heard there was glorious skating on the Serpentine yesterday!” cried Vincent. “I’ll be off there this fine morning, and see the fun!” “I’ll go with you,” said Louisa; “I’m sick to death of both books and work. Belgrave Square is as dull as a city of the dead; I want to go where a little life is stirring!”
“Pray, on no account venture on the ice,” cried Clemence; “the weather is so much milder to-day, that I feel sure that there must be a thaw.”
“I suppose,” said Louisa very pertly, “that I may use my own judgment in the matter. I happen to possess a little common sense, and have not the slightest wish to be drowned.”
“I am sure that you are greatly indebted to Mrs. Effingham for her tender anxiety on your account,” said Lady Selina very ironically, glancing up from the last number of Punch.
“That old mischief-maker!” thought Captain Thistlewood; “we should all get on well enough but for her! What a blessing it would be to Clemence if the proud dame could once be got out of the house.—Well, young folk!” he said aloud, “if you want some one to see that you don’t make ducks and drakes of yourselves, I’m your man; I’ll go to the park with you myself!”
“We don’t want your company,” said the schoolboy rudely; “I can take care of my sister.”
“A footman will follow us,” added Louisa superciliously; “I may meet friends in the park, and it would cause too great a sensation amongst them if I were to be seen escorted by Captain Thistlewood!” and so saying, with a mock reverence she quitted the room, and was followed by Vincent whistling.
The old sailor did not appear to understand the implied satire, or to be aware that an earl’s granddaughter could possibly be ashamed to be seen with an unfashionable companion. But if his simplicity warded the insult from himself, it glanced off from him to wound the more sensitive spirit of his niece.
“You will escort me, dear uncle,” said Clemence; “it will be such a pleasure to walk with you again!”
“Presently, my dear,” replied the captain, seating himself on the sofa, of which the greater part was occupied by the stiff silk flounces of Lady Selina.
“I will put on my bonnet—”
“Do not hurry yourself,” was the sailor’s quiet reply. The truth is, that he had resolved upon having a tête-à-tête with Clemence’s arch tormentor, and was revolving in his honest mind how best to make it clear to her apprehension, without showing discourtesy to a lady, that as two suns cannot shine in one sphere, no more can two mistresses bear rule in one dwelling. Captain Thistlewood had sufficient observation to perceive that Lady Selina’s influence lay at the root of all the bitterness and unkindness which Clemence was called on to endure, and he considered that it would be a master-stroke of diplomacy, could he induce the grand lady voluntarily to resign a position which he could not think that she had any right to hold in the house of his niece.
Lady Selina was also meditating, though her eyes appeared to be riveted upon Punch. She was pondering how Mrs. Effingham’s new and strange ally, formidable from the straightforward vehemence of his manner, and his invulnerability to personal insult, could best be coaxed, since he could not be chased from the field. These were strange opponents left to face each other alone,—Simplicity versus Art—the warm-hearted, honest old sailor, versus the cold, calculating woman of the world!
Lady Selina was the first to commence the conversation. She laid her paper down upon the cushion beside her, and turning towards her auditor, observed with an air of affected indifference, as if merely fulfilling an office of common courtesy to a guest, “You must greatly miss, Captain Thistlewood, the delightful serenity of the country. I dare say that, after a life spent in charming seclusion, you find London a sad, noisy, bustling place.”
“I like it—I like it,” replied the old sailor good-humouredly; “there was never anything of the hermit about me. I was knocked about the world for many a long year, and rather like to live in a bustle, and see plenty of my fellow-creatures about me. No babbling ............