Chapter XVI.“I am not in the habit of smoking in the presence of——” (I had almost said ladies).“Nonsense! I am not so fastidious; and you know that quite well. Shall I make you some coffee? The gentlemen yonder do not take any; they smoke and drink till——”I interrupted her with—“I want nothing but to talk confidentially with you for a quarter of an hour. Will you grant me that favour?”“Certainly; take the easy-chair and sit down opposite; that is the best position for a talk.”I obeyed, and she began—“Tell me, first of all, do you now understand why I do not like receiving company?”“Perhaps. I venture to suppose that you wishto simplify the way of living, and that the gentlemen do not approve of it. And visitors cause expense.”“Now, indeed, itisclever of you to guess after what you have just seen!” and she laughed a merry laugh. “I see I must explain matters. But let us talk about yourself, Leopold; that will change the current of my thoughts—and they want changing in my present state of mind. You see there my constant and daily society,” she continued, looking towards the dining-room. “They have now reached the topmost point of their enjoyment—the General asleep with a cigar in his mouth, and the Captain absorbing hisquantumof cognac. Afterwards he will fill his German pipe, totter off to the billiard-room, and smoke and sleep till tea-time. Come, now, as we have a full hour before us, confess yourself. Why have you not studied for a barrister?” And she fixed her large eyes on me as if she suspected that I had been rusticated.“Simply because my good father died too soon.”“A good father always dies too soon. Even a bad one who neglects his child is a great loss. Yours left nothing?”“Except a widow with a very small pension—toosmall to maintain me at Leyden, and therefore I left after one year’s residence, as I wished to earn my own living and obtain comforts for my mother, who was in very weak health.”“I admire you for that, Leo; a man who is not selfish, and can make sacrifices for his mother or his wife’s sake, is a rarity. It does me good to hear such men still exist.”“Now, Francis, give me your confidence. Perhaps I can assist you in your troubles.”“Don’t attempt the impossible, Leopold,” she replied in a tone of profound sadness. “However, as I believe you to be loyal and generous, I will be explicit with you; and if I am deceived in you, as I have often been in others, one deception more or less cannot make much difference in the grand total. When my grandfather had obtained his pension we came to the Werve, as it was urgently necessary for us to economize. His rank as commandant in a small fortified town had necessitated our living in grand style. He had to invite the mayor and other dignitaries to his table, as well as his own lieutenants; and let me acknowledge we had both got into the habit of living in abundanceand of being very hospitable; consequently we had nearly always an open table. Owing to many events and painful family circumstances, our fortune with the last few years has shrunk so visibly that it was impossible to continue our old style of living. And grandpapa at last saw things as I did. We retired to the Werve; we did not want company, and we severed ourselves from all parasites at one stroke.“I counted on the kitchen garden, the orchard, and the home farm (which in those days still belonged to the Werve) providing for all our wants; and I cherished a secret hope of saving money, so as one day to make some repairs and raise this castle from its state of decay.“At first everything went on tolerably well. We came in the summer-time. We both needed rest; the splendid and varied scenery enticed us out on long rides and drives; in fact, everything combined to make us enjoy our solitude. But, alas! the autumn came with its long evenings and chilly days; the General suffered from rheumatism and could not mount his horse. Then weariness overmastered him like a plague, and I tried music andreading in vain. He is not fond of music, and he does not care for reading. He cannot bear to see me with a book in my hand, unless it be an illustrated book to ornament the drawing-room table. When I had read the paper there was nothing more to say. I played dominoes with him andpiquet-à-deux. I could hardly do it any longer; but he never had enough of it. He grew fidgetty and melancholy, began to languish, and was less and less satisfied with our simple way of living. I could not bear to see him so cast down, without the means of helping him. Just about this time one of his former comrades, who had also obtained his pension, invited grandfather to visit him in Arnheim. I thought it would be a nice change, and encouraged him to go. He was quite happy and quite at his ease there, and stayed the three winter months.”“And you?”“I stayed at home. They had forgotten to invite me; and when they thought of it, it seemed to me such a formal invitation that I made up my mind to decline it, as I had before reflected it would save a great deal of expense in ball dresses and otherways of squandering money which such visits necessarily bring with them.”“Yet, even here, a little attention to dress would not be out of place,” I interposed, seizing the opportunity to tell her my opinion on the subject.“Oh, it does not matter for me. I can speak as a certain French womandu temps que j’étais femme. That time’s past; what does it matter how Major Frank dresses?”“Major Frank,” I replied, “should wear a uniform suitable to her rank and the position in which she finds herself. That is no coquetry, it is only decency—seemliness.”“But, Leopold,” she cried, feverishly beating the devil’s tattoo with her little foot, “since I have been here I have bought nothing new, and part of my wardrobe I have given away to the daughter of a poor officer, who had obtained a place as governess in a rich family, and had scarcely the wherewithal to clothe herself decently. Now, cousin, that you are initiated into the mysteries of my wardrobe, you understand why I could not come to table in a ball costume. But don’t trouble me with any more of your silly remarks about dress; let me continue.“My grandfather returned from Arnheim, cured of his melancholy and more deeply in debt than ever. His stay, even with a friend, had cost him much money in dress. He had had to order a new general’s uniform, as he could not go into society in that of a colonel; then there were fees to servants; and, worst of all, that abominable high play which is the curse of our nation. In short, on his return he was obliged to sell the home-farm, and even this did not bring in sufficient money to satisfy his creditors. This time my grandfather solemnly vowed he would never enter society again, and he has kept his word; but he soon fell into a black melancholy, from which he is only just recovering.“Rolf, a brave soldier, but one who, in spite of his merits, would never have obtained the rank of officer without grandpapa’s protection, called upon us. He was a sort of servant in the house before I was born, making himself generally useful as only soldiers can. His sister was my nurse, my mother having died soon after I came into the world. Unfortunately, she had neither education nor character to fit her for the task. With the best intentions, she thoroughly spoilt me, a work in which she wasassisted by her brother, Sergeant Rolf, who would sooner have thought of disobeying his colonel than of opposing any caprice of his ‘little Major,’ as he already called me. Well, when he got his pension as captain he stayed here a few days, and his company seemed to be a welcome change to grandfather; and perceiving that a third person would be an agreeable addition to our society, I proposed to him to take up his quarters here, as he could live on his pension in one place as well as another. My proposition was eagerly accepted, and I took the command, as he expresses it, whilst he did his best to cheer up the General, and the winter has passed less monotonously than I anticipated.“Meantime Rolf has inherited some property in North Brabant, and now he insists upon paying his quota towards the housekeeping expenses, to which I have consented for the General’s sake, because he is so fond of delicacies. But you don’t know how I suffer when I see them rivalling each other in the pleasures of the table, and think of the humiliation and abasement of my grandfather——”Fritz entered with the lamp, and asked if Freule had not rung for the tea. The General and theCaptain followed. The conversation languished over the tea-table, and Francis became silent; when suddenly the Captain exclaimed, pointing to her hair—“Ah, the lioness shakes her mane to frighten us!”“It’s true,” she answered coolly; “excuse me, gentlemen.”And away she went to her own room.“It is curious how Francis has these attacks ofnonchalance,” muttered the General.“And just now, when we have a visitor whom she herself brought,” assented the Captain.But to change the subject the General proposed a game at cards.Chapter XVII.The Captain arranged the card-table, whilst Fritz removed the tea-things. We took our seats, and the General, as I thought, fixed the counters tolerably high.The old man seemed to undergo a thorough change the moment he held the cards in his hand. His dull, sleepy eyes brightened with intelligence and sparkled with enthusiasm. Every limb moved; the tips of his fingers trembled, and yet they still held the cards firmly whilst he examined them to calculate, with mathematical precision, what was wanting in ours. His pale cheeks flushed a deep red, his nostrils expanded or contracted according to the chances of the game; and the melancholy man, who usually sat with his head bowed down as though overburdened, was of a sudden seized by a spirit of audacity, of rashness,of foolhardiness, that not seldom gained him splendid success, and reminded me of the saying, “Good luck is with the rash man.” It certainly is with the audacious player.As for myself I made many blunders, which greatly amused my companions. I had already lost a considerable sum, when the door opened and Francis appeared in evening costume.I threw down my cards on the table to offer her a chair. The General, who sat with his back to the door, looked at me angrily, whilst the Captain cried—“Our Major in full dress.”“What strange whim is this?” growled the General, with difficulty suppressing his anger, for he had an excellent hand of cards this time. “The whole day you have gone about like a Cinderella, and now——”“The fairy has come, and I appear as a princess,” replied Francis.“And the famous glass slipper is not wanting,” I said, admiring the beautiful little slippers peeping out from under her dress.“Perhaps; but I will take care not to lose it.”“Why not?” I asked, looking fixedly at her.“Because I will not make the romance of an hour a question for life.”“All you are saying to Francis may be very gallant and witty, nephew,” cried the General, “but it is not polite to leave the card-table in the midst of a game.”“If the Freule would join us we could play quadrille,” said Rolf.“Thanks, Captain, I prefer playing the piano, if it does not disturb you.”Her playing was like herself, fantastic andbizarre; gradually, however, it became sweet and melancholy, and moved me almost to tears. My thoughts were with the music, and I lost every game afterwards. The General was furious, and let me perceive it. I was about to pay my debt, when Francis entered precipitately, and said in a decided tone—so decided, indeed, as to displease me—that I should not pay. I answered in the same tone, and to cut short all arguments I placed the money on the table. She then tried to snatch out of Rolf’s hand the note I had given him. I told her I thought her interference very unbecoming.“Oh, very well; it’s all the same to me if you wish to be plundered.”And with this she returned to the piano; whilst the General, who seemed to gloat over his gains, remained silent during this little scene. It gave me a painful insight into his character. I pitied the old man, who played not for amusement but for the sake of money, and would take it in large or small sums from a poor relation or a richer man.But at the same time, as I went to join Francis at the piano, I thought my money well spent in discovering the General’s weakness, which had so influenced his granddaughter’s past life.“Will you play?” she asked, brusquely.“I don’t feel disposed.”“As you like,” she said, turning to the instrument and striking the keys as if she would break them.I took up an old newspaper and pretended to be reading it.In the end she played a prelude, and then began the air of Bettly in thechâlet—Liberté chérie,Seul bien de la vie,Règne toujours là!Tra la, la, la, tra la, la, la!Tant pis pour qui s’en fâchera!I threw aside the paper, and, approaching the piano, I whispered—“Do you remember how this charming little opera ends?”“Certainly, like all other pieces suitable for the theatre; but in real life it is just the contrary, and I like reality.”Fritz came to announce supper. The gentlemen were cheerful, the Captain noisy and jovial; Francis only gave short and dry answers, and showed me her ill-humour by only giving me the tips of her fingers when she wished us all good-night.Chapter XVIII.Unromantic though it may sound, I must confess to having slept well on the first night I spent under the roof of my mother’s ancestors. Sleep surprised me whilst I was reflecting on the strange and incomprehensible character of Francis. Proud, generous, noble-hearted, quick-witted, beautiful—and yet with all her charms (which I could feel had already begun to work upon me) spoilt by a detestable education, by the manners of a sutler and a rudeness of the worst kind. And then, in addition to all this, there was the question of her past life which I had heard painted in such black colours. It seemed doubtful whether Major Frank could ever become Lady Francis van Zonshoven.When I awoke the sun was streaming through the one window whose shutters I had purposely left open, with the intention of taking an early morningwalk. I crept silently down the stairs so as not to awake anybody, but I met Fritz in the vestibule, and he made his military salute in silence. The hall door was wide open. I took the direction of the home-farm, where I hoped to obtain a glass of new milk, and draw the tenants out a little about the inhabitants of the Castle—one in particular.I had not gone very far before whom should I see coming from the farm but Francis herself, with a basket of fresh eggs.After a moment’s hesitation I asked—“Are we again good friends?” For I had an idea she would have taken another path if she had seen me a little sooner.“I never knew we had ceased to be so,” she answered, colouring a little.“Hem! Towards the close of the evening, in spite of what you may say to the contrary.”“Say, rather, in spite of myself. Believe me, Leo, I was not morose out of caprice; I was troubled and anxious. I saw my manner displeased you, but I was afraid that to flatter grandfather’s weakness you were suffering yourself to become his dupe.”“And even in that case I could not permit you to interfere.”“You had told me you were poor, that you must economize, and then to squander your money in such a way in our house—it seemed to me like card-sharping.”“No, no; nothing of the sort. But supposing it had been, you have tact enough to understand that it was beneath my dignity to take the money back.”“That’s true, I am of your opinion; but I warned you beforehand that my manners were bad.”“I think it less a question of bad manners than a certain arrogance, a certain despotism——”“Well, then, pardon the arrogance, the despotism,” she said jestingly; “still, if I confess you were in the right and that I deserve correction, will you on your part acknowledge that you are making somewhat too much ado about a little mistake?”“But you, who are so proud, how can you suppose that a man will consent to be protected by a woman?”