There and Back by George MacDonald

Author:George MacDonald
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: RosettaBooks
Published: 2018-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

— Twenty-Five —

Lady Ann

It would have been difficult for Arthur himself to say whether rage or contempt was stronger in his heart when he saw the lady he thought he loved walking in a field, back and forth, in close talk with the bookbinder. She had never walked like that with him! She preferred the bookbinder’s society to his—and made no secret of it!

What did Barbara mean by it? It was scorn alone that kept Arthur from hating Richard. As for Barbara, he attributed her disregard of propriety, and the very possibility of her being interested in such a person, to the mode of life in the half-savage country where she had been born and reared. The worst of his torment was that Richard was a good-looking fellow. And yet he was a mere workingman—what could be her intent?

The girl was uncontrollable. She would pay attention to nothing he might say. How could such a bewitching creature so lack refinement? If her face showed itself in London, she would be the belle of the season. If he did not secure her, some poor duke would pounce on her!

What was he to do? He would only bring scorn on himself by appearing jealous of the tradesman. The idea of her being in love with the fellow was preposterous! The notion was an insult! He must put a stop to it! He must send the man away. It would be a pity for the library. It was beginning to look beautiful, and would soon have been the most distinguished in the county. But there were other bookbinders! And what did the library matter! Yet she would be sure to suspect why the fellow was sent packing and might take offense. She might never enter the house again. Therefore, he must leave the thing alone—for the present! But he would be on his guard!

While the son was thus desiring a good riddance of the man he had brought into the house, the mother was pondering the same thing. Should the man remain in the house or leave it? That was the question with her also. And if they asked him to leave, what would be the pretext? She was growing more and more uncomfortable with the possibilities—a man used to the low ways of a trade, a man dirty and greasy, hardly in his right place at work in the library, the grandson of a blacksmith with brawny arms and smutty face. The whole thing was disgusting!

If sir Wilton had but kept to his own rank, none of this would have come upon them. Lady Ann’s god was the head of the English aristocracy, and a baseborn illegitimate could not, in the nature of things divinely ordained, have the same rights as her son. An age-long process of degeneration had been going on in her race, and she was the result—she was well-born and well-bred for caring about nothing except herself. How fearful that through the generations the body may go on perfecting while the heart goes on degenerating! Lady Ann was indeed born capable of less than most.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.