A Terrible Temptation (Fiscle Part 3) - Charles Reade (recommended ebook reader txt) 📗

Part 3 Chapter 12 Pg 98

Years. Eighty-Five Items Began Thus: "Attending You At Your House For

Several Hours,  On Which Occasion You Asked My Advice As To Whether--"

Etc.

 

Now As A Great Many Of These Attendances Had Been Really To Shoot Game

And Dine On Rabbits At Bassett's Expense,  He Thought It Hard The

Conversation Should Be Charged And The Rabbits Not.

 

Disgusted With His Defeat,  And Resolved To Evade This Bill,  He

Discharged His Servant,  And Put A Retired Soldier Into His House,  Armed

Him With A Blunderbuss,  And Ordered Him To Keep All Doors Closed,  And

Present The Weapon Aforesaid At All Rate Collectors,  Tax Collectors,

Debt Collectors,  And Applicants For Money To Build Churches Or Convert

The Heathen; But Not To _Fire_ At Anybody Except His Friend Wheeler,

Nor At Him Unless He Should Try To Shove A Writ In At Some Chink Of The

Building.

 

This Done,  He Went On His Travels,  Third-Class,  With His Eyes Always

Open,  And His Heart Full Of Bitterness.

 

Nothing Happened To Richard Bassett On His Travels That I Need Relate

Until One Evening When He Alighted At A Small Commercial Inn In The

City Of York,  And There Met A Person Whose Influence On The Events I Am

About To Relate Seems At This Moment Incredible To Me,  Though It Is

Simple Fact.

 

He Found The Commercial Room Empty,  And Rang The Bell. In Came The

Waiter,  A Strapping Girl,  With Coal-Black Eyes And Brows To Match,  And

A Brown Skin,  But Glowing Cheeks.

 

They Both Started At Sight Of Each Other. It Was Polly Somerset.

 

"Why,  Polly! How D'ye Do? How Do You Come Here?"

 

"It's Along Of You I'm Here,  Young Man," Said Polly,  And Began To

Whimper. She Told Him Her Sister Had Found Out From The Page She Had

Been Colloguing With Him,  And Had Never Treated Her Like A Sister After

That. "And When She Married A Gentleman She Wouldn't Have Me Aside Her

For All I Could Say,  But She Did Pack Me Off Into Service,  And Here I

Be."

 

The Girl Was Handsome,  And Had A Liking For Him. Bassett Was Idle,  And

Time Hung Heavy On His Hands: He Stayed At The Inn A Fortnight,  More

For Polly's Company Than Anything: And At Last Offered To Put Her Into

A Vacant Cottage On His Own Little Estate Of Highmore. But The Girl Was

Shrewd,  And Had Seen A Great Deal Of Life This Last Three Years; She

Liked Richard In Her Way,  But She Saw He Was All Self,  And She Would

Not Trust Him. "Nay," Said She,  "I'll Not Break With Rhoda For Any

Young Man In Britain. If I Leave Service She Will Never Own Me At All:

She Is As Hard As Iron."

 

"Well,  But You Might Come And Take Service Near Me,  And Then We Could

Often Get A Word Together."

 

Part 3 Chapter 12 Pg 99

"Oh,  I'm Agreeable To That: You Find Me A Good Place. I Like An Inn

Best; One Sees Fresh Faces."

 

Bassett Promised To Manage That For Her. On Reaching Home He Found A

Conciliatory Letter From Wheeler,  Coupled With His Permission To Tax

The Bill According To His Own Notion Of Justice. This And Other Letters

Were In An Outhouse; The Old Soldier Had Not Permitted Them To

Penetrate The Fortress. He Had Entered Into The Spirit Of His

Instructions,  And To Him A Letter Was A Probable Hand-Grenade.

 

Bassett Sent For Wheeler; The Bill Was Reduced,  And A Small Payment

Made; The Rest Postponed Till Better Times. Wheeler Was Then Consulted

About Polly,  And He Told His Client The Landlady Of The "Lamb" Wanted A

Good Active Waitress; He Thought He Could Arrange That Little Affair.

 

In Due Course,  Thanks To This Artist,  Mary Wells,  Hitherto Known As

Polly Somerset,  Landed With Her Boxes At The "Lamb "; And With Her

Quick Foot,  Her Black Eyes,  And Ready Tongue Soon Added To The

Popularity Of The Inn. Richard Bassett,  Esq.,  For One,  Used To Sup

There Now And Then With His Friend Wheeler,  And Even Sleep There After

Supper.

 

By-And-By The Vicar Of Huntercombe Wanted A Servant,  And Offered To

Engage Mary Wells.

 

She Thought Twice About That. She Could Neither Write Nor Read,  And

Therefore Was Dreadfully Dull Without Company; The Bustle Of An Inn,

And People Coming And Going,  Amused Her. However,  It Was A Temptation

To Be Near Richard Bassett; So She Accepted At Last. Unable To Write,

She Could Not Consult Him; And She Made Sure He Would Be Delighted.

 

But When She Got Into The Village The Prudent Mr. Bassett Drew In His

Horns,  And Avoided Her. She Was Mortified And Very Angry. She Revenged

Herself On Her Employer; Broke Double Her Wages. The Vicar Had Never

Been Able To Convert A Smasher; So He Parted With Her Very Readily To

Lady Bassett,  With A Hint That She Was Rather Unfortunate In Glass And

China.

 

In That Large House Her Spirits Rose,  And,  Having A Hearty Manner And A

Clapper Tongue,  She Became A General Favorite.