“Again you are right, Leopold; such a man would be like so many others I know.”“Pardon me, Francis; our friendship is like a tender plant, and we must cultivate it so as to prevent its taking a crooked turn.”“If you regard our friendship in such a serious light,” she resumed, whilst a slight blush suffused her cheeks, “I will capitulate on condition that our little quarrel of last night be forgotten and forgiven.”I felt myself under the charm again, and seizing her hand in a transport of joy, I covered it with kisses.“Leo, what are you doing?” she cried, pale and with tears in her eyes.“Sealing the bond of our friendship.”“Leo, Leo! you know not what you do,” she said softly; “you forget to whom you are speaking—I am Major Frank.”“I will have no more of Major Frank; my cousin Francis Mordaunt must suffer me to offer her my arm.” And taking her hand again, I gently drew her arm within mine. She submitted in silence, with a singular expression of dejection on her face.“I feel it will do me good to talk to you for once in this way, though it may be the first and only time. Where are you going, Leo?”“To the farm yonder; I see you have been there already for eggs; let me carry the basket for you.”“No, thank you. I had not reckoned on the eggs, but the good people insisted upon my taking them; I went to see a patient.”“A patient! Do you play the doctor?”“I do a little of everything; but the patient in question is a dog, a dear, faithful creature, my poor ‘Veldher,’ who has broken his leg, and will suffer no one to touch him but myself. Another trouble I have brought on myself; and yet, if the others could be remedied as easily!” she said, with a profound sigh.She became pale as death, her lips quivered, and, withdrawing her arm from mine, she stood still, covering her face with her hands as if she would force back the tears already rolling down her cheeks. I remained by her side, and after a pause I said, with gentle earnestness—“Tell me what has happened, Francis; it will be a relief to you and ease your mind.”“Yes,” she resumed, calmly, “I must confide my sufferings to some one, but not now. I will not spoil our morning walk by calling up such a frightful scene. I can myself scarcely understand how it ispossible that I, who cannot bear to see dumb creatures suffer, have to reproach myself with the death of one of my fellow-men.”“I beseech you to tell me all, trusting in me for my sincerest sympathy.”“Not now,” she cried; “what good would it do? It would only embitter the few minutes we have to spend together.”“May I help you with a word it seems to cost you trouble to pronounce? Is it not a certain unfortunate incident with regard to your coachman?”“Just so, that’s it,” she replied, assuming her defiant and bitter tone. “If you wish to know more about it, ask the people at the farm—they know all the particulars.”“I shall take good care not to go making inquiries into your secrets behind your back, Francis.”“My secrets!” she exclaimed, her voice quivering with indignation. “There is no secret in the matter. It is a question of a dreadful accident, which happened on the public high-road in the presence of a crowd of spectators attracted by the noise; but the occasion was not lost to set public opinion against me. Was it not Major Frank, whonever acted like anybody else—Major Frank the outlaw! It would have been a pity to let such an opportunity of blackening her character pass. I ought to have reflected that you would have heard the story; and very likely you are come here ‘to interview’ the heroine of such a romantic adventure. It would be a pity you should lose your pains. There’s the farm—go straight on and ask the people to tell you all about the affair between Major Frank and her coachman Harry Blount; both the man and his wife were witnesses. And, Jonker van Zonshoven, when they have satisfied you, you may return to the Werve to take your leave, and return as you came.”And off she ran, without giving me time to answer, leaving me in a state of terrible confusion.One thing at last seemed clear to me; I had lost her for ever. Should I follow and overtake her? She appeared resolute to tell me no more. Yet I must know more! I could neither stay at the Werve nor go away until my doubts were cleared up.I went on to the farm, and was soon served with a glass of milk. The farmer’s wife seemed to knowall about my visit, and thought it quite natural for the Freule to send me there for a glass of new milk. She was loud in her praises of the Freule, said her equal was not to be found in the whole aristocracy, “so familiar and kind-hearted, but at times flighty, and then she goes off like a locomotive”—she pronounced it “leukemetief.” But it would be impossible for me to reproduce her Guelders dialect; and, to confess a truth, I had myself sometimes great difficulty in understanding her.She showed me the farm and the dog, a splendid brown pointer who allowed me to stroke him, probably for his mistress’ sake. Once the good farmer’s wife had loosened her tongue, she rattled away with great volubility—“Yes, she was sorry the General was no longer their landlord; but Overberg was not a bad fellow—he had made many repairs, and even promised to build a new barn which the General would never consent to. It was a pity for the man! A good gentleman, but he took no interest in farming; the whole place must have gone to wrack and ruin if the General had not agreed to sell it before it was too late. The Freule was sorry, for she liked farming;she had learned to milk, and talked to the cows just as if they were human beings. And horses—yes, Jonker, even the plough horses, before they go out into the field in the morning, she talks to them. My husband was groom to her grandfather, in his youth; I think I can see the greys she used to drive with so much pride, and Blount the coachman at her side, as proud as a king, with his arms folded, and looking as if the team belonged to him. Oh dear, yes! And now all that grandeur has disappeared. The beautiful carriage-horses are sold, and the Freule has only her English horse which my husband stables and grooms for her. What a sin and shame it is when the gentry fall into such decay! And the family used to be the greatest in these parts, and good to their tenants. My parents and grandparents always lived on the estate; but oh, oh! since the marriage of the eldest Freule Roselaer, they have never prospered. What can I say? ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand,’ as the Scriptures tell us. The Jonker has certainly heard of all these things?”“Enough, Mrs. Pauwelsen, more than enough,” I responded, for the good woman’s chatter wasbecoming insupportable. I hastily took my leave of her and arrived just in time for breakfast; in fact, I was in the breakfast-parlour before either the Captain or the General. Francis was alone, but when she saw me she left the room under the pretext of seeing if the tea-water boiled.“Stay, Francis—I think I have a right to a kinder reception.”“On what do you ground your right? Have you now satisfied your curiosity?”“I know nothing, Francis; I asked no questions.”“Asked nothing! on your word of honour?”“I have not askedtwowords, Francis. I did not ask, because I did not want to hear anything.”“Forsooth! You have shown more self-control than I thought a man capable of.”“Are the women so much our superiors in this respect?”“If it be necessary, we can keep quiet.”Chapter XIX.The Captain made his appearance, and put an end to our conversation, without for a moment being aware how unwelcome his presence was to me. I could scarcely give a civil answer to his question—“Slept well, Jonker?”He went on, however, in his jovial tone—“The General will be here directly.”And, indeed, the General’s entrance followed like an echo to the words, and the breakfast began.Francis was silent and preoccupied—yet she gave me a look as if she regretted her want of confidence in me—making all sorts of mistakes. The General’s tea was sweetened twice over, and the Captain found he had no sugar in his, a defect which he remedied as furtively as possible, whispering to me—“Our Major’s got out on the wrong side of the bed this morning. We must take care, or the orders of the day will be severe. She——”“But Francis! What’s the matter with you today; the eggs are too hard,” growled the General.“What a pity, just when we have a visitor,” sighed the Captain; “otherwise they are boiled to perfection.”“By the way, Leopold, what hour is your carriage ordered for?” interposed the General.“Well, uncle, I left it to the Captain,” was my reply.As we spoke a carriage drove up, and Francis rose from the table to look out of the window.“It is indeed too early,” said the General, reproachfully, to Rolf.“Wait a moment, Excellency,” replied Rolf, with a roguish twinkle of the eye; and he walked over to the window where Francis stood. Then with a loud laugh he said, “The Jonker left the matter in my hands, and perceiving he would like to stay a little longer with us, I simply sent off to Zutphen for his luggage.”It was now my turn to speak, and I askedFrancis if she would keep me there a few days longer. Her answer, however, was in the negative.“Leave at once; it is better for both of us.”In the meantime the Captain, like a worthy major-domo, had not only assisted in bringing in my box, but also a number of packages, bottles, tins, &c., which he spread over the table, and clapping the General on the shoulder, as he said—“Now, what says your Excellency; have I not made a splendid foraging party?”“No more of your ‘Excellency’ and insolent nonsense,” burst out Francis, her eyes striking fire and her cheeks burning with rage. “You clearly forget, you d——d rascal, that you are an inferior; otherwise you would not dare to act like this. Bless my soul, what a foolish throwing away of money is this—perdrix rouges, pâté-de-foie-gras, all kinds of fish in jelly, all kinds of preserved fruit. Why, it looks as if you were going to start a business here. Why have you brought all these useless dainties again?” And she struck the table with her clenched fist till the pots and bottles danced again. “The General ought to turn you out of doors; and he would if his tongue and sense of honour had not grown dull.”“Francis, Francis!” murmured Von Zwenken in a pitiful tone.“No, grandfather,” she continued, more loudly and rudely, “it is a shame, and if you had the least fortitude left you would put a stop to such extravagance.”“Major, Major!” interposed Rolf, deprecatingly.“Silence, you miserable epicure—I am no longer your major; I have had enough of your quasi-pleasantry. If I had my will all this should be changed. But I have lost my authority; you let me talk——”“Scream, you mean,” corrected Von Zwenken, with a quivering voice.“And you go on just the same,” resumed Francis, pitching her voice still higher. “But I will not suffer you to take such liberties any longer; and if grandfather does not call you to order, I will myself put you out of doors, and all your delicacies with you.”“For heaven’s sake, Francis, calm yourself,” said Von Zwenken; “remember that Jonker van Zonshoven is a witness of your unseemly conduct.”“All the better. The Jonker chooses to become our guest, and he shall see and know into what amean and miserable a household he has entered. I will put no blind before his eyes.”“There is, however, a difference between trying to blind people, and tearing off the bandages from the sores in this way, Miss Mordaunt,” I replied, with emphasis.“Possibly, Jonker; but I cannot hide my meaning in fine words. I must speak plainly. I would rather live on bread and water than be beholden to another for these luxuries.”With this she left the room, giving me a defiant look, which I returned by a shake of the head, to signify how much I disapproved of her conduct and the intemperance of her language.Whilst we stood staring at each other, we three gentlemen, in a state of stupefaction, she just put her head in at the door and said—“Captain, you will attend to the housekeeping duties to-day; I am going for a ride.”“At your service, Commandant,” answered Rolf, bringing his hand to his cap in military fashion.I could not help expressing my amazement at the coolness with which he treated the whole affair.“What could I say, Jonker; such outbursts are not new to me. I saw this morning that the weather-glass stood at storm. The quicker and more violent the storm, the sooner it is over; and you know an old soldier is proof against weather.”“I am glad I warned you beforehand, nephew, of my granddaughter’s temper,” said the General, with a deep sigh, without raising his head to look at me. “Once she’s got an idea into her head, there is no opposing her; she’ll drive through anything, like a man on his hobby-horse; she never reasons.”I thought to myself, she reasons only too logically for you; and he evidently felt it, for throughout the whole scene he had sat with his head down, nervously playing with his ring.“Come, General, don’t be cast down,” said Rolf, cheerily: “we’ll maintain our alliance against the common foe, and the wind will change again.”As he spoke he unfolded a long, small parcel; it contained a riding-whip. “I am afraid the moment is inopportune,” he said; “and yet she will need it. Who knows but she’ll accept my present?”“I hope not,” I said to myself; “that would lower her in my esteem.”“She deserves to be chastised with it,” interposed the General, now giving vent to his pent-up rage.“Yes, Excellency, that we ought to have done twenty years ago. It was a mistake to promote her to the command before we had taught her the discipline.”“A great mistake,” sighed the General.Rolf now set to work to attend to his housekeeping duties, and I excused myself under the pretext of having letters to write; for I had a great wish to be alone and reflect on all I had seen and heard this morning.Chapter XX.Once in my room, I threw off my coat, loosened my collar, and made myself quite comfortable before commencing a letter to Overberg.Suddenly there came a polite rap at my door, and, when I opened it, who should stand before me but Major Frank in person. She was dressed in her riding-habit, and brought me an inkstand, which she placed on the table, then took a chair quite at her ease, though she could see I was not pleased at being surprised in my shirt-sleeves. However, I put on my coat and demanded the object of her visit, as I scarcely believed her sole object was to supply me with an inkstand; and I pointed out to her I had got my own writing-case with me. My freezing manner seemed to disappoint her, so she said—“I wished to ask a favour of you, but I see I disturb you.”I was still silent.“Have you a strap amongst your luggage which I can use as a riding-whip? You know I have lost mine.”“I can lend you my ruler. Will that do?”She grew very red, and after a pause she said—“I see you are in no humour to render me a service.”“I am always ready to serve a lady who exercises the privileges of her sex. Why did you not send for me, if you wished to ask me anything?”“Ah!” she exclaimed, in an injured tone, “my want of etiquette causes your ill-humour. I have come into your room. Well, pass it over—you know I am so little of ‘a lady.’”“That’s only too true, Major.”“Major!” she repeated angrily, opening her large eyes in astonishment. “I thought you disliked my nickname.”“Not since I have seen the soldier in action. But I should like to know to which class of majors you belong, tambour-major or sergeant-major? For I believe the command of a regiment is usually given to a man of refinement—to a person, in fact, who can make himself respected by his gentleman-likebehaviour and dignity; but after the scene I witnessed this morning——”“Leopold!” she cried, deadly pale, her lips quivering, “this is a personal insult. Do you mean it as such?”I was surprised at the change, for I had expected her to wreak her anger on me now. But she sat quite still, as if nailed to her chair; so I continued—“My remarks only apply to the disagreeable character it pleases you to assume.”Still no answer. And I began to be embarrassed in my turn, which embarrassment was only increased by her breaking out in a plaintive tone—“Leopold, you strike deeper than you suppose.”