CHAPTER XX.--SOME OF THE CHARACTERS FALL OUT AND OTHERS FALL IN.

“So! you’re old acquaintances, it seems!” observed Leicester, who had overheard the conversation following upon Lewis’s introduction to Lord Bellefield. “Frere told me about the dog business, but I never knew till now that it had been Bellefield who offered you money for him. I can see you were annoyed about it. Belle fancies money can buy everything (which is pretty true in the long run), and a dog is a dog to him and nothing more. He’d never dream of making a friend of one; in fact, he votes friendship a bore altogether; so you must not heed his insult to Herr Faust. What are people going to do this afternoon? I wish somebody would settle something. Annie, just attend to me a minute, will you--what are we going to do?”

“Papa talked of a skating party on the lake,” returned Annie, “but I’ve had no definite orders. Where can papa be? Do go and look for him, Charles.”

“Is he in the house, think you?” inquired Charles, rising languidly and gazing round with a look of dreamy helplessness.

“I saw General Grant cross the lawn with a gentleman--Mr. De Grandeville, I believe--not five minutes since,” observed Lewis.

“Exactly; then as you know where to find him, Arundel, and I don’t, I dare say you’ll be kind enough to tell him that--what was it, Annie?” said Leicester, reseating himself in an easy-chair with an expression of intense relief.

“Charley, how idle you are! I am quite ashamed of you,” exclaimed Annie vehemently; then, turning to Lewis, she continued, “If you would be so kind, Mr. Arundel, as to ask papa whether the lake scheme holds good, and if we are to walk or drive there, I should be so much obliged to you.”

Lewis signified his willingness to execute her wishes, and calling to Walter to accompany him, left the room.

“Well, Annie, how do you like Lewis Arundel by this time?” inquired her cousin. “Wasn’t I right in telling you he was quite a catch?”

“Yes, indeed,” returned Annie warmly; “and he is so kind and clever about that poor Walter, I don’t know what we should do without him. I think it is quite delightful to see his manner towards him, poor boy! it combines all the tenderness of a woman with the firmness of a man, he is so patient and forbearing; but it must in some degree repay him for his trouble to see the improvement he has effected, and the strong affection he has inspired. Walter absolutely seems to dote upon him.”

“A most desirable acquisition, certainly, the affection of an idiot,” observed Lord Bellefield with a satirical curl of the lip.

“I never despise real affection of any kind,” returned Annie quickly.

“I am delighted to hear you say so, _belle cousine_,” replied Lord Bellefield, fixing his bold, roving eyes on her with an expression intended to be fascinating, but which was simply disagreeable.

Annie looked annoyed, and saying she must warn Miss Livingstone of the intended expedition, rose and quitted the apartment.

When the brothers were left together, Charles, after a minute’s pause, began--“I say, Bellefield, I wish you’d try and be a little more civil to young Arundel. You annoyed him by the way in which you offered money for his dog, just after he had risked his life to save it, and I don’t think you mended matters by what you added to-day. Recollect he’s a gentleman by birth, and has the feelings of one.”

“Curse his feelings!” was the unamiable rejoinder; “he’s a proud, insolent young puppy. If he’s a gentleman by birth, he’s a beggar by position, and requires pulling down to his proper level. I’ve no notion of dependents giving themselves such airs, and shall let him know my opinion some of these days.”

Charley Leicester regarded his elder brother with a half-sleepy look of serio-comic disgust, then slightly shrugging his shoulders, he drew on his glove, placed his hat on his head, arranged his curls to his satisfaction at a mirror, and lounged gracefully out of the room.

Scarcely had he done so when the late subject of their conversation entered by another door which opened into the conservatory, and glanced round the apartment as if in quest of some one. Apparently the object of his search was not to be discerned, for turning to Lord Bellefield, he inquired “whether he could direct him where to find Miss Grant?”

The person addressed favoured him for some seconds with a supercilious stare ere he answered, “And what might you want with that young lady, pray?”

Lewis paused for a moment before he dared trust himself to reply, for the tone in which the question had been asked was most insolent. At length he said, “I can have no objection to gratify your lordship’s curiosity. The General wished me to inform Miss Grant that he had arranged a skating party on the lake for this afternoon, and that carriages would be at the door in ten minutes to transport those of the company thither who might prefer driving to walking.”

“Really, you must possess a wonderful memory, Mr. Arundel; I dare swear those were the General’s very words. As, however, I can scarcely imagine it consistent with your onerous duties to play the part of squire to dames, I’ll save you the trouble for once, by delivering your message myself.” And with an irritating smile, as he remarked the anger his words had produced, Lord Bellefield turned and quitted the apartment.

