Daniel Deronda
乔治.艾略特 George Eliot
CHAPTER XXVIII. Page 2
"On the tenth."
"I suppose you intend to remain here."
"We shall go to Ryelands for a little while; but we shall return here forthe sake of the hunting."
After this word there was the languid inarticulate sound frequent withGrandcourt when he meant to continue speaking, and Lush waited forsomething more. Nothing came, and he was going to put another question,when the inarticulate sound began again and introduced the mildly utteredsuggestion--
"You had better make some new arrangement for yourself."
"What! I am to cut and run?" said Lush, prepared to be good-tempered onthe occasion.
"Something of that kind."
"The bride objects to me. I hope she will make up to you for the want ofmy services."
"I can't help your being so damnably disagreeable to women," saidGrandcourt, in soothing apology.
"To one woman, if you please."
"It makes no difference since she is the one in question."
"I suppose I am not to be turned adrift after fifteen years without someprovision."
"You must have saved something out of me."
"Deuced little. I have often saved something for you."
"You can have three hundred a year. But you must live in town and be readyto look after things when I want you. I shall be rather hard up."
"If you are not going to be at Ryelands this winter, I might run downthere and let you know how Swinton goes on."
"If you like. I don't care a toss where you are, so that you keep out ofsight."
"Much obliged," said Lush, able to take the affair more easily than he hadexpected. He was supported by the secret belief that he should by-and-bybe wanted as much as ever.
"Perhaps you will not object to packing up as soon as possible," saidGrandcourt. "The Torringtons are coming, and Miss Harleth will be ridingover here."
"With all my heart. Can't I be of use in going to Gadsmere."
"No. I am going myself."
"About your being rather hard up. Have you thought of that plan--"
"Just leave me alone, will you?" said Grandcourt, in his lowest audibletone, tossing his cigar into the fire, and rising to walk away.
He spent the evening in the solitude of the smaller drawing-room, where,with various new publications on the table of the kind a gentleman maylike to have on hand without touching, he employed himself (as aphilosopher might have done) in sitting meditatively on the sofa andabstaining from literature--political, comic, cynical, or romantic. Inthis way hours may pass surprisingly soon, without the arduous invisiblechase of philosophy; not from love of thought, but from hatred of effort--from a state of the inward world, something like premature age, where theneed for action lapses into a mere image of what has been, is, and may ormight be; where impulse is born and dies in a phantasmal world, pausing inrejection of even a shadowy fulfillment. That is a condition which oftencomes with whitening hair; and sometimes, too, an intense obstinacy andtenacity of rule, like the main trunk of an exorbitant egoism, conspicuousin proportion as the varied susceptibilities of younger years are strippedaway.
But Grandcourt's hair, though he had not much of it, was of a fine, sunnyblonde, and his moods were not entirely to be explained as ebbing energy.We mortals have a strange spiritual chemistry going on within us, so thata lazy stagnation or even a cottony milkiness may be preparing one knowsnot what biting or explosive material. The navvy waking from sleep andwithout malice heaving a stone to crush the life out of his still sleepingcomrade, is understood to lack the trained motive which makes a characterfairly calculable in its actions; but by a roundabout course even agentleman may make of himself a chancy personage, raising an uncertaintyas to what he may do next, that sadly spoils companionship.
Grandcourt's thoughts this evening were like the circlets one sees in adark pool, continually dying out and continually started again by someimpulse from below the surface. The deeper central impulse came from theimage of Gwendolen; but the thoughts it stirred would be imperfectlyillustrated by a reference to the amatory poets of all ages. It wascharacteristic that he got none of his satisfaction from the belief thatGwendolen was in love with him; and that love had overcome the jealousresentment which had made her run away from him. On the contrary, hebelieved that this girl was rather exceptional in the fact that, in spiteof his assiduous attention to her, she was not in love with him; and itseemed to him very likely that if it had not been for the sudden povertywhich had come over her family, she would not have accepted him. From thevery first there had been an exasperating fascination in the tricksinesswith which she had--not met his advances, but--wheeled away from them. Shehad been brought to accept him in spite of everything--brought to kneeldown like a horse under training for the arena, though she might have anobjection to it all the while. On the whole, Grandcourt got more pleasureout of this notion than he could have done out of winning a girl of whomhe was sure that she had a strong inclination for him personally. And yetthis pleasure in mastering reluctance flourished along with the habitualpersuasion that no woman whom he favored could be quite indifferent to hispersonal influence; and it seemed to him not unlikely that by-and-byGwendolen might be more enamored of him than he of her. In any case, shewould have to submit; and he enjoyed thinking of her as his future wife,whose pride and spirit were suited to command every one but himself. Hehad no taste for a woman who was all tenderness to him, full ofpetitioning solicitude and willing obedience. He meant to be master of awoman who would have liked to master him, and who perhaps would have beencapable of mastering another man.
