The next day there was a great surprise at Sheep’s Acre farm, which communicated itself to the towns of Bungay and Beccles, and even affected the ordinary quiet life of Carbury Manor. Ruby Ruggles had gone away, and at about twelve o’clock in the day the old farmer became aware of the fact. She had started early, at about seven in the morning; but Ruggles himself had been out long before that, and had not condescended to ask for her when he returned to the house for his breakfast. There had been a bad scene up in the bedroom overnight, after John Crumb had left the farm. The old man in his anger had tried to expel the girl; but she had hung on to the bed-post and would not go; and he had been frightened, when the maid came up crying and screaming murder. ‘You’ll be out o’ this to-morrow as sure as my name’s Dannel Ruggles,’ said the farmer panting for breath. But for the gin which he had taken he would hardly have struck her; — but he had struck her, and pulled her by the hair, and knocked her about; — and in the morning she took him at his word and was away. About twelve he heard from the servant girl that she had gone. She had packed a box and had started up the road carrying the box herself. ‘Grandfather says I’m to go, and I’m gone,’ she had said to the girl. At the first cottage she had got a boy to carry her box into Beccles, and to Beccles she had walked. For an hour or two Ruggles sat, quiet, within the house, telling himself that she might do as she pleased with herself — that he was well rid of her, and that from henceforth he would trouble himself no more about her. But by degrees there came upon him a feeling half of compassion and half of fear, with perhaps some mixture of love, instigating him to make search for her. She had been the same to him as a child, and what would people say of him if he allowed her to depart from him after this fashion? Then he remembered his violence the night before, and the fact that the servant girl had heard if she had not seen it. He could not drop his responsibility in regard to Ruby, even if he would. So, as a first step, he sent in a message to John Crumb, at Bungay, to tell him that Ruby Ruggles had gone off with a box to Beccles. John Crumb went open-mouthed with the news to Joe Mixet, and all Bungay soon knew that Ruby Ruggles had run away.

After sending his message to Crumb the old man still sat thinking, and at last made up his mind that he would go to his landlord. He held a part of his farm under Roger Carbury, and Roger Carbury would tell him what he ought to do. A great trouble had come upon him. He would fain have been quiet, but his conscience and his heart and his terrors all were at work together — and he found that he could not eat his dinner. So he had out his cart and horse and drove himself off to Carbury Hall.

It was past four when he started, and he found the squire seated on the terrace after an early dinner, and with him was Father Barham, the priest. The old man was shown at once round into the garden, and was not long in telling his story. There had been words between him and his granddaughter about her lover. Her lover had been accepted and had come to the farm to claim his bride. Ruby had behaved very badly. The old man made the most of Ruby’s bad behaviour, and of course as little as possible of his own violence. But he did explain that there had been threats used when Ruby refused to take the man, and that Ruby had, this day, taken herself off.

‘I always thought it was settled that they were to be man and wife,’ said Roger.

‘It was settled, squoire; — and he war to have five hun’erd pound down; — money as I’d saved myself. Drat the jade.’

‘Didn’t she like him, Daniel?’

‘She liked him well enough till she’d seed somebody else.’ Then old Daniel paused, and shook his head, and was evidently the owner of a secret. The squire got up and walked round the garden with him — and then the secret was told. The farmer was of opinion that there was something between the girl and Sir Felix. Sir Felix some weeks since had been seen near the farm and on the same occasion Ruby had been observed at some little distance from the house with her best clothes on.

‘He’s been so little here, Daniel,’ said the squire.

‘It goes as tinder and a spark o’ fire, that does,’ said the farmer. ‘Girls like Ruby don’t want no time to be wooed by one such as that, though they’ll fall-lall with a man like John Crumb for years.’

‘I suppose she’s gone to London.’

‘Don’t know nothing of where she’s gone, squoire; — only she have gone some’eres. May be it’s Lowestoft. There’s lots of quality at Lowestoft a’washing theyselves in the sea.’

Then they returned to the priest, who might be supposed to be cognizant of the guiles of the world and competent to give advice on such an occasion as this. ‘If she was one of our people,’ said Father Barham, ‘we should have her back quick enough.’

‘Would ye now?’ said Ruggles, wishing at the moment that he and all his family had been brought up as Roman Catholics.

‘I don’t see how you would have more chance of catching her than we have,’ said Carbury.

‘She’d catch herself. Wherever she might be she’d go to the priest, and he wouldn’t leave her till he’d seen her put on the way back to her friends.’

‘With a flea in her lug,’ suggested the farmer.

‘Your people never go to a clergyman in their distress. It’s the last thing they’d think of. Any one might more probably be regarded as a friend than the parson. But with us the poor know where to look for sympathy.’

‘She ain’t that poor, neither,’ said the grandfather.

‘She had money with her?’

‘I don’t know just what she had; but she ain’t been brought up poor. And I don’t think as our Ruby’d go of herself to any clergyman. It never was her way.’

Join or Log In! You need to log in to continue reading

Create a new account   I have a account already

	Create an New Account
Email:  (User Name)
Password:	Letters and numbers only. 6-20 characters.
Retype Password:
Screen Name:	Letters and numbers only. 6-50 Characters.
Confirmation Code:	(Please type in the characters in the green image.)

	Login into Your Account
Email:
Password:
	Remember me on this computer.

(Left Keyword <-) Previous: Chapter XXXIII John Crumb Back Next: Chapter XXXV Melmotte’s Glory (Right Keyword:->)