet her ear, her latent suspicions that the Marquis had visited Mrs. Stanmore, were entirely confirmed. She had really a good opinion of the innate virtue and rectitude of this young woman, spite of her fall, and the unfavour- able sentiment she had so lately expressed ; and now believed she had developed the intentions of Lord Bellingham, and dis- cerned the cause of that malicious eager- ness to tear the little Laura from her mother's arms, which had been so evident when he desired that the child might be again THE MISTRESS. 65 again sent for. Lady Melville imagined that, in a fit of disgust at the repeated and increasing extravagance of the Mar- chioness, he had regretted having been induced to give up the society of the humble, rational, and moderate Mrs. Stanmore; and, under the influence of this impression, had precipitately sought to renew an intercourse, which the pride, and perhaps the principles of the once deserted Laura forbade — a disappointment that, wounding his vanity and self-love, incited him to the expedient of compelling the unhappy mother to his views, by the dread of wholly losing the child ; or if his designs did not reach so lar, at least of avenging her refusal to return to added infamy and to him. Lady Melville did not, however, regard this supposed dereliction of the Marquis with much reorct : for she feared that the more than common imprudence of the fair Enrily would soon become apparent to the world, wliich now pronounced her fauUiess ; and her cart ful mother rather encouraged a wisli that Lord 66 THE WIFE AND Lord Bellingham would afford her this plea, or some other, to excuse the conduct of the Marchioness, which might then very justly and reasonably be carried to the account of wild desperation for the neo-lio'ence and estranojement of her un- grateful Lord. The order for the recal of Laura was immediately sigrified to Mrs. Stanniore by desire of the Marqr.is ; and Mrs. Tribner, her ancient nurse, accompanied by a groom, was dispatched for the purpose of attending the little girl to Adwan Hall, the principal seat of Lord Bellingham, where the family then were : but instead of reconducting her young charge, Mrs. Iribner returned with two letters, the one addressed to Lady Melville, who, with her dauo'hters, was then the inmate of the Marquis, and the second to Lord Belling- ham himself. The first repeated, but in far more ener- g'^tic terms, what Mrs. Sianmore had before written upon the subject of her se- paration from her child; and the other, which would have justified most amply the THE MISTRESS. 6? the surmises of Lady Melville, was as follows : — '* Can you indeed, my Lord, have the barbarity to attempt the execution of that threat which you uttered when last you quitted me? Consider, 1 conjure you, what it is you demand of me, and do not urge me to desperation by tlie cruel alternative you mentioned. I will not give up my child — the laws cannot compel nx to it I Were 1 depraved and abandoned, those guardians whom I unadvisedly suffered you to appoint, might perhaps force my babe from me ; but 1 must hope that, whilst calumny itself cannot affix a stigma upon my present lile Oh inhuman man! is it to you I must thus express myself? — I will hope that I may be pre- ferably allowed to retain the guardianship of her person. The further infamy into which you would plunge me, I am fortified against — Lady lietty Traherne cannot now torment me to madness; nor can YOU 68 THE WIFE AND you regain the opinion I once fatally entertained of the disinterested tenderness and goodness of your heart, and take advantage of that opinion and of my despair ! * * The faith you have sworn to your wife, is sanctioned by the respect of mankind ; and I likewise regard vows made at the altar with reverence and .veneration ; though I once bartered innocence and peace for those which Heaven only at- tested, and the regulations of society will not allow the enforcement of. You must recollect too, that when your unfortunate and short-lived attachment to me faded before the superior virtues and charms of the Marchioness, who had heard my miser- able history, shegenerously compassionated the destiny you had assisted to imbitter, and induced Lady Melville herself to sooth me, by the grateful and unlooked- for attentions of a woman of honour and high consideration in that world which branded me with ignominy, and cast me from the society of the good. She offered me, toO; the means of existence for myself and THE MISTRESS. 69 and my infant, not incompatible with the rectitude I wished to regain ; and for these benefits shall I repay her with the basest ingratitude ? No, my Lord ! I have lost the virtue of a woman ; but that serpent-Uke vice did not replace in my mind the consciousnes.^ of innocence, and the dignity of unsulliea honour I 13o not you endeavour to render the absence of these still more severe than I have even yet found it, by making that lapse, so bitterly repented by me, and which you would now renew, when it is, from your altered situation, an aggravated crime — do not make it a plea to tear from me my Laura, a.id either send me to the grave doubly your victim, or plunge my senses in eternal night ! ** I must yet hope that you will retract so barbarous an intention, and that Lady Melville will add to the unspeakable obli- gations she has already conferred upon me, by communicating to the Marchioness the contents of the letter my dreadful anxiety has impelled me to trouble her with. Lady Belhngham possesses, I am certain. 70 THE WIFE AND certain, too much generosity to persist in wishing me to make the painful sacrifice of my only blessing, to increase the num- ber of those with which she must be sur- rounded ; and she will cease to desire it when she understands the agonizing re- luctance I feel, and must still further experience, to render up my child. *' Laura Delaunie." This appeal to the humanity of the Marquis, by exciting his compassion, softened, in come degree, the resentment and mortification he e.^perienced, that a woman M'ho had already given up every consideration to the gratification of his wishes, should dare to sliake off the tram- mels she had once worn, and assert her independent attachment to that virtue he had been at the tronble of subduing. But these feeble emotH)ns of pity and remorse were soon dispelled^ by a reflection that represented to his alarmed vanity those expressions of her altered senti- ments THE MISTRESS. 71 merits towards him, as the eifect of con- tempt ; and provoked at what he called his weakness, in suffering his heart to be softened by her pleadings, he armed him- self with a more confirmed obduracy in persisting to snatch the child from her, unless he triumphed over her repentance, as he had done over her almost frantic despair, and less matured principles. The only superiority of charms the Marchioness had possessed in preference to the equally youthful Mrs. Stanmore, had in fact wholly consisted in their no- velty, and perhaps in their dawning cele- brity. Lady Melville secretly, but de- cidedly, thought her far more lovely than her daughter, and of the balance of mental qualifications there could not be a doubt; the advantage therefore, in the imagination of the Marquis, was now c^msiderably in favour of her whom he had leen induced, almost against his inclination, to desert and abandon: her beauty was but little diminished, and he viewed it with renewed admiration. CHAP. 7^ THE \yiFE AND CHAP. IV. RS. STANMORE finding remon- strance, entreaty, and representation wholly fail in averting the dreaded blow that threatened her, and harassed by a second visit from her ungenerous persecu- tor, sent him the deed of settlement Lady Melville had induced her to accept, and Avas preparing to quit her residence for another, more remote and obscure, whither she hoped he would not be able to trace her, when a middle aged man was one day announced to her, who, by his sable garb, and a certain quaintness of dialect, she judged to be that of the law. IV! rs. Stanmore trembled with varying apprehensions; and when he mentioned his name, which she recollected to be that of one of her Laura* s guardians, she had TflE MISTRESS. 73 had no voice to enquire his too well con- jectured business. After a short intro- duction, however, her visitor informed her that he appeared there to claim his youno- ward ; and the agonized mother fell sense- less from her chair. The man of law, without any very great delicacy of feeling, was yet rather moved by her extreme distress ; and when, by the^ assiduous attention of Nancy, she was restored to life, he gently urged the necessity of repressing her too great ma- ternal tenderness, and quietly resigning her child to a destiny, which so many mothers would endeavour to'promote evea hy a much greater sacrifice. ** I understand," continued he, ''that the Marquis does not • wish the young lady to be brought up in such perfect re- tirement as that you live in : and — and — in short, he earnestly desires that she may have the benefit of the protection the Marchioness is so ready and willing to give her. Surely, Madam, you cannot have weighed " '' Inform me. Sir," interrupted Mrs. VOL. I. £ Stanmore, 74 THE WIFE AND Stanmore, impatiently, ** are you legally authorized, as the guardian of my child's property, to take her forcibly from lliQ arms of her mother ? — Are you '* *' My colleague in this affair," he re- sumed, taking advantage of her almost breathless eagerness to proceed, ** my col- league wished t,o throw this business off his hands, and make the young lady a ward of Chancery : in that case, if you, Madam, are represented as a person not — not entirely proper to be entrusted with her education, or her - I hope you will pardon the freedom of my explanation. Madam — why, in that case, Miss would certainly be removed from you, and you would find it difficult even to gain access to her appointed place of residence. Now it is my advice that you do not compel us to that extremity, by giving unnecessary trouble ; and perhaps the TNIarquis may be persuaded, if you are quiet and reason- able, to suffer the young lady to visit you, from time to time, as I understand his. Lordship did, before you thought proper to cancel the agreement you had entered 4 into, THE MISTRESS. 7^ into, of letting your daughter live, gene- rally speaking, with the Marchioness. And 'certainly it is much better to give up the point with a good grace, and have the chance of this indulgence, than to incur the displeasure of his Lordship by holding out any longer, and forcing us to give up our guardianship, and place her under that of my. Lord Chancellor, who is very strict and careful in directing that the morals, as well as the property of the wards of his Court, shall be properly at- tended to. I do not wish to distress you, Madam ; and having represented all this to you, according to my duty, I dare say you will have good sense enough to disco- ver that you have been wrong, and in that conviction, suffer me to take the young lady to Adn'an Hall without opposition. Her governess is at Newbury, as the ]\L'irchioness, not doubting a favourable answer, sent her with me to attend upon i\Iiss. I vv'ill leave you, Madam, until to-morrow morning' ; and, meantime, I beg you will peruse thisietter, wliich tlie Dowager Countess of Melville cliarged J 'i me 76 * THE WIFE AND me to deliver to you. You have a fiim friend in that good lady, Madam, and perhaps her advice and exhortations- may have such an effect upon you, as your well- wishers might hope for. " He then placed the letter upon a table, and retired ; leaving Mrs. Stanmore the motionless statue of despair. Whilst she remained in this situation, without the power or inclination to ascer- tain what kind of argument Lady Melville might think proper to use, Nancy, with anxious solicitude, returned to the apart- ment. ^' I must give up my little Laura !"' said her ufistress, with a settled look ofa\iguish. '' God forbid!" exclaimed the girl, *^ They say," she added with great indig- nation, after a short pause which Mrs. Stanmore did not interrupt, ^' that every thing is turnefl topsy-turvy in the world; and I think it must be so when a mother is not allowed to take care of her own child! — But this is always the way when any of your great folks put their foot into any business ; they are always sure to do more THE MISTRESS. 77 more mischief than good, because they are more apter than other people to take odd tantrums into their heads ; and then again, they wiU have it that v/hat they say is riglit and best, because tliey are not brought up to be contradicted by any body. I have no patience with tliis mincing Marchioness, not I; nor v.it'i her smooth-tongued mother, for that matter— it's not all gold that glisters ! I have thought so long enough, for all their simpering and their ^ne soft voices ! For my part, I think cruelty is cruelty, let people set about it how they will ; and I don't call a butcher-man a bit more mer- ciful nor gentler, because, mayhap, he may be grinning all the while he is killing his sheep — it's only a greater sign that they are used to the work, that's my opinion." These observations- burst from Nancy with such rapidity, that every artery and vein of her face and neck swelled with the exertion ; yet though her voice was much more raised than usual, Mrs. Stanmore, absorbed in reflection, did not appear to E 3 heed 78 THE "WIFK AVV heed it. In a few momeRts, however, she^ started up in a sudden agony, ex- claiming — '* Where is Laura?'* *' Playing on the grass-plat in the gar- den, ]\Iadam," said Nancy, recollecting herself, and opening a door that led to- wards it : but the child was not there. ** Where is she?" repeated Mrs. Stan- more, gasping with apprehension. ** A little, naughty, dear creature!'* exclaimed the girl ; " she must have run into the orchard, though I begged her 50 hard to stay here while I came to you, and told Molly to watch her from the *' He has stolen her away !" ejaculated the terrified mother, flying wildly out of the house, and running with almost in- conceivable swiftness to the road that led to Newbury. Her breath soon failed ; yet, though she was compelled to slacken her pace, her anxiety urged her forward, in ^n increasing agony that her progress was so inadequate to her ^vi^hes, till at length she sunk to the earth, and was nearly suf- focated THE MISTRESS, 79 fo cated by streams of blood that rushed impetuously from her mouth and nostrils. In this state Nancy, who had followed her frantic mistress with as much speed as she could use, found her; and fiightened though she was, procured the assistance of some passengers to carry her towards her house, whilst others, by her direction, rau for the nearest apothecary. The cottager's wife, of whom Mrs, Staninore took milk, Avas amidst those who, with eager aiarn), enricavoiired to stanch the blood, which thev believed to proceed from some wound in her face. *' In the name of God, Mrs. Nancy," cried the woman, ** what has happened.^" '' Oh, the villain has taken away the dear little girl 1" said Nancy, sobbing. '* The Lord preserve us! — what, Miss Laura?" exclaimed the other; ** as sure as twopence then it was she I saw in a chay, not five minutes ago, with a gentle- man and a lady 1" Oh the good-for-nothing rogue!'' cried T^Tancy : *' which way did they go ? My poor dear .mistress will give all she is E 4 worth 80 THE WIFE AJ.'D worth if you will send your husband and Jack after them, and get her back." ** Lord help you!" returned the wo- man, *' they was galloping then like mad. I'm sure none of our folks can over- take 'em." ^ - *' If that's the case, as you say, it's an impossible thing," said the baker's man, who supplied Mrs. Stan more with bread ; ** so Madam had better have somebody go to the Justice about the matter, or go to our lawyer, Mr. Stapleton. " The medical man, who had been sent foj, now appeared ; and instead of suffer- ing Mrs. Stanmore to be carried home, he directed that she should be taken to the nearest cottage. She feebly endeavoured to utter something when the apathecary approached her; but he forbade a renewal of tlic effort, as she valued her existence. Nearly a week elapsed ere Mrs. Stan- more was allowed to be conveyed to her own house ; and her emotion on eritering it, even then, proved almost fatal to her: but th^ indefatigable cares of the faithful Nancy, and^ the compassionate attention of THE MISTRESS. 81 of the professional man who had- been called in, at length recalled her from the "'ates of death. Bat the dreadful lano^uor that now possessed lier, was more insup- portable. than could have been the most acute pain : she herself believed that to survive it long was impossible ; and in this persuasion she conjured Nancy to suffer her to write to Lady Melville, in the faint hope that she would intluence the Marquis to allow her once more, and for the last time, to embrace and bless her Laura. After much entreaty, Nancy complied with her earnest wish ; and placing a pen in her trembling hand, Mrs. Stan more traced a ft^w lines, almost unintelligibly, to implore an acquiescence in this her dying request. The letter was sent by an express from Newbury; and when Lady Melville re- ceived it, as she was yet at Adwan Hall, she carried it instantly to Lord Belling- ham, who w^as now alarmed and shocked at the issue of a finesse, for which the honour- able and equitable agent had been hitherto mucli applauded, because it was said to E 5 have 8^ THE WIFE AND have saved time, trouble, entreaty, tears, and expostulations. The Marquis, however, chose to ques- tion the messenger liimself very minutely; who confirmed; Irom common report, the accident that had befallen the lady, and repeated her statement, that she could not long outlive it. Lady Melville experienced some re- morse on learning this tragical event; and the Marchioness, confounded at the , strength of those feelings which could create any effect more redoubtable than faintings and hysterics, insisted upon ac- companying the child to the ill-treated mother, to obtain her forgiveness. But as she was yet too young to brave the ob- servation of the world in a point so deli- cate, which might affix degrading suppo- sitions to the singularity of wishing to obtain for an act of oppression, the per- sonal absolution of a woman of doubtful character, her inclination was checked both by the Marquis and Lady Melville T and Mrs. Tribner, attended by a man-ser- vant, was again dispatched with her young charge, THE MISTRESS. 83 charge, who, by a magnanimous stretch of humanity, was thus suffered to receive the parting benediction of her mother. Mrs. Stan more revived on clasping to her bosom the little cause of her present misery ; and Laura wept bitterly on be- holding the very striking and terrible alteration so short a time had produced in her appearance. *' Ah, do not die, mamma Stanmore 1" exclaimed she, tenderly; *' do not die, and go away from poor Laura! I will ask my mamma Bellingham to let me come and see you every day, if you will not die — and I will be very, very good, and never stamp and scream again, if you will not die?" " Who told you I should die?" asked the distressed parent. *' Lady Madalina," replied the child, ^^ said that I must go away, because mamma Stanmore was going to die; and she said she was glad to get rid of me : but Mrs. Tribner said I should go back to mamma Bellingham afterwards, and live with her always. But I will come and . £ 6 see 84 THE WIFE AND see you, ifyouv/ill not die, and I ^yill be a good girl again." Nancy was now compelled to take the sobbing prattler away, as her languid mo- ther nearly fainted with a mixed emotion of pain and delight, at this proof of the sensibility of her child. Mrs. Stan more was allowed the society of Laura for ten days, without receiving any intimation from the Marchioness or her Lord that she had in their opinion been sufficiently gratified ; but, at the conclusion of that period, she was ho- noured with a letter from Lady Melville, who, in the most courteous tefms, hinted that it would not be politic to extend the indulgence the Marchioness had been so willing to grant, any further at present. At a future time — and Lady Melville con- gratulated Mrs. Stanmore that she might, in the opinion of her medical attendant, look forward to many remaining years of health and peace — at a future time, she ha(Y little doubt but that the Marquis might be induced to resume the plan of an annual visit from the chi^l to its motjier. THE MISTRESS. S5 mother. In the interim, Lady Melville enclosed, she said, the deed of seMlement, which Lord Bellingham refused to receive back, and which she advised Mrs, Stan- more not to irritate him by rejecting; and she likewise conjured her to exert the good sense she was so well known to possess, and yield to the inclination of Laura's father. '^ Little does the mother of Lady Bel- lingham suspect what it is she advices," thought Mrs. Stanmore; " the inclination of Laura's father ! Alas ! that the father of Laura should have the cruel inclination to render her mother completely abject and degraded, and that he should possess the power of rendering her so completely miserable !" Whether Lady Melville, were indeed unconscious of the nature of that counsel her words implied, is perhaps uncertain : she had, however, chosen to ascertain, as far as fossible, if Mrs. Stanmore had entirely lost her personal attractions by the accident she had so much suffered from ; and the result of the following dia- logue 86 THE WIFE AND logiie induced a belief th.at she was stili an object by no means un pleasing or unin- teresting. *' Why, your Lady mnst look for all the world like a ghost, Mrs. Nancy 1" said the servant who attended Laura to the habitation of her mother. ** If she does, " returned Nancy, in a hasty accent, " she is the prettiest ghost you ever saw in your life. Well, you need not laugh — she looks so handsome still, that many a one would go a good way to see such a ghost. " *' Why Goody Tribner says," resumed the man, *' only to be sure she is a little purblind and foolish — she says, your Lady is quite 1 ike a corpse. ' ' ** And what of that ? But she does not look at all like a corpse, such a one as I ever saw, I assure you, Mr. James. Her face, when her eyes are sliut, is exactly like the face of the alablaster lady that your people make such a fuss abo«t. " ** The alablaster lady J" repeated James, in great surprise. ** Aye, that stands on one side of the chimney- THE MISTRESS. 87 chimney-piece in the library at Bel- lingham House : if that is so very beau- tiful, why my Lady is beautiful too, for all she has lost her colour." •The comparison was not an unapt one : Mrs. Stanmore now resembled the pale sculptured image Kancy spoke of, except ' in the expressive regards of an eye, that still told, in every glance, a pleasing tale of the soul yet tenanting a form she might have descanted upan with a praise equally just- and artless as that bestov/ed upon her features. Mrs. Stanmore was now unable to op- pose the mandate that tore her little daughter from her arms : she had, indeed, ever shuddered at the idea of being com- pelled to contend in a court of justice that she was not an improper companion and preceptress for her Laura ; in that case, if some lurking tale of calumny should overwhelm her, she might irre- parably injure her beloved child in the estimation of the world, by confirming her the daughter of an abandoned wretch, who wauld have polluted the mind she should 8S THE M'lFE A TCI; should have formed to rectitude and virtue. '^ It must be!" she exclaimed; "I must give her up ! Ah ! may my happi- ness be the only sacrifice ! May this dear innocent, with every generous virtue, not be suifered to wreck her future peace by the unrestrained indulgence of every little foible, which I would check with ever- persevering zeal ! Yet who wHl watch over the heedless impetuosity of her temper — who M^iil guide her enquiring mind to the attainment of useful know- ledge, and train her opening judgment to reject those local follies which fashion alone can tolerate for a moment — who will teach her to rely upon herself alone, if Fate call early upon her to act without a proper counsellor ? She may else (avert it, Heavens !) fall into the gulph that enr tombed my honour ! — Who will lecture her upon the duties, the virtues of her sex, and gently suffer the history of a fail- ing mother to sleep in oblivion ? Can I, alas ! rely upon the JMarchioness to be herself, this zealous preceptress ? Presump- tuous THE ^rrsTREss. 89 tuoiis idea ! a mercenary hireling — a M'omati perhaps of a ciiflereDt country, of mean origin, and yet meaner sentiments, of another rehgion, and principles but little ascertained ! Oh let me not tl^nk of this ! for my Laura must leave her -wretched mother, and she can only tremble for her welfare, and implore of Heaven that it may net be cruelly or care- lessly neglected !" With an aching heart she submitted to the separation now required ; and Laura having sobbed, and appeared inconsolable for several miles on her return to Adwan, M'as at length induced by her companion, the obsequious and obliging Mrs. Tribner, to dismiss her violent sorrow for more composed regrets : but she still wore an aspect of unusual gravity when she ap- peared before the Marchioness, who thought the selfish m.other very barbarous to have suffered the dear little creature to be infected by her nonsensical repinings and very high-flying sensibilities. Indeed Laura herself might have been injured in the opinion of her patroness, if her little heart OO THE WIFE AND heart had not very shortly cast off its cares, with that happy facility which child- hood finds in forgetting all its griefs. Indulgences for ever mulliplicd, and adu- lation for ever assailing her, in time dis- placed from her immediate recollection the pale figure of her mother, which had made a deep impression upon it ; and she became again the lively, saucy, uncon- troulable favourite of her father and the Marchioness. CHAP. V. HEN her patroness returned to Bel- lingham House, masters of every descrip- tion attended the little Laura ; and each endeavoured, with eager assiduity, either to heighten the reputation already 'ac- quired, or to form one upon the rapid progress of the pretty idol of the idolized Marchioness THE MISTRESS. gl Marchioness of Bellingham, who came out this season handsomer than ever, with every debt paid by her dear, dear Lord, and in the happiest disposition in the world to incur ten thousand others; whilst lier former creditors, forgetting the imminent hazard they had so recently found them- selves in, of being ruined de fond en comble by her excessive libei^alify, appeared to vie with each other in tempting her to renew the danger, and brave the undreaded future. For wliilst the domains of tlie Marquis, though not overshadowed by timber, were not yet notoriously mort- gaged, his Lady, still blooming iu un- faded charms, was considered as the first tlegante in the metropolis ; and her pro- tection implored for, and her name atfixed to every whimsical production of fancy which could otherwise have had a very doijbtful sale, or to which the vender wished to give celebrity. Shall an opinion be ventured that to this circumstance, rather than to the eclat of her beauty or its attendant graces, she ov/ed the empire she had so long held in 9- THE WIFE AND in the M^orkl? For certainly the rcputct- tion of lier charms had never been sup- ported by the happy fortune attached to some ladies of never-perishing dominion, who, in sacrificing with heroic generosity, very mature attractions and very slelfder remnants of honour to the attainment of renown, suddenly rise in the general esti- mation, to dames of superior fascination and brilliant elegance. The Marchioness had been narrowly watched in this respect ; for every one experienced extreme surprise that a wo- man, so adored by all the adorables in the kingdom, had not by this time made her election of the happy being who should be destined, by the stars and her favour, to carry her off in triumph from a husband become entirely insupportable to her ; and after a tender and Arcadian intercourse at his villa, and the settling of preliminaries at Doctors Commons, lead her to the altar, to become a happy bride, and to receive her gentle secondary vows of eternal truth and fealty, in the face of Heaven and of man ! — vows which, no doubt, she may be better THE MISTTESS. 