Lush, having failed in his attempted reminder to Grandcourt, thought itwell to communicate with Sir Hugo, in whom, as a man having perhapsinterest enough to command the bestowal of some place where the work waslight, gentlemanly, and not ill-paid, he was anxious to cultivate a senseof friendly obligation, not feeling at all secure against the future needof such a place. He wrote the following letter, and addressed it to ParkLane, whither he knew the family had returned from Leubronn:--
MY DEAR SIR HUGO--Since we came home the marriage has been absolutelydecided on, and is to take place in less than three weeks. It is sofar the worse for him that her mother has lately lost all her fortune,and he will have to find supplies. Grandcourt, I know, is feeling thewant of cash; and unless some other plan is resorted to, he will beraising money in a foolish way. I am going to leave Diplowimmediately, and I shall not be able to start the topic. What I shouldadvise is, that Mr. Deronda, who I know has your confidence, shouldpropose to come and pay a short visit here, according to invitation(there are going to be other people in the house), and that you shouldput him fully in possession of your wishes and the possible extent ofyour offer. Then, that he should introduce the subject to Grandcourtso as not to imply that you suspect any particular want of money onhis part, but only that there is a strong wish on yours, What I haveformerly said to him has been in the way of a conjecture that youmight be willing to give a good sum for his chance of Diplow; but ifMr. Deronda came armed with a definite offer, that would take anothersort of hold. Ten to one he will not close for some time to come; butthe proposal will have got a stronger lodgment in his mind; and thoughat present he has a great notion of the hunting here, I see alikelihood, under the circumstances, that he will get a distaste forthe neighborhood, and there will be the notion of the money stickingby him without being urged. I would bet on your ultimate success. As Iam not to be exiled to Siberia, but am to be within call, it ispossible that, by and by, I may be of more service to you. But atpresent I can think of no medium so good as Mr. Deronda. Nothing putsGrandcourt in worse humor than having the lawyers thrust their paperunder his nose uninvited.
Trusting that your visit to Leubronn has put you in excellentcondition for the winter, I remain, my dear Sir Hugo,
Yours very faithfully,
THOMAS CRANMER LUSH.
Sir Hugo, having received this letter at breakfast, handed it to Deronda,who, though he had chambers in town, was somehow hardly ever in them, SirHugo not being contented without him. The chatty baronet would have likeda young companion even if there had been no peculiar reasons forattachment between them: one with a fine harmonious unspoiled face fittedto keep up a cheerful view of posterity and inheritance generally,notwithstanding particular disappointments; and his affection for Derondawas not diminished by the deep-lying though not obtrusive difference intheir notions and tastes. Perhaps it was all the stronger; acting as thesame sort of difference does between a man and a woman in giving apiquancy to the attachment which subsists in spite of it. Sir Hugo did notthink unapprovingly of himself; but he looked at men and society from aliberal-menagerie point of view, and he had a certain pride in Deronda'sdiffering from him, which, if it had found voice, might have said--"Yousee this fine young fellow--not such as you see every day, is he?--hebelongs to me in a sort of way. I brought him up from a child; but youwould not ticket him off easily, he has notions of his own, and he's asfar as the poles asunder from what I was at his age." This state offeeling was kept up by the mental balance in Deronda, who was moved by anaffectionateness such as we are apt to call feminine, disposing him toyield in ordinary details, while he had a certain inflexibility ofjudgment, and independence of opinion, held to be rightfully masculine.
When he had read the letter, he returned it without speaking, inwardlywincing under Lush's mode of attributing a neutral usefulness to him inthe family affairs.
"What do you say, Dan? It would be pleasant enough for you. You have notseen the place for a good many years now, and you might have a famous runwith the harriers if you went down next week," said Sir Hugo.
"I should not go on that account," said Deronda, buttering his breadattentively. He had an objection to this transparent kind ofpersuasiveness, which all intelligent animals are seen to treat withindifference. If he went to Diplow he should be doing somethingdisagreeable to oblige Sir Hugo.
"I think Lush's notion is a good one. And it would be a pity to lose theoccasion."
"That is a different matter--if you think my going of importance to yourobject," said Deronda, still with that aloofness of manner which impliedsome suppression. He knew that the baronet had set his heart on theaffair.
"Why, you will see the fair gambler, the Leubronn Diana, I shouldn'twonder," said Sir Hugo, gaily. "We shall have to invite her to the Abbey,when they are married," he added, turning to Lady Mallinger, as if she toohad read the letter.
"I cannot conceive whom you mean," said Lady Mallinger, who in fact hadnot been listening, her mind having been taken up with her first sips ofcoffee, the objectionable cuff of her sleeve, and the necessity ofcarrying Theresa to the dentist--innocent and partly laudablepreoccupations, as the gentle lady's usually were. Should her appearancebe inquired after, let it be said that she had reddish blonde hair (thehair of the period), a small Roman nose, rather prominent blue eyes anddelicate eyelids, with a figure which her thinner friends called fat, herhands showing curves and dimples like a magnified baby's.