“Francis,” I cried, changing my tone, “believe me, it is not my intention to wound you; I wish to cure you.”I was going to take her hand, when she sprang up as if she had received an electric shock, and said in her bitterest tone—“I will not be cured by you; I am what I am, and don’t you waste your precious time on such a disagreeable creature as you think me to be.”“Oh, Francis! I am not deceived in you, and Iwill try to cure you in spite of yourself. When you made such a terrible scene in my presence this morning, I understood you. It meant this: He is staying here to study the character of Major Frank; well now, he shall see it in all its rudeness and insufferableness, and we shall see how long he will stay in spite of me. Miss Mordaunt, I have seen through your intentions, and I am not to be frightened away by the rude mask you have put on.”“A mask! I am no masker!” she cried, stamping her foot with rage. “You, Jonker van Zonshoven, come from the Hague, a town full of maskers, to tell me this, me whose chief defect or merit—which you like—is to have broken with all social hypocrisies, me whose chief pride is to speak my mind plainly without regard of persons. I did not think it necessary to measure my words in your presence; it appeared to me you had made yourself one of the family, and I thought it best you should know the relationship in which we stand to each other.”“Just so,” I replied, smiling. “You acknowledge that in raising your voice several notes too high when you gave those two humiliated men a piece of your mind, your real object was to drive a thirdperson out of the house. Be sincere, Francis, confess the truth.”I tried in vain to look her in the face whilst I spoke. She had turned her head away, and was kicking the leg of the table.“I observe, and not for the first time, that you can be disagreeable when you like,” she remarked, after a long pause.“I confess it; but an evasion is not an answer, Francis.”“Well then, yes, it is true; I wished you to leave for your own sake. But never believe, Leopold, whatever stories you hear about me, that I am deceitful, that I would play a part. I was myself when I made the scene—violent, angry, and burning with indignation. I have my whims and fancies, that I know; but I never feign—that would ill become me; for, I may say, I have too much good in me to act falsely. Yet there are so many contradictory feelings in me that I sometimes stand surprised at myself. And let me tell you, Leo, I came here to seek consolation from you, but your tone and your words have bitterly disappointed me, so much so that for a moment I have asked myself whether youwere one of those snobs in patent-leather boots, who, while expressing horror at an ungloved hand, are yet not afraid of soiling its whiteness by boxing your wife’s ears. Because I did not observe the form of sending a servant to ask you to come to my room, you receive me as you did, and repulse me with mocking words!”It was now my turn to feel piqued, and I should have answered sharply had I not succeeded in controlling myself.“Pardon me, Francis, I should consider myself the greatest of cowards to strike a woman; but it was no question of a woman just now. We were speaking of Major Frank—Major Frank who is angry when reminded of the privileges of the fair sex, because he will not be classed amongst ‘the ladies,’ and who, in my opinion, ought not to be surprised when, after his own fashion, one tells him the truth roundly, and without mincing matters.”Francis listened this time without interrupting me. She was staring at the panes of the window, as if to put herself in countenance again; her paleness disappeared, and, turning round, she said, without anger, but with firmness—“I confess, Leopold, it is not easy to contradict you; and now I think we are quits. Are we again good friends?”“There’s nothing I desire more ardently; but, once for all, with whom? with Major Frank or——”“Well, then, Francis Mordaunt asks for your friendship.”She offered me both her hands, and her eyes filled with tears she could no longer keep back. How gladly I would have kissed them away, and pressed her to my heart and told her all! But I could not compromise my commencing victory.“Should I have spoken to you in this way, Francis, if I had not been your sincere friend?”“I see it now, and I have need of a sincere friend. Well then, the Captain is ruining himself for our sakes; and grandfather, in a most cowardly fashion, lends himself to such doings. Is it not horrible?”“It is very wrong, I admit.”“Now, suppose the General were to die—I should be left shut up in this place for life with the Captain. When he has rendered himself poor for our sakes, I cannot send him away. Now do you understand I had reasons for being angry this morning?”“That you had reasons, I don’t dispute; but the form——”“Come, come, always the form!”“I don’t say the form is the main thing, but a woman who gives way to such fits of violence puts herself in the wrong, even though she have right on her side. Just think for a moment what a scene if the Captain had retaliated in the same coarse language of the barracks, which he has probably not forgotten.”“I should like to see him try it on with me!”“However, he had a perfect right to do so. I agree you are right in principle; but let me beseech you to change your manner of proceeding. The gentleness of a woman is always more persuasive than the transports of passion. You have told me your early education was neglected; but you have read Schiller?”“Die Räuber,” she replied, tauntingly.“But not his ‘Macht des Weibes,’ nor this line—‘Was die Stille nicht wirkt, wirket die Rauschende nie!’”She shook her head in the negative.“This part of your education has been much neglected.”“I will not deny it.”“But it is not yet too late. Will you listen to my advice?”“Not now; I have already stayed too long here, and—and—you stay at the Castle——”“As long as you will keep me, Francis.”“Well, stay as long as you can—that is, if you can fall in with our ways. I am going out for a ride; I need fresh air and movement.”“Aproposthe service you came to ask of me—the strap?”“Oh, I shall pluck a switch. The Captain came to offer me a whip, and——”“And you would rather accept it at my hands,” I said, laughing.“No; but I should like to borrow ten guilders of you for a couple of days.”I handed over my purse, and told her to take out of it as much as she required. What a strange creature! What a comic conclusion to our battle!I also felt as if a little fresh air would do me good, and so I walked off to the village post-office with my letter to Overberg.
Chapter XVI.“I am not in the habit of smoking in the presence of——” (I had almost said ladies).“Nonsense! I am not so fastidious; and you know that quite well. Shall I make you some coffee? The gentlemen yonder do not take any; they smoke and drink till——”I interrupted her with—“I want nothing but to talk confidentially with you for a quarter of an hour. Will you grant me that favour?”“Certainly; take the easy-chair and sit down opposite; that is the best position for a talk.”I obeyed, and she began—“Tell me, first of all, do you now understand why I do not like receiving company?”“Perhaps. I venture to suppose that you wishto simplify the way of living, and that the gentlemen do not approve of it. And visitors cause expense.”“Now, indeed, itisclever of you to guess after what you have just seen!” and she laughed a merry laugh. “I see I must explain matters. But let us talk about yourself, Leopold; that will change the current of my thoughts—and they want changing in my present state of mind. You see there my constant and daily society,” she continued, looking towards the dining-room. “They have now reached the topmost point of their enjoyment—the General asleep with a cigar in his mouth, and the Captain absorbing hisquantumof cognac. Afterwards he will fill his German pipe, totter off to the billiard-room, and smoke and sleep till tea-time. Come, now, as we have a full hour before us, confess yourself. Why have you not studied for a barrister?” And she fixed her large eyes on me as if she suspected that I had been rusticated.“Simply because my good father died too soon.”“A good father always dies too soon. Even a bad one who neglects his child is a great loss. Yours left nothing?”“Except a widow with a very small pension—toosmall to maintain me at Leyden, and therefore I left after one year’s residence, as I wished to earn my own living and obtain comforts for my mother, who was in very weak health.”“I admire you for that, Leo; a man who is not selfish, and can make sacrifices for his mother or his wife’s sake, is a rarity. It does me good to hear such men still exist.”“Now, Francis, give me your confidence. Perhaps I can assist you in your troubles.”“Don’t attempt the impossible, Leopold,” she replied in a tone of profound sadness. “However, as I believe you to be loyal and generous, I will be explicit with you; and if I am deceived in you, as I have often been in others, one deception more or less cannot make much difference in the grand total. When my grandfather had obtained his pension we came to the Werve, as it was urgently necessary for us to economize. His rank as commandant in a small fortified town had necessitated our living in grand style. He had to invite the mayor and other dignitaries to his table, as well as his own lieutenants; and let me acknowledge we had both got into the habit of living in abundanceand of being very hospitable; consequently we had nearly always an open table. Owing to many events and painful family circumstances, our fortune with the last few years has shrunk so visibly that it was impossible to continue our old style of living. And grandpapa at last saw things as I did. We retired to the Werve; we did not want company, and we severed ourselves from all parasites at one stroke.“I counted on the kitchen garden, the orchard, and the home farm (which in those days still belonged to the Werve) providing for all our wants; and I cherished a secret hope of saving money, so as one day to make some repairs and raise this castle from its state of decay.“At first everything went on tolerably well. We came in the summer-time. We both needed rest; the splendid and varied scenery enticed us out on long rides and drives; in fact, everything combined to make us enjoy our solitude. But, alas! the autumn came with its long evenings and chilly days; the General suffered from rheumatism and could not mount his horse. Then weariness overmastered him like a plague, and I tried music andreading in vain. He is not fond of music, and he does not care for reading. He cannot bear to see me with a book in my hand, unless it be an illustrated book to ornament the drawing-room table. When I had read the paper there was nothing more to say. I played dominoes with him andpiquet-à-deux. I could hardly do it any longer; but he never had enough of it. He grew fidgetty and melancholy, began to languish, and was less and less satisfied with our simple way of living. I could not bear to see him so cast down, without the means of helping him. Just about this time one of his former comrades, who had also obtained his pension, invited grandfather to visit him in Arnheim. I thought it would be a nice change, and encouraged him to go. He was quite happy and quite at his ease there, and stayed the three winter months.”“And you?”“I stayed at home. They had forgotten to invite me; and when they thought of it, it seemed to me such a formal invitation that I made up my mind to decline it, as I had before reflected it would save a great deal of expense in ball dresses and otherways of squandering money which such visits necessarily bring with them.”“Yet, even here, a little attention to dress would not be out of place,” I interposed, seizing the opportunity to tell her my opinion on the subject.“Oh, it does not matter for me. I can speak as a certain French womandu temps que j’étais femme. That time’s past; what does it matter how Major Frank dresses?”“Major Frank,” I replied, “should wear a uniform suitable to her rank and the position in which she finds herself. That is no coquetry, it is only decency—seemliness.”“But, Leopold,” she cried, feverishly beating the devil’s tattoo with her little foot, “since I have been here I have bought nothing new, and part of my wardrobe I have given away to the daughter of a poor officer, who had obtained a place as governess in a rich family, and had scarcely the wherewithal to clothe herself decently. Now, cousin, that you are initiated into the mysteries of my wardrobe, you understand why I could not come to table in a ball costume. But don’t trouble me with any more of your silly remarks about dress; let me continue.“My grandfather returned from Arnheim, cured of his melancholy and more deeply in debt than ever. His stay, even with a friend, had cost him much money in dress. He had had to order a new general’s uniform, as he could not go into society in that of a colonel; then there were fees to servants; and, worst of all, that abominable high play which is the curse of our nation. In short, on his return he was obliged to sell the home-farm, and even this did not bring in sufficient money to satisfy his creditors. This time my grandfather solemnly vowed he would never enter society again, and he has kept his word; but he soon fell into a black melancholy, from which he is only just recovering.“Rolf, a brave soldier, but one who, in spite of his merits, would never have obtained the rank of officer without grandpapa’s protection, called upon us. He was a sort of servant in the house before I was born, making himself generally useful as only soldiers can. His sister was my nurse, my mother having died soon after I came into the world. Unfortunately, she had neither education nor character to fit her for the task. With the best intentions, she thoroughly spoilt me, a work in which she wasassisted by her brother, Sergeant Rolf, who would sooner have thought of disobeying his colonel than of opposing any caprice of his ‘little Major,’ as he already called me. Well, when he got his pension as captain he stayed here a few days, and his company seemed to be a welcome change to grandfather; and perceiving that a third person would be an agreeable addition to our society, I proposed to him to take up his quarters here, as he could live on his pension in one place as well as another. My proposition was eagerly accepted, and I took the command, as he expresses it, whilst he did his best to cheer up the General, and the winter has passed less monotonously than I anticipated.“Meantime Rolf has inherited some property in North Brabant, and now he insists upon paying his quota towards the housekeeping expenses, to which I have consented for the General’s sake, because he is so fond of delicacies. But you don’t know how I suffer when I see them rivalling each other in the pleasures of the table, and think of the humiliation and abasement of my grandfather——”Fritz entered with the lamp, and asked if Freule had not rung for the tea. The General and theCaptain followed. The conversation languished over the tea-table, and Francis became silent; when suddenly the Captain exclaimed, pointing to her hair—“Ah, the lioness shakes her mane to frighten us!”“It’s true,” she answered coolly; “excuse me, gentlemen.”And away she went to her own room.“It is curious how Francis has these attacks ofnonchalance,” muttered the General.“And just now, when we have a visitor whom she herself brought,” assented the Captain.But to change the subject the General proposed a game at cards.