93 better enabled to judge of her own incli- nation of falfiilingj than she could have been of those precipitate and absurd ones, made au hazard to the original proprietor of her fair hand and .person. Whatever might have been the favour- able disposition of Lady Bellingham to give the last and necessary finish to a reputation of. the least brilliancy, her mother cautiouslv endeavoured to f^uard against, by holding up to her vieNv^ suc- ceeding examples of these once conspicu- ous and transferred spouses. *' Observe, my lovely Emily," said she, /' the invariable fate of those con- stellations who have satisfied the ridicu- lous whim of quitting their spheres. Do you now ever hear a syllable of the d- de-vant Lady Cornabcr ? Might she not now undress herself to the standard of the Venus aii.v belles fosses, and would a single creature think of admirino- the attire or the figure of the untitled Captain Colville's Lady-? Reflect upon the situation of Mrs. Bijou: whilst she was the Countess of Eastmeath, who could be more admired and 94 THE WIFE AND and followed ? She was then a perfect little diamond ! But when she consented to indulge her Lord and herself in a divorce, v.'ho thought further of Mrs. Bijou, after people had laughed a little - at her blunder in signing for her own, the titular appellation of the first husband, in the registering of her second nuptials ? But a still more disastrous affair is, that when Bijou and herself retired to the banks of the Thames, and had begun to plant de- lightful epitomes of shady groves on their premises, that under their future umbrage they might wander as heretofore, and listen to the tender exhalations of their mutual passion, this mutual passion had alread}^ exhaled away its existence, and Bijou actually engaged another villa for another favourite, ere the shrubs and trees, planted by his assiduous Lady, could shade even his diminutive person. Then again, my dear Emily, consider tlie hap- less destiny of poor Lady Dutcliland — she indeed rose one deo'ree in rank i)v the change ; but her present state of vassalage is de]>lorable : removed by her youthful Lord THE MISTRESS. • ^5 Lord to his turretted residence, so near the meridian seat of gaiety and fashion, that their bewitching din must almost silence the nightingales with which his shady lanes abound, yet inexorably witl*- held by his jealous care from partaking of the delights this tantalizing neighbour- hood might yield. He even transplants every tufted cypress in his grounds, and fixes them himself beneath the windows of the apartment she inhabits, that the ignorant boor who peeps a^ he passes^ to see how a lady looks who has been divorced from the father of her children, may not— if he is ruddy and well-made — supersede my Lord!" These representations were not wholly ineffectual; for the fair Emily^ consented to preserve inviolate her own honour and that of her husband *. but as a reward for so much retenuey she thought proper to indulge herself in lavishing his fortune, and throwing after it the happiness of both. The uncommon fondness she eacli day imbibed for the sportive Laura, was not only 9^ 1UE WIFE AND only ill the eye of Lady I\Ielville a very harmless whim, absurd and ridiculous though she secretly thought it, but it could not'prove ungrateful to the vanity of the Marquis, whose evident delight in the extolled improvements of the child, and the loveliness of her person, must be, she imagined, flattered by a tribute of admiration exceeding even his own. Mrs. Stanmore, meantime, had endea- voured to subdue her anxiety and her feelings to the hard necessity . that so cruelly exercised them. She had in the course of two years, which had now elapsed since Laura had been so abruptly and forcibly taken from her, repeatedly ventured to supplicate Lady Melville, and even the Marchioness herself, for the in- dulgence which had been almost positively promised to her, in the height of her lan- guid dejection, of the occasional society of her daughter ; but a f^ivourable answer to her petition was deferred from one season to another, and she had the misery of dis- covering, in the interim, 'that the dispo- sition of her Laura, if not wholly per- verted, THE MISTRESS. 97 verted, was at least in the utmost danger of being so. At this intelligence, which she gathered by various means^ her fortitude and her patience forsook her, and to obtain the earnestly v>'ished blessing of becoming the preceptress, the companion, and mother whom her child would not blush to ac- knowledge, she precipitately gave her hand and her faith to a young man of some family, who was, or fancied hmiself enamoured of her person ; resolving, by the rigid propriety of her conduct, and her unremitted attention to his interest and his honour, to endeavour to reconcile his relations to a connection they might now disapprove. The news of this event much surprised Lord Bellingham, who even experienced a secret emotion of displeasure when he first learned it; whilst Lady Melvilie extolled the late Mrs. Stanmore as a pru- dent and clever woman certainly, but she had heard that the youth, who had been -induced to give her a legal title to his name and protection, was scarcely one- voL. 1. r and 93 THE "WIFE AND andntwcnty, very liberal in his expendi- ture, with only a trifling income to sup- port such a propensity, and of his temper he had, Lady Melville said, already given many proofs of the violence and caprice. The Marchioness professed herself much ■pleased with the circumstance, as the fair lady, having now a very sufficient occupa- tion in curbing, to the extent of her abi- lities, the follies of lier young husband, would she hoped think no more of the child, and cease teazing her to part with the dear angel : indeed some intimation of this kind, varied only in expression, was given in the name of Lady Bellingham to Mrs. Rothemere — such was the appel- lation the mother of Laura was now en- titled to assume. Strict injunctions were also issued to every domestic in the family of the Marquis, not to mention to the child the ' marriage of Mrs. Stanmore, under a pe- nalty of disgrace and dismission ; and from a jealous whim oi^ the pa drona, Mrs. Tribner was instructed to inform her that her mother no longer existed. Laura, THE MISTRESS. Q^ Laura, who m^s now seven years old, and still retained some remembrance of the languid appearance and extreme dejec- tion of her mamma Stanmore, was grieved at this intelligence ; but her natural viva- city soon dispelled the cloud, and from that time her mother, of whom she had sometimes spoken, was entirely forgotten. The child advanced in the showy ac- complishments the ^Vfarchioness was very desirous she should attain, and the little prodigy of Bellingham House was univer- sally a very general tlieme ; but Laura chose another line of celebrity, the road to which required far less exertion of her own patience, and much greater exertion of the patience of others. She could be upon occasion a very clever little biiffa ; and the iMarchioness laughed so much at her comic flights, that all her visitors felt a sympa- thetic inclination to laugh likewise : but ere Laura had well attained lier ninth year, she crowned her exploits by very much discomposing the flaxen head-dress of an ancient Peeress, who was not of a temper readily to forget so outrageous an F 2 insult, 100 iriE AriPE AND insult, and within a day or two, with as little decorum, revenged some supposed offence from a personage of great import- ance, by slapping his face. All the frequenters of Bellingham House now began to look grave ; and the Mar- chioness, taking a lesson from so many lengthened countenances, passed upon the favourite a sentence of banishment from her society for a fortnight. Lady Md- ville too, undertook to seek out a go- verness for the young culprit, more ca- pable of restraining her petulant sallies than Mrs. Tribner, who was still, how- ever, retained upon the list of the Mar- quis's household. The person sought out by Lady Mel- ville, was the same who had remained with Lady Augusta, Lady Sophia, and Lady Madalina from their childhood : but the two elder of these ladies being lately married; and the younger nearly seventeen, the governess Avas now dis- missed, with a few years of her salary un- paid indeed ; yet the excellence of the situation now procured for her by good Lady THE MISTRESS^. 101 Lady Melville amply compensated for the time that might perhaps elapse before she received the arrears due to her for her attendance upon her late pupils. Miss Bulmer, certain of the support and patronage of her recommender, began her oftice by several reforms in the manners and hitherto unrestrained vivacity of her little charge, in which she received the approbation of Lord Bellingham, v.ho had lately entertained serious apprelien- sions that, if Laura were not checked, she might become, what he very much ^detested, a spoiled child. The Marchioness failed not to remon- strate against unnecessary cruelty and severity ; but in the height of her oppo- sition to the new system, she was pro- nounced by a jury of titled matrons to be enceinte. '^Fortunate creature !" exclaimed Lady Melville; ''it is the only thing in the world that could have rescued her from a disgraceful rapture \\\i\\ her Lord ; for surely he will not liow hesitate to advance a few thousands more, to ensure the happy F 3 appearance t02 THE WIFE AND appearance of this presumed son and heir ! Her lucky destiny counteracts perpetually the apprehended effects of her ungoverned and reiterated imprudence — she is cer- tainly one of those favoured children of Fortune, who brave and avoid ev^ery evil, which others, more cautious, vainly seek to shun." At an era so important to the Traherne family, the Marchioness was on the eve of leaving town for Adwan ; but she now discovered that the place did not agree with her, and Doctors A, B. and C im- mediately affirmed that it would be proper to brace the pretty little frame of my Lady Marchioness with the sea air. The iVIai'quis instantly hired a house at Brighton, and thither Lady Bellingham and her suite hastened ; but as Laura had not yet entirely recovered the influence her errors in judgment had diminished, and was besides often complained of by her new preceptress as the most turbulent and contumacious pupil she had ever the ho- nour of encountering, she was not suffered to travel wdth her dear beautiful mamma, but THE MISTRESS. 103 but followed with Miss Buhner in another carriage ; which indignity drew from her numberless complaints against her com- pagne de voyage^ who was, she asserted afterwards to the Marchioness, so ugly, and different from her angel mamma, that she could not bear to look at her ; and so fretful and peevish, that she was glad "when they happened to pass through any paved town, that she might pretend not to hear all the ill-natured things she was always croakhig in her ears. ** Oh fie, Laura!" exclaimed Lady Bellingham, with a laughing aspect. '* Now 1 know," resumed the favourite, shaking her head, and holding up oiiic finger as a sign of having convicted her reprover, *' I know that my sweet-tem- pered mamma thinks just as I do, only she is obliged to pretend to check her poor Laura, because Lady Melville and the Marquis say she spoils me." '* Go, you little esplegle,'' said the sweet-tempered mamma, still smihng, *' I believe they are right." *' Oh, no! I am almost sure they are F 4 wrong,'* i04 THE WIFE AND wrong," returned Laura; '' for my good mamma would not spoil me, I am certain ; and besides, I should not like to be spoiled, if afterwards I am to be good for nothing but to sit with Miss Bulmer, and hear her nasty lectures." *' Fie, fie, Laura !" was again repeated: but not in the least discouraged, she pro- ceeded — '' Nov/ tell me, my own mamma — I am so (leliglUed they will let me talk to you a little — tell me if you think I was so very naughty for playing that trick upon old Lady Avington ? Do you know why I did it?" ** Inform me,'* said her auditor, endea- vouring to look grave. ''' Oh! I thought you did not know it, my mamm.a. Why she was finding fault with every body: she said you looked quite ill and nervous that evening, and she supposed I had become quite unma- nageable. As I stood behind the sofa^ I heard her tell Mrs. Oldham that it was quite surprising how the Marquis could impose such a burthen upon you : I could not THE MISTRESS. 10 not bear what Mrs. Oldham answered ; but I dare say she shook her powdered, head — her Alphie top, as Sir William calls it — and said — 'Oh, 'tis grievous!' — which she always docs, you knov/, mamma, when people complain to her." The Marchioness laughed, from habit perhaps, at tlie ill-directed vivacity of Laura : but she w'as then thinking more of the mahgnancy of Lady Avington, in asserting that she wanted brilliancy on that very night, when she perfectly recol- lected every one else had repeatedly broke into raptures at the eclat of her eyes and her complexion, and when she well re- membered that she had been in excellent spirits. Her supposition, too, that th€ IsLarquis had requested, or induced her to patronize Ids child, was singularly imper- tinent, when every one knew that she had herself sought out the little creature, and rescued it from the absurd and puddling management of its inconsistent mother. '' And what further did the silly old woman say ?'' enquired Lady Bellingham. '* At that instant," resumed Laura, r o '' Miss 106 THE WIFE AND ** Miss Colby came round to me, and asked who had cut my hair with such taste ; and whilst I was telling her that it was Morri, Lady Avington said it was quite frightful ; and then she said I had red hair; and then she said," continued Laura, whilst every dimple vanished from her altered countenance, ** that I was very much like my mother ; for she re- membered seeing the 2inhappy creature v/hen she was a sort cf upper servant to Lady Betty Traherne. And then I was so angry, that I jumped up behind her, and snatched at all those fine curls that she wears behind her head— I could not pull them off, but I shewed her nasty grey hair. But teil me, my own manmia, is it true that she did ever see my other mamma? But if she did — and if my mamma vi'as unhappy, she was not a ser- vant, I am sure." '* 1 have already enjoined you," replied the Marchioness^ gravely, '* never to speak of your mother; and wow, my Laura, you must return to Miss Bulmer, or A\e shall both be lectured," Laura, XH£ MISTRESS, 107 Laura, very much disconcerted that her lurking doubts had not been instantly removed, departed, though M'ttli reluc- tance; for, petulant as she was, when Lady Bellingham forbore to smile, she always obeyed. CHAP. VL N proportion as the pregnancy of the Marchioness advanced, Laura was still further committed to the guardianship of Miss Bulmer : her father, flattered with the hope of legitimate offspring, was now more observant of that flippancy which had been so long encouraged ; and the preceptress received instructions to check it by the most serious remonstrances, and even by chastisement. This sudden reverse of the treatment to which she liad been accustomed from in- fancy, did not act upon the temper of the y 6 young 108 THE WIFE AND young lady as the Marquis perhaps ex- pected ; for Miss Buhner did not possess the happy art of eradicating fixed habits in a day or two, by severe looks, threats, or privations, and she was, unfortunately for Laura, not aware that reasoning calmly, steady perseverance, and patience, were better substitutes : so that the incor- rigibility of her pupil very often induced her to give up the point from weariness, until some novel instance of determined inattention to decorum, or the repeated exhortations of the Marquis and Lady Melville, drove her again to the charge. ** I wonder wliat sort of temper Bully will be in this morning," said Laura not nnfrequcntly to her female attendant ; ** if tlie hard-hearted creature ate her favourite supper last night, slie will cer- tainly have her indigestion tliat I liear so much of; and then I shall have to sit tis- a-vis htr ugly face all the morning, to hear her nasty lectures, and that will spoil my dinner! It is very liard that when sl^.e eats too much at uiglit; I mu^t fast the next dav," THE MISTRESS. 109 '* La, Miss Laura, you are so droll! — To be sure Miss Bulmer is very cross ; and I wonder, for niy part, how she can help lauo-hino; at ^■our odd fancies." " Do you tliink she can laugh?" said Miss Laura. " Oh no, Mary! she is like the great philosopher that I read of in my collection of famous men : she never laughs nor cries ; and I tliink in this respect she is good-natured— for if she laughed, I should cry ; and if she cried, 1 should hiugh, and be punished for it." This sketch of the disposition of Laura towards Miss Bulmer, will render the reso- lution tliis lady formed of quitting Iicr post, by no means surprising ; but she had yet another and still more potent reason for her resignation. Poor Laura was fast declining in favour, she discerned ; and, instead of remaining the celebrated pet of the Marchioness of Bellingham, she was now, in the judgment of Miss Bulmer, who had not learned that she was entitled to any fortune, rapidly sinking into a dependant npon tlie unwilling bounty of a parent not compelled to ackno'viedge her, no THE WIFE AND her, and upon the caprice of a woman who would now detest in proportion as she had formerly displayed affection for her; be- cause the child would be a perpetual memen- to of what the world would impertinently denominate afatigued benevolence, a worn- out effort of liberality, a faded blossom of that fine, tender, delicate plant — sensibiliti^. This opinion was the effect of many serious reflections in the mind of Miss Bulnfer, who possessed the same delicacy as the Scipio of Gil Bias, when he refused any longer to dress the whiskers, and brush the cloak of a man, who having com- manded the respect of all Madrid, sud- denlv lost his honours and his conse- quence. She gave in her resignation therefore, when the family adjourned to Adwan for a few days, ere the Marchioness revisited Bellingham House, where she had decided to be during her confineaient, <* What shall we do with this perverse girl?'' exclaimed the Marquis. *'' We must consult my mother," replied Lady Bellingham. ** I would take her with me, but that her vivacity would over- come THE MISTRESS. ] 1 1 come me until my fears are dissipated, and my present hopes sweetly fulfilled." '' It is not to be thousfht of 1" inter- rupted he, hastily : ^* we must indeed consult Lady Melville. She will be with us, I hope, to-morrow. Until by her counsel we can be extricated from this cursed dilemma, MissBulmer must remain with the ungovernable Gipsy." When Lady Melville had listened to the liistory of the delinquency of poor Laura, and the terrible consequence that had ensued, in the approaching removal of Miss Bulmer, she would immediately seek out, she said, some eligible person with whom the v/ild girl might be placed, until Emily had recovered from her confine- ment, or until another proper governess could be procured ; though that was a very difficult tiling, her Ladyship added, and perhaps beyond her pov/er to accom- plish. And to evince how valuable Miss Bulmer was in her situation, Lady Mel- ville afnrmed that several women of the first distinction had applied to her, to obtain the prize when Augusta manicd. 3 In 112 THE WIFE AND III a very short tinje, by the inc]efat^- gable researches of this good lady, the eligible person was discovered : she Mas the U'ife of a num who had once hazarded his life in securing from a conflagration the furniture, plate, and other valuables at the country residence of thi€ Countess of Melville, which by the carelessness of her servants liad been set on fire; for wliich service she had always acknowledged her- self his debtor, and had even promised to exert her interest to procure him some appointment that might increase his in- come to his v/ishes ; for tliough- it was the produce of many years of hardship and toil, it was rather circumscribed. En attendant the fulfilment of this pro- mise, whicl', to say the truth, had been made some time, a.nd liad been renewed in every visit Lady •},Iclviile had since been compelled to make at her mansion, slie thought the liberal compliment the Marquis would not scruple to give, as a compensation for the care they might take of Laura, and the trouble she would create. THE MISTRESS. 113 create to them, would not be unaccept- able to good Mr. and Mrs. Ballioch. The Marchioness, much as she detested Ad wan, cliose to remain there until the affair was settled ; and Lord Bellingham unwilHng to leave Laura in the care only of servants, yet fearing that she would obtrude her unsubdued spirits upon his Emily, were she to accompany them to town, readily consented to commit her to the protection of good Mr. and ivlrs. Ballioch for a few months. Laura, shocked to be thus sent from her beloved and kind mamma, a misfor- tune to which, she understood, her own misconduct had led, accompanied by her maid, was nevertheless put into a travel- ling chaise of the Marquis, after he had kissed lier, bade her adieu, and recom- mended a better style of conduct in future ; and she was driven towards the habitatioii now chosen for her. The Marchioness was not permitted a formal adieu, lest her emotions should in- jure her ; and the fallen favourite, not suf- fered to nass her dressino'-rooni door on the I 14 THE WIFE AND the morning slie departed, hung round the neck of Mary as the chaise rapidly moved tli rough the park of Ad wan, and wept in her bosom with a bitterness of grief that moved the indignation of the young woman towards those who had oc- casioned it. *^ I am sure I wonder at Lady Mel- ville/' exclaimed she, ** to think of sending you, Miss Laura, to these Irish gentry ! for I heard Mr. Smith, her Lady- ship's butler, say that they are not fit to sociate with decent people; and yet her Ladyship would always send for them to Minton Place every Sunday when she is there, and the housekeeper had to enter- tain them. And do you know, Ma'am,- Mr. Ballio would smoke his nasty tobacco, and he was ungenteel enough to fill her apartment all full of smoke, till she was fit to die with sickness ! — however, she never took notice of them when her Lady- ship was not down ; for Mr. Smith said they were quite unbearable ; and I won- der her Ladyship is not ashamed of re- commending to my Lady to send you to ba THE MISTRESS, 1 15 be there : but her Ladyship does not mind what people say, if she gets her ends ; I will say that for her ! and I am sure she is always interfering with my Lord's people— altering something or other — and I assure you, Ma am, our folks don't like it at all ! And then she is always borrowing either one or other of the men, and my Lady is so easy, that she Vvill do any thing she is asked — and to be sure, it saves Lady Melville keeping another footman, and then people make such a wonderment how she can do so well without more than she has ! — why she has the service of two people or more from Bellingham House ! But if I was a lady, I would not demeaa myself to go a borrowing of other folks 's servants ; for the men never get any thing for their trouble but honied words, and they don't at all approve of being sent about like common scrubs; and if it was not for my Lady's generosity, and having such good places at my Lord's, they would not put. up with it !— And then her Miss Buhner, that she cried up so! a cross proud thing ! she was always telling my Lord lis THE WIFE AND Lord one ill-natured thing or other of YOU, Miss Laura ; when I'm sure, instead of miufling you, she used to be reading books from the circulating libraries at Brighton half the day. I ought to know that, for she was always coming to me drawing in her ugly mouth, with — " ]\lrs. Mary, will you be so obliging to change these books for me ?' — And if I had refused, my Lady would have beea sure to hear some story or other of me, I know ! But come, don't mind, Miss Laura- if you are going away, you are not going with Zfer— that's your comfort, Ma'am, so don't cry so !'* '^ That is all the comfort I have!*' said Laura, M^iping her eyes, and sobbing : *' but I shall break my heart to be sent frona my mamma without seeing her ; for no^v I cannot discover if she is so very angry with me as they say she is — and I wished too, to tell her that I would behave bet- ter ; but Mrs. Boden would not let me go to her 1" Ilei" grief was novv^ renewed ; and Mary redoubled THE MISTRESS, 11^ redoubled her efforts to console her, with better success. Minton, a seat included in the jointure of Lady Melville, was in Oxfordshire, a feu^ miles west of Woodstock ; and in an adjoining village lived good Mr. and Mrs, Ballioch, who with great eagerness and trepidation, had been looking out the whole day on which they had been taught to expect their young guest, for her ap- pearance^. At length, to the infinite relief of these good people, they descried from afar a chaise winding up the road that led to their habitation. . *' The poor child will be so tired, she Vv^ill want to go to bed directly !" observed Mrs. Ballioch to her husband. ^'' '* Oh, I take it she will !" he replied, a strong brogue riding on his tongue — ** it is almost past eight o'clock — it don't want many minutes on't — and the sun is almost set, all but the two or three strakes he has left behind him ; so in coorse Miss will be after looking for her bed !" ** It's ready for her," replied Mrs. Ballioch; 113 THE WIFE AND Ballioch ; *' a-nd as she is used to have every thing handsome about her, I have made up a twilight in her room, and put my white taffety pin-cushion upon it, as I had given me when I was brought to bed of our Pat." '* Here she comes!" exclaimed the husband : '^ but who is this lady sitting beside her ? Oh, if it should be my Lady Marchioness, or any other great Countess or Lady, what vvill we do then? for we have got but one best bed in de house, and neither wan nor todder can sleep in a worse, seeing it would not be gen tale in us to put 'em there." Before Mrs. Ballioch could solve this difficulty, the chaise reached their house ; and Laura, who now appeared to have entirely dismissed her recent regrets, or at least any visible signs of them, was eagerly gazing at the mansion, and at every object that surrounded it. Fixing at length lier eyes upon her future host and hostess, after a momentary surprise, she saluted them with a sudden fit of laughter ; and leaning her forehead upon the shoulder of Mrs. THE MISTRESS. 