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

And Foaming Lips Of His Enemy,  And His Body That Bounded

Convulsively On The Ground With Incredible Violence.

 

At That Moment Humanity Prevailed Over Every Thing,  And He Flung

Himself Over The Wall,  And In His Haste Got Rather A Heavy Fall

Himself. "It Is A Fit!" He Cried,  And Running To The Brook Close By,

Filled His Hat With Water,  And Was About To Dash It Over Sir Charles's

Face.

 

But Lady Bassett Repelled Him With Horror. "Don't Touch Him,  You

Villain! You Have Killed Him." And Then She Shrieked Again.

 

At This Moment Mr. Angelo Dashed Up,  And Saw At A Glance What It Was,

For He Had Studied Medicine A Little. He Said,  "It Is Epilepsy. Leave

Him To Me." He Managed,  By His Great Strength,  To Keep The Patient's

Head Down Till The Face Got Pale And The Limbs Still; Then,  Telling

Lady Bassett Not To Alarm Herself Too Much,  He Lifted Sir Charles,  And

Actually Proceeded To Carry Him Toward The House. Lady Bassett,

Weeping,  Proffered Her Assistance,  And So Did Mary Wells; But This

Athlete Said,  A Little Bruskly,  "No,  No; I Have Practiced This Sort Of

Thing;" And,  Partly By His Rare Strength,  Partly By His Familiarity

With All Athletic Feats,  Carried The Insensible Baronet To His Own

House,  As I Have Seen My Accomplished Friend Mr. Henry Neville Carry A

Tall Actress On The Mimic Stage; Only,  The Distance Being Much Longer,

The Perspiration Rolled Down Mr. Angelo's Face With So Sustained An

Effort.

 

He Laid Him Gently On The Floor Of His Study,  While Lady Bassett Sent

Two Grooms Galloping For Medical Advice,  And Half A Dozen Servants

Running For This And That Stimulant,  As One Thing After Another

Occurred To Her Agitated Mind. The Very Rustling Of Dresses And Scurry

Of Feet Overhead Told All The House A Great Calamity Had Stricken It.

 

Lady Bassett Hung Over The Sufferer,  Sighing Piteously,  And Was For

Supporting His Beloved Head With Her Tender Arm; But Mr. Angelo Told

Her It Was Better To Keep The Head Low,  That The Blood Might Flow Back

To The Vessels Of The Brain.

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She Cast A Look Of Melting Gratitude On Her Adviser,  And Composed

Herself To Apply Stimulants Under His Direction And Advice.

 

Thus Judiciously Treated,  Sir Charles Began To Recover Consciousness In

Part. He Stared And Muttered Incoherently. Lady Bassett Thanked God On

Her Knees,  And Then Turned To Mr. Angelo With Streaming Eyes,  And

Stretched Out Both Hands To Him,  With An Indescribable Eloquence Of

Gratitude. He Gave Her His Hands Timidly,  And She Pressed Them Both

With All Her Soul. Unconsciously She Sent A Rapturous Thrill Through

The Young Man's Body: He Blushed,  And Then Turned Pale,  And Felt For A

Moment Almost Faint With Rapture At That Sweet And Unexpected Pressure

Of Her Soft Hands.

 

But At This Moment Sir Charles Broke Out In A Sort Of Dry,

Business-Like Voice,  "I'll Kill The Viper And His Brood!" Then He

Stared At Mr. Angelo,  And Could Not Make Him Out At First. "Ah!" Said

He,  Complacently,  "This Is My Private Tutor: A Man Of Learning. I Read

Homer With Him; But I Have Forgotten It,  All But One Line--

 

"[Greek]

 

"That's A Beautiful Verse. Homer,  Old Boy,  I'll Take Your Advice. I'll

Kill The Heir At Law,  And His Brat As Well,  And When They Are Dead And

Well Seasoned I'll Sell Them To That Old Timber-Merchant,  The Devil,  To

Make Hell Hotter. Order My Horse,  Somebody,  This Minute!"

 

During This Tirade Lady Bassett's Hands Kept Clutching,  As If To Stop

It,  And Her Eyes Filled With Horror.

 

Mr. Angelo Came Again To Her Rescue. He Affected To Take It All As A

Matter Of Course,  And Told The Servants They Need Not Wait,  Sir Charles

Was Coming To Himself By Degrees,  And The Danger Was All Over.

 

But When The Servants Were Gone He Said To Lady Bassett,  Seriously,  "I

Would Not Let Any Servant Be About Sir Charles,  Except This One. She Is

Evidently Attached To You. Suppose We Take Him To His Own Room."

 

He Then Made Mary Wells A Signal,  And They Carried Him Upstairs.

 

Sir Charles Talked All The While With Pitiable Vehemence. Indeed,  It

Was A Continuous Babble,  Like A Brook.