Lewis stood for a moment gazing after the retreating figure, his chest heaving and his nostrils expanded, like those of some hunted animal; then pacing the room (his invariable custom when labouring under strong excitement), he gave vent to the following broken sentences:--

“He meant to insult me--his words, his look, everything proves it--and I did not resent it. Perhaps he thinks I fear him--if I believed so, I’d follow him, and before them all fix on him the blow of shame that he must avenge, or own himself a coward.” As he spoke he took two or three hasty strides towards the door; checking himself, however, as his eye accidentally fell upon Walter, who had entered with him, and who stood regarding him with looks of stupid amazement, he continued: “But I must not think of myself only; the interests of others are at stake--Rose--my Mother--that poor boy--I dare not sacrifice them.” He flung himself into a chair, and pressing his hand against his burning brow, resumed, “Oh, why am I called upon to bear this?--how have I sinned, that this degradation should be forced upon me?--the coward! he knows I am bound hand and foot, or he dare not thus insult me; it is like striking a fettered man--” He paused, then added, “Well, a time may come when I may meet him more as an equal; at all events, now it is my duty to bear as much as human nature can, and I’ll do it.” He remained silent for a few minutes, with his hand over his eyes, waiting till the excitement should pass away. From this state he was aroused by feeling something touch him, and looking up, he perceived the idiot, half kneeling, half sitting by his side, gazing up into his face with looks of wonder and sympathy. This mute evidence of affection acted as a balm to his wounded spirit, and laying his hand kindly on the boy’s shoulder, he said, “Walter, my poor fellow, have I frightened you? I was not angry with _you_, you know. Come, we will walk down to the lake and see the skating. What has become of Faust, I wonder? We must take him with us, of course.”

“Who was that who went away just now?” returned Walter. “He with the hair over his mouth, I mean?”

“That was Lord Bellefield, your friend Mr. Leicester’s brother.”

“He’s a bad man, isn’t he?”

“Why should you think so, Walter?”

The boy paused for a few moments in reflection, then answered, “His eyes look wicked and frighten me; besides, he made you angry--I hate him.”

“You should not say that, Walter; you know it is not right to hate any one,” returned Lewis, feeling dreadfully hypocritical; then linking his arm in that of his pupil, they passed out through the conservatory.

As the sound of their retreating footsteps died away a figure peeped timidly into the apartment, and seeing it was untenanted, entered and gazed after them long and fixedly. It was Annie Grant, who, returning to learn the result of Lewis’s embassy to her father, had involuntarily overheard both the insult and the burst of wounded feeling which it had called forth.

In that short five minutes were sown seeds that, as they grew to maturity, bore sleepless nights and weary days, and the tearless sorrow of a breaking heart, as a portion of their bitter fruit.

The lake in Broadhurst Park presented a gay scene on the afternoon in question. The General, anxious to propitiate the good-will of the voters, had ordered the park to be thrown open to all who might choose to witness or join in the amusement of skating. A sharp frost, which had continued without intermission for several days, had covered the water with a firm coating of ice, which afforded a surface as smooth as glass for the evolutions of the skaters. The sun was shining brightly, bringing out beautiful effects of light and shade on the steep and rugged banks, and causing the hoar-frost on the feathery branches of a young birch plantation to glitter like sprays of diamonds. On the side approached by the drive from the house a tent had been pitched, in such a direction that any of the party who feared to expose themselves to the cold might witness the performances of the skaters and yet be sheltered from the troublesome intrusion of the north wind.

As Lewis and Walter came in sight of the spot (on which several groups of well-dressed people, together with a considerable number of a lower class, were already assembled) the latter uttered an exclamation of delight, and roused out of his usual state of apathy by the novel excitement, bounded gaily forward till he reached the side of Charles Leicester, to whom he had taken an extreme fancy.

“Mr. Arundel is going to teach me how to skate, Mr. Leicester, and you are to help,” he exclaimed, as soon as he had recovered breath after his run.

“Am I?” returned Leicester with a good-natured smile “How do you know that I will help you?”

“Because Mr. Arundel said so; and everybody minds him--Faust and all.”

“Is that true, Arundel? Am I to do just as you tell me?” inquired Leicester, as the individual alluded to joined them.

“It is quite right that Walter should think so, at all events,” returned Lewis; “but I told him to ask you, as a favour, whether you would lend us your assistance. Walter is anxious to learn to skate, and to save his cranium from getting a few artificial bumps suddenly developed upon it, I propose that you and I should each take one of his arms and keep him from falling, till he learns to stand safely upon his skates without assistance.”

Leicester gave vent to a deep sigh of resignation, then muttered,

“Well, I should certainly never have dreamed of undergoing such an amount of exertion on my own account; but I suppose Walter fancies it will be very charming, and he has not a great many pleasures, poor fellow!” he continued aside. And so, like a good-natured, kind-hearted creature, as, despite his affectation, he really was, he performed the service required of him, and actually exerted himself till his complexion became, as he expressed it, “redder than that of some awful ploughboy.” After a time Walter grew tired with the unaccustomed exercise, and taking off his skates, the trio proceeded to join the party at the tent. As they approached, Annie tripped up to Leicester, and seizing his arm, said, “Where have you been all this time? I wanted you particularly.” She then added something in a low voice which had the effect of heightening her cousin’s unromantic complexion to a still greater degree, and elicited from him the incredulous ejaculation, “Nonsense!”