1 ]^ Mrs. Mary, who vras too much sliocked at the appearance of her intended compa- nions to join in the merriment their figures created, she raised her face at intervals, only to renew the ridiculous impression they had made on her imagination ; and the servant who attended the carriao-c, having opened the door, and let down the steps, awaited the conclusion of the scene with a sympathetic grin. Mr. Ballioch regarded his wife, and she returned the glance with another, ex- pressive of extreme amazement. *^ Oh, 'tis very well," said the hus- band ; *' I had rather see the young lady merry than sad ! But won't you walk in, my little jewel, and see if you like of our house, in the same degrae that you seem to like of us ?" This invitation redoubled the inclina- tion of Laura to continue her half- won- dering, half- applauding mirth: but her female attendant, provoked to be shut up in such a little trumpery bye-place, witli only the tall, stiff, plaited mob-cap of good Mrs. Ballioch to contemplate, and fatigued 120 THE WIFE AND fatigued by her journey, reminded her that Thomas waited to take the ba2:2"ao:e off, and she supposed tlie poor hack beasts must want to bait. Laura took the hint, and endeavoured to look serious whilst she quitted the car- riage, and paid her compliments to the good lady, whicli she did with an excel- lent grace ; for she began to think it would be very pleasant to live in such a pretty little white house, with such a prett}- little garden all round it, and no Miss Buhner to lecture her, and give her lessons from morning till night. She remembered the delight Mith which she liad accompanied her dear mamma to a house still smaller than this, to see some twin children ; and her conclusion from the recollection of those visits was, that great satisfaction and amusement were certainly to be found in pretty little white houses. Being conducted into a neat sitting- room, which was indeed the best parlour, Mrs. Ballioch ran back to introduce the other lady into it; and was then, rather reluctantly THE MISTRESS. 121 reluctantly, given to understand by Mary^ that she was Miss Laura's attendant. '^ Lauk-a-daisy ! well, no offence, I hope !" exclaimed the good woman : '* but who would have thought of my Lady Countess having a maid sent with young Miss, whilst my Dolly have nothing to do, but to milk a cow or two, and dust and scrub a bit, and cook a bit ; and could all the same wait upon she too!" Notwithstanding the additional com- pany of Mary was so entirely unexpected, and perhaps equally unwished-for, Mrs. Ballioch exerted herself to accommodate her in the best manner her means would allow : yet the soubrette, who had beea consigned to the courtesy of Dolly, was loud in her complaints of the inconveni- ences she foresaw it would be her unlucky fate to encounter. When every thing was tolerably ar- ranged for each party, Mrs. Ballioch returned to lier young guest, who had amused herself in the interim with be- holding the master of the house running: from the postillions to the servant, and VOL. I. o from 122 THE WIFE AND from him again to the drivers, with a bottle in one hand and a glass in the other, pressing the contents upon them with as much ardour and hurrying eager- ness, as if he had been deputed to ply the burg^hers at some borough election. *^ Oh, but take tader drap now !" said Mr. Ballioch ; ' ' for you are as welcome as King George himself, or my Lady Countess, if she was here, and would take a sip from a poor man's bottle — if she would do me such an honour, her Lady- ship's own self could not be more wel- comer !" The substance of tliis speech, and the manner it was uttered, were both infinitely novel and amusing to Laura, who witli a laughing countenance had earnestly iixed her eyes upon the speaker, and was insensible of the approach of the lady of the mansion, until her black hair strained from her forehead over a roller, and the stiff cap that surmounted it, again struck her wondering sight. Mrs. Ballioch entreated to be informed if THE MISTRESS. 123 if Miss would cliuse to have her supper immediately, or rest herself a bit. ** I have not drank my coffee yet," re- plied the astonished girl : '^ and besides, I could not sup yet — I never sup by day- light !" '' Coffee!'" exclaimed Mrs. Ballioch ; '* lack-a-day ! I havn't a grain in tlie house. I thought to be sure, such ?i young lady was more used to a little fresh milk than any thing else — not but I have got some fine soxvchong in my canister as any in the country." *' Oh I like fresh milk better than any thing!" said Laura, with alacrity: ** and especially I like to see it milked into a goblet, and then drink it up directly," *' Well, Miss, as for that, we can suit you," cried Mrs. Ballioch in great glee; *• please the pigs- •" *' The pigs!'' repeated Laura, inter- nally. *' Please the pigs, you shall have our silver tankard full to-morrow, if you can drink it all up — and you shall milk it yourself." G 12 ''■ Oh 124 THE ^VIFE AND *' Oh yes, I should like to milk!" ex- claimed the little refined companion of Lady BelUngham, *' I should like very much to milk, and to give the cows hay ! Have you many cows ?" *^ We have got two, Miss; and they gives more milk than we can dispense vrith — so I churn twice a week, and send the butter to market." *' Oh, I should like to churn and make butter !" resumed Laura. '^ Well, my dear, and so you shall," replied Mrs. Ballioch, highly pleased with the easy manners of her little inmate; ** and 3^ou shall go with me round our farm-yard, and gather up the eggs, and feed the chick-a-bids." '* That I should like nmre thnn any thing I" exclaimed Laura, in a rapture : *' I am quite fond of chickens, and 1 like to take the eggs out of the nests." ^* Lord love you!" exclaimed Mrs. Ballioch, addressing her husband the first moment they were tete-a-tete'. *^ you needn t have been so frightened for fear Miss wouldn't abide with us 1 Tis the sweetest 4 tempered THE MISTRESS. 1^5 tempered little creature I ever saw — and the kindliest 1 Bless her little tongue, to think of her prattling till the clock had gone ten ever so long, and lier pretty eyes never once winking for sleep I" On the following morning the good woman suffered both the travellers to rest till eight; because she recollected that they niiglit chuse to be a little idle after their fatigue. Siie then called Mrs. P^Iary, saying she would go directly, and %vake the little one : but when she an- nounced the time of tlie day^ the soubrettey with an angry aspect and a pettish ac- cent, desired she would not give herself that trouble, for that her young Lady never rose till ten ; and for her own part, nine or half after, was her hour. '* The Lord preserve me!" secretly ejaculated Mrs, Ballioch ; *^ I thought, to be sure,'! had picked up some nc^tion of the ways of your great gentry at Mintou; but I see I am a good mile off on't yet 1" *' Laura \ras chagrined when she un- derstood that the cows had been milked G 3 and 126* THE AVIFE AND and turned out, and the fowls all fed whilst shcAvas yet sleeping : and the next day, at her own particular request, she was awakened at six o'clock, and dressed by Mrs. Ballioch herself; who triumphed Avith concealed exultation over the lazy gentility of Mary, obliged to exert herself before her hour^ because her young Lady in person summoned her repeatedly to the breakfast, which the good woman had reserved for her in her own little parlour, until Laura was almost ready to renew the repast. CHAP. VIL HE mode of living at the habitation of Mr. and Mrs. Ballioch, Laura soon be- came accustomed to ; and she could eat her dinner with perfect goiit at one o'clock, because she continued to derive every THE MISTRESS. 127 every day a greater interest in her new employments in the farm-yard, which obhged her to rise early. The care of a late brood of chickens she took entirely upon herself, and she had bought a young lamb for half-a- crown, which was also lier nursling. In the midst of these occupa- tions, however, she would sometimes for a few minutes regret the conversation and caresses of the Marchionees : but a mournful chirping under the parlour-win- dow, or the' bleat ings of her lamb, perpe- tually interrupted her grave reflections, and they insensibly became less and less frequent, until she found herself perfectly contented under the roof of good Mr. and Mrs. Ballioch, who almost worshipped their little guest ; and her fame was spread round the place, as the m.ost beau- tiful and the sweetest tempered creature that ever appeared upon the surface of this globe. Mary was very far from being as well satisfied as her young Lady, with the per- fect alteration that had taken place in their destiny : indeed she was so little G 4 amused 128 THE WIFE AND amused with the delights of the farm-yard and dairy, that as the autumn advanced, she wrote to the town housekeeper, soli- citing her recal on the plea of ill health ; and her petition was complied with : and as it was very prol)able that the air of the place might have the same unfortunate effect upon any other London-bred damsel, Mrs. Ballioch was commissioned to provide Laura with a proper attendant from her neighbourhood ; and Dorothy, her own servant, was immediately pro- moted to the vacant post, because the dear little creetur was used to her ways. Laura was, however, grieved to part with her former femvie'de'Chambre, be- cause the girl was tolerably good-hu- moured, and she had lived some time with her : and when the M'inter further deprived her of her amusements out of doors, and she found that her present society could not afford her others to re- place them with half the satisfaction to herself which she had derived from the novelty of her active employments, she recurred with an awakened sensation of regrets THE MISTRESS. 129^ reoret, to former scenes and the brilliant gaiety of those circles, of wliich she had ojice been the little idol, and her dear niamiha Bellingham, whose fondness for her had ensured her universal adnnration, had been the maonct. When the season compelled Mrs. Bal- lioch to take the bough-pot from her chimney, and light a fire, the family ad- journed to the little parlour, which, when good Mr. Ballioch strided from one side to the other, scarcely admitted of his taking three paces ; yet he ahvays smoked in it, to the great annoyance of Laura, who could not endure the scent of tobacco, and detested still more the smell of the spirits he usually quaffed the v/hole evening. To vary the rrmusement of looking on ^vhilst Mrs. Ballioch m.ended shirts or knit stockings, Laura could now have thought her tambarine or her harp — or even a few books, or her piano-forte, a very desirable ac(|uisition : but though the Marchioness had fully intended to send evcrv thino- of this kind as soon as G ^ possible, l30 . . THE WIFE AND possible, that she might not lose what she had already acquired, they had never arrived : neither had she received any more of her wardrobe than a chaise seat and a small trunk could contain ; and these had been put up in haste to send with her. Laura imputed this forgetfulness to the joyful confusion all the family was in (so Mary had informed her), upon the appear- ance of the young Lord they had all been looking out for so long : but whatever the cause might be, the effect was very much regretted ; and she had with consi- derable e}2mii endured the long evenings of two winter months, when she was awakened one night from a sound sleep, by a very uncommon noise and apparent confusion in the house, and the accents of Mrs. Ballioch screaming for help. Laura started up in her bed, and the next uionient the voice of the servant girl who had been hired instead of Dolly, joined in the cry, with the tremendous exclamation of murder ! Shivering with terror and cold, Laura endeavGuied THE MISTRESS, 131 endeavoured to find her way to the apart- ment of her attendant, whom she sup- posed to be still in her bed because she did not recognise her tones in the loud affray that so much alarmed her: but Dolly was not in her room ; and fearing to remain alone in such a commotion, Laura was proceeding to descend the stairs, when she observed, in a passage that led from them into the parlours, good Mr. Ballioch with a candle in one hand, and in the otlier a sort of hanger, he had formerly kept with other VvTapons in hfs cabin, in his original occupation of com- manding a trading vessel. At this moment, a long string of un- common oaths and imprecations issued from his lips ; which Mere meant to em- bellish and elucidate a sentence importing that he would annihilate his wifC; and every one in the house : an.d to accomplish, if possible, so amiable a determination, he staggered towards the little parlour door, where Mrs. Ballioch and her new damsel had by this time very strongly entrenched themselves. The valiant assailant rei^ard- G 6 less, 132 THE WIFE AND less, however, of every obstacle, applied his hanger and his candlestick alternately to the wainscot or the door, as they hap- pened to fall upon either ; and soon ex- tinguishing the light, he fell to the ground with a violence and a noise that extorted a scream and an exclamation of terror from the trembling Laura, who till then had regarded his frantic actions, and listened to his furious threats in shi- vering silence. ** Ha, you little crocodile!" he ex- claimed, " and have you served me this h— 11 — sh trick, to blow out my candle, and knock me down ! Oh, and I belm!t you have chopped off my leg into the bar- gain, you little devil — and if 1 could i^ache you, I would tank you as you desarve for this foul play and treachery !'* Laura hearing him scramble about, now renewed her scream, and called loudly upon Mrs. Ballioch and Dolly to come and save her : and the good woman for- getting her own danger, burst open the door which had withstood the ill-directed efforts THE MISTRESS. 133 efforts of her inebriated spouse, and flew out with another light. ** You villain!'* she exclaimed, '* would you go to kill this sweet creature, instead of taking care of her as you promised m,y Lady Countess ? — Oh Lord ! what has he done?" she added, on beholding him extended on the ground, and half covered -with blood ; '* where is the dear child ?'* '* Here I am!" Sctid Laura, her teeth chattering with cold and affright: *^ Oh come to me, or I shall die I" At this moment Dolly and three or four neighbours appeared ; and Mrs. Ball ioch directed her to attend Laura, whilst she herself, and the people who had been col- lected to protect her, examined into the situation of her husband ; for it was im- mediately discovered that he was not in a state to renew the terrors he had already inflicted : he had indeed in his fall cut one of his legs ; and the hanger being easily forced from him, he was now as- sisted to his bed, and his wound bound up. Laura, confounded at the scene she had I3if THE \riF£ AND had Mdtncssed, and alarmed at every noise and motion, would not suffer Dolly to leave her for the remainder of the night : and from her she learned that Mr. Bal- lioch was intoxicated ; as against all per- suasion, he had drank almost a bottle of brandy, though his wife had warned him of the consequence that would inevitably ensue. '* For you must know, Miss,'* conti- nued Dolly, ** that whenever he gets tipsy, my. mistress thinking what will happen, locks herself up : so then he be- gins hollowing for more liquor ; and when she does not come with it, then he takes his cutlash, and falls to hacking down all the chany in the cupboard, and smashes the glasses — then what does me he, but begins upon the chairs, and knocks them about; and when lie gets tired of that sort of work, he swears he'll find us up, and murder us. Well, then you see, Miss, 1 whips out of the parlour window, and runs to the neighbours — they says a ought for to have a waistcoat on; for a an't THE MISTRESS. 1 35 an't fit to walk about in a Christian coun- try — and so say I. Mrs. Thomas, she says, the Irish folk are all so — they are vast free, and good-natured, and all that, but when they gets a drop of liquor, then they runs to their cutlashes and their pis- tols — for she says the Irishes never want for tliat sort of tackle if they an't a shoe to their foot — so they runs to their cut- lashes, and then the devil shews his hoof, and they begins to threaten every body what they'll do, if they can catch 'em ! Master promised mistress as he wouldn't get tipsy all the time you staid here ; as he mightn't frighten you with his blus- terings : but now he has once begun, he'll make up for lost time, and run a fine rig- see if he don't!" ^* Will he continue as angry as he has been to-night?" asked Laura, in a tre- mulous voice. ^* Oh yes, that he will, Miss, and mayhap worse,*' replied Dolly: '^ he never leaves off till he gets the fe\er ; and then the Doctor gives him blisters, and bleeds him— Lord, Miss, he bleeds pan- fulls 1S6 • THE ^yIFE a^^d fulls from his arms and his feet : and sometimes the\ hangs worms to his tem- ples, and there he bits like a fool, with the things dangling from liis lace— but, Lord, he don't mind, not he ! — in about a month or so, he begins again." This history very much increased the apprehensions of Laura, who now prayed with great fervour that her manmia Bel- lingham might take pity on her, and send for her away froni a houseliold so terribly governed : she even formed the idea of writing to the Marchioness, and repre- senting the dangers of her situation ; and having communicated her intention to Dolly, the girl hastily and eagerly con- curred in the plan, hoping that if hex young Lady were immediately removed to London, she might be si . tiered to accom- pany her — apiece of good fortune she impatiently anticipated the prospect of. Dolly therefore procured writing mate- rials unknown to Mrs. Ballioch, and un- dertook to get her letter conveyed very sately to tiie next post-town ; and though her young Lady felt some compunction in acting THE MISTRESS. 137 acting without the knowledge and appro- bation of her hostess, yet her fears and the horrors of the past night, were too potent to cede to her scruples ; and spite of the difficulties slie experienced from not having taken up a pen for several months she at length accomplished her aim, though not by any means to her own satisfaction. *' Oh my dear, dear mamma," wrote Laura, ^* you cannot think how I have been frightened ! and Dolly says I shall be frightened still more, and perhaps I shall be killed too — for Mr. Bnllioch has been very tipsy indeed, and said he would murder every body ! Oh my dear mamma, you do not know how terrified I was ! for I was waked out of my sleep, and heard him say it— and I have a sad coid this morning, for I stood upon the stairs with only my night-things on, and trembled with the fright and cold— but that I do not mind ; I am only afraid that wlien he gets 138 THE WIFE ^AXD gets tipsy again, he will riot fall down, but come to me, and kill me Math his cutlass ; for Dolly says he will not be quiet now, but go on in this manner till they are obliged to send for the Doctor. Oh my dear mamma, pray send for me home ! — indeed I will be very good; and not give you occasion to be angry with poor Laura anymore. Indeed, indeed, mamma, I am quite punished enough for my foolish tricks, and now I shall know better than to be so silly again. I have written this so badly, that I am afraid you will think I did not take pains ; but Dolly could not rule my lines for me, and my hand is quite stiff, or else I would write it again. Oh my dear, dear mamma, take pity on your poor Laura, and speak to the Marquis to let me come home again ! — I am your dutiful Laura, and I shall always love you dearly," This letter, which was addressed to the Marchioness at Bellingham House, Lon- don, tllE MISTRESS. ISg don, travelled from thence to Adwan, which she had just quitted for Bath, and at Bath it reached her. To Lady Melville, who was likewise there, the epistolary effort of tlie little neglected protegee was communicated : and this lady instantly questioned those of her people who were with her, as to the real character of good Mr. Ballioch ; and learned; to her extreme surprise, that this man, so quiet and moderate in the presence of her Ladyship, was Avell known to have attempted some desperate exploits in his fits of inebriation. ** This is really very strange!" ex- claimed the Countess when she had dis- missed her informer, " and rather un- fortunate ; but we will not, my dear Emily, communicate the circumstance to the Marquis 1 Passionately fond as he is of our dear little Williain, he has lately, you know, appeared uneasy that this absurd Laura does not continue to receive those instructions you were generous enough to procure her, as if tea thousand pounds and 140 THE WIFE AND and a pretty face were not sufficient ad- vantages for a little bdtarde of his illus- trious house." *^ But what must we do with her?" enquired Lady Bellingham ; ''if the mad- man were to kill or wound her, the Mar- quis would take it into his head that we had not been sufficiently au fait of the characters of these people 1 And yet I could not sustain the fatigue of having her with me again — she is now old enough to have become quite a little spy and a censor ! No, I could not, I am certahi^ support the eternal appeals of her gover- ness, and the foll}^ of the Marquis, who would imagine that I must necessarily experience for this little animal, the same interest and affection I feel for my Wil- liam!" Before the Marchioness or her mother had arrived at any decision upon this vexatious and teasing subject, Lady Mel- ville received a letter from Mrs. Bothe- mere, in which as usual, she enquired if her Laura were in health; and solicited permissioii THE MISTRESS. 141 permission of Lady Bellinghain and her Lord, to write to her as the friend of her deceased mother, since they did not think 2)roper that she should acknowledge her- self as that mother, and yet existing : the blessing of a visit from her child she could not cease to wish, though she had almost ceased to hope it; — it was a wish sanctioned by the approbation of Mr. Rothemere, she said, and if through the amiable and condescendlno; mech'ation of Lady INlelville, it coukl yet be obtained, her Ladyship would entitle herself to the eternal prayers and thanksgiving of a being already so infinitely benefited and obliged. *' It strikes me that we mio-ht now with great propriety send Laura to this woman," said Lady Melville to her daughter, when she communicated tliis letter: ^' she is acknowledsred, I hear, bv the family of her husbaiid, and is so won- derfully quiet and retired, that there can- not be any pretence of impropriety al* ledged against it, and we shall relieve our- selves from a most fatiguing care !" The 14^ THE WIFE AND *^ The only objection I have to th4s plan," replied the tender Emily, *^ arises from a disinclination to suffer this fine sentimentalist to believe that her pathetic "wailings have prevailed ! Wliy cannot I send the girl to Adwan, with a proper person to instruct her?" The prudent Lady Melville hinted that the difference betw^een her former and present sentiments might appear to the world rather cruel or capricious, and per- haps become perceptible to the Marquis : but if Laura were given up to Mrs. Rothe- mere— and she undertook to reconcile the father to this — her dear Emily might take a tender farewell of the chit, talk of the sacrifice she had made of her society, and gain credit on every side, without incon- venience or trouble to herself. To Lord J3eirmgham then, the proposi- tion was immediately made — a proposition which Lady Melville declared her Emily and herself were induced to countenance by the extreme and earnest anxiety poor Mrs. Rothemere evinced, to be allowed the society of her daughter. Two of her letters THE MISTRESS. 143 letters were then produced : that which had been recently received, and anoiher which had preceded it. In the former Mrs. Rothemere wrote that she understood her Laura was then at Minton ; but she would not without permission, make any effort to see her, in the hope that her painful forbearance would be recompensed by the attainment of the dear indulgence she had so long implored. '^ Might I not presume to solicit," she added, *^ that Lady Bellingham herself would intercede with the Marquis in my behalf? Ah ! surely at a season so full of happiness to her Ladyship, when she her- self experiences all the anxieties and en- dearments of maternal fondness and maternal transport, she will not refuse the support of her powerful interest to a request like mine." *' 1 have not entirely refused her. peti- tion," said Lady Melville, when the Marquis had read the letters: " and I delayed my application to you until our beloved babe, our little Traherne, had re- co\'ered from inoculation. But Emily. cannot !44 THE WIFE AND cannot taste with entire satisfaction, her own happiness, until this poor woman is rendered ahnost equally joyful.'* Lord Bellingham, who had been really uneasy at the almost irrecoverable loss of time of Laura in her exile, and had merely awaited the entire re-establiihment of the Marchioness and her son, ere he proposed the return of the estranged favourite, was fully sensible of the advantages she would enjoy in the society and under the tutelage of her mother, and by no means averse to the plan. He had long ceased to feel any resent- ment at her rejection of his repeated offers of what he called protection ; and having now given up every wish of renewing the connection his marriage had broken, he was no longer displeased with the more honourable one she had formed. It was however settled that Mrs. Rothemere should be enjoined, on pain of forfeiting the society of her child, not to disclose the near atlfinity between them ; but to represent herself, as slie had sug- gested, as a friend of her deceased mother : a caprice THE MISTRESSfi. 