"I mean that Grandcourt is going to marry the girl you saw at Leubronn--don't you remember her--the Miss Harleth who used to play at roulette."
"Dear me! Is that a good match for him?"
"That depends on the sort of goodness he wants," said Sir Hugo, smiling."However, she and her friends have nothing, and she will bring himexpenses. It's a good match for my purposes, because if I am willing tofork out a sum of money, he may be willing to give up his chance ofDiplow, so that we shall have it out and out, and when I die you will havethe consolation of going to the place you would like to go to--wherever Imay go."
"I wish you would not talk of dying in that light way, dear."
"It's rather a heavy way, Lou, for I shall have to pay a heavy sum--fortythousand, at least."
"But why are we to invite them to the Abbey?" said Lady Mallinger. "I do_not_ like women who gamble, like Lady Cragstone."
"Oh, you will not mind her for a week. Besides, she is not like LadyCragstone because she gambled a little, any more than I am like a brokerbecause I'm a Whig. I want to keep Grandcourt in good humor, and to lethim see plenty of this place, that he may think the less of Diplow. Idon't know yet whether I shall get him to meet me in this matter. And ifDan were to go over on a visit there, he might hold out the bait to him.It would be doing me a great service." This was meant for Deronda.
"Daniel is not fond of Mr. Grandcourt, I think, is he?" said LadyMallinger, looking at Deronda inquiringly.
"There is no avoiding everybody one doesn't happen to be fond of," saidDeronda. "I will go to Diplow--I don't know that I have anything better todo--since Sir Hugo wishes it."
"That's a trump!" said Sir Hugo, well pleased. "And if you don't find itvery pleasant, it's so much experience. Nothing used to come amiss to mewhen I was young. You must see men and manners."
"Yes; but I have seen that man, and something of his manners too," saidDeronda.
"Not nice manners, I think," said Lady Mallinger.
"Well, you see they succeed with your sex," said Sir Hugo, provokingly."And he was an uncommonly good-looking fellow when he was two or three andtwenty--like his father. He doesn't take after his father in marrying theheiress, though. If he had got Miss Arrowpoint and my land too, confoundhim, he would have had a fine principality."
Deronda, in anticipating the projected visit, felt less disinclinationthan when consenting to it. The story of that girl's marriage did interesthim: what he had heard through Lush of her having run away from the suitof the man she was now going to take as a husband, had thrown a new sortof light on her gambling; and it was probably the transition from thatfevered worldliness into poverty which had urged her acceptance where shemust in some way have felt repulsion. All this implied a nature liable todifficulty and struggle--elements of life which had a predominantattraction for his sympathy, due perhaps to his early pain in dwelling onthe conjectured story of his own existence. Persons attracted him, as HansMeyrick had done, in proportion to the possibility of his defending them,rescuing them, telling upon their lives with some sort of redeeminginfluence; and he had to resist an inclination, easily accounted for, towithdraw coldly from the fortunate. But in the movement which had led himto repurchase Gwendolen's necklace for her, and which was at work in himstill, there was something beyond his habitual compassionate fervor--something due to the fascination of her womanhood. He was very open tothat sort of charm, and mingled it with the consciously Utopian picturesof his own future; yet any one able to trace the folds of his charactermight have conceived that he would be more likely than many lesspassionate men to love a woman without telling her of it. Sprinkle foodbefore a delicate-eared bird: there is nothing he would more willinglytake, yet he keeps aloof, because of his sensibility to checks which toyou are imperceptible. And one man differs from another, as we all differfrom the Bosjesman, in a sensibility to checks, that come from variety ofneeds, spiritual or other. It seemed to foreshadow that capability ofreticence in Deronda that his imagination was much occupied with twowomen, to neither of whom would he have held it possible that he shouldever make love. Hans Meyrick had laughed at him for having something ofthe knight-errant in his disposition; and he would have found his proof ifhe had known what was just now going on in Deronda's mind about Mirah andGwendolen.
Deronda wrote without delay to announce his visit to Diplow, and receivedin reply a polite assurance that his coming would give great pleasure.That was not altogether untrue. Grandcourt thought it probable that thevisit was prompted by Sir Hugo's desire to court him for a purpose whichhe did not make up his mind to resist; and it was not a disagreeable ideato him that this fine fellow, whom he believed to be his cousin under therose, would witness, perhaps with some jealousy, Henleigh MallingerGrandcourt play the commanding part of betrothed lover to a splendid girlwhom the cousin had already looked at with admiration.
Grandcourt himself was not jealous of anything unless it threatened hismastery--which he did not think himself likely to lose.