“I am not in the habit of smoking in the presence of——” (I had almost said ladies).
“Nonsense! I am not so fastidious; and you know that quite well. Shall I make you some coffee? The gentlemen yonder do not take any; they smoke and drink till——”
I interrupted her with—
“I want nothing but to talk confidentially with you for a quarter of an hour. Will you grant me that favour?”
“Certainly; take the easy-chair and sit down opposite; that is the best position for a talk.”
I obeyed, and she began—
“Tell me, first of all, do you now understand why I do not like receiving company?”
“Perhaps. I venture to suppose that you wishto simplify the way of living, and that the gentlemen do not approve of it. And visitors cause expense.”
“Now, indeed, itisclever of you to guess after what you have just seen!” and she laughed a merry laugh. “I see I must explain matters. But let us talk about yourself, Leopold; that will change the current of my thoughts—and they want changing in my present state of mind. You see there my constant and daily society,” she continued, looking towards the dining-room. “They have now reached the topmost point of their enjoyment—the General asleep with a cigar in his mouth, and the Captain absorbing hisquantumof cognac. Afterwards he will fill his German pipe, totter off to the billiard-room, and smoke and sleep till tea-time. Come, now, as we have a full hour before us, confess yourself. Why have you not studied for a barrister?” And she fixed her large eyes on me as if she suspected that I had been rusticated.
“Simply because my good father died too soon.”
“A good father always dies too soon. Even a bad one who neglects his child is a great loss. Yours left nothing?”
“Except a widow with a very small pension—toosmall to maintain me at Leyden, and therefore I left after one year’s residence, as I wished to earn my own living and obtain comforts for my mother, who was in very weak health.”
“I admire you for that, Leo; a man who is not selfish, and can make sacrifices for his mother or his wife’s sake, is a rarity. It does me good to hear such men still exist.”
“Now, Francis, give me your confidence. Perhaps I can assist you in your troubles.”
“Don’t attempt the impossible, Leopold,” she replied in a tone of profound sadness. “However, as I believe you to be loyal and generous, I will be explicit with you; and if I am deceived in you, as I have often been in others, one deception more or less cannot make much difference in the grand total. When my grandfather had obtained his pension we came to the Werve, as it was urgently necessary for us to economize. His rank as commandant in a small fortified town had necessitated our living in grand style. He had to invite the mayor and other dignitaries to his table, as well as his own lieutenants; and let me acknowledge we had both got into the habit of living in abundanceand of being very hospitable; consequently we had nearly always an open table. Owing to many events and painful family circumstances, our fortune with the last few years has shrunk so visibly that it was impossible to continue our old style of living. And grandpapa at last saw things as I did. We retired to the Werve; we did not want company, and we severed ourselves from all parasites at one stroke.
“I counted on the kitchen garden, the orchard, and the home farm (which in those days still belonged to the Werve) providing for all our wants; and I cherished a secret hope of saving money, so as one day to make some repairs and raise this castle from its state of decay.
“At first everything went on tolerably well. We came in the summer-time. We both needed rest; the splendid and varied scenery enticed us out on long rides and drives; in fact, everything combined to make us enjoy our solitude. But, alas! the autumn came with its long evenings and chilly days; the General suffered from rheumatism and could not mount his horse. Then weariness overmastered him like a plague, and I tried music andreading in vain. He is not fond of music, and he does not care for reading. He cannot bear to see me with a book in my hand, unless it be an illustrated book to ornament the drawing-room table. When I had read the paper there was nothing more to say. I played dominoes with him andpiquet-à-deux. I could hardly do it any longer; but he never had enough of it. He grew fidgetty and melancholy, began to languish, and was less and less satisfied with our simple way of living. I could not bear to see him so cast down, without the means of helping him. Just about this time one of his former comrades, who had also obtained his pension, invited grandfather to visit him in Arnheim. I thought it would be a nice change, and encouraged him to go. He was quite happy and quite at his ease there, and stayed the three winter months.”
“And you?”
“I stayed at home. They had forgotten to invite me; and when they thought of it, it seemed to me such a formal invitation that I made up my mind to decline it, as I had before reflected it would save a great deal of expense in ball dresses and otherways of squandering money which such visits necessarily bring with them.”
“Yet, even here, a little attention to dress would not be out of place,” I interposed, seizing the opportunity to tell her my opinion on the subject.
“Oh, it does not matter for me. I can speak as a certain French womandu temps que j’étais femme. That time’s past; what does it matter how Major Frank dresses?”
“Major Frank,” I replied, “should wear a uniform suitable to her rank and the position in which she finds herself. That is no coquetry, it is only decency—seemliness.”
“But, Leopold,” she cried, feverishly beating the devil’s tattoo with her little foot, “since I have been here I have bought nothing new, and part of my wardrobe I have given away to the daughter of a poor officer, who had obtained a place as governess in a rich family, and had scarcely the wherewithal to clothe herself decently. Now, cousin, that you are initiated into the mysteries of my wardrobe, you understand why I could not come to table in a ball costume. But don’t trouble me with any more of your silly remarks about dress; let me continue.
“My grandfather returned from Arnheim, cured of his melancholy and more deeply in debt than ever. His stay, even with a friend, had cost him much money in dress. He had had to order a new general’s uniform, as he could not go into society in that of a colonel; then there were fees to servants; and, worst of all, that abominable high play which is the curse of our nation. In short, on his return he was obliged to sell the home-farm, and even this did not bring in sufficient money to satisfy his creditors. This time my grandfather solemnly vowed he would never enter society again, and he has kept his word; but he soon fell into a black melancholy, from which he is only just recovering.
“Rolf, a brave soldier, but one who, in spite of his merits, would never have obtained the rank of officer without grandpapa’s protection, called upon us. He was a sort of servant in the house before I was born, making himself generally useful as only soldiers can. His sister was my nurse, my mother having died soon after I came into the world. Unfortunately, she had neither education nor character to fit her for the task. With the best intentions, she thoroughly spoilt me, a work in which she wasassisted by her brother, Sergeant Rolf, who would sooner have thought of disobeying his colonel than of opposing any caprice of his ‘little Major,’ as he already called me. Well, when he got his pension as captain he stayed here a few days, and his company seemed to be a welcome change to grandfather; and perceiving that a third person would be an agreeable addition to our society, I proposed to him to take up his quarters here, as he could live on his pension in one place as well as another. My proposition was eagerly accepted, and I took the command, as he expresses it, whilst he did his best to cheer up the General, and the winter has passed less monotonously than I anticipated.
“Meantime Rolf has inherited some property in North Brabant, and now he insists upon paying his quota towards the housekeeping expenses, to which I have consented for the General’s sake, because he is so fond of delicacies. But you don’t know how I suffer when I see them rivalling each other in the pleasures of the table, and think of the humiliation and abasement of my grandfather——”
Fritz entered with the lamp, and asked if Freule had not rung for the tea. The General and theCaptain followed. The conversation languished over the tea-table, and Francis became silent; when suddenly the Captain exclaimed, pointing to her hair—
“Ah, the lioness shakes her mane to frighten us!”
“It’s true,” she answered coolly; “excuse me, gentlemen.”
And away she went to her own room.
“It is curious how Francis has these attacks ofnonchalance,” muttered the General.
“And just now, when we have a visitor whom she herself brought,” assented the Captain.
But to change the subject the General proposed a game at cards.
Chapter XVII.The Captain arranged the card-table, whilst Fritz removed the tea-things. We took our seats, and the General, as I thought, fixed the counters tolerably high.The old man seemed to undergo a thorough change the moment he held the cards in his hand. His dull, sleepy eyes brightened with intelligence and sparkled with enthusiasm. Every limb moved; the tips of his fingers trembled, and yet they still held the cards firmly whilst he examined them to calculate, with mathematical precision, what was wanting in ours. His pale cheeks flushed a deep red, his nostrils expanded or contracted according to the chances of the game; and the melancholy man, who usually sat with his head bowed down as though overburdened, was of a sudden seized by a spirit of audacity, of rashness,of foolhardiness, that not seldom gained him splendid success, and reminded me of the saying, “Good luck is with the rash man.” It certainly is with the audacious player.As for myself I made many blunders, which greatly amused my companions. I had already lost a considerable sum, when the door opened and Francis appeared in evening costume.I threw down my cards on the table to offer her a chair. The General, who sat with his back to the door, looked at me angrily, whilst the Captain cried—“Our Major in full dress.”“What strange whim is this?” growled the General, with difficulty suppressing his anger, for he had an excellent hand of cards this time. “The whole day you have gone about like a Cinderella, and now——”“The fairy has come, and I appear as a princess,” replied Francis.“And the famous glass slipper is not wanting,” I said, admiring the beautiful little slippers peeping out from under her dress.“Perhaps; but I will take care not to lose it.”“Why not?” I asked, looking fixedly at her.“Because I will not make the romance of an hour a question for life.”“All you are saying to Francis may be very gallant and witty, nephew,” cried the General, “but it is not polite to leave the card-table in the midst of a game.”“If the Freule would join us we could play quadrille,” said Rolf.“Thanks, Captain, I prefer playing the piano, if it does not disturb you.”Her playing was like herself, fantastic andbizarre; gradually, however, it became sweet and melancholy, and moved me almost to tears. My thoughts were with the music, and I lost every game afterwards. The General was furious, and let me perceive it. I was about to pay my debt, when Francis entered precipitately, and said in a decided tone—so decided, indeed, as to displease me—that I should not pay. I answered in the same tone, and to cut short all arguments I placed the money on the table. She then tried to snatch out of Rolf’s hand the note I had given him. I told her I thought her interference very unbecoming.“Oh, very well; it’s all the same to me if you wish to be plundered.”And with this she returned to the piano; whilst the General, who seemed to gloat over his gains, remained silent during this little scene. It gave me a painful insight into his character. I pitied the old man, who played not for amusement but for the sake of money, and would take it in large or small sums from a poor relation or a richer man.But at the same time, as I went to join Francis at the piano, I thought my money well spent in discovering the General’s weakness, which had so influenced his granddaughter’s past life.“Will you play?” she asked, brusquely.“I don’t feel disposed.”“As you like,” she said, turning to the instrument and striking the keys as if she would break them.I took up an old newspaper and pretended to be reading it.In the end she played a prelude, and then began the air of Bettly in thechâlet—Liberté chérie,Seul bien de la vie,Règne toujours là!Tra la, la, la, tra la, la, la!Tant pis pour qui s’en fâchera!I threw aside the paper, and, approaching the piano, I whispered—“Do you remember how this charming little opera ends?”“Certainly, like all other pieces suitable for the theatre; but in real life it is just the contrary, and I like reality.”Fritz came to announce supper. The gentlemen were cheerful, the Captain noisy and jovial; Francis only gave short and dry answers, and showed me her ill-humour by only giving me the tips of her fingers when she wished us all good-night.