145 a caprice the Marquis assented to> because his Lady asserted that she could not support the idtea of being only a se- condary object in the affection of her adopted Laura. Lady Melville too, thought the interdiction not amiss, as it would px>event Mrs. Rothemere from gaining such an ascendency over the mind of the dear girl, as might perhaps injure her future prospects, by rendering her averse to a separation when it became necessary to establish her. CHAP. VIIL IN EARLY three weeks had elapsed since Laura, with the assistance of her rustic attendant, had dispatched her letter ; and she began to despair of receiving any answer, far less a favourable one : but fortunately for her peace and security, in this interim Mr. Ballioch was confined to VOL. I. H his 146 THE WIFE AND his apartment by an inflammation of the ^vounded leg ; and though he often raved for the desired possession of a brandy cask, and actually shed tears of regret for having frightened the dare little jewel. Miss Laura, yet as she was spared the horror of seeing him for the time, she endured the cruel delay of good tidings without much repining. She was, however, sitting one morning *with Dolly in a most disconsolate mood, expecting the appearance of Mr. Ballioch for the first time since the accident, in the little parlour, and dreading a repetition 4Bf the scene in which he usually acted so Jieroic a part, when a carriage was dis- cerned by the attendant rapidly approach- ing the house, through the same winding road in which Laura herself had first been espied by good Mr. and Mrs. Ballioch on her first arrival. Dolly instantly imparted the discovery to her young Lady, and both the one and the other ran out, to meet the pleasing object that imparted hope and gladness to their hearts. The suivartte jumping over the hedges ♦^ THE MISTRESS, li7 hedges that impeded her progress, darted over tv/o or three fields, and as hastily flying back, informed Laura, who re- mained near the door of the mansion with a beating heart, that it was the same coch cut 171 txvo like that she had come in, and there was the same gentleman in a fine laced hat riding behind it. '^ Oh, my dear, dear Mamma has sent for me !" exclaimed Laura, chsping her hands in a transport of joy : '' OhLwas sure my kind mamma would forgive me at last 1" *' MisS; do take me with you," cried Dolly, in her most persuasive tone; ** do ye now lake me with you, and I will love and sarve you all the days of my life." ** Oh it is Mrs. Tribner 1" exclaimed Laura, as the chaise approached: ** Oh yes, I am sent for — I shall go home- Mrs. Tribner is come forme!" She ran forward to meet this ancient messenger of expected good news ; and fortunately for Laura, sanguine as she was, Mrs. Tribner confirmed her hopes. ** But, dear me," said her former ^'cw- H Qt "cernante^ 148 THE WIFE AND n)ernante, ^' how you are grown, IMiss Laura, in this little time ! and your hair, Ma'am — goodness me! you look quite like a lady come out of the woods, with that load of locks upon your head 1" *^ Oh never mind my hair," interrupted Laura; *^ but tell me how my dear mamrna is, and how is the Marcjuis— and is it a pretty little baby ? Oh I shall love it so much 1 And when am I to go? Is not Dolly to go with me? — How I long toget home ! — But poor Mrs. Ballioch — Oh I wish I could take her with me, and leave him behind 1" ** La, Miss, how fast you talk ! I must answer you as we go along ; for we have no time to lose — we must go to Cricklade to-night.*' *' To Cricklade! where is that? Am I not to go to my dear mamma ?" *< Yes, Ma'am; my Lady is at Bath: you will be there to-morrow by dinner at farthest. But I must speak to your Mrs. Ballioch; and meantime, Ma'am, your woman must pack up as fast as she can : John THE MISTRESS. 149 John will help her, for we must be oft directly almost." Mrs. Ballioch now made her appear- ance, and with numberless curtsies, con- ducted into her little mansion the dio-ni- fied personage who had reached her door in a Lord's carriage with four horses, and a fine gentleman to wait upon it. Laiira now vanished to give Dolly her commission ; whilst IMrs. Tribner pre- sented to the good woman a letter from the Countess of Melville, in v/hlch she was informed that an unforeseen circum^ stance compelled Ladv Bellino-ham to recall the young person then in her care, before the appointed time : and in consi- deration of her past attention and kind- ness, the Marquis desired her (Lady Melville) to enclose a trifling acknow- ledgment. *' A hundred pounds 1" exclaimed Mrs. Ballioch, almost breathless ; then pausing, and shaking her head, ^' Oh Pat, Pat!" she muttered, 'Miow little dost thou deserve this !" She then proceeded to express more H 3 audibly 150 THE WIFE AND ^ audibly her sorrow at parting with the sweet Miss Laura ; who at this instant came running back, to renew her enquiry if Dolly might not accompany her ; and receiving an assenting ansvvxr, was again flying away, when the sight of a tear upon the cheek of Mrs. Ballioch arrested her steps, llirowing her avrns roi^nd tlie good woman's neck, and kissing lier, Laura pro- mised never to forget liov/ good-natured she had always been. ** And if you come to London," she added, *' conne and see me; and you shall see if I forget you." Doilv findino- that her ardent wishes were to be fulfilled, was not tardy in pro- perly disposing the v/ardrobe of her young Laay or her own : and Laura dismissing from her mind her late dread of Mr. Ballioch, and remembering only his for- mer kindness and inoffensive demeanour, bade him adieu with great cordiality ; and again protesting that she would not for- get his wife, joyfully stepped into the chaise, followed by Mrs. Tribner and Dolly, whose countenance was distended into THE MISTRESS. 151 into a fixed grin ; but as they were driving off, Laura suddenly recollected her live stock, and recommended it very particu- larly to the care of Mrs. Ballioch, who pledged her faith and veracity that it should be well looked after, for her sake. When the travellers rested for the night, Mrs. Tribner informed her young charge that she was commissioned by Lady Mel- ville to tell her that when she met her mamma Belli ngham and the Marquis, slie was desired not to refer to past events. ^* You are not to speak of the letter you wrote to my Lady Marchioness," said the dame, ** as perhaps his Lordship might be displeased that you did not write it better : so my Lady did not shew it to him, nor say a word about it ; for you was going to be sent for before the letter came — and you need not say a word neither about Mr. Ballioch be- having in that odd way, as perhaps my Lord might be in a passion, and send him to jail : and that would be a sad thing, you know, Ma'am, upon his poor wife, who seems such a good sort of a body." H 4 ** Oh 15^ tHE WIFE AND *' Oh no, I would not say a word of it for the world !" returned Laura, eagerly t '* and if my mamma was going to send for me without my writing, I wish I had not written at all. But 1 hope my dear mamma will not be angry with Mr. Bal- Jioch, for he was sorry afterwards ; and besides Mrs. Ballioch would cry so much, that I should be quite unhappy." Mrs. Tribner re-assured her upon this subject , and now perfectly convinced that her good and worthy Ladies might both rely upon the little simpleton for the silence they required, she immediately changed the topic, and described in en- thusiastic terms the beauty and capti- vating deportment of the infant Lord Traherne. Laura could not restrain the transports of joy that assailed her when she found herself at the door of the house inhabited by the Marchioness, whose smiles of ten- derness, caresses, and innumerable ex- pressions of fondness she remembered with delight and gratitude. '' Now THE MISTRESS. 15S *^ N'ow I shall see her again 1" she ex- claimed : ** now, this minute she will kiss- me, and call mc her own little Laura !" But in this expectation she was severely disappointed ; for the Marchioness had passed the preceding day at the mansioa of a lady in the neighbourhood, and wasr not yet returned home. The Dowager Lady Melville, however, called in before the chaise hr ^ ieft the door; and having saluted the yo'i^ng tra- veller with much apparent good-humour, complimented her, as Mrs. Tribner had done, upoi. her rapid growth, and the confirmed bloom upon her cheek. From^ her Ladyshipj Laura learned that her mamma would soon be at home, as she expected guests of seme importance to dine. Lady Melville then conducted her to^ the nursery; where she was properly intro- duced to tlie Earl of Tralierne; and- wholly absorbed in admiration and de- ligiit at the infantine graces of her little' half brother, she forgot for some time the- H 5 mortification' 154 THE WIFE AND mortification and chagrin she had so recently experienced. At length she was summoned to attend Lady Bellingham ; and Laura had now been so much accustomed to the very plain faces of Mr. and Mrs. Eallioch, and their coarse language and manners, that as she rushed into the extended arms of the Marchioness, she thought her more beautiful, more elegant, and still more superior than heretofore, to every other being. ** Oh my mamma! and have you quite — quite forgiven your Laura?" she exclaimed. " Yes, my Laura — my beloved child — > my sweet girl!" replied the well-educated lady, embracing her at every endearing appellation ; *' but we will not suffer any unpleasant subject to supersede the de- light of this long wished meeting. Have you seen the Marquis ?" *' No, mamm.a ; but 1 have seen tliC dear little baby— Oh how pretty it i^ 1" Lady Eellingham £ir;iled, '' When THE MISTRES3. 15^ ^^ When yoLi converse with the Mar- quis," she resumed, *^ remember the hint Mrs. Tribner was charged to give you, my Laura, and recollect the unpleasant consequences that may ensue, if you for- get the injunction." Laura assured her dear mamma that she would be very careful. ** And now, my amiable child," added the Marchioness, '^ I have intelligence to unfold to you, very afflicting to myself 1" Laura trembled ; and her good mamma informed her that the Marquis, whose au- thority over her she miust certainly under- stand the nature of, had consented that she should reside some time with an inti- mate and particular friend of her late mother, who v/ould act at once as parent and preceptress to her, ** My numerous and multiplied engage- ments," continued Lady Bellingham, ** forbid me the happiness which this lady proposes to herself; but my Laura will be ever most dear to me. Dry your tears, my love, and do not suffer the ^Marquis to observe in you any rcpug- II 6 iiaoce 15^ THE WIFE AXD nance to obey his wishes. We must now separate — I must hasten to dress." — Then caressing the weeping girl — '* I shall send Laborde to your apartment,'' she added, *' to arrange your head. After dinner we meet again." Laura, secretly dissatisfied with the tournure of this conversation, yet con- demning herself for not being cordially delighted with the undiminished tender- ness of her dear mamma, returned again to the nursery, from whence jihe was in about half an hour recalled, to attend the Marquis in his dressing-room. His valet was present, and he informed his estranged Laura that he had not at that moment time to converse with her; but he regarded her witli apparent appro- bation, and giving her a hasty kiss, she was retiring, when Lord Bellinghain called to her with some eagerness, to enquire if slie had seen his little William. She replied that she had passed every minute witii Itim since she had entered the house, except wlieu her mamma iiad sent lor her. '* Is THE MISTRESS. 157 '^ Is he not very engaging ?" resumed the Marquis; *^ is he not as pretty as either of your dolls?" '' Oh a thousand times prettier !'* she replied. '* Indeed — do you think so? — Take him this kiss then. A-propos — I have ordered a new harp for you — I hope you have not forgotten to play. The Mar- chioness has told you, 1 suppose, that you are so much in request, that a fair lady has begged you of us, and the harp will be ready to accompany you to your new habitation." The tears started to the eyes of the transferred favourite ; she felt mortified to be thus begged by one party, and so readily ceded by the other: when she perfectly remembered that the Marchio- ness, not i^iany months since, liad refused a pug-dog to her most approved friend, because the little animal, having taken an attachment to her, would not be happy, she said in her most melting accent of sensibility, with any other protector, iicwever kind and tender. The 16S THE WIFE ANH The turn- of countenance this reflection gave to Laura reminded the Marquis of the fair ladij he had so lightly mentioned; and with a sensation too much like re- morse not to be instantly dismissed, he again desired her to take the kiss to William ; and, comprehending the hrnt, she immediately withdrew. Dolly, whom she had not seen since the moment of her arrival, met her on the stairs, to inform her that the gentleman waited to cut her hair, for the lady had ordered it to be done ; and the gentleman had desired her to beg her young Lady to come directly, because he wanted to go out, Laura, recollecting the time v/hen every domestic of the household patiently awaited the moment dictated by her caprice or her pleasure, in which she might think proper to receive their emu- lous services, exclaimed — " Dear me, how every body is altered 1" — and ear- nestly musing upon these strange meta- morphoses, hastened to her apartment, to accommodate herself to the conveiiience cf THE MISTRESS. 169 of Mr. Laborde ; but Laborde was not iu waiting, and did not appear for near ten minutes. As he entered the dressing-room, he mentioned that he had seized the only opportunity he had had for several days, of getting a peep at Lord Traherne. ** I declare," continued he, addressing one of the women of the Marchioness, who had now joined the party, to report the appearance of the wild thing Mr. Laborde had been desired to use his efibrts in humanizing, '^ I declare it is the finest infant I ever set my eyes on 1 My Lord ma}' well be proud of his heir !" '^ It is such a lively little thing," re- turned the soiibretle. "' When his Lord- ship is a year old, we are to have 2ifite — do you knov/ that, Mr. Laborde r Our table will give a ball and supper ; and then the servants*-hall people will have their friends the next day. My Lady said this mornino* that we shall have an or- chestre from London, for it must be at Adwan ; and our table, if we like, are to have a masquerade in the gardens !" 3 '' Dear 160 THE -WIFE i\N0' *' Dear me/' thought Laura, ^vhilst Mr. Laborde clipped her exuberant locks, '* how 1 must be altered too ! Nobody loves me now ; but every body is so fond of Lord Traherne ! Perhaps Hving at Minton makes people ugly and disagree- able. I dare say if IMr. Ballioch lived iii> London or at Adwan, he would not look so frightful, or so red in the face." • This idea was further confirmed by the femme-de-chambre, Avho checked poor Dolly when she offered to dress her young Lady, by telling her that Miss Laura Avould not be fit to appear ^it the dessert if she bundled on her clothes; and that her Lady had particularly ordered her to see Ihat she was not made a figure of. But all these kind attentions of dear, dear mamma to the appearance of Laura Mere for that day of little avail ; as ere the dinner was concluded, the evening was- so far advanced, that Lord Traherne was too sleepy to be taken from the nursery : and when this circumstance was reported to Lady Bellingham, she said she vvould excuse •the mistress. l6i excuse the children from leaving it at so late at hour. Laura felt almost annihilated at these repeated intimations of fallen conse- quence, after her mamma had assured her that she was entirely forgiven ; and if amidst the former petulance, occasioned by excessive indulgence, there had lurked any ungenerous or malevolent passion, she must have disliked her little successor in fame and favour. On the contrary, however, she still thought him very pretty, caressed him with pleasure, and received without much impatience the repeated and fastidious cautions of the lady president of the nursery, not to hurt him, or check the motions of his limbs. After a week passed in the^ house of lier father, she left it without great regret, but with a spirit considerably lowered. Laura, in this little week, had found her mind much occupied: she possessed natural perception and discernment, and being, as the Marchioness had suspected, old enough to make observations, she had consequently become a censor — a circam- stance 169, THE WIFE AN2> Stance Lady Belllngham, beings very iiioclest in her self- estimation, had foreseen. Laura had also very sufficient leisure to arrange and combine her ideas ; and the result of this was much deep reflection in the head of the giddy girl, who not twelve months back had so much dis-- graced herself. CHAP. IX. R. ROTHEMERE had, in the early part of the last summer, taken a house on the sea-coast in Dorsetshire ; and as he still resided there with his Lady, Laura was sent across the country, to meet her unknown mother, by the appointment of Lady Melville, at Milborn-point. She left Bath, laden with presents and parting caresses from the Marchioness; and spite of the experience she had by a variety of means acquired of the very small THE MISTRESS. iSS jSKiall value to be attached to these indi- cations of favour, yet such is the force of habit, that she felt affected by them. From Lady Melville she received much sage counsel, and a letter to good Mrs. Rothemcre ; and from the Marquis, when he embraced her at the moment of sepa- ration with his accustomed symptoms of affection, she received a letter in the ad- dress of Pvlr. Rothemerc, of which she v/as enjoined to be careful; and more money forherov/n expenditure, than it was con- sistent with prudence to entrust her with. Doily still accompanied her as her at- tendant ; for Lady Eellingham observed to her mother, that the awkward savage was exactly calculated to vegetate like an oyster on a rock, which appeared to her to be likewise a very proper situation for the sublime Mrs. Rothemere. When Laura had entered the inn at Milborn-point, indicated by Lady Mel- ville to the servant who had accompanied her, she was met by a lady, who ad- vancing in silence, took her hand, which $he ardently pressed, and gazed with a varvnit; l64 THE WIFE AND varying countenance upon that of the young traveller, whilst she conducted her to an apartment she had quitted to receive her. Having shut the door, the lady burst into tears, and embracing Laura with fondness, her trembling lips pronounced in an inward tone — *' My child!" — But the sound had scarcely passed them, when she appeared earnest to recall it, or at least to efface the impression the words might have conveyed, by a prompt expla- nation that might render the sense of theni vague and equivocal. Making, therefore, an effort to recover her recollection — ** Am I compelled to announce myself to my dear Miss Delaunie," said she, '^ as the friend she expected to meet here, the former friend of her mother?" *^ No, Madam,*' replied Laura, in a timid accent; " I guessed you to be Mrs. Rothemere; and I think too — I think I remember having seen you.'* Again the tears gushe'd from the eyes of THE MISTRESS. 1^5 of the unavowed parent, and those of Laura filled from sympathetic emotion. *' Will you love me/* murmured Mrs. Rothemere, "*' and regard nie as the ten- der, the fond parent you have lost ?" ** Oh yes, I am sure I shall love you, if you are so good as to love me !" said Laura, returning her caresses. '* Have you," she resumed, rather ahruptly, ** a little baby at horiie ?^ ** No, my Laura, I have only — I have no child. Are you then chagrined at leaving Lord Traherne?'* *' Not very much," returned Laura, blushing ; *' but if I had had him at Airs. Ballioch's, I should have been very sorry indeed to be taken from him." At this moment Dolly entered, to say that the servant who had attended the carriage, begged the lady would write a word by him to his Lord, signifying that Miss Laura was safely delivered into her care. *' You are Miss Delaunie's maid ?'* said Mrs. Rothemere, hastily wiping her eyes. Dolly replied that she was. *' And l66 THE WIFE AIS'D '^ And you continue with her?' en- quired the lady. *^ Yes, if you please, IMa'am; my Lady Marchioness said as how I be." Mrs. RothemerC; pleased to observe the modest simplicity of the suivante, then wrote the billet required of her, which w^as merely a notification, under her signa- ture, that Laura Delauniehad been placed under her protection. She then begged of Dolly to enquire for her servant, and desire him to order of the people of the house a hack-chaise immediately ; and when she found herself again alone with her long absent child, she could not for- bear betraying symptoms of a tenderness and interest, that even to Laura herself could not appear the growth of an hour. ** You knew me then v/hen I was a little girl," said she, *' and lived with my mamma Stanmore? I thought I remem- bered, your face." " Yes, my Laura," replied the dis- tressed parent, after a moment of hesita- tion, *' I loved you then — 1 have ever loved you ! — Years of cruel separation — no THE MISTRESS. 167 HO lapse of time could weaken an affec- tion like mine ! and I shall be amply repaid, if you M'ill look upon me as the mother you have lost." ** Oh I shall be very happy indeed then!*' exclaimed Laura, her eyes spark- ling with delight; ** for no one," she added, with incautious haste, ** has loved me lately !" *' Not loved thee, my child?" said Mrs. Rothemere, with an aspect of tender anxiety. *' Not so much, I mean," replied Laura, rather embarrassed ; ^' but indeed I was not jealous of little VV^illiam ; for I thought him very pretty and very beau- tiful too — but then I loved every body I had loved before, just the same." JMrs. Rothemere sighed ; she compre- hended all that Laura had unweetingly let fall, and all that she meant to repress. ** And is it possible," thought she, *Hhat rid one should have loved thee lately 1 Could the pride of name, and a distinction humiliating, but not degrading to an innocent child— could it indeed avert a father's l€S THE V/IFE AND father's love ? Could not such a daughter preserve the wavering affections of his volatile heart — nameless though she be, and worse than motherless I" Laura, fearful that she had said too much, fixed her eyes on the ground ; and Mrs. Rothemere, gazing earnestly at her, was only recalled from her reverie by a notice that the baggage of the young lady had been afhxed to the chaise, and it awaited her leisure. *' We will depart then, my dear Miss Delaunie," said the mother, leading her to the door ; *' Mr. Rothemere will be im- patient to welcome you to our little ha- bitation." Laura thought the expressions and the manner of her new friend wonderfully cooled since she had betrayed part of the secrets of her late home ; and, as she could not divine that the change was merely occasioned by the presence of Dolly, and the servant of Mrs. Rothemere, she was inconsolable at the indiscretion she had been guilty of. As they travelled on, Mrs- Rothemere continued THE MISTRESS. 16^ continued this distant mode ofconductj because Dolly occupied a seat in the chaise M ith them ; and her Laura, mortified and pfieved to have lost the offered affection o she had lately learned the value of, shed tears for her supposed fault. IJer mother beheld them with pain ; but imagining them to be the result of a little caprice, or perhaps of regret for the gaiety and splendour slie was quitting, would not appear to perceive them ; but conversed with, and questioned her upon a variety of subjects, calculated at once to amuse her mind, and open the bias of tliat mind to the anxious parent. At length Mrs. Rothemere pointed out to )]er the dwelling she was destined to inhabit with her. *' You see it at present, my little friend," said she, ** to small advantage; but if I can have tlie happiness of ren- dering the winter tolerable to you in this place, 1 must hope that its attractions in summer will be almost a compensation for pdst emiuL. '' Oh I am sure I shall like it!" VOL. I. 1 exclaimed 170 THE WIFE AND exclaimed Laura, who had now almost re- gained her vivacity by the even and gentle kindness of her companion ; "I liked Mrs. Ballioch's house, but this is much prettier ; and in the summer per- haps I could have some little chickens. 1 wish I could have my poor little lamb. But Mrs. Ballioch promised to take a great deal of care of it ; and she told me the butcher should not have it, if he offered her ever so much." *' Perhaps," said ]\Irs. Rothemere, smiling, '' we could procure you a lamb." '' Could you indeed, Ma'am? I should like very much to have one to take care of," returned Laura; *' but I be- lieve I should not love it quite so much as my poor Billy, that I was obliged to leave at M in ton." '^ Mr. Rothemere is looking out for us," observed his Lady ; ^Mie is impatient to see his little promised guest." *' Oh dear 1 he is not at all like Mr. Ballioch," cried Laura, very much pleased A with THE MISTRESS. 171 with the want of resemblance; *' he is very handsome, and quite young/* '* Too young indeed," secretly sighed Mrs. Rothemere, '' in mind and man- ners, as in age !" The chaise had now nearly attained the house ; but her husband, with eager curiosity, advanced to meet it, and re- gardless of a shower which was then falhng, would have opened the door of the carriage to have taken a better survey of Laura, but that Mrs. Rothemere gently reminded him of the unfavourable state of the weather, and added her fears that the wet would penetrate his clothes. He received the hint with much appa- rent good humour, and alloM'cd the tra- vellers to enter the house without further impediment; but when Laura had been conducted to the dressing-room of her mother, whither he followed them, he very unreservedly expressed his admira- tion of her features and licr figure, con- cluding the animadversion with asserting that she was a little divinit}^ ** Do not be apprehensive, my dear 1 2 jNIiss 172 THE WIFE AND I\liss Delaunie," said the mother, with a smiling countenance and an aching heart, '' that we expect you to have ah'cady attained that excellence of nund and dis- position, that must be attached to the formidable and very comprehensive term Mr. Rothemere has rather too politely applied to you. We will endeavour to be as good as our nature v\'ill 'allow us to be, however; and without being divini- ties, I hope we shall be vtvy happy with each other.'* ^' Oh this is all very fine 1" returned Mr. Rothemere, with a careless air; " but with beauty and good humour a woman is always divine : and some years hence, our fair Laura will discover that I am right. — Are you a nice little romp ?'* added lie. '^ Shall I teach von to hunt and shoot? Can you play at trap- ball, and battledore and shuttle-cock.?" Laura smiled. ^'Oh I am sure," he resumed, shaking her very cordially by the hand, * that we shall be very good friends and play- fellows I" Laura THE MISTRESS. 