 

One Day She Met Mr. Bassett In The Village,  And He Seemed Delighted At

The Sight Of Her,  And Begged Her To Meet Him That Night At A Certain

Place Where Sir Charles's Garden Was Divided From His Own By A Ha-Ha.

It Was A Very Secluded Spot,  Shut Out From View,  Even In Daylight,  By

The Trees And Shrubs And The Winding Nature Of The Walk That Led To It;

Yet It Was Scarcely A Hundred Yards From Huntercombe Hall.

 

Mary Wells Came To The Tryst,  But In No Amorous Mood. She Came Merely

To Tell Mr. Bassett Her Mind,  Viz.,  That He Was A Shabby Fellow,  And

She Had Had Her Cry,  And Didn't Care A Straw For Him Now. And She Did

Tell Him So,  In A Loud Voice,  And With A Flushed Cheek.

 

But He Set To Work,  Humbly And Patiently,  To Pacify Her; He Represented

Part 3 Chapter 12 Pg 100

That,  In A Small House Like The Vicarage,  Every Thing Is Known; He

Should Have Ruined Her Character If He Had Not Held Aloof. "But It Is

Different Now," Said He. "You Can Run Out Of Huntercombe House,  And

Meet Me Here,  And Nobody Be The Wiser."

 

"Not I," Said Mary Wells,  With A Toss. "The Worse Thing A Girl Can Do

Is To Keep Company With A Gentleman. She Must Meet Him In Holes And

Corners,  And Be Flung Off,  Like An Old Glove,  When She Has Served His

Turn."

 

"That Will Never Happen To You,  Polly Dear. We Must Be Prudent For The

Present; But I Shall Be More My Own Master Some Day,  And Then You Will

See How I Love You."

 

"Seeing Is Believing," Said The Girl,  Sullenly. "You Be Too Fond Of

Yourself To Love The Likes O' Me."

 

Such Was The Warning Her Natural Shrewdness Gave Her. But Perseverance

Undermined It. Bassett So Often Threw Out Hints Of What He Would Do

Some Day,  Mixed With Warm Protestations Of Love,  That She Began Almost

To Hope He Would Marry Her. She Really Liked Him; His Fine Figure And

His Color Pleased Her Eye,  And He Had A Plausible Tongue To Boot.

 

As For Him,  Her Rustic Beauty And Health Pleased His Senses; But,  For

His Heart,  She Had Little Place In That. What He Courted Her For Just

Now Was To Keep Him Informed Of All That Passed In Huntercombe Hall.

His Morbid Soul Hung About That Place,  And He Listened Greedily To Mary

Wells's Gossip. He Had Counted On Her Volubility; It Did Not Disappoint

Him. She Never Met Him Without A Budget,  One-Half Of It Lies Or

Exaggerations. She Was A Born Liar. One Night She Came In High Spirits,

And Greeted Him Thus: "What D'ye Think? I'm Riz! Mrs. Eden,  That

Dresses My Lady's Hair,  She Took Ill Yesterday,  And I Told The

Housekeeper I Was Used To Dress Hair,  And She Told My Lady. If You

Didn't Please Our Rhoda At That,  'Twas As Much As Your Life Was Worth.

You Mustn't Be Thinking Of Your Young Man With Her Hair In Your Hand,

Or She'd Rouse You With A Good Crack On The Crown With A Hair-Brush. So

I Dressed My Lady's Hair,  And Handled It Like Old Chaney; By The Same

Token,  She Is So Pleased With Me You Can't Think. She Is A Real Lady;

Not Like Our Rhoda. Speaks As Civil To Me As If I Was One Of Her Own

Sort; And,  Says She,  'I Should Like To Have You About Me,  If I Might.'

I Had It On My Tongue To Tell Her She Was Mistress; But I Was A Little

Skeared At Her At First,  You Know. But She Will Have Me About Her; I

See It In Her Eye."

 

Bassett Was Delighted At This News,  But He Did Not Speak His Mind All

At Once; The Time Was Not Come. He Let The Gypsy Rattle On,  And Bided

His Time. He Flattered Her,  And Said He Envied Lady Bassett To Have

Such A Beautiful Girl About Her. "I'll Let My Hair Grow," Said He.

 

"Ay,  Do," Said She,  "And Then I'll Pull It For You."

 

This Challenge Ended In A Little Struggle For A Kiss,  The Sincerity Of

Which Was Doubtful. Polly Resisted Vigorously,  To Be Sure,  But Briefly,

And,  Having Given In,  Returned It.

Part 3 Chapter 12 Pg 101

 

One Day She Told Him Sir Charles Had Met Her Plump,  And Had Given A

Great Start.

 

This Made Bassett Very Uneasy. "Confound It,  He Will Turn You Away. He

Will Say,  'This Girl Knows Too Much.'"

 

"How Simple You Be!" Said The Girl. "D'ye Think I Let Him Know? Says

He,  'I Think I Have Seen You Before.' 'Yes,  Sir,' Says I,  'I Was

Housemaid Here Before My Lady Had Me To Dress Her.' 'No,' Says He,  'I

Mean In London--In Mayfair,  You Know.' I Declare You Might Ha' Knocked

Me Down Wi' A Feather. So I Looks In His Face,  As Cool As Marble,  And I

Said,  'No,  Sir; I Never Had The Luck To See London,  Sir,' Says I. 'All

The Better For You,' Says He; And He Swallowed It Like Spring Water,  As

Sister Rhoda Used