The Captain arranged the card-table, whilst Fritz removed the tea-things. We took our seats, and the General, as I thought, fixed the counters tolerably high.
The old man seemed to undergo a thorough change the moment he held the cards in his hand. His dull, sleepy eyes brightened with intelligence and sparkled with enthusiasm. Every limb moved; the tips of his fingers trembled, and yet they still held the cards firmly whilst he examined them to calculate, with mathematical precision, what was wanting in ours. His pale cheeks flushed a deep red, his nostrils expanded or contracted according to the chances of the game; and the melancholy man, who usually sat with his head bowed down as though overburdened, was of a sudden seized by a spirit of audacity, of rashness,of foolhardiness, that not seldom gained him splendid success, and reminded me of the saying, “Good luck is with the rash man.” It certainly is with the audacious player.
As for myself I made many blunders, which greatly amused my companions. I had already lost a considerable sum, when the door opened and Francis appeared in evening costume.
I threw down my cards on the table to offer her a chair. The General, who sat with his back to the door, looked at me angrily, whilst the Captain cried—
“Our Major in full dress.”
“What strange whim is this?” growled the General, with difficulty suppressing his anger, for he had an excellent hand of cards this time. “The whole day you have gone about like a Cinderella, and now——”
“The fairy has come, and I appear as a princess,” replied Francis.
“And the famous glass slipper is not wanting,” I said, admiring the beautiful little slippers peeping out from under her dress.
“Perhaps; but I will take care not to lose it.”
“Why not?” I asked, looking fixedly at her.
“Because I will not make the romance of an hour a question for life.”
“All you are saying to Francis may be very gallant and witty, nephew,” cried the General, “but it is not polite to leave the card-table in the midst of a game.”
“If the Freule would join us we could play quadrille,” said Rolf.
“Thanks, Captain, I prefer playing the piano, if it does not disturb you.”
Her playing was like herself, fantastic andbizarre; gradually, however, it became sweet and melancholy, and moved me almost to tears. My thoughts were with the music, and I lost every game afterwards. The General was furious, and let me perceive it. I was about to pay my debt, when Francis entered precipitately, and said in a decided tone—so decided, indeed, as to displease me—that I should not pay. I answered in the same tone, and to cut short all arguments I placed the money on the table. She then tried to snatch out of Rolf’s hand the note I had given him. I told her I thought her interference very unbecoming.
“Oh, very well; it’s all the same to me if you wish to be plundered.”
And with this she returned to the piano; whilst the General, who seemed to gloat over his gains, remained silent during this little scene. It gave me a painful insight into his character. I pitied the old man, who played not for amusement but for the sake of money, and would take it in large or small sums from a poor relation or a richer man.
But at the same time, as I went to join Francis at the piano, I thought my money well spent in discovering the General’s weakness, which had so influenced his granddaughter’s past life.
“Will you play?” she asked, brusquely.
“I don’t feel disposed.”
“As you like,” she said, turning to the instrument and striking the keys as if she would break them.
I took up an old newspaper and pretended to be reading it.
In the end she played a prelude, and then began the air of Bettly in thechâlet—
Liberté chérie,Seul bien de la vie,Règne toujours là!Tra la, la, la, tra la, la, la!Tant pis pour qui s’en fâchera!
Liberté chérie,
Seul bien de la vie,
Règne toujours là!
Tra la, la, la, tra la, la, la!
Tant pis pour qui s’en fâchera!
I threw aside the paper, and, approaching the piano, I whispered—
“Do you remember how this charming little opera ends?”
“Certainly, like all other pieces suitable for the theatre; but in real life it is just the contrary, and I like reality.”
Fritz came to announce supper. The gentlemen were cheerful, the Captain noisy and jovial; Francis only gave short and dry answers, and showed me her ill-humour by only giving me the tips of her fingers when she wished us all good-night.
Chapter XVIII.Unromantic though it may sound, I must confess to having slept well on the first night I spent under the roof of my mother’s ancestors. Sleep surprised me whilst I was reflecting on the strange and incomprehensible character of Francis. Proud, generous, noble-hearted, quick-witted, beautiful—and yet with all her charms (which I could feel had already begun to work upon me) spoilt by a detestable education, by the manners of a sutler and a rudeness of the worst kind. And then, in addition to all this, there was the question of her past life which I had heard painted in such black colours. It seemed doubtful whether Major Frank could ever become Lady Francis van Zonshoven.When I awoke the sun was streaming through the one window whose shutters I had purposely left open, with the intention of taking an early morningwalk. I crept silently down the stairs so as not to awake anybody, but I met Fritz in the vestibule, and he made his military salute in silence. The hall door was wide open. I took the direction of the home-farm, where I hoped to obtain a glass of new milk, and draw the tenants out a little about the inhabitants of the Castle—one in particular.I had not gone very far before whom should I see coming from the farm but Francis herself, with a basket of fresh eggs.After a moment’s hesitation I asked—“Are we again good friends?” For I had an idea she would have taken another path if she had seen me a little sooner.“I never knew we had ceased to be so,” she answered, colouring a little.“Hem! Towards the close of the evening, in spite of what you may say to the contrary.”“Say, rather, in spite of myself. Believe me, Leo, I was not morose out of caprice; I was troubled and anxious. I saw my manner displeased you, but I was afraid that to flatter grandfather’s weakness you were suffering yourself to become his dupe.”“And even in that case I could not permit you to interfere.”“You had told me you were poor, that you must economize, and then to squander your money in such a way in our house—it seemed to me like card-sharping.”“No, no; nothing of the sort. But supposing it had been, you have tact enough to understand that it was beneath my dignity to take the money back.”“That’s true, I am of your opinion; but I warned you beforehand that my manners were bad.”“I think it less a question of bad manners than a certain arrogance, a certain despotism——”“Well, then, pardon the arrogance, the despotism,” she said jestingly; “still, if I confess you were in the right and that I deserve correction, will you on your part acknowledge that you are making somewhat too much ado about a little mistake?”“But you, who are so proud, how can you suppose that a man will consent to be protected by a woman?”“Again you are right, Leopold; such a man would be like so many others I know.”“Pardon me, Francis; our friendship is like a tender plant, and we must cultivate it so as to prevent its taking a crooked turn.”“If you regard our friendship in such a serious light,” she resumed, whilst a slight blush suffused her cheeks, “I will capitulate on condition that our little quarrel of last night be forgotten and forgiven.”I felt myself under the charm again, and seizing her hand in a transport of joy, I covered it with kisses.“Leo, what are you doing?” she cried, pale and with tears in her eyes.“Sealing the bond of our friendship.”“Leo, Leo! you know not what you do,” she said softly; “you forget to whom you are speaking—I am Major Frank.”“I will have no more of Major Frank; my cousin Francis Mordaunt must suffer me to offer her my arm.” And taking her hand again, I gently drew her arm within mine. She submitted in silence, with a singular expression of dejection on her face.“I feel it will do me good to talk to you for once in this way, though it may be the first and only time. Where are you going, Leo?”“To the farm yonder; I see you have been there already for eggs; let me carry the basket for you.”“No, thank you. I had not reckoned on the eggs, but the good people insisted upon my taking them; I went to see a patient.”“A patient! Do you play the doctor?”“I do a little of everything; but the patient in question is a dog, a dear, faithful creature, my poor ‘Veldher,’ who has broken his leg, and will suffer no one to touch him but myself. Another trouble I have brought on myself; and yet, if the others could be remedied as easily!” she said, with a profound sigh.She became pale as death, her lips quivered, and, withdrawing her arm from mine, she stood still, covering her face with her hands as if she would force back the tears already rolling down her cheeks. I remained by her side, and after a pause I said, with gentle earnestness—“Tell me what has happened, Francis; it will be a relief to you and ease your mind.”“Yes,” she resumed, calmly, “I must confide my sufferings to some one, but not now. I will not spoil our morning walk by calling up such a frightful scene. I can myself scarcely understand how it ispossible that I, who cannot bear to see dumb creatures suffer, have to reproach myself with the death of one of my fellow-men.”“I beseech you to tell me all, trusting in me for my sincerest sympathy.”“Not now,” she cried; “what good would it do? It would only embitter the few minutes we have to spend together.”“May I help you with a word it seems to cost you trouble to pronounce? Is it not a certain unfortunate incident with regard to your coachman?”“Just so, that’s it,” she replied, assuming her defiant and bitter tone. “If you wish to know more about it, ask the people at the farm—they know all the particulars.”“I shall take good care not to go making inquiries into your secrets behind your back, Francis.”“My secrets!” she exclaimed, her voice quivering with indignation. “There is no secret in the matter. It is a question of a dreadful accident, which happened on the public high-road in the presence of a crowd of spectators attracted by the noise; but the occasion was not lost to set public opinion against me. Was it not Major Frank, whonever acted like anybody else—Major Frank the outlaw! It would have been a pity to let such an opportunity of blackening her character pass. I ought to have reflected that you would have heard the story; and very likely you are come here ‘to interview’ the heroine of such a romantic adventure. It would be a pity you should lose your pains. There’s the farm—go straight on and ask the people to tell you all about the affair between Major Frank and her coachman Harry Blount; both the man and his wife were witnesses. And, Jonker van Zonshoven, when they have satisfied you, you may return to the Werve to take your leave, and return as you came.”And off she ran, without giving me time to answer, leaving me in a state of terrible confusion.One thing at last seemed clear to me; I had lost her for ever. Should I follow and overtake her? She appeared resolute to tell me no more. Yet I must know more! I could neither stay at the Werve nor go away until my doubts were cleared up.I went on to the farm, and was soon served with a glass of milk. The farmer’s wife seemed to knowall about my visit, and thought it quite natural for the Freule to send me there for a glass of new milk. She was loud in her praises of the Freule, said her equal was not to be found in the whole aristocracy, “so familiar and kind-hearted, but at times flighty, and then she goes off like a locomotive”—she pronounced it “leukemetief.” But it would be impossible for me to reproduce her Guelders dialect; and, to confess a truth, I had myself sometimes great difficulty in understanding her.She showed me the farm and the dog, a splendid brown pointer who allowed me to stroke him, probably for his mistress’ sake. Once the good farmer’s wife had loosened her tongue, she rattled away with great volubility—“Yes, she was sorry the General was no longer their landlord; but Overberg was not a bad fellow—he had made many repairs, and even promised to build a new barn which the General would never consent to. It was a pity for the man! A good gentleman, but he took no interest in farming; the whole place must have gone to wrack and ruin if the General had not agreed to sell it before it was too late. The Freule was sorry, for she liked farming;she had learned to milk, and talked to the cows just as if they were human beings. And horses—yes, Jonker, even the plough horses, before they go out into the field in the morning, she talks to them. My husband was groom to her grandfather, in his youth; I think I can see the greys she used to drive with so much pride, and Blount the coachman at her side, as proud as a king, with his arms folded, and looking as if the team belonged to him. Oh dear, yes! And now all that grandeur has disappeared. The beautiful carriage-horses are sold, and the Freule has only her English horse which my husband stables and grooms for her. What a sin and shame it is when the gentry fall into such decay! And the family used to be the greatest in these parts, and good to their tenants. My parents and grandparents always lived on the estate; but oh, oh! since the marriage of the eldest Freule Roselaer, they have never prospered. What can I say? ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand,’ as the Scriptures tell us. The Jonker has certainly heard of all these things?”“Enough, Mrs. Pauwelsen, more than enough,” I responded, for the good woman’s chatter wasbecoming insupportable. I hastily took my leave of her and arrived just in time for breakfast; in fact, I was in the breakfast-parlour before either the Captain or the General. Francis was alone, but when she saw me she left the room under the pretext of seeing if the tea-water boiled.“Stay, Francis—I think I have a right to a kinder reception.”“On what do you ground your right? Have you now satisfied your curiosity?”“I know nothing, Francis; I asked no questions.”“Asked nothing! on your word of honour?”“I have not askedtwowords, Francis. I did not ask, because I did not want to hear anything.”“Forsooth! You have shown more self-control than I thought a man capable of.”“Are the women so much our superiors in this respect?”“If it be necessary, we can keep quiet.”