1/3 Lraira was delighted : she thought Mr. Rothemere even more pleasing 'than his Lady, to whom she had from the first ir.oment of their meeting, taken a strong attachment; and in forming a very fa- vourahle comparison between her new'' protectors and those she had quitted, th.c letters with which she had been entrusted accidentally glanced upon her recollec- tion, and slie immediately delivered each according to its address. Mrs. Rothemere trembled as slie re- ceived the well known writing, and the faint colour of her check wholly left it : she regarded it a moment. ^' What ncNV injunction!" thought she; *' what further painful restriction ! Let it however rest 1" and the appre- hended mandate was for the present laid aside. Her husband, with a more sedate air than lie had hitherto worn, conten^platcd the impression of the seal affixed to the billet of the Marquis, and after some irre- solution, quitted tlie room to inspect its contents. I 3 ' The IZ-i THE WIFE AND The communication of Lady Melville to Mrs. -Rothemere, merely related to the already discussed subject of her renunci- ation of the claim she had once asserted to the guardianship of Laura's person ; and reminding her that the portion of her child was ascertained to her in the name of Delaunie — a circumstance the anxious mother had not forgotten, Lady Mel- ville expatiated upon the promise by which she had engaged herself not to disclose to her daughter the close affinity between them, and cautioned her not to suffer a moment of maternal weakness to betray her into a violation of her word. ** Hard condition !" exclaimed Mrs. Rothemere, when, in the absence of Laura, she had taken courage to read this dreaded scroll ; ** but I must submit !** She then adverted in idea to the letter of the Marquis, and dreaded she scarcely knew v»'hat. At length it occurred to her that it related to a pecuniary arrangement for the maintenance of Laura; but Mr. Rothemere did not confirm her suspicion by speaking on the subject, and she could not THE MISTRESS. 175 not overcome her own feelings sufficiently to enquire of hiiu ; though she very VN^ell guessed that his delicacy M'ould not sus- tain any sliock by such a proposition. To Laura she liou- looked for a coii-i- pensation of all the misery she had known, and all the ])resent inquietudes she en- dured. She discerned, with inexi)ressi'ble delight, that the original excellence of her disposition had not been destroyed by improper treatment; and though her manners were at intervals rather petulant and assured, she was yet pliant and good- humoured. Mrs Rothemere was sensible that her husband would sometimes undesignedly, and sometimes perhaps with an intention to teaze her, counteract the effect of those sentiments and principles she would en- deavour to infuse into the youthful mind of her Laura ; but she still hoped, by unwearied assiduity and perpetual atten- .tion, to form it as she wished : and she blessed the caprice that, aided by the birth of a son to the Marquis, restored to I 4 her 1/6 THE WIFE AKD her _ almost desponding bosom its only treasure and its only joy. " Mr. Rotbemere had very readily con- sented to admit Laura into his household, because lie hoped to find in her a play- thing, to relieve the ennui occasioned by the gravity of his wife, when her efforts to overcome it were fruitless, now that by extravagant follies he had banished him- self far from the amusements and asso- ciates to which he had been accustomed. A brother of his ' mother had been so much pleased with the prudence and amiable disposition of Mrs. Rothemere, that, though he had for some time vehe- Tiiently exclaimed against the marriage, he \vdd at length received her at his house, vvas charmed with her society, and at his death had bequeathed to his nephew a part of his fortune, to the amount of about seven hundred a-ycar. Mrs. Rothemere then hinted )]er v.ish that he would con- sent to relinquish her annuity: but- he disregarded any intimation u])on the sub- ject; and considerably increasing his esta- blishment, THE MISTRESS. 177 blishment, spite of her representations and entreaties, soon involved h inn self in diffi- culties wliich her conduct and economy could alone relieve him from. Of tliis he v/as fully sensible ; and as the situatioa of their present abode had pleased him in the summer months, she had successfully exerted all her influence to induce him to give up a journey to tlie metropolis in the v/intcr ; because if they parted with the place, it was uncertain if th.ey could again obtain it, and in the present situation of aifairs, it would have been' madness to have had more than one residence. Mrs. Rothemere regarded his impru- dencies, and the wayward hiumoms he sometin^ics exhibited, with regret, but without bitterness ; she ever remembered that, \a rcceivino' his name and h.is.leo'al protection, she had regained a respectable situation' in life, which the countenance and support of his family rendered more than ji^minal : and as she considered that iu tills respect he was entitled to her' gra- titude, she evinced it by endeavouring to render him, what his connexions wished I 5 him 178 THE WIFE AND liini to become— more steady and consist- ent than from nature, habit, or educa- tion she had originally found him. The task was pamful and arduous ; but with invincible patience and sweetness of dis- position, joined to a judgment that could discreetly veil the gentle restraints she imposed, she flattered herself with the hope that she advanced towards the goal, though slowly. In the early part of their marriage, Mr. Eothemere, either by want of skill or attention, had thrown her from an open carriage in w^hich he was driving her, when she was far advanced in her preg- nancy ; and the consequence being such as may be supposed, she had nearly lost her own life with that of her unborn child, and had never borne him any other, most fortunately for Laura, w^ho might not perhaps have otherwise been permitted by him to receive the maternal attentions of his wife. • • Sadden in his attachments, and violent as sudden, Laura very shortly became a sreat favourite with him ; he w^as her playmate, THE MISTRESS. 179 playmate, lier riding-master, the inciter of all the follies in which she was-engaged, and a constant declaimer against the cruelty of Mrs. Rothemere, who imposed upon the dear little girl such a weight of lessons of every description, that it was enough to break the finest spirit in the world. ** Does my Laura think me too rigor- ous r" asked the tender mother, when he had one day lelt the room, after having uttered one of his lamentations over her bondage in the trammels of education. ■ ** Oh no, my dear iJadam 1" said Laura, , throwing her arms round her ; ** whilst you love me, and care for me, and are so kind to take pains with me, how could I think so?^ Besides, you permit me to amuse myself, and run about three or four hours in the day; and if I remained out of your sight longer than that, I ehould be as wild as the deer at Adwan 1" '* You do not fear the prophecies of Mr. Rothemere, my beloved Laura, that you will become as moping and good for 1 6" nothing 180 THE WIFE AXD iiotlilno- that is sprightly and clever, as- your tVieiid and preceptress ?" " Oil I wish — I wish," she relumed, shaking her head with the energy of her wishes, *^ tliat I could but grow up to be like you ! — I should not mind — much — what IMr. Rothemere said tlien — and if any body else said I was gpod for nothing- sprightly and clever, and laughed at me, then I should smile as you do, and not gay a word : but now 1 am afraid I should go into a jjassion, and say I did not care what tiiey thought, and then cry with vexation." '^ Do you think, my Laura, you could not preserve more command over yourself than to shed tears,, and lose your temper, because your vanity might be a little outraged?" *' 1 erhaps," replied Laura, ingenu- cush^, '' I might try to behave better, for fear of incurring your bad opinion ; but I kno\v^ I should be angry to be laughed at or spoken ill of; it was that made me not so much mind leaving my ,mamma Eel- lingham : THE MISTRESS. I8i lingbam : I heard lier say to Lady Melville, wlien the door tras not quite shut, and I was looking at the pictures of my magic lantern in the next room, that I was a tiresome, unpleasant child ; and, besides that, I fatigued her so much with my ridiculous fondness, that she could not support it any longer. Eut slie was not so good as you are to me— she never told me how I wsls to behave to become ami- able, or told. me what I did that was so tiresome and unpleasant; so I might not have mended, if I had rem^aincd v/irh the Marchioness ever so lon^i;." ^' Yet you have many obligations to her," said Mrs. liothemere, endeavouring to repress her ov. n resentment at tliis art- less representation; '^ and I hope vou v/ill not think them cancelled by one lit- tle disgust, occasioned perhaps by some unremembeied fault of your ov/n.'' "There is one good-natured thing that I shall always remember with gratitude," returned Laura, kissing her afiectionate monitress with fondness : '^ she sent me to 182 THE WIFE AND to you, my clear mamma,*— pray let me call you my mamma I" '' No, my Laura— I — no!" replied the distressed Mrs. Rothemere, in faltering accents; ** call me your friend — your best, your truest, most faithful, most sincere, most tender of friends — and think me so 1" Laura saw that she was discomposed, and would not urge her plea : but it was the only unavailing request she had yet made her unavowed mother, and she felt mortified that it had been denied. Her mind, was not, however, formed to dwell long upon any unpleasant image, neither was she of an age to do so ; and Mrs. Rothemere soon dispelled her secret vex- ation by a more than usual attention to. promote her little amusements, and a still increased interest which she appeared to take in her society, her health, and gene- ral welfiare. CHAP. THE MISTRESS. 183 CHAP. X. HEN Laura had been in the protec- tion of Mrs. Rotheniere half-a-year, she discovered, througii the medium of Lady Melville, that the Marquis had informed her husband, the guardians of the child committed to tlie tenderness and care of his Lady, insisted that he shoald receive three hundred-a-year to reimburse him for the charges of her education, and every other expence he might incur for her: andliowever Mrs. Rothemere might recoil from this offered remuneration, vet she could not oppose it. But she now thoua'lit, as Mr. E^othemere chose to accept it, it would be expected that Laura should receive better instructions than it was in her power to afford her, in several quali- fications generally believed to be neces- sary 18-1' THE WIFE AND sary ones ; and slie did not oppose the In- tention be announced, of parsing the ensuing v. inter in London. In a very siiort tin.e Laura discovered the weaknesses ia his character ; and riiight perhaps Iiase forfeited his good opinion by betraying lier sense of them, had not his excessiv^e indulgence towards her, raid still more, the constant example of her revered friend, pointed out to her imitation a deference e\-en for his foibles, if they were not injurious to himself or others, and a silent ac(|uiescence in th.ose sentiments v.hich he happened to urge wiih any vehemence, that preserved peace and good-will on either bide. Yv'itli such a precep-tiess, Laura bccaiTie patient, retlecti^'C, and coiisiderate ; s.iC learned to observe faults and. follies Vvith- . out that petulant, yet momentary disgust Vv'hich so often and unlicedingly makes many breaches, and widens otliers. She no longer swelled v»ith anger of^en re- newed, at a recollected 'negligence, sar- casm, or affront ; but called to the aid of her youthful philosophy, the repeated Icssou THE MISTRESS. 185 lesson of Mrs. Rot'nemere, that she com- iiiltteclan almost ineparable injury against herself, when slie suffered her own peace to be disturbed hy the admission of pas- sions destructive of ease, health, and happiness. ^' Accustom yourself, my Laura," said tlie mother, " not to ])ermit the common accidents or little mortifications we are all subject to meet, to ruftle your ndnd ; and you will pass through life shielded from the effecjts of tritling evils, and better- prepared to encounter others — which Heaven avert from my belo\ ed girl !'' Years tolled on ; and Laura, contented, delighted with her 'lot, trembled even more than Mrs. Rothemere when a letter from Lady Melville was presented to lier frieufl, or a billet fr(jm tb.e ^Marquis ar- rived for herself, which might equally be a mandate most trying to her fortitude : even ]Mr. Rothemere on these occasions demanded in a tone of unccnrmon inte- rest, ^\ hat the news was. '' Only an enquiry," replied Laura, with a }et sh.aking hand and a sparkling 186 THE WIFE AND eye, if the question were addressed to her, '' only an enquiry if I am in health, and if I improve in music. — The ?\Iarquis sayS;" she once added, exhibiting the let- ter she had just hurried over, " that if I do not excel, he will send me back to you, when I visit him, tlie moment h^e discovers the failure. Oh I wish— I almost wish I could forget all I have learned, if such is the forfeit I must This visit had been spoken of more than two years ; and several periods had been appointed in which it was infallibly to take place : but it had been deferred, almost unaccountabTy, until Laura had nearly attained her seventeenth year; and by that time the stipend advanced for her accommodation in the house of Mr. Rothem.ere, was become to him an object of solicitude. In London he half ruined himself by a variety of extravagant whims, and in the country climaxed the madness by keeping two or three hunters, and belonging to a very expensive subscrip- tion pack • whilst his wife deprived herself of THE MISTRESS. 187 of every indulgence that could Ije allied to the idea of luxury : she dismissed the immediate attendant of her person, re- trenched the expcnces of her table whea- ever his accidental absence permitted lier to do so, and renounced every expendi- ture for dress that she could v/ith decency deny herself; but this availed her little, thoui>'h the faniilv of her husband ob- served her efforts with complacency and gratitude. A married sister of "Sir, Rothemere, whose name was Hamilton, revered and loved her: — this lady much admired Laura; and in her visits to the house of her brother, distinguished her by a par- tiality very grateful to the heart of the tender mother. 'Unconscious of the peculiarity of her situation under the roof she so much loved, Laura imparted to Mrs. Hamilton, with tears of apprehension and regret, those privations which she was now of an age to perceive were too often practised by her best friend; when her health shaken by the agitations of her mind, and her con- stitution 1S8 THE WIFE AND stitution enfeebled by the shocks it had formerly sustained, required every indul- gence, every watchful care, and a reno- vating system. Mrs. Hamilton sighed at the communi- cations of Laura, and reported them to her brother with the addition of her own for- cible representation, to check, if possible, his thoughtless career: but he would not credit tlie plea which she most strongly urged, of the failing health of his wife, and aifectfd to be displeased at what he called her silly parsimony. Laura became daily more uneasy and anxious for the event ; and unable to endure the consciousness of any extrava- gance in her own conduct, whilst her beloved Mrs. Rothemere was compelled to practise so exact an economy, she learned to restrain an indiscriminate habit of lavishing her uioney, ^\'hich she had too well imbibed in her childhood. The sum appropriated for her own use, she novi' carefully reserved for some present to \\QY best friend: and the mother, charmed, aflectcd, and. hurt at this proof of her sen- sibility THE MISTRESS. 189 Sibiiity and discerninent, was often compel- led to wound her aitectionate heart, by re- fusing gifts which she was ever multiplying. And now to comj)lete tlie misery of Mrs. Rothemere, and the inquietude of Laura, the Marchioness announced her positive intention of receiving her at Bel- lingham House the ensuing v.inter, that she might he in the way of obtaining a proper establishment. " How shall I gain courage to part with her!'* exclaimed the agonized mo- ther. — ' ' Her estabhshment ! — Oh Heaven ! is her choice to be directed by such a woman ! — What .do I say — will she be allowed any choice? — Some needy man, of dissolute morals, will perhaps be se- lected fur her, who will accept lur hand, that he may dissipate her poition and supply the want of further fortune by the expected exertion of Lord Bellingham's interest, or that of his friends : whilst my Laura, neglected, scorned ^and is she then — is my child born to such a fate?'' Mrs. Hamilton participated in the unhappiness she could only lament : s-he compassionated 190 THE \\TFE AND compassionated both I\Irs. Rothemere and her daughter; for she feared the separa- tion would entirely overwhelm the one, and that if the destiny of the other were to be controuled by the Marchioness and her family, she believed her person and property would be appropriated to the payment of some debt of honour, or that she would be disposed of to some conve- nient gentleman of the money-lending tribe, who would refund to the wife of the Marquis the cash received with his daughter, at an interest of fifty per cent, ; for to such noble and dignified expedients it was well known the fascinating Lady Bellingham sometimes resorted, to supply such exigencies as could not be unfolded to her Lord. Mr. Rothemere was far from being un- concerned upon the subject of general anxiety. ** AVhat a d d thing!'' exclaimed he, after a long fit of musing ; then whistling for some minutes a favourite air which Laura played, he thus pursued his reflections, but without expressing theni : THE 3riSTRESS. 1()1 them : '^ to lose at once three hundred a year; and the society of such a charming creature, who sings like an angel, and will be very obtain in 2: — ten to one else — ^when she gets amongst them ! — It will be some- thing though, to be entitled to nod a 'How are yer' to such a fine creature, in the circle she will be in ; and perhaps I may contrive to gain admission at Bel- lingham House ! — Faith; the whim of not suffering Laura to acknowledge her mother, v/as not so absurd as I thought it : I will try, at least, what I can make of it." The agonies of his v/ife, meantime, escaped his notice ; but he observed the dejection of Laura, and was flattered with the idea that he had his share in producing the regrets she could not stifle. The season so dreaded, rapidly ap- proached. !Mi's. Rothemere endeavoured to calm her increasing sorrows and appre- hension with the faint hope that her child might yet return to her : but when she contemplated the beauty she had ever thought too striking for the repose and happiness 152 . THE WIFE AND happiness of its possessor — wlieii she re* fleeted upon the abihty of the ^^Jarquis t3 promote ipost essentially the interests of any professional man, and procure a lu- crative post or sinecure place for an idler of fashion, who would chuse thus to entitle himself to the exertion of that ability, she exclaimed — ** My Laura is lost to me! — what have I further to live for? Ah, what indeed ! — merely to render lier miserable when she hears of tlie embar- rassments, the follies, the incorri<;ible thoughtlessness she will doubly deplore, because she too well perceives that I am doubly a sufferer by them !" This particular inquietude, however, was not destined to embitter the hours of her daughter; for Mrs. Rothemcre, as the moment drew nigh which was to de- prive her of Laura, found herself unequal to sustain the many anxieties that harassed her spirits, and was seized with a nervous fever that soon reduced her to the brink Of the grave. Lnura, in despair, could not be dragged from her apartment even by the strong representations THE MISTRESS. 193 vepresentatlons of Mrs. Hamilton, ^vho with solicitous kindness hastened into Dorsetshire, where her sister-in-law then, was, to attend her in her malady. The earnest entreaties of Mrs. Rothemere her- self could not prevail with her once duc- tile child to abandon tlie post she had taken by her bedside, which she 'occupied almost the whole of tlie day and night, in agonies of conflicting fears, wishes, and hopes. lier dying friend had expressed a wish to see once more her former attendant, Nancy. This faithful creature only quitted her service to marry a lover, who had {)atiently waited the performance of a long given promise, until her beloved mis- tress appeared to be comfortably settled ;' and then Nancy had accepted his hand, xand shared his humble fortunes, Mr. Rothemere, alarmed at length for the threatened life of a woman, who, spite of his levity, was still dear to him, and shocked at the extremity to which lie was conscious he had assisted to reduce her, wrote himself to Nancy, who had VOL. I, K now 19-^ THE WIFE AND now changed her appellation to Foster, and resided with licr husband in London, where they kept a small shop : but the poor Monian, to licr extreme grief, was entirely unable to attend this melancholv summons; for she had been confined only a fortnight in childbirth, and her sorrow at the unhappy tidings threw her into a tedious and dangerous malady, which she had not in any degree reco\^red from^ when she learned that her kind and re- spected lady Mas no more. The last hours of Mrs. Ilotheniere were serene ; excepting that she experienced with herself one stru2:«'le, Avhen an ardent wish seized her languid bosom to en> brace, ere she quitted the world, the dearest object of her solicitude, as her avowed offspring ; but she opposed to this her last inclination, her promise solemnly given ; and she considered too that the wish was selfish, as the know- ledoe of their near and dear affinity could only heighten and aggravate the severe anguish that had taken possession of her Laura. Yet THE MISTRESS. 195 Yet another motive restrained her, of still superior force. Laura now looked upon her dying preceptress as an example, in every sense, of the virtue she had iu- culcated ; and as the inconsiderate Mar- chioness had early intimated to the child her consanguinity with Lord Bellingham, she was avrare of the illegitimacy of her ])irth ; and the anxious mother dreaded lest the lessons she had laboured to im- plant in her mind, might in future, per- haps, lose a part of their effect, should the respect with whi<:h s]ie had been accus- tomed to regard tlie frail being who had instilled them with such a tremulous ear- nestness, be so rudely shaken, and should she sink, as she then must, so consider- al'ly in her esteem. To Mrs. Hamilton slie imparted lier sentiments upon the subject, and conjured liCY to leave her child in ignorance that it v,as to a mother she owed those cares vvhich, with her latest breath, she prayed might not lu^ve been exerted in vain. Upon Laura she fixed her last look — u\K)n Laura, who pale and tremi}ling, K 2 watched 196 THE WIFE AND watched witli a throbbing pulse each varying symptom ; down whose anxious countenance the tear of ano-uish often trickled unfelt, whilst she listened in breathless attention to the feeble accents of those lips which had so often pressed her own in the tenderness of maternal affection. Mrs. Hamilton wept ; her brother looked sad, and promised unasked, as a parting pledge of amity, to be ever the friend and father of Laura. Mrs. Ilotbe- mere pressed his extended hand in ac- knowledgment, and turned to his sister with a regard she well comprehended. '* Yes, I will likewise cherish her," re- plied this amiable woman ; '* if 1 am allowed the privilege, 1 will endeavour to become to this dear girl the friend— I hoped she would not so soon have lost !'' Laura, unable to speak her thanks, or stifle the conflicts that assailed her, sunk upon the bed; and thesiglit of her strong emotion accelerated the release of her suf- fering mother. She was taken from the sad scene, and never more beheld the tace THE MISTRESS. 197 face upon which her straining eyes most loved to dwell. IMrs. Hamilton was compelled to send the information of the event to the Marquis, that he might adopt what plan he should think most proper for Laura; but she intimated, at the same time, that she would take the liberty of immediately conducting Miss Delaunie to her own house in town, from which she hoped Lady BelHngham would not think it ne- cessary to remove her yet for some time ; as she expected to find in the society of the amiable Laura, seme consolation for the loss of a valuable friend. The Marquis and his family were then at Adwan, where; much against her incli- nation, his Lady had been compelled to do penance for several weeks, because she had neither money nor credit to con- vey her to a more amusing scene, without his express consent, which of course must be accompanied by an order upon the stev/ard, or major' doino, to procure a house, and furnisii the table of the Mar- chioness for an appointed time, at the K 3 place 198 THE WIFE AND place iiulicated : and unfortunately fc?r Lady Eellingham, she liad not retained sufficient influence to extort from her Lord a compliance with any request which at this moment she might have wished to prefer. Lord Bellingham received the letter ia Ifis library, where he happened to be alone: it contained a billet likewise from Lauia, expressive in some degree of her deep con- cern for the loss of her beloved and ma- ternal preceptress ; and hinting that as she was at present entirely unfit to mingle in a gay society, with satisfaction to her- self, or credit to her departed friend, she ventured to solicit that she might be per- mitted to avail herself of the kind invita- tion she had conditionally received from Mrs, Hamilton. These concurring testimonies of the esteem in which Mis. Rothemere was held by those around her, had some slender eifect upon the heart of the Marquis ; but }ie soon started from his reverie, and car- ried the letters to Lady Bellinghan> and to her mother, who, selon Vusage^ was now saving THE MISTRESS. 199 saving every household expence, except that unavoidable one of board-wages, by increasing the party of Emily at Adwan. AVhen their contents h.ad been looked over, the Marquis demanded if they could give liim any information concerning the character of this Mrs. Hamilton ; that is, if she were a proper person to be entrusted with the protection of Laura for a few weeks : and Lady IMelville, who possessed the liappy ait of knowing every thing% and had a general key to the history and character of every one, asserted that she was a very good sort of domestic woman, and might beallov/ed the boon she asked, without indiscretion. ** But,'' slic added, ^' were I permitted the privilege of advising you, my dear Lord, Laura siiould be removed to Bel- li ngh am House immediately after the birth (hiy ; . as Emily will then have an opportunity, during the season, of disco- vering what impression her appearance in the world w ill make, and in what style we might expect to establish her." . The Marquis, who' had no objection K 4 that 20 THE WIFE ANt) that others should relieve his mhid from the burthen of dehberatino- and sup-o-est- CJ DO ing, thouglit this very rational; and Mrs. Hamilton received a civil and gracious assent to her request. His Lady had listened to the plan pro- posed by her mother, in silence, but with- out appearing to dissent from it ; yet when they M-ere again tete-h-tele, she enquired if indeed she must inevitably sacrifice a winter in so cruel a manner. *' It is inevitable," replied Lady Mel- ville : ** independent of the advantages, which will more than counterbalance the chagrin this restraint upon your actions may excite, consider, my dear Emily, your unlucky situation ! — Are you even certain that, without such an incitement as the hope of disposing of this girl, the Marquis, in his present gloomy humour, would consent to your removal from Ad^•^an so early as you miglit expect? I cannot by the utmost exertion of thouglit, imagine even a partial remedy to your embarrassments without this expedient. Vrhen this av;kward girl returns to you — for THE MISTRESS. 