“I knew you’d be surprised,” returned Annie, laughing. “She is going to remain here till the party breaks up, so you’ll have plenty of time to make yourself agreeable, if it’s not ‘too much trouble,’ or ‘such a bore,’” she continued, mimicking Charles’s languid drawl.

“How was this matter brought about, pray?” inquired her cousin; “and why on earth do you fancy it concerns me in any way?”

“It was all my doing,” returned Annie. “I was not blind when we were in Scotland; and after you left us I made a point of cultivating the young lady, and fortunately for you, approving of her, I asked papa to let me invite her to Broadhurst.”

“Of course, with that discretion which is such a striking characteristic of your amiable sex, imparting to him all your views in doing so.”

“Now, Charley, you are very cross and unkind and disagreeable. I asked her merely because I thought it would give you pleasure; and though I like sometimes to tease you a little myself, of course I never dreamed of saying anything to my father which could annoy you.”

“Well, you are a dear, good little cousin, I know, so I won’t scold you,” was the reply, and they entered the tent together.

A few minutes afterwards Lewis was engaged in pointing out to Walter one of the skaters who was performing some very intricate figure with great success, when he heard a female voice exclaim, “Surely I am not mistaken--that is Mr. Arundel!” and turning at the sound, beheld, leaning on the arm of Charles Leicester, Miss Laura Peyton, the young lady who had penetrated his disguise at Lady Lombard’s party. Not to return her bow was impossible; but at the recollection of all that had passed on that evening his cheek flushed and his features assumed a cold, haughty expression, the result of mingled pride and vexation, under which he strove to conceal his annoyance. Annie, who was not aware that Lewis and her friend had ever met before, glanced from one to the other with looks of the greatest astonishment, which was by no means diminished when Miss Peyton continued, “Now let me inquire after the Prince of Persia. I hope you left his Highness in the enjoyment of good health.”

While Lewis was striving to frame a suitable reply, Annie, who could restrain herself no longer, exclaimed, in a tone of the utmost bewilderment, “The Prince of Persia! My dear Laura, are you out of your senses?”

The only reply her friend was able for some minutes to return was rendered inaudible by a fit of laughing, in which Leicester, and at last even Lewis himself, could not resist joining.

“Now I call that abominable,” continued Annie; “you are all enjoying some excellent joke, and I am left to pine in ignorance. Laura, what _are_ you laughing at?”

“Ask Mr. Leicester,” returned Miss Peyton, breathless with laughter.

“Charles, what is it all about?”

“Ask Arundel,” was the reply; “he is the proper person to explain.”

“Mr. Arundel, you _must_ tell me!”

“Really, I must beg you to excuse me,” began Lewis. “Miss Peyton--that is--Mr. Leicester--in fact, it is utterly impossible for me to tell you. Come, Walter, you’ve rested quite long enough, you’ll catch cold sitting still, after making yourself so hot;” and as he spoke he took his pupil’s arm and hastily quitted the tent.

Of course as soon as he was out of earshot, Annie reiterated her demand that the mystery should be explained, and of course Laura begged Charles to relate the affair, and then, woman-like, interrupted him before he had uttered half-a-dozen words, and being once fairly off, did not stop till she had told the whole history from beginning to end, which she did with much spirit and drollery; then, in her turn, she had to be informed of the position Lewis held in the General’s family; how wonderfully Walter had improved under his care, and how much everybody liked him. When they had fully discussed these matters, they were joined by Lord Bellefield, who escorted them across the ice to witness more closely the proceedings of the skaters.

Later in the afternoon a party of young men had undertaken to skate a quadrille. This being something new, people hurried from all sides to witness the performance, and a crowd speedily collected. Walter had expressed a wish to see it, and Lewis, pleased at the unusual interest he took in all that was going forward, which he rightly regarded as a proof of the decided progress his intellect was making, willingly complied.

The crowd still continued to thicken as the quadrille proceeded, and it had just occurred to Lewis that the weight of so many people collected in one spot would try the strength of the ice pretty severely, when a slight cracking sound confirmed his suspicions, and induced him to withdraw Walter from the group. It was fortunate that he did so, for scarcely were they clear of the crowd when a sharp crack, like the report of a pistol, rang in his ears, followed in rapid succession by one or two similar explosions. Then came a rush of many feet, accompanied by the shrill screaming of women, and on looking round Lewis perceived that a portion of the ice had given way, and that several persons were struggling in the water.