Unromantic though it may sound, I must confess to having slept well on the first night I spent under the roof of my mother’s ancestors. Sleep surprised me whilst I was reflecting on the strange and incomprehensible character of Francis. Proud, generous, noble-hearted, quick-witted, beautiful—and yet with all her charms (which I could feel had already begun to work upon me) spoilt by a detestable education, by the manners of a sutler and a rudeness of the worst kind. And then, in addition to all this, there was the question of her past life which I had heard painted in such black colours. It seemed doubtful whether Major Frank could ever become Lady Francis van Zonshoven.
When I awoke the sun was streaming through the one window whose shutters I had purposely left open, with the intention of taking an early morningwalk. I crept silently down the stairs so as not to awake anybody, but I met Fritz in the vestibule, and he made his military salute in silence. The hall door was wide open. I took the direction of the home-farm, where I hoped to obtain a glass of new milk, and draw the tenants out a little about the inhabitants of the Castle—one in particular.
I had not gone very far before whom should I see coming from the farm but Francis herself, with a basket of fresh eggs.
After a moment’s hesitation I asked—
“Are we again good friends?” For I had an idea she would have taken another path if she had seen me a little sooner.
“I never knew we had ceased to be so,” she answered, colouring a little.
“Hem! Towards the close of the evening, in spite of what you may say to the contrary.”
“Say, rather, in spite of myself. Believe me, Leo, I was not morose out of caprice; I was troubled and anxious. I saw my manner displeased you, but I was afraid that to flatter grandfather’s weakness you were suffering yourself to become his dupe.”
“And even in that case I could not permit you to interfere.”
“You had told me you were poor, that you must economize, and then to squander your money in such a way in our house—it seemed to me like card-sharping.”
“No, no; nothing of the sort. But supposing it had been, you have tact enough to understand that it was beneath my dignity to take the money back.”
“That’s true, I am of your opinion; but I warned you beforehand that my manners were bad.”
“I think it less a question of bad manners than a certain arrogance, a certain despotism——”
“Well, then, pardon the arrogance, the despotism,” she said jestingly; “still, if I confess you were in the right and that I deserve correction, will you on your part acknowledge that you are making somewhat too much ado about a little mistake?”
“But you, who are so proud, how can you suppose that a man will consent to be protected by a woman?”
“Again you are right, Leopold; such a man would be like so many others I know.”
“Pardon me, Francis; our friendship is like a tender plant, and we must cultivate it so as to prevent its taking a crooked turn.”
“If you regard our friendship in such a serious light,” she resumed, whilst a slight blush suffused her cheeks, “I will capitulate on condition that our little quarrel of last night be forgotten and forgiven.”
I felt myself under the charm again, and seizing her hand in a transport of joy, I covered it with kisses.
“Leo, what are you doing?” she cried, pale and with tears in her eyes.
“Sealing the bond of our friendship.”
“Leo, Leo! you know not what you do,” she said softly; “you forget to whom you are speaking—I am Major Frank.”
“I will have no more of Major Frank; my cousin Francis Mordaunt must suffer me to offer her my arm.” And taking her hand again, I gently drew her arm within mine. She submitted in silence, with a singular expression of dejection on her face.
“I feel it will do me good to talk to you for once in this way, though it may be the first and only time. Where are you going, Leo?”
“To the farm yonder; I see you have been there already for eggs; let me carry the basket for you.”
“No, thank you. I had not reckoned on the eggs, but the good people insisted upon my taking them; I went to see a patient.”
“A patient! Do you play the doctor?”
“I do a little of everything; but the patient in question is a dog, a dear, faithful creature, my poor ‘Veldher,’ who has broken his leg, and will suffer no one to touch him but myself. Another trouble I have brought on myself; and yet, if the others could be remedied as easily!” she said, with a profound sigh.
She became pale as death, her lips quivered, and, withdrawing her arm from mine, she stood still, covering her face with her hands as if she would force back the tears already rolling down her cheeks. I remained by her side, and after a pause I said, with gentle earnestness—
“Tell me what has happened, Francis; it will be a relief to you and ease your mind.”
“Yes,” she resumed, calmly, “I must confide my sufferings to some one, but not now. I will not spoil our morning walk by calling up such a frightful scene. I can myself scarcely understand how it ispossible that I, who cannot bear to see dumb creatures suffer, have to reproach myself with the death of one of my fellow-men.”
“I beseech you to tell me all, trusting in me for my sincerest sympathy.”
“Not now,” she cried; “what good would it do? It would only embitter the few minutes we have to spend together.”
“May I help you with a word it seems to cost you trouble to pronounce? Is it not a certain unfortunate incident with regard to your coachman?”
“Just so, that’s it,” she replied, assuming her defiant and bitter tone. “If you wish to know more about it, ask the people at the farm—they know all the particulars.”
“I shall take good care not to go making inquiries into your secrets behind your back, Francis.”
“My secrets!” she exclaimed, her voice quivering with indignation. “There is no secret in the matter. It is a question of a dreadful accident, which happened on the public high-road in the presence of a crowd of spectators attracted by the noise; but the occasion was not lost to set public opinion against me. Was it not Major Frank, whonever acted like anybody else—Major Frank the outlaw! It would have been a pity to let such an opportunity of blackening her character pass. I ought to have reflected that you would have heard the story; and very likely you are come here ‘to interview’ the heroine of such a romantic adventure. It would be a pity you should lose your pains. There’s the farm—go straight on and ask the people to tell you all about the affair between Major Frank and her coachman Harry Blount; both the man and his wife were witnesses. And, Jonker van Zonshoven, when they have satisfied you, you may return to the Werve to take your leave, and return as you came.”
And off she ran, without giving me time to answer, leaving me in a state of terrible confusion.
One thing at last seemed clear to me; I had lost her for ever. Should I follow and overtake her? She appeared resolute to tell me no more. Yet I must know more! I could neither stay at the Werve nor go away until my doubts were cleared up.
I went on to the farm, and was soon served with a glass of milk. The farmer’s wife seemed to knowall about my visit, and thought it quite natural for the Freule to send me there for a glass of new milk. She was loud in her praises of the Freule, said her equal was not to be found in the whole aristocracy, “so familiar and kind-hearted, but at times flighty, and then she goes off like a locomotive”—she pronounced it “leukemetief.” But it would be impossible for me to reproduce her Guelders dialect; and, to confess a truth, I had myself sometimes great difficulty in understanding her.
She showed me the farm and the dog, a splendid brown pointer who allowed me to stroke him, probably for his mistress’ sake. Once the good farmer’s wife had loosened her tongue, she rattled away with great volubility—
“Yes, she was sorry the General was no longer their landlord; but Overberg was not a bad fellow—he had made many repairs, and even promised to build a new barn which the General would never consent to. It was a pity for the man! A good gentleman, but he took no interest in farming; the whole place must have gone to wrack and ruin if the General had not agreed to sell it before it was too late. The Freule was sorry, for she liked farming;she had learned to milk, and talked to the cows just as if they were human beings. And horses—yes, Jonker, even the plough horses, before they go out into the field in the morning, she talks to them. My husband was groom to her grandfather, in his youth; I think I can see the greys she used to drive with so much pride, and Blount the coachman at her side, as proud as a king, with his arms folded, and looking as if the team belonged to him. Oh dear, yes! And now all that grandeur has disappeared. The beautiful carriage-horses are sold, and the Freule has only her English horse which my husband stables and grooms for her. What a sin and shame it is when the gentry fall into such decay! And the family used to be the greatest in these parts, and good to their tenants. My parents and grandparents always lived on the estate; but oh, oh! since the marriage of the eldest Freule Roselaer, they have never prospered. What can I say? ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand,’ as the Scriptures tell us. The Jonker has certainly heard of all these things?”
“Enough, Mrs. Pauwelsen, more than enough,” I responded, for the good woman’s chatter wasbecoming insupportable. I hastily took my leave of her and arrived just in time for breakfast; in fact, I was in the breakfast-parlour before either the Captain or the General. Francis was alone, but when she saw me she left the room under the pretext of seeing if the tea-water boiled.
“Stay, Francis—I think I have a right to a kinder reception.”
“On what do you ground your right? Have you now satisfied your curiosity?”
“I know nothing, Francis; I asked no questions.”
“Asked nothing! on your word of honour?”
“I have not askedtwowords, Francis. I did not ask, because I did not want to hear anything.”
“Forsooth! You have shown more self-control than I thought a man capable of.”
“Are the women so much our superiors in this respect?”
“If it be necessary, we can keep quiet.”