201 for awkward and unformed no doubt she will be " ** Oh I cannot support the idea !" sud- denly interrupted the Marchioness : *' to be followed from place to place by a tall, sentimental, censorious iNIiss of seven- teen — calling me her mamma perhaps — who revenges all the disgusts she must unavoidably receive fiom, and inspire to my friends and associates, by detailing impertinent anecdotes to the domestic good sort of people, her mother's con- nections !" '* Lady Bellingham, 3'ou have com- pelled yourself to the necessity of enduring* this inconvenience, or the alternative pro- bably, of a lengthened banishment to Adwan I The Marquis, you well know, Emily, cannot at this monient relieve you from the clamorous impertinence with Avhich vou are besieo'cd, without mort- o-a^-ino- beyond-——" ** And Ao not others mortgage, even to tlieir last acre ! — Why should lie alone '* *' Emily," interrupted Lady Mchille, K 5 Mith £02 THE WIFE AXD with increasing gravity, *' is this a time to propose such a thing? — lias he not within these three months exerted him- self far be^'ond the utmost expectation we could have formed, to effect an accommo- dation between your sister and her Lord ; without his urgent representations, en- treaties, and remonstrances, Vv^ould slie not at this moment have been exposed to the impertinence, and sneers that attend diJaujC'pas half recovered ?" "■ Siie was very silly to suifer the affair to be hushed up," returned the Mar- chioness ; *' if she could have summoned courage to brave the ^r&i iciat, she might have' been blessed with a divorce from that precise, penurious Ronald. I know the other had promised to niarry her, if she v/ould venture the denouement ; and it is apparent to me that slie has conducted herself like a simpleton !"' Lady Melville trembled at tliis intima- tion, the tenor of which slie generally combatted with all the rlietoric in her power ; and liaving at length comj)elled her half mutinous daughter to retract this liberal THE MISTRESS. 205 iiberal opinion, she proceeded to enume- rate the advantages resulting from the residence of Laura at Bellingham House ; the neu'-modelling her wardrobe on lier first arrival ; procuring masters for her, who Mould not think of pressing for their ample remuneration, for some time at least; with many other convenient circum- stances perpetually occurring; and then the marriao-e Ladv Melville asserted, with proper management y would be a little mine to til em ! '' Bat wliat will all this do for me?" demanded the JMarcliioness : '* wiii one tliousand pounds, which is the utmost I can draw frxom this resource, pay twenty ?"' '' It will at least still the hateful mur- nuirs of your trades-people for the pre- sent,'' replied the prudent ir other, *' it* }ou can give them employment from which they hope to derive immediate Ijendit : and as vou have morta'atred vour pin-money for the three ensuing- ^■ears, it v.ill be ric'lit to secure somethini>- at least, for indispensable occa-ional expences. But you mistake the extent of this ]csoui-ce : K 6 if 204 THE WIFE AND if ihe girl marries either Averne, Liscombe, or Fermager, or any other man of the same pretensions, you will allow that he could not object to transfer three or four thousands, for the undoubted certainty of receiving almost as much annually, which, with proper management, we could engage the Duke of to pro- cure from Government, for past services ; with a survivorship of half the pension, a.^ usual, to the wife. This last consicler- tion must not be omitted ; — do not mis- take me — the husband^ of course, would care as little as you or 1 whether it were eifected or not; but as the girl most pro- bably is not entirely frightful, it will have weight with the Duke." The Marchioness was at length con- Tinced, or chose to appear so ; but she secretly experienced a violent en'iotion of most indignant anger, that her mother should have thought it possible for her favourite Averne to be influenced even by his necessities, numerous and urgent as she was well ascertained they Mere, t(> sacrifice THE MISTRESS. £0S sacrifice himself to such an insipid, im- formed, unmannered thing, as a giil must necessarily be, after having so long domes- ticated witli a woman, who of course, she decided, must have become a very starched prude, and a rigid Methodist to boot, (as she had neither rank nor fashion to bribe the judgment of mankind), ere she could induce people to believe that she was no longer the naughty Madam she had been* CHAP. XI. JUAUPtA was much pleased with the per- mission she received; to remain a few weeks with Mrs. Hamilton, who soon even found more reason than she sus- pected, to esteem the memory of her hapless mother, and extended to her young guest the affectionate interest Avhich the merits SOO THE "^VIFE AND merits of Mrs. Rothemerc had ever claimed from her. The circumstances of ?vlr. Rothernerc^ at the death of liis wife, >vere in so enibar- rassed a state, that as he had no longer the benefit of her annuity, and the handsome stipend allowed for l>aura — and what was even yet more important, as he had no longer an economic controuler, a coun- sellor, and regulator, he was compelled to place hiis afiairs in the hands of Mr. Hamiilton, Mho had been educat_ed in the study of the law, and A\as a man of strict probity: to this mark of confidence Mr. Rothemere was likewise impelled, in the hope that liis family would combine in a good-natured effort to heep him going. "Upon an investigation of his debts, it vas discovered that liis departed Mife had constantly been in the habit of privately lessening tiicm, to the utmost of her abi- lity : and had slie not practised a series of self-piivations, which no circumstance had sufficient }K)Mcr over I.er to induce her to discontinue; and vrliicli Mrs, ilauiikori THE MISTRESS. 207 Hamilton had received an intimtioa of from Laura, it must have appeared to her husbaifS and herself to exceed every pos- sible resource !Mrs. Rothemere could have j)Ossessed, Until tliis moment Mrs. iiamilton had feared that the rigid eco- nomy of his wife had merely operated stiil fartlier to empower her brother to pursue his expensive follies ; and when thus pleasingly undeceived, she coidd not avoid vet more ferventlv reverinjr the memory of her sister and her friend. Mr. Rothemere was soon informed that the estate bequeathed hiin by his uncle, already deeply mortgaged, must of neces- sity be sold to satisfy his creditors ; antl Avith the comparatively slender sum that M'ould remain to him after this enforced division, he was advised to re- enter th.e army, wliich he had originally been des- tined for, and taken a commission in, but Mhich he had quitted when the post- humous gift of his uncle rendered him careless of the promotion to which he no longer eagerly looked, either for an increase 208" THE WIFE AXD increase of consequence in tlie eye of tlie world, or an extension of income. lie readily coincided with the present views of his friends, because they did not strike at his independence ; and after having purchased a company in a march- ing regiment, he still found himself pos- sessed of about tNvelve hundred pounds, which he intended should exactly Jast until some d d lucky hit should rein- state him in the favour of Fortune. The death of Mrs. Rot hem ere did not «lra\v from him a single regret, after the immediate impression of the last scene w^as effaced : and in a few days he secretly congratulated himself that he was na longer clogged with the encumbrance of a wife, who, had she lived, could not have relieved him from the etfects of his dissi- pation, but by a long course of retrench- ments he had nei^er found any great incli- nation to wait the efticacy of. He had also begun of late, to form comparisons between her fading face and wan figure, and the blooming graces of her daughter, and often cursed himself for an idiot, for 5 . having THE MISTRESS. 209 having SO hastily thrown away his liberty, when had he retained it until his juf!g- n^ent and perception had properly ripenerl, he mio'ht have done so much better ; and most fortunate was it for his unhappy wife, that her constitution was not formed to run a long race with his patience ! When Captain Rothemere bade adieu to his sister and her young guest, on the day lie left London to repair to his quarters^ he enquired when iMrs. Hamilton would be compelled to part with her ; and having learned that Laura was expected to place lierself in tlie protection of the Mar- chioness towards the latter end of January, i^e told her he would endeavour to be iti tosvn in the spring, 'and should certainly make an effort to see licr at Bcllinghani House. ** We have hitherto been very good friends," i]Q added, **' and I shall be devilishly disappointed if my little Laura should be induced to forget me." ** That cannot be," she replied; *' I shall always regard witli esteem and iu- teist every one of the name of liothemeie T' '' But 510 THE AVIFE AND " i3iit suppose, " resumed he, laughing, *' I should be such a liickv fellow as to be required to part with my name, for the pleasant consideration of an estate?'* *' ^\VA thien,'' returned Laura, ** I must remember that my best friend re- spected you, and that you were her husband! — Can I ever fail to recollect hou' solicitous she always appeared that you should receive from me that deference and attention, your long continued kind- ness lias invariably challenged ?" " Take care, Laura," exclaimed he, gaily, '' I may remind you on a future day of this assertion, which I desire my sister to witness." Mrs. Mamilton pledged her opinion that the pupil of her esteemed friend would always acquit herself with propriety in every situation ; and then rather ;y}ruptly reminded him that his time was limitted — an intimation he took in good part, and embracing them both, he de- parted. As the* moment approached in which Laura THE MISTRESS. £11 Laura v/as to be taken from IMrs. Hamil- ton, she feit an increasing repugnance to the prospect of a residence ^\ith the Mar- chioness of Bellingham, as former scenes intruded unbidden to her memory : and her want of predilection for tlie ha- bitation of her father, and the society of his family and connections, v/as not de- creased by an unexpected and unan- nounced visit he chose to make her, at the house of her more obscure, but kind friend. Mrs. Hamilton was absent from liome wlien the Marquis, accompanied by a lady, whom Laura did not recollect to have seen before, desired admittance to Mivss Delaunie ; and scarcely embracing his dauij;hter, Lord Bellin^ham instantly presented her to his fair companion, and earnestly bespoke her future countenance and friendship for his young xvard. *' She is handsome!" exclaimed the lady, after having surveyed the half indignant Laura for a moment, her glass a rcelL *' Yoii 212 THE WIFE AXD *' You think SO !*' said the Marquis, iu an accent of mingled doubt and satis- faction. *' Most certainly; she is infinitely handsome; — she has been misrepresented entirely—where is Xh^ gauchcrk so much apprehended ?" Then presenting her hand to Laura M'ith a smile, she desired Lord Bellingham to announce h.er. ** It is Lady Harriet Clinton who thus honours you," said the Marquis; *' en- deavour to merit her good opinion, and you will obtain mhie." Laura bowed in silence : she now sud- denly recollected having heard, during her last residence at Bellinghan) House, some strictures upon the conduct of Lady Harriet, and certain expressions of con- temptuous import, that recurred to her with sudden and powerful effect, at the very moment she was thus called upon to perform the part of an obsequious prote- gee to this very assuming patroness, who instantly discerned her ill dissembled coldness of acknowledgment; but con- versed THE MISTRESS. 213 versed alternately ^vIth the IMarquis and his ward^ without betraying any resent- ment. Not so Lord Bellingham : his eyes pro- claimed his indignant anger ; and Laura, M ho vainly endeavoured to overcome her repugnance to reply with an apparent warnjth of gratitude to Lady Harriet, ^vho condescendinoiv desired tliat she might be considered her jrknd^ felt grieved and embarrassed by the glances of reprehension he (iv^xy moment cast upon her. At length slie was relieved by the de- parture of her undesired visitor, whom the ]\Iarquis assisted to her carriage ;' and then returning for a moment to Laura — *^ Whenn'jxt I see you," said he, with a frowning aspect, '' endeavour to impress me with a better opinion of the judgment of your late fi lend v> hen she pretended to form your manners ! Do not suffer me to perceive any more of this rustic insolence, or unwillingness to ackno^^'- ledge unmerited condescensions !' lie then left her, much shocked at this parting 214 THE WIFE AND parting compliment ; and Mrs. Hamilton, whoalniost immediately joined her, found her in tears. *' Lord Bellingham was quitting the house as I entered it," said she; " liis horses were at the door ; but I find he conducted hither a lady, .^^•hose carriage I think I met at the corner of the street. 1 hope, my dear Laura, his Lordship docs not claim you before the appointed timer" *' No, indeed !" returned she, endea- vouring to compose her spirits; *' the Marquis appears more inchned to banish jne for life from his favour and protec- tion, than to urge my return to his roof." Mrs. Hamilton appeared kindly cha- grined at this intelligence, whicii -Laura endeavoured to utter in a calm accent; and after a pause of apparent reflection, her friend asked if her female visitor were not Lady Hair let din ton. She replied that it was ; and Mrs. Hamilton ^\•as a^ain for some moments silent. '' May I enquire," she resumed at length, " if his Lordship thought proper to recommend \ on to her attention ? ' *' Yes, THE MISTRESS. 215 '* Yes, nry clear ^laclam, he diil/' said Laura, sighing at the result of this inau- s])icious interview. *' 1 am informed,*' continued ^Irs. Hamilton, '' that Lady Harriet is a very fa^cinat'ui'j: woman : is this vour idea of her r" *' 1 am sure I sliall much dislike her,'* returned Laura; " and if I cannot con- ceal my sentiments of her, the Marquis will not forgive me !" ^* Do you then know — lias any one officiously informed you/' asked her friend, " of a circumstance that certainly sliould not have met your car?"' *•' W'liat circun^istance do you speak of?" exclaimed Laura, in some alarm : and Mrs. Hamilton perceiving her to he entirely unconscious of the meaning of her allusion, wished to retract her last sentence, and entreated her not to uy^^q: an explanation of it ; a request Laiu'a pre;- vailed, u{)on hiCrscif, with souiC difticulty, to comj)ly with. Early in the following week, though.it yet wanted nearly a month of the tiuie api Pointed ^14 THE WIFE AXD appointed for her visit to Lady Belling- liam, she received a billet from her father, which directed her to excuse to her friend her sudden removal ; as it was accelerated, he said, by his wish of introducing her to the society of the Marchioness, and those of her intimates who now formed her party at Ad wan, before she appeared in town ; that she might, if she possessed observa- tion and docility, form herself in some degree to tlie manners lie wished her to acquire. A travelling carriage, he added, would attend Iicr the next morning, at any hour she might find it most conve- nient to send to Bellingham House to appoint. The coldness and unpleasant purport of this communication gave Laura much inquietude and alarm. *' I fear I luave much offended th.e ]Mar(juiS;" said she, presenting the man- date to Mrs. HaUiiiton, who read it with a countenance of increasing gra\ity. '* This is not tlien the general style adopted by Lord Bellingham," she asked, <* when he has hitherto written to you ?"* '' Oh THE MISTRESS. 21/ *' Oh no !— at least I think not,'* said Laura. " I unfortttnately displeased him by not appearing to welcome the advances of Lady Harriet Clinton M'ith the readi- ness and alacrity he thought necessary : and, on the contrary, I experienced a repugnance— a dislike that I cannot explain 1" '' The friendship I experienced for my sister," said Airs. Hamilton, ^' who loved you so entirely, and the interest I must ever myself take in your welfare, my amiable Laura, impel me to an imprudence that will disgrace the cautious discretion of a matron of my age. Yet I implicitly confide in your judgment and integrity not to repeat to any future friend you may obtain, the information I shall now oive you, that you may regulate your conduct upon it, and in the hope that it may be servjceable in directing your opinion of the degree of compliance and obedience due to those who have now — unhappily! the trust of your welfare and destiny. If on any future partiality you may imbibe for one of the individuals I may then have ^'^^' i. L appeared 218 THE WIFE AND appeared to delineate in terms too liarsli, yoa should think the picture I mean to present to yoU; officiously impertinent, recollect that my motive is disinterested, and that I can only be urged thus to com- mit myself, by my fears and my affection for you.'* At this exordium Laura trembled ; and taking the hand of Mrs. Hamilton, pressed it to her lips. '^ On your prudence and discretion then I rely, M'hilst I communicate to you the general degree of estimation in which some of those characters are held,, with whom you must from this time asso- ciate. You are expected to model your deportment, your language, and manners from the example of such women as Lady Harriet Clinton ; but in the name of her you most loved, and who Avholly merited your respect, let not the prin- ciples and ill-concealed vices they will betray, seduce you for a moment to the slightest or most minute imitation : 3-011 are very young, Laura, and your mind is ductile. Your father, I am compelled to say, A THE MISTRESS. 219 say, has not by any means been happy ia the^union he formed with the Marchio- ness; for she is, with the semblance of every gentle and amiable virtue, a com- pound of wilful error and wayward im- prudence, to speak indulgently of her. She has sported her whole life away on the brink of a precipice, and the balance of a straw would plunge her into it ! '* Yet you must appear to respectLady Bellingham, whilst you will, I hope, pre- serv'e unsulHed that delicate sense of inte- grity and honour her mind never knew, because she had not the advantaoe of such a preceptress as yourself. The Mar- quis — your welfare alone could force me to touch upon a subject so delicate — the Marquis has suffered himself to be car- ried into the stream of vicious dissipation, so common to men of J lis rank ! You must, my dear Laura, endeavour to stifle every indication of your \vell- conceived disgust against Lady Han let, -for she influences entirely the ,mind of your father, and you will be perpetually subject L 2 to 220 THE WIFE AND to encounter her, as with a sway so im- proper over the husband, strange as it may appear, she is the friend most approved and intimate of the wife. '* The Dowager Lady Melville is noto- riously artful and designing — fond of resorting to Machiavilian contrivances to repair the indiscretions of her daughters, wliich her own faulty education has occa- sioned, and making of every human being vithin her span, a property or a tool !— You think me censorious, Laura ; you believe, perhaps, that I am forming por- traits from my own distorted fancy ; but you will one day apply the likenesses, I fear, and think me an unprejudiced JVIaunder,' says he, * if I an't fit te laugll outright to hear hun and old Lady Mel- ville — she answering him v/hen he finds fault, all in such a civil way, Avhen she is ready to call him names for spite, if she did not think ic would be ungenteel ! — for,' says Mr. Pearse, * I know,' says he, ' they hate each other worse than eat and dog!" a "VV^ell, but, my good Dolly," sajd her young Lady, taking advantage of a mo- mentary cessation, '* are you not fatigued and sleepy ?" *^Lauk, no, Ma'am, I'm never tired in good company ! — I'm sure I didn't suspect to find such a number of genteel, agreeable folks here, w'hen we was riding all in the dark under them trees, that seemed to my mind like a great wood ! so the surprise you know, Ma'am, made it the more agreeabler. Why, Ma'am, we sat down two-and-twenty to dinner, and none under Lady's maids and wallets !" It was with some difficulty Laura suc- ceeded in dismissing her enraptured sou^- brette, who had been like other polite people, THE MISTRESS. 247 people, taking' her glass of Mar'eira at dinner, and had added to her gentility by taking a glass o^ liqueur m the evening ; a thing there was no possibility of resisting, because it had been handed round to the other ladies and herself by one of the inferior servants, on a salver : and she had therefore sufficient reason to suppose that she had now reaped a very ample reward for having quitted her native plains, and the cows she had been wont to milk. CHAP. XIIL JL HE next morning Dolly attended her young Lady by appointment, at nine o'clock. '* Lauk, Ma'am!" exclaimed she, open- ing the curtains witii a rueful aspect, there's only a couple of housemaids up, of women-sarvants, ail round the house I M 4 I'm 248 THE WIFE AND I'm sure, when they see me, they looked as if they had seen a ghost. — ' Lord bless me,' says they, ' one of us must go and light Miss Delaunie's fire, if she's going to get up so soon i'^And as for break- fast, Ma'am, I'm sure I don't kno\7 when v/e are to get it, not I. But we shall soon get used to their hours ; and I'm sure it's inuch more sensibler to lie snug in bed .such cold snov/y weather as this, than to he perishing about the. liouse, when folks hav'n't nothing in the v/orld to do 1" Laura would not appear to understand this hint ; and having at length dismissed Mrs. Maunder, she sat by her fire, re- flecting up.on her present situation, and the intelligence she had gathered from her communicative attendant, as well as from her own observation, of the state of her father's household. She imagined that the Marquis w^ould be earnest to discover if the instructions her beloved Mrs. Rothemere had be- stowed upon her, and procured from the talents of others, at an expence by no means THE MISTRESS. 249 means inconsiclerabie, had been well a[>- plied : and she trembled at the expected scrutiny, which she anxiously hoped the formidable Lord John would not assist at. Laura would now have employed her- self in Y/riting to Mrs. Hamilton, to acknowledge once more her kindness, and to inform her that she had reached Adwau in safety ; but on opening her escritoir, the ink, which she recollected to have been taken out for the journey, was not replaced ; and having twice rung in vain for the attendance of Dolly, to endeavour to supply this unremembered want, she gave up her intention perforce, for the present. Her heavy baggage v/as to arrive in the afternoon by a caravan, which almost daily conveyed indispensable articles of provision from the metropolis, which Ad wan and its neig-hbourhood could not produce. Laura had not yet, therefore, any book in her own possession .to amuse the passing hour; and fatigued at length with watching the falling snow, and re- garding a. pair of very beautiful little M. ^ inhiid 250 THE WIFE AND inlaid empty book-blielves in her apart- ment, which she promised herself should be filled by the following morningv she descended to the general breakfast- roo-m ; intending, if she found it empty, and un- prepared for morning guests, to take her dSjeune in her own dressing-room. But on entering it, she observed with aome consternation,' that it was occupied by Lord John Traherne and a stranger, who were pouring out their own choco- late, and conversing with some earnest- ness. Laura would have retired, after having exchanged with Lord Jciin a formal salu- tation ; but he desired her to remain, if she zvtre not better engaged, '' How long have you left your bed r" demanded he, as his coiiipanion drew her a chair near the (iie. She told him about an hour and a half. ** Good!" exclaimed liis Lordship; *' and have you had your breitkfast ? ' '* No, my Lord: I meant to have waited the rising of Lady Bellingham ; but 1 suppose " '* You THE WISTRESS. ^Sl *' You would be famished, child,** in- terrupted Lord John; *' and besides, the Marchioness takes her breakfast in her dressing-room with Mrs. Cruden — and Lady Melviile, and Lady Harriet," pur- sued he, dwelling upon the name of each Lady with a peculiar emphasis of disap- probation ; *' and you must not expect to be admitted to their aoodlv conferences I" Laura felt embarrassed in what manner to reply to this innuendo : but the stranger, whom she believed by his appearance to be a clergyman, relieved her by offering at this moment a cup of chocolate, the only beverage the table afforded ; and Lord John had not the most remote idea of so far consulting her taste, as to enquire if she preferred any other. ** How do you intend to employ your- self this morning r" resumed his Lordship abruptly. Laura felt her cheeks suffused at this unexpected enquiry ; but immediately replied that she meant to write a letter of thanks to Mrs. Hamilton, intimating her M 6 urrivaL Q59, THE WIFE AND arrival at Ad wan, v/hlch her kind friend had desired to learn from herself. ^' Lady Bellingham," she added, ''M'ill then, perhaps, condescend to flirect the further disposition of my time." *' Hem !" ejaculated Lord John; ^' but' suppose she should not find leisure — or inclination — to direct you, how would you then manage to pass your long morn- iiigs?