The Quiet Gentleman

The Earl relinquished her into his friend’s care, and she allowed herself to be led back into the ballroom. Gervase turned to look his brother up and down, and to say icily: ‘Have the goodness to preserve the appearance at least of a gentleman, Martin! These manners may do very well at a Covent Garden masquerade: they are out of place at Stanyon!’

‘How dare you?’ Martin ejaculated, starting forward a pace. ‘You are not to be the arbiter of my conduct!’

‘You are mistaken. I am the only arbiter of the conduct of those who live under my roof!’

‘Yes! You would like to be rid of me, would you not? You are afraid you have no chance with Marianne while I –’

‘We will leave Miss Bolderwood’s name out of this. I will not suffer any guest of mine to be insulted, least of all a girl entrusted to our protection! You should be ashamed of yourself!’

Since Martin was, in fact, very much ashamed of himself, this scathing remark made him angrier than ever. His sister then further exacerbated his temper by pronouncing in a pontifical tone strongly reminiscent of her mother: ‘I am bound to say that St Erth is perfectly in the right. Such behaviour, my dear brother, is not at all the thing. Grampound would be very much shocked.’

‘Grampound may go to the devil, and take you and St Erth with him!’ said Martin furiously.

‘Now, Martin, do not fly into one of your stupid puckers!’ recommended her ladyship. ‘You had better beg Miss Bolderwood’s pardon. I shall tell her that you are a trifle foxed.’

‘You will do no such thing! I want none of your curst meddling, Louisa, I thank you! I mean to marry Marianne!’

‘Possibly,’ said Gervase dryly, ‘but before you press attentions upon her which she appears to find unwelcome, you would be well-advised to obtain her father’s consent to your pretensions.’

‘Very true,’ agreed Lady Grampound. ‘It is no use to scowl, Martin, for St Erth’s observation is excessively just. When Grampound offered for me, it was not until dear Papa had assured him that he should not dislike the match for me. Indeed, until Mama informed me of it I had not a notion that Grampound was fallen passionately in love with me, for he behaved with the greatest propriety towards me, so that I am sure I thought he cared more for his dinner than for me!’

She laughed heartily at this recollection, but the only effect it had upon her young brother was to make him eye her with acute dislike, and to grip his lips so firmly together that they seemed no more than a thin line drawn across his face.

‘I am persuaded that Grampound did just as he ought,’ said Gervase gravely, but with a twitching lip. ‘Enough has been said, I think: we had better go back into the ballroom.’

‘Well, I have not said all I wish to!’ Martin shot at him. ‘You may stop talking to me as though I were a damned rake, just trifling with Marianne! It’s no such thing, and if you think I mean to await your permission before I ask her to marry me, you will discover your mistake!’

He was interrupted by the entrance of Theo, who came in, looking startled, and considerably shocked. He quickly shut the door behind him, saying: ‘Gervase! Martin! For God’s sake – ! Your voices can be heard in the ballroom! What is it?’

‘No concern of yours!’ replied Martin.

‘It is all Martin’s fault,’ explained Lady Grampound. ‘He has been behaving very badly, and now he will not own it! But so it is always with him! And Mama so much encourages him that Grampound says it is no wonder –’

Gervase intervened hastily: ‘Grampound is a very good sort of a man, Louisa, but I doubt whether Martin wants to be told of his sayings. Let Theo take you back to the ballroom! It will occasion too much remark if we all go together.’

‘I think it is you who had better accompany Lady Grampound,’ said Theo bluntly.

‘Nonsense! Martin and I have a little rubbed one another, but we are not going to come to fisticuffs, I assure you! Louisa, oblige me by not mentioning what has occurred to anyone! T

here is not the least occasion for you to speak of it even to Grampound.’

‘The person who should be told, is Mama,’ said her ladyship, gathering up her train. ‘However, I shall not do so, for she will never make the smallest push to remonstrate with Martin, and so it has always been!’

With these sisterly words, she accepted her cousin’s escort into the ballroom, where she proceeded to regale him, without loss of time, with the whole history of the episode.

Left alone with his half-brother, Gervase said in a more friendly tone: ‘Well, that was all very unfortunate, but it will be forgotten! If I spoke too warmly, I beg your pardon, but to be trying to kiss against her will a girl in Miss Bolderwood’s circumstances is the outside of enough, as well you know!’

His sensibilities as much lacerated by Marianne’s attempt to repulse him as by the lash of his own conscience, Martin was in no mood to accept an amende. He said in a shaking voice: ‘Damn you, leave me alone!’ and brushed past Gervase out of the saloon.

Ten

It was not to be expected that Miss Bolderwood could compose herself for slumber that night until she had poured forth the agitating events of the evening into her friend’s ears. Lord Ulverston’s kindness and good-humour had done much to calm her disturbed nerves, but these had been shocked, and would not readily recover. Since her schoolroom days she had almost never found herself alone with a man other than her Papa, for even when the Earl taught her to drive his curricle his groom had always been perched up behind the carriage. The anxious care of her parents had wrapped her about; and although her disposition led her to flirt with her many admirers it had never occurred to her innocent mind that these tactics might lead them, on the first occasion when they found her unprotected, to take shocking advantage of her levity. Her spirits were quite borne down by the discovery; and she was much inclined to think herself a fast girl, with whom gentlemen thought it proper to take liberties.

Miss Morville, however, received her confidences with admirable calm and common-sense. While agreeing that it was no doubt disagreeable to be found in such an embarrassing situation, she maintained that it was no matter for wonder that Martin should have so far forgotten himself. ‘If you will be so pretty, Marianne, and flirt so dreadfully, what can you expect?’

‘Oh, I was never so mortified! I had not the least notion he would try to do such a thing!’

‘Well, he should not, of course, but he is very young, after all, and I daresay he is ashamed of it now,’ said Miss Morville consolingly. ‘If I were you, I would not refine too much upon the incident!’