Chapter XIX.The Captain made his appearance, and put an end to our conversation, without for a moment being aware how unwelcome his presence was to me. I could scarcely give a civil answer to his question—“Slept well, Jonker?”He went on, however, in his jovial tone—“The General will be here directly.”And, indeed, the General’s entrance followed like an echo to the words, and the breakfast began.Francis was silent and preoccupied—yet she gave me a look as if she regretted her want of confidence in me—making all sorts of mistakes. The General’s tea was sweetened twice over, and the Captain found he had no sugar in his, a defect which he remedied as furtively as possible, whispering to me—“Our Major’s got out on the wrong side of the bed this morning. We must take care, or the orders of the day will be severe. She——”“But Francis! What’s the matter with you today; the eggs are too hard,” growled the General.“What a pity, just when we have a visitor,” sighed the Captain; “otherwise they are boiled to perfection.”“By the way, Leopold, what hour is your carriage ordered for?” interposed the General.“Well, uncle, I left it to the Captain,” was my reply.As we spoke a carriage drove up, and Francis rose from the table to look out of the window.“It is indeed too early,” said the General, reproachfully, to Rolf.“Wait a moment, Excellency,” replied Rolf, with a roguish twinkle of the eye; and he walked over to the window where Francis stood. Then with a loud laugh he said, “The Jonker left the matter in my hands, and perceiving he would like to stay a little longer with us, I simply sent off to Zutphen for his luggage.”It was now my turn to speak, and I askedFrancis if she would keep me there a few days longer. Her answer, however, was in the negative.“Leave at once; it is better for both of us.”In the meantime the Captain, like a worthy major-domo, had not only assisted in bringing in my box, but also a number of packages, bottles, tins, &c., which he spread over the table, and clapping the General on the shoulder, as he said—“Now, what says your Excellency; have I not made a splendid foraging party?”“No more of your ‘Excellency’ and insolent nonsense,” burst out Francis, her eyes striking fire and her cheeks burning with rage. “You clearly forget, you d——d rascal, that you are an inferior; otherwise you would not dare to act like this. Bless my soul, what a foolish throwing away of money is this—perdrix rouges, pâté-de-foie-gras, all kinds of fish in jelly, all kinds of preserved fruit. Why, it looks as if you were going to start a business here. Why have you brought all these useless dainties again?” And she struck the table with her clenched fist till the pots and bottles danced again. “The General ought to turn you out of doors; and he would if his tongue and sense of honour had not grown dull.”“Francis, Francis!” murmured Von Zwenken in a pitiful tone.“No, grandfather,” she continued, more loudly and rudely, “it is a shame, and if you had the least fortitude left you would put a stop to such extravagance.”“Major, Major!” interposed Rolf, deprecatingly.“Silence, you miserable epicure—I am no longer your major; I have had enough of your quasi-pleasantry. If I had my will all this should be changed. But I have lost my authority; you let me talk——”“Scream, you mean,” corrected Von Zwenken, with a quivering voice.“And you go on just the same,” resumed Francis, pitching her voice still higher. “But I will not suffer you to take such liberties any longer; and if grandfather does not call you to order, I will myself put you out of doors, and all your delicacies with you.”“For heaven’s sake, Francis, calm yourself,” said Von Zwenken; “remember that Jonker van Zonshoven is a witness of your unseemly conduct.”“All the better. The Jonker chooses to become our guest, and he shall see and know into what amean and miserable a household he has entered. I will put no blind before his eyes.”“There is, however, a difference between trying to blind people, and tearing off the bandages from the sores in this way, Miss Mordaunt,” I replied, with emphasis.“Possibly, Jonker; but I cannot hide my meaning in fine words. I must speak plainly. I would rather live on bread and water than be beholden to another for these luxuries.”With this she left the room, giving me a defiant look, which I returned by a shake of the head, to signify how much I disapproved of her conduct and the intemperance of her language.Whilst we stood staring at each other, we three gentlemen, in a state of stupefaction, she just put her head in at the door and said—“Captain, you will attend to the housekeeping duties to-day; I am going for a ride.”“At your service, Commandant,” answered Rolf, bringing his hand to his cap in military fashion.I could not help expressing my amazement at the coolness with which he treated the whole affair.“What could I say, Jonker; such outbursts are not new to me. I saw this morning that the weather-glass stood at storm. The quicker and more violent the storm, the sooner it is over; and you know an old soldier is proof against weather.”“I am glad I warned you beforehand, nephew, of my granddaughter’s temper,” said the General, with a deep sigh, without raising his head to look at me. “Once she’s got an idea into her head, there is no opposing her; she’ll drive through anything, like a man on his hobby-horse; she never reasons.”I thought to myself, she reasons only too logically for you; and he evidently felt it, for throughout the whole scene he had sat with his head down, nervously playing with his ring.“Come, General, don’t be cast down,” said Rolf, cheerily: “we’ll maintain our alliance against the common foe, and the wind will change again.”As he spoke he unfolded a long, small parcel; it contained a riding-whip. “I am afraid the moment is inopportune,” he said; “and yet she will need it. Who knows but she’ll accept my present?”“I hope not,” I said to myself; “that would lower her in my esteem.”“She deserves to be chastised with it,” interposed the General, now giving vent to his pent-up rage.“Yes, Excellency, that we ought to have done twenty years ago. It was a mistake to promote her to the command before we had taught her the discipline.”“A great mistake,” sighed the General.Rolf now set to work to attend to his housekeeping duties, and I excused myself under the pretext of having letters to write; for I had a great wish to be alone and reflect on all I had seen and heard this morning.
The Captain made his appearance, and put an end to our conversation, without for a moment being aware how unwelcome his presence was to me. I could scarcely give a civil answer to his question—
“Slept well, Jonker?”
He went on, however, in his jovial tone—
“The General will be here directly.”
And, indeed, the General’s entrance followed like an echo to the words, and the breakfast began.
Francis was silent and preoccupied—yet she gave me a look as if she regretted her want of confidence in me—making all sorts of mistakes. The General’s tea was sweetened twice over, and the Captain found he had no sugar in his, a defect which he remedied as furtively as possible, whispering to me—
“Our Major’s got out on the wrong side of the bed this morning. We must take care, or the orders of the day will be severe. She——”
“But Francis! What’s the matter with you today; the eggs are too hard,” growled the General.
“What a pity, just when we have a visitor,” sighed the Captain; “otherwise they are boiled to perfection.”
“By the way, Leopold, what hour is your carriage ordered for?” interposed the General.
“Well, uncle, I left it to the Captain,” was my reply.
As we spoke a carriage drove up, and Francis rose from the table to look out of the window.
“It is indeed too early,” said the General, reproachfully, to Rolf.
“Wait a moment, Excellency,” replied Rolf, with a roguish twinkle of the eye; and he walked over to the window where Francis stood. Then with a loud laugh he said, “The Jonker left the matter in my hands, and perceiving he would like to stay a little longer with us, I simply sent off to Zutphen for his luggage.”
It was now my turn to speak, and I askedFrancis if she would keep me there a few days longer. Her answer, however, was in the negative.
“Leave at once; it is better for both of us.”
In the meantime the Captain, like a worthy major-domo, had not only assisted in bringing in my box, but also a number of packages, bottles, tins, &c., which he spread over the table, and clapping the General on the shoulder, as he said—
“Now, what says your Excellency; have I not made a splendid foraging party?”
“No more of your ‘Excellency’ and insolent nonsense,” burst out Francis, her eyes striking fire and her cheeks burning with rage. “You clearly forget, you d——d rascal, that you are an inferior; otherwise you would not dare to act like this. Bless my soul, what a foolish throwing away of money is this—perdrix rouges, pâté-de-foie-gras, all kinds of fish in jelly, all kinds of preserved fruit. Why, it looks as if you were going to start a business here. Why have you brought all these useless dainties again?” And she struck the table with her clenched fist till the pots and bottles danced again. “The General ought to turn you out of doors; and he would if his tongue and sense of honour had not grown dull.”
“Francis, Francis!” murmured Von Zwenken in a pitiful tone.
“No, grandfather,” she continued, more loudly and rudely, “it is a shame, and if you had the least fortitude left you would put a stop to such extravagance.”
“Major, Major!” interposed Rolf, deprecatingly.
“Silence, you miserable epicure—I am no longer your major; I have had enough of your quasi-pleasantry. If I had my will all this should be changed. But I have lost my authority; you let me talk——”
“Scream, you mean,” corrected Von Zwenken, with a quivering voice.
“And you go on just the same,” resumed Francis, pitching her voice still higher. “But I will not suffer you to take such liberties any longer; and if grandfather does not call you to order, I will myself put you out of doors, and all your delicacies with you.”
“For heaven’s sake, Francis, calm yourself,” said Von Zwenken; “remember that Jonker van Zonshoven is a witness of your unseemly conduct.”
“All the better. The Jonker chooses to become our guest, and he shall see and know into what amean and miserable a household he has entered. I will put no blind before his eyes.”
“There is, however, a difference between trying to blind people, and tearing off the bandages from the sores in this way, Miss Mordaunt,” I replied, with emphasis.
“Possibly, Jonker; but I cannot hide my meaning in fine words. I must speak plainly. I would rather live on bread and water than be beholden to another for these luxuries.”
With this she left the room, giving me a defiant look, which I returned by a shake of the head, to signify how much I disapproved of her conduct and the intemperance of her language.
Whilst we stood staring at each other, we three gentlemen, in a state of stupefaction, she just put her head in at the door and said—
“Captain, you will attend to the housekeeping duties to-day; I am going for a ride.”
“At your service, Commandant,” answered Rolf, bringing his hand to his cap in military fashion.
I could not help expressing my amazement at the coolness with which he treated the whole affair.
“What could I say, Jonker; such outbursts are not new to me. I saw this morning that the weather-glass stood at storm. The quicker and more violent the storm, the sooner it is over; and you know an old soldier is proof against weather.”
“I am glad I warned you beforehand, nephew, of my granddaughter’s temper,” said the General, with a deep sigh, without raising his head to look at me. “Once she’s got an idea into her head, there is no opposing her; she’ll drive through anything, like a man on his hobby-horse; she never reasons.”
I thought to myself, she reasons only too logically for you; and he evidently felt it, for throughout the whole scene he had sat with his head down, nervously playing with his ring.
“Come, General, don’t be cast down,” said Rolf, cheerily: “we’ll maintain our alliance against the common foe, and the wind will change again.”
As he spoke he unfolded a long, small parcel; it contained a riding-whip. “I am afraid the moment is inopportune,” he said; “and yet she will need it. Who knows but she’ll accept my present?”
“I hope not,” I said to myself; “that would lower her in my esteem.”
“She deserves to be chastised with it,” interposed the General, now giving vent to his pent-up rage.
“Yes, Excellency, that we ought to have done twenty years ago. It was a mistake to promote her to the command before we had taught her the discipline.”
“A great mistake,” sighed the General.
Rolf now set to work to attend to his housekeeping duties, and I excused myself under the pretext of having letters to write; for I had a great wish to be alone and reflect on all I had seen and heard this morning.