— for I think you are rather too young, and 1 hope too reasonable, to spend them v/ithout any employment, or any advantage." '* If the Marchioness," hesitated Laura, much distressed at this close enquiry, and the comments attending it^ *' if the Marchioness should find it impossible, or inconvenient, tO' trouble herself in di- recting my occupations, I must endea- vour perpetually to remember the kind and tnaternal injunctions of Mrs. Rothemere, never to lose or misuse that time which the utmost eiforts of subsequent industry can scarcely retrieve, but which no efibrt can recall !" '' Hem! THE :\irSTRES3. Q5B '* Hem! well! — and suppose I could introduce you to a good woman, a sen- sible woman, a v/ell informed woman, who would perhaps occasionally refresh your memory in this particular, and illustrate Xhe surest means of obeying this injunc- tion of ]\Irs. Rothemere ?" '^ Indeed, my Lord," said Laura eagerly, *• I should ever recollect the benefit with the liveliest gratitude." ** "Well then, observe that small stone house, which can be distinguished amidst those leailess oaks — it is the Rectory of Adwan. Mr. Aubrey is the present master of that house," he continued, pointing to the stranger, who bowed to Laura witk an air of complacency : *^ the woman I speak of, is his wife ; who is all that I have mentioned, and more than I have K^entioned— for she is above comnienda- tion : go to her to-morrow morning, if the weather will permit, and tell her I hope I send her a good girl ; — tell her I request her to become your friend 1" *' Ah ! just such a friend," exclaimed Laura, witkan emotion she could not con- troul; 254 THE WIFE AND troul, *^ so good, so esteemed, so empowered to advise, the grave has torn from me !" The rigid features of Lord John re- laxed, and Mr. Aubrey regarded her with commiseration. *' If I may presume," said he, *^ to second the proposal of his Lordship, that you will honour the Rectory Avith a visit, it will be with the double view of pro- curing for 'Mrs. Aubrey the pleasure of your society, when you can witli conve- nience give it her, and in the hope of proving that the panegyric you have now heard, is a just one. — The only unpleasant circumstance that can result from it, will be the regret in which your removal from Adwan will pkmge us ; whilst you, sur- rounded by friends and approved asso- ciates, will scarcely miss the attentions,, however zealously tendered, of the coun- try parson's wife," * * If I thought so, " observed Lord John, with a returning sternness of aspect, ** I ^vould not recommend to Mrs. Aubrey to thi'owaway her attentions so unprofitably !" ** Ah no, my Lord!" said Laura, wiping THE MISTRESS. ^55' wiping the tears from her eyes, " the friendship of ]Mrs. Aubrey, as you de- scribe her, must be invaluable : and^ I hope, if I am fortunate enough to obtain it, I shall not be so inconsiderate or im- prudent as to cast such a gem from me !" '* Good 1" returned Lord John : *' tc- Tnorrow then aye, I believe I can go with you ; — if not, my friend Aubrey will come hither, and conduct you. You have , no occasion for a chapefwn ; the country parson's wife does not attend so much to form as to essentials — carry a fair cha- racter, and she will receive you. I shall in- form the Marchioness of this arrangement, and I suppose she will not object to it." *' Atall events, then," said Mr. Aubrey, *' I will call here ; and I shall hope to have the honour of escorting both your Lordship and Miss Delaunie to the Rectory." Laura made her acknowledsyment witli leturnlng cheerfulness to Lord John and his friend, and then withdrew to fulfil Iier intention of writing to Mrs. Hamilton. She found Dolly unpacking and ar- langing the baggage she had been allowed 3 to ^56 THE WIFE AliTD to bring with her ; and having sent her to procure some ink, iniparted to i,?r kind friend, witli a satisfaction that doubled by reflection, the interest Lord John Tra- heme appeared to take in her welfare, and the benefit that she had so much reason to hope ^\'0Hld result from it. Laura having performed this duty, re- paired to the nursery apartments, to keep her appointment with the children, who were delighted to see her; and as tire pleasure of the interview was mutual, she did not quit them until three o'clock, when she received a summons to attend the Marchioness, whom she found at breakfast, accompanied, as Lord John had supposed, by the Dowager Lady Melville and Mrs. Cruden ; but Lady Harriet was not present. *' My dear Laura," said Lady Bel- lingham, extending her hand to her young guest, ** I could not yesterday yield to my inclination of conversing with you as I wished, and uttering the siiany kind things my affection prompted.'* Then turning to her mother— *' iicW wonderfully^" THE MISTRESS. ^57 wonclerfally/'.she added, *' the figure of our Laura is embellished ! She is really a sweet girl T' Lady Melville assented; but observing that this commendation did not appear to confer as much satisfaction as her daugh- ter most probably expected — ^* I understand likewise," pursued her Ladyship, " that Miss Delaunie is as pru- dent, as considerate, and as amiable as her countenance v/ould intimate," Laura bowed. — "- What is all this com- plimentary introduction to lead tor'' thought she. Lady Melville, whose penetrating eyes were fixed upon her's, drew her to a seat near her own, and again changed her mode of attack. '^ I was much grieved, my dear child," she resumed, '^ when I learned the loss you so unhappily sustained, of a friend so attached, and m hom you have so muck reason to deplore, as my esteemed Mrs, Eothemere 1" Laura sighed, but restrained her trem- bling tears ; and Lady Melville was pro- ceeding S58 THE WIFE AND ceeciing in a pathetic strain, whilst the Marchioness, with her head turned from them, was looking over a newspaper that lay upon the table, when a loud knocking at the dressing-room door preceded the entrance of Mr. Sandbv. */ ^' Did you ever see such weather !" ex- claimed he very abruptly, and walking without ceremony to the window;- *' I certainly cannot go in such weather as this ! Surely Madalina will not be so mad a« to expect me in such cursed weather as this I'* *' I dare affirm that she would be grieved,'* returned Lady Melville, '* if she supposed that you M'ere exposed to it!" '^ Does your Ladyship think so? — Well then, I can now determine the bet with, some comfort. That fellow, Averne/' he added — the IMarchioness turned to him with a mien of enquiry — ^' bets a hun- dred guineas that he wins of me five games out of six, at white or red, winning. or losing!*' Lady Beilingham laughed. '' Poor THE MISTRESS. £59 " Poor Sandby !" she exclaimed. '* Do you play immediately ?" ** He is now waiting for me," replied Mr. Sandby, seating himself with much composure by the side of Laura, wlio was secretly lamenting the destiny of the luckless Lady IMadalina. ** Miss Delaunie," said the lovei-, *' why did you suffer yourself last night to be frightened off the field by the cynic? May I lose the bet now pending, if I had a lucky hit after you vanished! — Averne says that Lord John had you to preside at his breakfast this morning ; and the laughing fellow swears he must have looked like a well-shaved, sulky, old Jupiter quailing black nectar from the fair hands of Hebe 1" This reported wit was followed by a laugh of commendation, begun by I\Ir. Sandby himself, in which Mrs. Cruden joined heartily, Lady iMelvJlle complai- santly, and the Marchioness very faintly; for she did not by any means approve of that part of the simile that related to Laura. '' Miss 260 THE WIFE AND '* Miss Delaunie must be in singular favour with my Lord John," said Lady Melville, " to have been admitted to his society in the morning. I congratulate you, my dear Laura, upon a circumstance that indicates his Lordship's conviction of your merit." Laura endeavoured to explain that the association had been merely accidental. '^ No, believe me," interrupted the Marchioness, '' you would not have been aduiitted to the iionour of silting vvdth him, had you not becouic, as my mother asserts, a great favourite ; an effect most certainly of those merits so apparent to ever}^ one." This sentence was uttered with an air cf mingled raillery and pique that entirely disconcerted Laura ; and before Lady Jslelville could soften the impression it had evidently made, Mr. Averne claimed a momentary admission, under the plea of seeking his" proposed opponent at the billiard table. *' In the situation I now find you,'* said he, addressing the runaway Knight,. *' it THE MISTRESS. 26l ^V it would be absurd to enquire how it happened that you forgot your engage- ment." *' Have you really made this desperate bet which he has now mentioned to us?" asked the Marchioness, with her most "vs inning smile. '^ \^ ill your Ladyship venture another upon my success ?" he returned. *' Do," cried Sandby, '* to encourage him — do! And Miss Deiaunie, your fair Hebe, will bet fifty on my side!" '* Oh no I" exclaimed Laura, •' I have not so much money in the world ; and if I had -" ** You would not find yourself suffi* ciently courageous to brave the expected comments of Lord Jolin,"' said Mr* Averne, supplying the rest of the sen- tence. The Marchioness now expressed an in* clination to adjourn to the billiard-room ; and telling Laura she would not tempt her to incur the fulminations of her new friend, desired her to amuse herself as she thought proper. She QGQ the wife and She received this liint without any regret at the exclusion it was meant to indicate; and instantly withdrawing, proceeded to the library, which she properly guessed was entirely deserted, and taking a book to her apartment, amused herself with it^ contents until it was time to arrange her dress for the evening. A few- moments before the dinner wa« announced, she beheld the IMarquis for the first time during the day : he nodded a greeting as she was advancing towards him, and then continued a desultory con- versation, in which he happened to be en- paoed with Lord Melville, who did not even deion this slender mark of recoo-ui- tion towards the mortified Laura, who felt disconcerted at being thus palpably disre- garded by her father* She learned, from several intimations given whilst the party were at table, that Mr^Sandby had lost the adventured hun- dred pounds, and that he luid accepted challenges from others, to endanger ten times that sum ; so that Lady Madalina was destined to the disappointment of * vainly THE MISTRESS. Q6S vainly expecting him for three or four davs at least. L^ura experienced, perhaps an equal chagrin upon this occasion with tlie de- serted lady, when this thoughtless youn?'' man, towards the conclusion of the repast, exclaimed — ** Lord John, I must inform you that your Hebe——" *' Sir," interrupted Lord John, in a voice of anger and disdain, *' address yourself to some other; — I am too old to tolerate fully such as this 1" *' Hear me, my Lord. — Your Hebe would have lost fifty guineas this morn- ing most inevitably, had not Averne, here, your Lordship's approved friend, "who is modelling himself upon your sys- tem with great diligence, had he not re- minded her that she would get auger if your Lordship should hear of it : so she drew in, and saved her cash.'* Laura, chagrined at this ill-directed effort of pleasantry, regarded the coun- tenance of her stera Mentor with some apprehension^ ** Sandby, 264 THE WIFE AKD *' Saiidby, my Lord," said Mr. A^TrrlCj in a tone that was meant to be concilia* tory, " is privileged at this moment to be a wit, if he finds consolation in it : and I hope your Lordship will have the humanity to assent to my assertion, when I inform you that he is far from having been as prudent as the lady he alludes to ; for he has neither saved his cash nor his credit." ** And pray, Sir," demanded Lord John, with a very rigid air, " who is the iady he has alluded to?" *' A lady in the clouds, my Lord," replied a very red-faced and repulsive looking man, who perceived that the Marquis disapproved of this attack upon. Lord John. *' Sandby," lie added; ''dis- covered her, I suppose, as he was finishing his bottle of Champagne: so with the Champagne and the lady for his aides- de- camp, he contrived to hole both white and red ball at* the next stroke!" '• You do well," growled Lord John, '*to commemorate his exploits ! — I never heard he was renowned for any thing but striking THE MISTRESS. 265 Striking Ins fortune into the pockets of the profligate: — when he has wholly de- prived himself of the power of doing that, the breath of Fame will never make a single echo resound to his name !'' ^* Your Lordship's jest is rather bitter!" observed tlie Dowager Lady Melville, in a cold accent. " Madam, I do ;/c».^ jest!" replied Lord John, in the same grave tone. '' What a detestable being !" whispered Lady Harriet to her dear friend, the Mar- chioness : *^ I think he might very pro- pel ly be popped into a strait- waistcoat, aud sent to Dr. Willis !"' Before the dinner was concluded, it was very evident that Mr. Sandby was com- pletely inebriated : — he appeared well dis- ])osed to make a second attack upon Lord John; but the Marquis called him to order, and he would then have directed some absurdities to Laura, had not ATr. Averne and the red-faced stranger diverted his attention. She was pleased when the children wei'e admitted ; because their appearance inter- voL. I. N rupted S1.66 THE WIFE AND rupted for the momenta strain of conver- sation very irksome to her : but it was -likewise productive of an incident that gave her much pain and inquietude. Lady Harriet Clinton visually affected extreme fdndiiess for Lord Traherne, and Avhen he had properly journied round the table, she called him to her : but he pre- ferred a post at the elbow of his new friend, Miss Delaunie ; and neither the entreaties nor allurements of her Ladyship could draw him from it, though they Avere seconded by all the persuasions Laura could use. The Marquis rising suddenly, rung the bell with violence; and when a domestic obeyed the summons, he received a com- mand to convey Lord Traherneto his own apartment. As the culprit was led away, for he even then obstinately refused submission, h€ repeated — '* I like Miss Delaunie best!" adding, with passionate indignation, ** I don't like ugly Lady Harriet!" Laura trembled, and her father frowned : whilst THE MISTRESS. 2^7 %\hilst the outraged lady laughed at the naivete of her ungrateful favourite, though at the same moment she cast a glance of smothered contempt upon the innocent object of his childish preference. I\ir. Sandby swore he was a fine fello^r: and meaning to commend his independ- ence, very unguardedly extended the eulogium to his taste — a lapse of polite- ness not unnoticed by Lady Harriet; who acknowledged that the opinion of the commentator in this particular instance was just : but she concluded with a sar- casm, implying her diffidence of his gene- ral ability to judge of any excellence of taste ; except indeed, that he might be qualified, by great industry, to pronounce upon the preferable (qualities of Burgundy and Champagne. The Marquis extremely applauded this impromptu, and from his example it was confessed to be a very happy retort : but Lord Melville, m ho was much hurt at the folly of his intended brother-in-law, Mas not in the smallest degree charmed with the too perfect sincerity of his satirists N 2 lis 208 THE WIFE AND His Lady too was at this moment reflect- ing, with secret indignation, that a wo- inan so very inferior to herself in personal charms as Lady Harriet,' should have fas- cinated the attention of such a distin- guished personage as the Marc^uis, whiUt she experienced the mortification, after her seco}id uuptmls, of finding herself entirely disregarded by the men of haiit ton, as a being of no further consequence : — indeed- it had been hinted to her that she had run her race, and reached the goal, and she ought, therefore, to follow the general routine of conduct upon the same occa- sion, and settle into a quiet domestic wife, since the temple of Fame was no longer open to her, and she could not hope, from the tenor of those grovelling ideas that governed a certain president of a certain court of justice, to soar above her cotemporary eininents by a second divorce, even in favour of her first Lord. The evening was devoted to the same purpose as the preceding one ; but the Marchioness informed Laura that she might THE MISTRESS. £^9 inight retire uhen she thought proper, and that she had her entire permission to pass as much of her time at the Rectory as Lord John miglit take it into his head to require: and from his Lordship she re- ceived, when he bade her good night, a laconic invitation to attend his breakfast- table exactly at nine the next morning ; a circumstance that defeated the hopes of Mrs. Maunder, of being allowed to in- dulge in die general system of the ilegantes of the mansion, of not rising until the sun was declining; indeed she was so much offended at the rigour of a com- mand to attend the levee of her young Lady at eight, that she did not deign to communicate to her the further disco- veries she had made of the little arrange- ments of the family. N 3 CHAP, ^70 THE WIYE AND CHAP. XIV. In the morning Laura again found Mr. Aubrey with Lord John'; and as it was a clear frost, and the path to the Rectory tolerably free from snow, she accompanied them thither with ease and alacrity. Mr. Aubrey, however, expressed a fear that she would suffer from the cold. ^* Oh no!*' returned La«ura, smiling; *' Mrs. Rothemere took care to suit my constitution to the climate I was most probably destined to live in ; that I might not be compelled to spend half my life in making an artificial climate to suit my constitution." ** Good!" exclaimed Lord John ; ** she was a sensible woman." '* She v/as indeed, my Lord. But if Mrs. Aubrey will have the kindness to interest THE MISTRESS. 271 interest herself for me, I will endeavour not to repine at my loss." ** We shall see what can be done," he replied, with an accent of complacency : *' here she comes !" Mrs. Aubrey had walked forth to meet her expected guest, accompanied by two fine boys, who were leading their little sister, a rosy girl about three years old, and conducting her carefully in the path, which was rather slippery. The whole group now appeared : and Laura was ' much pleased with it, and equally charmed with the figure and countenance of the mother, who professed herself highly flat- tered that Miss Delaunie should brave so keen a wind to seek her little dwellins;. ** If she had not been willing to disre- gard such a trifle, my dear Madam," said Lord John, ** she should not, by my recommendation, have sought it at all! — She is here, however ,■ — 1 am anxious for her future welfare, and therefore I bring her to you." *' I am grateful for this pleasing proof of your Lordship's esteem/' returned Mrs. N 4 Aubrey, 272 THE WIFE AND Aubrey, taking with a com[>]acent air the hand of Laura, whom she led forward ; *' and I hope to render it not displeasing to Miss Delaunie/' Laura endeavoured to acknowledge her sense of this encouraging kindness ; but the manner of her new friend, which in some degree resembled that of Mrs, Rothemere, gave her sensations that hn- peded her utterance ; and Mr. Aubrey remarking her emotion, hastened the Httle party, and in five minutes Laura found herself seated by a cheerful fire in an apartment of the Rectory. The children v/ere not excluded the societ}^ of their parents, and she observed amidst the play- fulness natural to their age, a propriety that charmed her, and heightened the opinion she had ah'eady conceived "of Mrs. Aubrey : the respect they mani- fested for Lord John was unmixed with fear ; and his deportment in the house of Mr. Aubrey was grave indeed, but with- out any tincture of austerity or reprehen- sion. Wlien he rose to depart — '' You have nov>/' said he, addressing L-iura^ THE MISTRESS. 273 Laura, '* found yvour way bither, and have been welcomed : I shall discover if you are wortby of tbe distinction by the frequency of your visits; and I shall con- jecture the contrary, if you are slow in seizins: an advantag-e vou have sense enough to enable you to estimate pro- perly. I believe, however, you are a good girl — I believe you will not disgrace my recommendation, and in that case I shall be sati^iied with myself and with you." Mrs. Aubreys aiid her husband softened this homely, plain dealing, by all the suavity and apparent consideration which the most amiable disposition, aided by good sense and good breeding, could prompt ; and Laura left them full of esteem and admiration. Lord John conducted lier, on her re* turn, to a spot where she could be dis- cerned from the othces ; and then, con- ceiving her to be safe from accident or - insult, he turned oif to visit the old stew- ard, who was, he saivl, confined to his bed. with. a rheumatic fever. f* He has been/' added Lord John; N 5 ' '* afuitiiful. }^7^ THE WIFE AND *' a faithful servant of this house for three successive generations; and he must not be neglected." Laura reflecting upon this trait of con- descending kindness in cross Lord John, pursued her way, well pleased with the effect of his unexpected partiality to her- self. It was nearly two o'clock when she reached tlie mansion ; and imagining that the Marchioness might be visible, she re- paired to her dressing-room door, and sent in an enquiry if she might hope to congratulate her Ladyship on being re- lieved from a cold, of which she had com- plained the preceding evening. Lady Bellingham, who had scarcely quitted her bed ten minutes, returned a civil answer, but did not accompany it with any invitation to remain with her at her breakfast; and Laura, satisfied with having performed what she believed to be a rejquisite act of attention, withdrew, not in the least displeased with the neglect. The piano-forte of Mrs. Aubrey had remindtd her that her father had dwelt much upon his expectations of her pro- ficiency THE MISTRESS. Q7 5 fieiency in the only science he regarclecl, or possessed a taste for ; and though he was at present too much displeased, or too indifferent to her, to scrutinize her obedience to his repeated injunctions, yet she dreaded lest his sudden command to display her elticiency in a talent Mis. Rothemere had been particularly attentive to cultivate, niight find her unprepared to do it the honour her anxious friend had been solicitous it should obtain from the Marquis. ** He cares little," thought Laura, with a sigh, '* whether my mind be properly directed, and my temper and disposition freed from those irregularities the indul- gence of Lady Bellingham formerly en- couraged : he merely wishes me to possess showy attainments, because other girls are made to pretend to them !'' This ungracious reflection, winch the entire disregard of her father had urged, was soon however checked by the well- remembered lessons of Mrs. Rothemere — lessons that forbade her to corrode lier heart by dwelling with bitterness upon an N 6' , injury Q76 THE WIFE AND injuiy she might really have suffered, lest she should hecome too susceptible of others merely imaginary. To the music saloon then slie directed her steps ; and as there was no fire in it, she found it intensely cold, and observed that every instrument it contained was in a very evident state of neglect : but she would not allow herself to be discouraged ; as those that belonged to herself, remained, at the house of Mrs. Hamilton until the Marchioness should give directions con- cerning them, she could not otherM'ise preserve the excellence to which she had attained, but by using the neglected forte-piano as she found it, and putting the harp of Lady Belli ngham into better, condition. Having laboured for some time at this, task, she was compelled to seek the fire in her own apartment, to re-animate her half- frozen fingers ; and then, with re- newed resolution, returned to her employ- ment. The brilfiant tones of the harp de- lighted her : and she was drawino; them forth with considerable judgment and skill, THE :\iISTRESS. ^77 skill, when the voice of the Marquis, im- mediately behind her, made her start ia surprise and affright from her seat. '** Ah; my Lord !" she exclaimed, with a mien of inquietude, *' I was playing, carelessly." '' Indeed, Laura!*' he replied, in a tone by no means discouragiug; *• can you then execute still better?' '* I think so — I hope so 1" slie re- turned, almost unconsciously exhilarated by his approving aspect: *' I did not know that your Lordship l-ad been pve- ieiit, or I would have exerted myself *' Continue then," said the Marquis, " and I will again attend. But stay — it is so devilishly cold here!^ — Pearce shallr take the harp to the library, and I M^ill sumnion Fermager and Averne to listen to you : they are acknowledged judges both of execution and composition, and their suffrages will be important to you!'* He now quitted the still trend^ling Laura, and returned to his dressina'-roonu ^vhich she then recollected to be in tlie same 2"'8 THE WIFE AND same suite of apartments, and very near the music saloon. As the INIarquis had not long risen, he was dressing when the sounds caught his ear that hastened the operations of liis toilet, and led him to occasion Laura the surprise she so little expected. He called to his valet to remove the harp ; and the man, followed by Lo:d Bellingham and his apprehensiv^e daughter, conveyed it as lie had been directed. A hrealcl^ist equi- page was then ordered into the librar}^ and the two judges, announced and ap- pointed by the Marquis, were entreated to attend. Laura found a tremor stealing over her nerves, that almost disqualified her for the task assigned her ; but summoning to the aid of her receding courage the remem- bered commendations of her disinterested friend, who never approved or disapproved but with truth, she again displayed to a father, indijferent to any merit but that which was external or collateral, th.e talent that alone had power to awaken his atten- tion to a, deserving child. THE MISTRESS. 279 Mr. Ferniagerj whom Laura nov»' re- cognised as the ugly red faced man Mhom slie had before particularly re- marked, praised her taste and execution in warm, but general terms ; but Mr. Averne, with a very insinuating air, pointed out to the Marquis v/here she particularly excelled. *' You are a good little girl," said Loid Bellingham, taking her very cordially by the hand : '' you have been very attentive to my recommendation. Can you sing?"' *' A little, my Lord," she replied, much pleased, notwithstanding her late rejection, to have obtained by any means the good-will of her father. When he had heard her — *' You have more taste tlian voice," lie observed; *' however, I am very well satisfied with you — you are a very good girl !" '* 1 judge ill," said Mr. Averne, '* if Miss Delaunie has not a greater compass of voic'e than her timidity would allow us at this moment to perceive." He then proceeded to commend its tones, and concluded with ;i short, but 5 animated 280 THE WIFE AND animatcfl panegyric upon her whale per- formance : and Lanra might perhaps have experienced some part of t'lie delight and ^ratiUule his condescension was meant to inspire, had not the character traced by Mrs. Hamilton, intervened between the seduction of praise Vy^ll conceived and well applied, and the partiality it excites in the heaVt it flatters. Laura was now retiring; but the ■Mar- quis, suddenly detaining her, desired her to remain. *^ I will ask Lady Harriet to take the trouble of hearing you," said he: ''I wish you to be wholly approved by— those who can so well decide." Mr. Averne instantly left the room, to request the honour his Lordship was de- sirous of obtaining, and tlie co-adjutant judge seized the opportunity of stealing away to the billiard-table, upon which ]iis thoughts had been for some time fixed. " Laura," srtid the Marquis, whea they were thus- left iete-aleU\ " I have been chagrined to o]}servc that you have^ THE MISTRESS. 231 by some ineaiis — that is — you have not met the condescending attentions of Lady Harriet with the gratitude they merit. I had prevailed with her to countenance you on your first entree into thiC society 1 wish you henceforth to mix with, and her patronage will be important to you ; for slie is deservedly and uuiversaiiy ad- mired for her uncommon grace and ele- gance of deportment and manner. But you have contiived, 1 believe, by the awkwardness of your demeanour, to give her a disgust to you, and 1 wish to rcjuiir the mischief." Laura perceived that her destiny, at least the fiivour of the Marquis, now hung upon the lips of this admired being; and forcibly rejjressing her reluctance and dis- approbation, professed that she was grieved to have incurred his censure, and would endeavour to recall her error. '* Do so, my dear Laura, " rctmned the Marquis, with alacrity : "Lady Harriet acknowledges that with your person, Uiid a \\\.\\t manner, you would be fasciuatiiig.- You 28^ THE WIFE AND You must try to attain a certain tour- 7iure—n\ short, no one can be a happier model for you than Lady Harriet her- self." This virtuous model, recommended by a parent, no^y interrupted the conference ; and much agairist the expectation of Laura, she again appeared all urbanity and protection — a condescension, as the Marquis had termed it, which his daughter constrained herself to receive with forced smiles of pleasure and complacency. Lady Harriet perceived, however, that slie realiy experienced but little of that grateful respect she was compelled to affect ; but she was induced by motives of considerable importance to her own in- terest, to practise the same kind of hypo- crisy herself. She had long observed the increasing ascendency of Mr. Averne over the mind of the Marchioness ; and had likewise discovered that Lady Bellingham wavered betv, een the earnest admonitiotis of her mother, and her incli nation to brave the censures THE MISTRESS. 2S3 censures of tlie more prudent and discreet, and follow the examples so often repeated, of abandoning husband, children, and virtue, for the gratification of a vicious inclination dignified by the name of an attachment. Should she succumb, Lady Harriet feared that Averne would not be able to resist engaging in ail exploit Avhich would give a hnishing brilliancy to his character : for when by his fascinations, he had withdrawn a woman of noble family and high rank from the protection of her husband, and the inliuence of honour, he would indubitably think him- self entitled to demand the iiand, and command the affection of every other indi- vidual of the sex, for having thus covered himself with glory. These fears of Lady Harriet ^rose not from friendship to the Marchioness, or any lurking predilection to her favourite; but as she was herself separated frcm her liusband upon a very slender stipend, it was not convenient to her to lose, by tlie imprudence of her dear Lady Beilingham, a very commodiouk and almost constant residence ^84- THE WIFE AND residence in her house, which she obtained by tlie trifling efrbrt of soothing the Marcjuis into forgiveness, when his Lady ■was more than commonly extravagant : and besides this certain evi!, he might, in the event of a divorce, take. to himself a young wife, and deprive her of an homage that was liberally accompanied.. To prevent all these accidents, Lady Harriet had planned to procure Laura, her fortune, and the interest of her acknow- ledged connexions, for Mr. Averne, in tlie hope of crushing the attachment she disaj){)roved : and having sounded liini upon the subject, had the satisfaction of finding that the project was far from being displeasing to him, as he was secretly charmed with the beauty of Laura's per- son, and suspected that in becoming a favourite with Lord John, he would be further eniiched by his bounty, which, if it equalled his power of bestowing, might- render the fair liebe a desirable prize. Lady Harriet therefore found it expe- dient to entertain very favourable senti- ments for the interesting Mbs Delaunie^. ' and: THE MISTRESS. 285 and to^&etfeavoLir, as much as possible, to coi>efliate her confidence : so tliat the iflarquis was delighted with the excellent terms on which the lady he so much esteemed, and the daughter of whom he now felt proud, were likely -to be in fu- ture ; and tlie applause bestowed by Lady Harriet upon the talent for which he prin- cipally acknowledged her merit, entirely established Laura in his favour. This forgiveness and revived affection were evinced by the I\lar(|uis in a manner he judged to be most j)leasing to her, because he had generally found it ex- tremely gratifying to others: — he put into her hand a note of fifty pounds, to buy trinkets, or enable l>er to accept a bet, scion ['occasion, Laura was much hurt, that this gift, the only one she had lately, received imnie- -<1 lately from him, should have so closely followed what might be termed liis recon- cihation with her; but she suppressed her emotion, and endeavoured to thank him with an air of satisfaction. When she quitted the library, she would have 28G THE WIFE AND have made a second visit to the nursery, as her inclination prompted ; but was de- terred by the dread of renewing the displeasure of the Marquis, by any thing- like a repetition of the scene, that had manifested her progress in the affection of the lovely boy she longed to em])race airain ; and after a few moments of irre- solution, sliC withdrew to her apartm.ent, where she M'as very shortl}^ joined by the Dowager Lady Melville, who conde- scended to seek her, that she might ac- knowledge, in the name of her daughter, the a,ttention of her early enquiry. When the ostensible purpose of 4. his visit had been discussed, Lady'JMelville asked if Laura had again been admitted to breakfast M'ith Lord John. *^ Yes, Madam," replied she, blushing at the involuntary remembrance of tlie simile of Mr. Averne. *^ And his Lordship conducted you to the Rectory?" rejoined Lady Melville. Laura replied that she had liad the honour of accompanying him thither, *^ Were you much captivated with liis favourites — THE M[ST11ESS. ' 28/ favourites — tlie good man and his wife?"', demanded her interrogator. '' They appeared to me, Madam, very amiable, and very estimable." ''"Hem! I am ooino; to accuse you, my dear Laura," resumed Lady jNIeiviiie, ■with a sn^iile, '* of a presumptive theft, \vhich 1 believe you to have committed to the detriment of my daughter Mada- lina : can you not guess M'hat I allude to ?" Laura trembled. ** I am almost assured," added lier ac- cuser more gravely, but M'itli a com- placent aspect, *' that you, my dear child, are the magnet that ' fixes Mi\ Sandby to this spot." *' Good Heavens ! me, IMadam !" ex- claimed Laura, the colour forsaking her cheeks. " Yes, my love," returned Lady ?vlcl- viile, with anotljcr smile; *' but very innocently, I am certain/' *' Ah, Madam," said Laura, regarding her very earnestly, " your Ladyship alarmed me! I v/as silly enough at the moment, £88 THE WIFE AND moment, not to discern that you amused yourself with my simplicity !'* '* It is far from being a badinage,'' resumed Lady Melville; '' I am quite serious." "1 hope not, Madam." '' Indeed I am; you have certainly superseded Madalina ; and she must con- sole herself for the \ery trilling disap- pointment she may experience, and seek out another and more constant swain. Sandby is a very good-natured young man ; and I believe he was persuaded to attach himself to IMadalina by his brother, who wished the alliance, without being prompted to it by his own taste, and I am not surprised to observe that he has disco- vered his mistake : on the contrary, my dear Laura, I am pleased, in consulting her real welfare, to find that his ovvn senti- ments are unfolded to him, before the error became irretrievable. Thinking thus M ith regard to IMadalina, and experienciug ail attection almost maternal for you, I cannot nourisii any regret at the evident predilection THE MISTRESS. 289 predilection of Sandby, though his al- liance is^ certainly very desirable for my daughter ; but I will console myself with the reflection that my amiable Laura will gain by the defection a fortunate and happy establishment, whrch the -Marquis will certainly approve, and Lady Bel- lingham promote, when the little awk- Avardness.of an explanation is past. You are surprised at the candour of my dis- cussion," added Lady Melville, pressing the hand of her distressed auditor: ^' is the tenderness of attachment 1 have ever manifested for you, my dear child, wholly forgotten — or the dispassionate calmness of my sentiments unknown to you ?" Laura, involved in astonishment and dismay, listened in mute silence to this very unprejudiced reasoning. If Lady Melville really thought what she uttered, was it possible for a mother to view so coolly the injury or insult that hovered over the head of her daughter, and even seek for motives to excuse it !" *' This conquest does not appear to exhilarate you," resumed Lidy ^ielville, VOL. I, o after 290 THE WIFE AND after a momentary pause : '^ 3^ou will better estimate its value when you have reflected upon the unquestionable advan- tages that will result to you from it." " If I could suppose," returned Laura, '* if I could admit a fear that your Lady- ship's surmise were just " ** Well, my love, I shall not press upon you a conviction of that which a short time will ascertain. Have you," she added, ** seen Averne this morning?" ** Yes, Madam;" and again Laura blushed at the earnest glance that accom- panied the enquiry. *' You undoubtedly join in the general "suffrage, that he possesses^ almost to mo- nopoly, the art of engaging admiration, and conciliating universal esteem?" *' I am not acquainted with his pre- tensions to the degree of merit which this unbounded talent seems to imply," re- turned Laura, in a tone of reserve. '' There spoke the sententious, argu- mentative mother 1" thought Lady Mel- ville. '' I might indeed have divined that she would not have devoted five or six THE MISTRESS. 291 six years of her very reasonable existence, without furnishing the mind of Miss with all her collected wisdom, and the fruit of her rueful experience ! I believe, however, that Averne will sap the prudent edifice, unless I remedy the evil.'* CHAP. XV, IIEN Lady Melville rejoined the Marchioness — '' Emily," said she, *' this girl is not so readily managed as you imagine ; nor do I think our plan of inducing her to accept the absurd homage of Sandby can be pursued : — we must therefore be con- tented with a smaller advantao-e than his success might perhaps produce, and suflcr Madalina to keep the simpleton ; even that, you know, will not be devoid of benefit to us.'* 2 '* Have 29.2 THE WIFE AND '^ Have you then sounded her?" de- manded the Marchioness, eagerly : ** I am certain the httle impertinent regards Averne ; and that presumption I will not consent to tolerate. If I curb my own inclination, it shall not be for the pur- pose of yielding him to such an insipid, mannerless insignificant as that !'* '' Preserve your temper, Emily : surely you have considerably lost that self domi- nion which formerly so much distinguished you!'' *' Is it not enough to vanquish my composure," resun^ed Lady BelHnghamj '* when with vexatious difficulties and perplexities on every side, which I vainly endeavour to surmount, I have not only the folly of the eternally simpering ]\lrs. Cruden to support, and the half- con- cealed insolence of Lady Harriet, but I must have too this girl forced upon my endurance, who believes herself to be a beauty— a reasojiing beauty ! — to me she is insufferable." ** But, my dear Emily, you will not long be compelled to support this incon* venience ; THE MISTRESS. 295 venicnce; she will be disposed of this season most assuredly ; and consider the advantage '' ** Yes, if we could promote the affair with Sandby ! With liim you are certain of not meeting any obstacle, for lie would believe himself in love with her as readily as he did with !Madalina ; and the addi- tional advantage to be obtained by ac- cepting his resignation of the one, and promoting his suit with the other, v/ould be infinitely superior to any thing else that could offer." '* The girl is certainly uncommonly handsome, " observed Lady Melville ; ' ' she must appear so even to yourself, were yoa unprejudiced. I think if we preserA e her disenoao-ed until she is more seen Have you heard tiie report of I'ermager? lie affirms that she has decidedly a good execution on the harp, and a voice by no means mtdiocre: there is sometiiiniJ: novel too, and by no means repulsive in her manner, though it is not exactly " " Her manner and her music! my dear Madam, consider where she was princi- o 3 pally W^ THE WIFE AND pally educated, and by whom !— the at- tendant of Lady Betty Traherne !— for, in fact, was her mother allowed to have been in a superior situation ?" ** Your mind is irritated this morning, Emily : we will discuss the subject at an* other opportunity." And Lady Melville almost immediately retired. When Doll}' attended her young Lady before dinner, her fortitude was not equal to the suppression of a little anecdote, which the discovered visit of Laura to the Rectory had brought into circulation, and she informed her that in the summer Mrs. Aubrey had been affronted by one of my Lord's visitors; and, as Lord and Lady Eellingham took his part, Mr. Aubrey would not let her come any more: and fie only came once or twice in the year, for the look of the thing, when the family were down. '*' So, Ma'am, ' added Dolly, "asmy Lord John is very fond of the Parson, because he was his son's crony, he will have it he's in the right ; and they be as thick THE MISTRESS. £95 thick as mustard : and the old [ventleinan says, Avhencver Mr. Aubrey conies here, that it is a very great favour." This circumstance explained to Laura why she had not met eitlier of her new- friends at the table, or in the society of Adwan ; and she sighed that in the house of her father they should have been thus insulted. The Marchioness had so far dismissed the recollection of her t'e.vat ions difficulties, that at the dinner hour she appeared with her usual smiling composure : but the internal calm, if any existed, vanished before the inquietude of beholding the half-despised, half- feared Laura seated next to the admired Averne, whose insi- dious countenance when he addressed her, and those smiles which Laura could not always refuse to his sallies of pleasantry, confirmed the indignant surmises of Lady Bellingham : and, to add to her mortifi- cation, she observed that the fatal objecf of her jealousy seemed to attract a certain degree of consideration, that she had not thought it possible for her to attain to. o 4 From ^96 THE WIFE AND From this moment, the once gentle, halcyon-tempered Emily could no longer teach her lips to sever in a smile, or her eyes to suim serene in their own chas- tened fire; she became impatient, peevish, and subject to starts of intemperate cho- ler, directed but too often to the anxious Laura, who, abhorring to live in the presence of a being whose every glance ■indicated a disposition inimical' to her, sought, by deference and attention the most humble and assiduous, to conciliate her favour. Yet spite of the assisting efl^brts, and private admonitions of Lady Melville to her daughter, each hour in- creased the evil, by exhibiting her in a more amiable view to the conscious mind of the Marchioness. The delicacy of Laura yet forbade any complaint, or the least intimation of her unpleasant situation to escape her at the Rectory, lest it should appear that she "i^'ished to make an indirect appeal to Lord John ; who might censure and ad- monish, but who could not relieve her from THE MISTRESS* 297 from tlie private persecutions she would then most probably sustain. Her inquietude was, however, consi- flerably increased by a conference, to which she was summoned by her father, three days after the reconciliation she had so little hoped for. He was alone in the library ; and after a few preliminary sentences, .entered into a warm eulogium of the acknowledged merits of his friend Averne. " I believe, Laura," added the Mar- quis, '^ that-he regards you with compla- cency : and as he is a m^n of family, and will undoubtedly advance himself very considerably by his interest and his talents, I think a better .estabhbhment could not offer. I wish you to marry shortly ; for I fear you would not be situated as I wish, even in my own family. The Marchio- ness—is—in fact, unable to conduct her- self, and is therefore still less able to direct your conduct !— Lady Hariiet thinks too, that she is not fond of you, and in tliat case you Avould become a martyr to* her caprices; a degradation I shall not butfef o 5 you U9^ THE WIFE AND you to submit to. — Averne is a man whose attachment will decide your merit in the world; for his judgment is unquestion- able, and the delicacy of his taste well ascertained : but you must not suppose that you are to act the reserved rustic with him ; for he is too much in request with your sex, to consume his time, and waste his attentions upon an ingrate, or a simpleton !" The perplexed countenance of Laura now appeared to the Marquis to demand an explanation, and he continued— *' It is a disadvantage to you, but I hope it will not prove a serious one, to have lived in such perfect retirement : you must, however, endeavour to adapt your ideas and manners to the age you live in, and not suppose that a man pro- fessing himself your lover, is to act the wearying farce of what country misses would call courtship. Lady Harriet fears you have imbibed some antediluvian no- tions upon this subject ; and we cannot expect that Averne sliould take the trouble either to conform to, or combat them. la THE MISTRESS. 2^9 In fine, Laura, you must act as girls df rank, beauty, and fortune do not disdain to a(?t — you must meet the preliminary advances of a supposed pretender with all the complacency you can assume, and encourage his declaration by a previous certainty that it will be received with avidity ; for who the devil, do you think, that is 'worth having, will hazard the im- pertinence of a refusal ? — Do you under- stand me?" ** Yes, m.y Lord," she replied, in a low tone. ** Well then, adapt your conduct to the instructions I have now given you ; and do not suffer any Dorsetshire bash- fulness or nonsense to mar your prospects ! Remember that I desire vour union with Averne; and if it should not take place, I may probably attribute the failure to your disregard of my advice — Heaven and earth ! is the girl planet-struck !" *' My Lord, L- I fear— that I may not — when I have been some time longer in the world " *' You will be more au faity I grant you," 300 THE WIFK AXD you," interrupted l^e, *' of what is pass- ing in it. 1 expect my injunctions to be obeyed, meantime : — and do not imagine, Laura, that I require of you more conde- scension than would be expected of my little Emily, were she your age ; by the time she is looking out for an establish- ment, if the young fellows of the day should require the women to kneel, sigh, and flatter with as much humility and perseverance as the love-lorn heroes of old practised with their starched dames, by Heaven she must conform, with the rest of her sex, to the manners of the times !" The Marquis then regarding the hour, started. ** Is it possible !" exclaimed he: '* I did not suppose my lecture could have been so long. Lady Harriet, and several other billiard-players, await me." Scarcely concluding the sentence, he suddenly vanished, leaving his rustic Laura shocked and dismayed at the task so peremptorily assigned her, of receiving the preliminary advances of a doubtful lover THE MISTRESS. 301 lover wltli the most encouraging mien of complacency, and hastening the hoped-for declaration with the pleasing and prema- ture certainty of unquestionable success. The paternal advice of the anxious Lord Lellingham crushed her ideas of delicacy, and wounded her pride. ** Can he indeed have spoken from facts?" thought she; '' can young women of high rank, adorned with beauty, act thus? — No w^onder then should arise, if they become such matrons as those by whom 1 am surrounded ia this mansion ?" In little more than an hour, she was compelled to meet Mr. Avernc at the dinner-table ; and conscious as she was that the eyes of her father were fixed upon her, she would have rather encountered her almost forgol ten friend, Mr. Ballioch, in one of his furious fits of inebriation : and spite of the terror she experienced of incurring the displeasure of the ]\Iarquis, she could not prevail upon herself even to encounter the apprehended regards of her supposed admirer; but Avhen she found 302 THE WIFE AND found herself in the necessity of replying to any sentence he condescended to ad- dress to her, her blushing- cheek and fal- tering voice betrayed an agitation which himself and others attributed to a cause very different from the true one. ** I see how the game goes !" exclaimed Sandby, who had placed himself by her side; '* that fellow always has it in his hands, by G~dl Take care though, my fair Laura," he added, in a lower tone, ^' that in following the track of a certain Lady, you do not tread too closely on her heels; — with all her gentleness, she can be a Tartar, and fight you, both man and horse I" Laina, not entirely comprehending this brilliant innuendo, yet suspecting, from a few obsei- vat ions she had herself made, the nature of the hint he meant to give, again felt the colour vary upon her cheek* *' What impromptu^'' demanded Lady Ronald, laughing, ** is Sandby uttering with such an important mien? — Do, my dear Laura^ in the gentle name of charity, remind THE MISTRESS. 303 remind him of IMadalina, ^vho is now pining in anxiety for his defection !" *' Lady Madahna pining for his defec- tion !" exclaimed Lord Melville, who had overheard her; ** no, Augusta, it is im- possihle that any part of your family and mine should he so abject as to pine for the defection of any one ; much less then, where her favour conferred unmerited honour, and when the cause of this pre- tended defection," he added, casting a glance of indignant contempt on the trembling Laura, ** would render any competition degrading !" *^ These," thought Laura, ** are dif- ferent sentiments, and this is different language to that 1 heard in the morning!— But Lady Madalina had an acknowle* ged father:— and I alas! what Nature gave to me as to her other children, the laws of my country take from me !" The Marchioness, from whom she had lately been accustomed to *' bear tlie hourly shot of angry eyes," observing her extreme agitation, informed her that if she found herself indisposed; she had better S04 THE WIFE AND better retire ; and Laura, shocked at the mien that accompanied these words, burst into tears. ** My dear Miss Delaunie," exclaimed the Dowager Lady Melville, *' I fear you are really ill !" The Marquis, who thought the com- ments of his brother-in-law very absurd and insolent, desired her to take son^e wine. *' Take courage child," interrupted Lord John, in a very audible voice; ** and whilst you remain uncensured by the wise and the good, do not suffer the idle sTiaft, that cannot wound you, to ruffle your serenity." *' My Lord !" exclaimed the haughty Earl of Melville, in the quick tone of en qui) y. Lord John, bowing with great solem- nity, returned the application by the same pair of words, pronounced in a very deli- berate and composed accent ; and the Earl turned away indignant and en- raged. I\Ir. THE MISTRESS. 305 l\Ir. Sandby, meantlnie, filled and emp- tied his glass in very quick rotation, biting his hps at intervals with a very sullen aspect- until the Dawager Lady Melville, by the most flattering attentions, soothed his displeasure. '' What will become of me ?" thought Laura, terrified at this explosion, which foreboded further mischief; '* I cannot obey the injunctions of the Marquis, and he will likewise be irritated against me!— ■ To whom can I appeal — who will console and advise me? — 'I'he amiable Mrs. Aubrey ?— Yes, I will confide to her my iiiquietudes, and she will assist my inex- perience wirh her friendly counsel." In the evening, after the rouge and noir party were formed, Lord John re-appeared ; and addressing Laura with uncommon gentleness and complacency, she exerted herself to overcome the dejection that had seized her, and endeavoured to shew her «ense of that partiality and favour, which observation and report alike informed her were so seldom extended to any one. :' My 306 THE WIFE AND '* My friend Aubrey and his wife," said Lord John, *' give me a good ac- count of you ; — you were at the Rectory yesterday I find, and again this morning. You Hke them, I suppose ?" *' I must he insensible to merit of every kind, my Lord," returned Laura, *^ did I not admire and revere them ! — Mrs. Aubrey has promised to be my friend and my adviser; but when I quit Adwan, I must quit her too ! — This is the only in- q'uietude that accompanies my gratitude for the considerate kindness of your Lord- ship, in procuring me so able and well- informed a monitress. '' God knovvs you want one, child, in this house; for though you may be well disposed, examples are dangerous things ! Weil, it is an evil I cannot remedy. — To-morrow 1 leave Adwan — I have al- ready exceeded my usual length of visit to the IVIar(}uis by several days; birt I shall quit it with some satisfaction, now you aie known to the Auhreys ; for I have taken it into my head that you are not to become THE MISTRESS. SO? become a worthless, virtue less, shameless fine lady : and if you disappoint my hope, you are a hypocrite !" " Ah, no, my Lord 1 I am certain that I am not a hypocrite; and I trust I shall not essentially disappoint any hope re- sulting from your generous sentiments ofmef" ** Well, well," said he, extending his hand with an amicable countenance, ** take care that when we m.eet in Lon- don, you possess the same docility, the same feminine decency and propriety I observe in your character now, and all will go well !" He then left the room, and Laura shortly followed : for when the inmates of Adwan were assembled round the magic table, whatever miirht at another moment have been the prevailing passion or pro- pensity, every sentiment, every bias, every design was then suspended that did not relate to the scene before them ; or swallowed up in the strong emotions ©f hope and fear, the sudden transport, 4 the 308 THE WIFE AND THE MISTRESS. the deep inquietude, the perturbation, and anxiety attending the varied turns of tempted fortune ; and Laura, unre- garded, might remain, and unnoticed, withdraw. END 0F VOL. I, ttANX} MIKERVA-PRESS, tEADINH AH-STRI1T. o CD o o o u a. o a; Oi en C > . . 'So ^ ^ C/3 • tH 'o ^ ^ o T3 o (L> U2 4-> C/3 o • »^ .»-H ^ TJ h o o us o o u a u o CO u > o u u o a o 4_) rt •i-H CO ' :3 . o ;=:; S bjO CO J:: ^ CD CO .s CJ CO 't-i r-i o -o .5 < <; u u w fe fe -"fjr A^l i i