Chapter XX.Once in my room, I threw off my coat, loosened my collar, and made myself quite comfortable before commencing a letter to Overberg.Suddenly there came a polite rap at my door, and, when I opened it, who should stand before me but Major Frank in person. She was dressed in her riding-habit, and brought me an inkstand, which she placed on the table, then took a chair quite at her ease, though she could see I was not pleased at being surprised in my shirt-sleeves. However, I put on my coat and demanded the object of her visit, as I scarcely believed her sole object was to supply me with an inkstand; and I pointed out to her I had got my own writing-case with me. My freezing manner seemed to disappoint her, so she said—“I wished to ask a favour of you, but I see I disturb you.”I was still silent.“Have you a strap amongst your luggage which I can use as a riding-whip? You know I have lost mine.”“I can lend you my ruler. Will that do?”She grew very red, and after a pause she said—“I see you are in no humour to render me a service.”“I am always ready to serve a lady who exercises the privileges of her sex. Why did you not send for me, if you wished to ask me anything?”“Ah!” she exclaimed, in an injured tone, “my want of etiquette causes your ill-humour. I have come into your room. Well, pass it over—you know I am so little of ‘a lady.’”“That’s only too true, Major.”“Major!” she repeated angrily, opening her large eyes in astonishment. “I thought you disliked my nickname.”“Not since I have seen the soldier in action. But I should like to know to which class of majors you belong, tambour-major or sergeant-major? For I believe the command of a regiment is usually given to a man of refinement—to a person, in fact, who can make himself respected by his gentleman-likebehaviour and dignity; but after the scene I witnessed this morning——”“Leopold!” she cried, deadly pale, her lips quivering, “this is a personal insult. Do you mean it as such?”I was surprised at the change, for I had expected her to wreak her anger on me now. But she sat quite still, as if nailed to her chair; so I continued—“My remarks only apply to the disagreeable character it pleases you to assume.”Still no answer. And I began to be embarrassed in my turn, which embarrassment was only increased by her breaking out in a plaintive tone—“Leopold, you strike deeper than you suppose.”“Francis,” I cried, changing my tone, “believe me, it is not my intention to wound you; I wish to cure you.”I was going to take her hand, when she sprang up as if she had received an electric shock, and said in her bitterest tone—“I will not be cured by you; I am what I am, and don’t you waste your precious time on such a disagreeable creature as you think me to be.”“Oh, Francis! I am not deceived in you, and Iwill try to cure you in spite of yourself. When you made such a terrible scene in my presence this morning, I understood you. It meant this: He is staying here to study the character of Major Frank; well now, he shall see it in all its rudeness and insufferableness, and we shall see how long he will stay in spite of me. Miss Mordaunt, I have seen through your intentions, and I am not to be frightened away by the rude mask you have put on.”“A mask! I am no masker!” she cried, stamping her foot with rage. “You, Jonker van Zonshoven, come from the Hague, a town full of maskers, to tell me this, me whose chief defect or merit—which you like—is to have broken with all social hypocrisies, me whose chief pride is to speak my mind plainly without regard of persons. I did not think it necessary to measure my words in your presence; it appeared to me you had made yourself one of the family, and I thought it best you should know the relationship in which we stand to each other.”“Just so,” I replied, smiling. “You acknowledge that in raising your voice several notes too high when you gave those two humiliated men a piece of your mind, your real object was to drive a thirdperson out of the house. Be sincere, Francis, confess the truth.”I tried in vain to look her in the face whilst I spoke. She had turned her head away, and was kicking the leg of the table.“I observe, and not for the first time, that you can be disagreeable when you like,” she remarked, after a long pause.“I confess it; but an evasion is not an answer, Francis.”“Well then, yes, it is true; I wished you to leave for your own sake. But never believe, Leopold, whatever stories you hear about me, that I am deceitful, that I would play a part. I was myself when I made the scene—violent, angry, and burning with indignation. I have my whims and fancies, that I know; but I never feign—that would ill become me; for, I may say, I have too much good in me to act falsely. Yet there are so many contradictory feelings in me that I sometimes stand surprised at myself. And let me tell you, Leo, I came here to seek consolation from you, but your tone and your words have bitterly disappointed me, so much so that for a moment I have asked myself whether youwere one of those snobs in patent-leather boots, who, while expressing horror at an ungloved hand, are yet not afraid of soiling its whiteness by boxing your wife’s ears. Because I did not observe the form of sending a servant to ask you to come to my room, you receive me as you did, and repulse me with mocking words!”It was now my turn to feel piqued, and I should have answered sharply had I not succeeded in controlling myself.“Pardon me, Francis, I should consider myself the greatest of cowards to strike a woman; but it was no question of a woman just now. We were speaking of Major Frank—Major Frank who is angry when reminded of the privileges of the fair sex, because he will not be classed amongst ‘the ladies,’ and who, in my opinion, ought not to be surprised when, after his own fashion, one tells him the truth roundly, and without mincing matters.”Francis listened this time without interrupting me. She was staring at the panes of the window, as if to put herself in countenance again; her paleness disappeared, and, turning round, she said, without anger, but with firmness—“I confess, Leopold, it is not easy to contradict you; and now I think we are quits. Are we again good friends?”“There’s nothing I desire more ardently; but, once for all, with whom? with Major Frank or——”“Well, then, Francis Mordaunt asks for your friendship.”She offered me both her hands, and her eyes filled with tears she could no longer keep back. How gladly I would have kissed them away, and pressed her to my heart and told her all! But I could not compromise my commencing victory.“Should I have spoken to you in this way, Francis, if I had not been your sincere friend?”“I see it now, and I have need of a sincere friend. Well then, the Captain is ruining himself for our sakes; and grandfather, in a most cowardly fashion, lends himself to such doings. Is it not horrible?”“It is very wrong, I admit.”“Now, suppose the General were to die—I should be left shut up in this place for life with the Captain. When he has rendered himself poor for our sakes, I cannot send him away. Now do you understand I had reasons for being angry this morning?”“That you had reasons, I don’t dispute; but the form——”“Come, come, always the form!”“I don’t say the form is the main thing, but a woman who gives way to such fits of violence puts herself in the wrong, even though she have right on her side. Just think for a moment what a scene if the Captain had retaliated in the same coarse language of the barracks, which he has probably not forgotten.”“I should like to see him try it on with me!”“However, he had a perfect right to do so. I agree you are right in principle; but let me beseech you to change your manner of proceeding. The gentleness of a woman is always more persuasive than the transports of passion. You have told me your early education was neglected; but you have read Schiller?”“Die Räuber,” she replied, tauntingly.“But not his ‘Macht des Weibes,’ nor this line—‘Was die Stille nicht wirkt, wirket die Rauschende nie!’”She shook her head in the negative.“This part of your education has been much neglected.”“I will not deny it.”“But it is not yet too late. Will you listen to my advice?”“Not now; I have already stayed too long here, and—and—you stay at the Castle——”“As long as you will keep me, Francis.”“Well, stay as long as you can—that is, if you can fall in with our ways. I am going out for a ride; I need fresh air and movement.”“Aproposthe service you came to ask of me—the strap?”“Oh, I shall pluck a switch. The Captain came to offer me a whip, and——”“And you would rather accept it at my hands,” I said, laughing.“No; but I should like to borrow ten guilders of you for a couple of days.”I handed over my purse, and told her to take out of it as much as she required. What a strange creature! What a comic conclusion to our battle!I also felt as if a little fresh air would do me good, and so I walked off to the village post-office with my letter to Overberg.
Once in my room, I threw off my coat, loosened my collar, and made myself quite comfortable before commencing a letter to Overberg.
Suddenly there came a polite rap at my door, and, when I opened it, who should stand before me but Major Frank in person. She was dressed in her riding-habit, and brought me an inkstand, which she placed on the table, then took a chair quite at her ease, though she could see I was not pleased at being surprised in my shirt-sleeves. However, I put on my coat and demanded the object of her visit, as I scarcely believed her sole object was to supply me with an inkstand; and I pointed out to her I had got my own writing-case with me. My freezing manner seemed to disappoint her, so she said—
“I wished to ask a favour of you, but I see I disturb you.”
I was still silent.
“Have you a strap amongst your luggage which I can use as a riding-whip? You know I have lost mine.”
“I can lend you my ruler. Will that do?”
She grew very red, and after a pause she said—
“I see you are in no humour to render me a service.”
“I am always ready to serve a lady who exercises the privileges of her sex. Why did you not send for me, if you wished to ask me anything?”
“Ah!” she exclaimed, in an injured tone, “my want of etiquette causes your ill-humour. I have come into your room. Well, pass it over—you know I am so little of ‘a lady.’”
“That’s only too true, Major.”
“Major!” she repeated angrily, opening her large eyes in astonishment. “I thought you disliked my nickname.”
“Not since I have seen the soldier in action. But I should like to know to which class of majors you belong, tambour-major or sergeant-major? For I believe the command of a regiment is usually given to a man of refinement—to a person, in fact, who can make himself respected by his gentleman-likebehaviour and dignity; but after the scene I witnessed this morning——”
“Leopold!” she cried, deadly pale, her lips quivering, “this is a personal insult. Do you mean it as such?”
I was surprised at the change, for I had expected her to wreak her anger on me now. But she sat quite still, as if nailed to her chair; so I continued—
“My remarks only apply to the disagreeable character it pleases you to assume.”
Still no answer. And I began to be embarrassed in my turn, which embarrassment was only increased by her breaking out in a plaintive tone—
“Leopold, you strike deeper than you suppose.”
“Francis,” I cried, changing my tone, “believe me, it is not my intention to wound you; I wish to cure you.”
I was going to take her hand, when she sprang up as if she had received an electric shock, and said in her bitterest tone—
“I will not be cured by you; I am what I am, and don’t you waste your precious time on such a disagreeable creature as you think me to be.”
“Oh, Francis! I am not deceived in you, and Iwill try to cure you in spite of yourself. When you made such a terrible scene in my presence this morning, I understood you. It meant this: He is staying here to study the character of Major Frank; well now, he shall see it in all its rudeness and insufferableness, and we shall see how long he will stay in spite of me. Miss Mordaunt, I have seen through your intentions, and I am not to be frightened away by the rude mask you have put on.”
“A mask! I am no masker!” she cried, stamping her foot with rage. “You, Jonker van Zonshoven, come from the Hague, a town full of maskers, to tell me this, me whose chief defect or merit—which you like—is to have broken with all social hypocrisies, me whose chief pride is to speak my mind plainly without regard of persons. I did not think it necessary to measure my words in your presence; it appeared to me you had made yourself one of the family, and I thought it best you should know the relationship in which we stand to each other.”
“Just so,” I replied, smiling. “You acknowledge that in raising your voice several notes too high when you gave those two humiliated men a piece of your mind, your real object was to drive a thirdperson out of the house. Be sincere, Francis, confess the truth.”
I tried in vain to look her in the face whilst I spoke. She had turned her head away, and was kicking the leg of the table.
“I observe, and not for the first time, that you can be disagreeable when you like,” she remarked, after a long pause.
“I confess it; but an evasion is not an answer, Francis.”
“Well then, yes, it is true; I wished you to leave for your own sake. But never believe, Leopold, whatever stories you hear about me, that I am deceitful, that I would play a part. I was myself when I made the scene—violent, angry, and burning with indignation. I have my whims and fancies, that I know; but I never feign—that would ill become me; for, I may say, I have too much good in me to act falsely. Yet there are so many contradictory feelings in me that I sometimes stand surprised at myself. And let me tell you, Leo, I came here to seek consolation from you, but your tone and your words have bitterly disappointed me, so much so that for a moment I have asked myself whether youwere one of those snobs in patent-leather boots, who, while expressing horror at an ungloved hand, are yet not afraid of soiling its whiteness by boxing your wife’s ears. Because I did not observe the form of sending a servant to ask you to come to my room, you receive me as you did, and repulse me with mocking words!”
It was now my turn to feel piqued, and I should have answered sharply had I not succeeded in controlling myself.
“Pardon me, Francis, I should consider myself the greatest of cowards to strike a woman; but it was no question of a woman just now. We were speaking of Major Frank—Major Frank who is angry when reminded of the privileges of the fair sex, because he will not be classed amongst ‘the ladies,’ and who, in my opinion, ought not to be surprised when, after his own fashion, one tells him the truth roundly, and without mincing matters.”
Francis listened this time without interrupting me. She was staring at the panes of the window, as if to put herself in countenance again; her paleness disappeared, and, turning round, she said, without anger, but with firmness—
“I confess, Leopold, it is not easy to contradict you; and now I think we are quits. Are we again good friends?”
“There’s nothing I desire more ardently; but, once for all, with whom? with Major Frank or——”
“Well, then, Francis Mordaunt asks for your friendship.”
She offered me both her hands, and her eyes filled with tears she could no longer keep back. How gladly I would have kissed them away, and pressed her to my heart and told her all! But I could not compromise my commencing victory.
“Should I have spoken to you in this way, Francis, if I had not been your sincere friend?”
“I see it now, and I have need of a sincere friend. Well then, the Captain is ruining himself for our sakes; and grandfather, in a most cowardly fashion, lends himself to such doings. Is it not horrible?”
“It is very wrong, I admit.”
“Now, suppose the General were to die—I should be left shut up in this place for life with the Captain. When he has rendered himself poor for our sakes, I cannot send him away. Now do you understand I had reasons for being angry this morning?”
“That you had reasons, I don’t dispute; but the form——”
“Come, come, always the form!”
“I don’t say the form is the main thing, but a woman who gives way to such fits of violence puts herself in the wrong, even though she have right on her side. Just think for a moment what a scene if the Captain had retaliated in the same coarse language of the barracks, which he has probably not forgotten.”
“I should like to see him try it on with me!”
“However, he had a perfect right to do so. I agree you are right in principle; but let me beseech you to change your manner of proceeding. The gentleness of a woman is always more persuasive than the transports of passion. You have told me your early education was neglected; but you have read Schiller?”
“Die Räuber,” she replied, tauntingly.
“But not his ‘Macht des Weibes,’ nor this line—
‘Was die Stille nicht wirkt, wirket die Rauschende nie!’”
‘Was die Stille nicht wirkt, wirket die Rauschende nie!’”
She shook her head in the negative.
“This part of your education has been much neglected.”
“I will not deny it.”
“But it is not yet too late. Will you listen to my advice?”
“Not now; I have already stayed too long here, and—and—you stay at the Castle——”
“As long as you will keep me, Francis.”
“Well, stay as long as you can—that is, if you can fall in with our ways. I am going out for a ride; I need fresh air and movement.”
“Aproposthe service you came to ask of me—the strap?”
“Oh, I shall pluck a switch. The Captain came to offer me a whip, and——”
“And you would rather accept it at my hands,” I said, laughing.
“No; but I should like to borrow ten guilders of you for a couple of days.”
I handed over my purse, and told her to take out of it as much as she required. What a strange creature! What a comic conclusion to our battle!
I also felt as if a little fresh air would do me good, and so I walked off to the village post-office with my letter to Overberg.