 

Mary Wells Was Taking Him Into His Own Room,  But Lady Bassett Said,

"No: Into My Room. Oh,  I Will Never Let Him Out Of My Sight Again."

 

Then They Carried Him Into Lady Bassett's Bedroom,  And Laid Him Gently

Down On A Couch There.

 

He Looked Round,  Observed The Locality,  And Uttered A Little Sigh Of

Complacency. He Left Off Talking For The Present,  And Seemed To Doze.

 

The Place Which Exerted This Soothing Influence On Sir Charles Had A

Contrary And Strange Effect On Mr. Angelo.

Part 3 Chapter 16 Pg 135

 

It Was Of Palatial Size,  And Lighted By Two Side Windows,  And An Oriel

Window At The End. The Delicate Stone Shafts And Mullions Were Such As

Are Oftener Seen In Cathedrals Than In Mansions. The Deep Embrasure Was

Filled With Beautiful Flowers And Luscious Exotic Leaf-Plants From The

Hot-Houses. The Floor Was Of Polished Oak,  And Some Feet Of This Were

Left Bare On All Sides Of The Great Aubusson Carpet Made Expressly For

The Room. By This Means Cleanliness Penetrated Into Every Corner: The

Oak Was Not Only Cleaned,  But Polished Like A Mirror. The Curtains Were

French Chintzes,  Of Substance,  And Exquisite Patterns,  And Very

Voluminous. On The Walls Was A Delicate Rose-Tinted Satin Paper,  To

Which French Art,  Unrivaled In These Matters,  Had Given The Appearance

Of Being Stuffed,  Padded,  And Divided Into A Thousand Cozy Pillows,  By

Gold-Headed Nails.

 

The Wardrobes Were Of Satin-Wood. The Bedsteads,  One Small,  One Large,

Were Plain White,  And Gold In Moderation.

 

All This,  However,  Was But The Frame To The Delightful Picture Of A

Wealthy Young Lady's Nest.

 

The Things That Startled And Thrilled Mr. Angelo Were Those His

Imagination Could See The Fair Mistress Using. The Exquisite Toilet

Table; The Dresden Mirror,  With Its Delicate China Frame Muslined And

Ribboned; The Great Ivory-Handled Brushes,  The Array Of Cut-Glass

Gold-Mounted Bottles,  And All The Artillery Of Beauty; The Baths Of

Various Shapes And Sizes,  In Which She Laved Her Fair Body; The Bath

Sheets,  And The Profusion Of Linen,  Fine And Coarse; The Bed,  With Its

Frilled Sheets,  Its Huge Frilled Pillows,  And Its Eider-Down Quilt,

Covered With Bright Purple Silk.

 

A Delicate Perfume Came Through The Wardrobes,  Where Strata Of Fine

Linen From Hamburg And Belfast Lay On Scented Herbs; And This,

Permeating The Room,  Seemed The Very Perfume Of Beauty Itself,  And

Intoxicated The Brain. Imagination Conjured Pictures Proper To The

Scene: A Goddess At Her Toilet; That Glorious Hair Lying Tumbled On The

Pillow,  And Burning In Contrasted Color With The Snowy Sheets And With

The Purple Quilt.

 

From This Reverie He Was Awakened By A Soft Voice That Said,  "How Can I

Ever Thank You Enough,  Sir?"

 

Mr. Angelo Controlled Himself,  And Said,  "By Sending For Me Whenever I

Can Be Of The Slightest Use." Then,  Comprehending His Danger,  He Added,

Hastily,  "And I Fear I Am None Whatever Now." Then He Rose To Go.

 

Lady Bassett Gave Him Both Her Hands Again,  And This Time He Kissed One

Of Them,  All In A Flurry; He Could Not Resist The Temptation. Then He

Hurried Away,  With His Whole Soul In A Tumult. Lady Bassett Blushed,

And Returned To Her Husband's Side.

 

Doctor Willis Came,  Heard The Case,  Looked Rather Grave And Puzzled,

And Wrote The Inevitable Prescription; For The Established Theory Is

That Man Is Cured By Drugs Alone.

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Sir Charles Wandered A Little While The Doctor Was There,  And Continued

To Wander After He Was Gone.

 

Then Mary Wells Begged Leave To Sleep In The Dressing-Room.

 

Lady Bassett Thanked Her,  But Said She Thought It Unnecessary; A Good

Night's Rest,  She Hoped,  Would Make A Great Change In The Sufferer.

 

Mary Wells Thought Otherwise,  And Quietly Brought Her Little Bed Into

The Dressing-Room And Laid It On The Floor.

 

Her Judgment Proved Right; Sir Charles Was No Better The Next Day,  Nor

The Day After. He Brooded For Hours At A Time,  And,  When He Talked,

There Was An Incoherence In His Discourse; Above All,  He Seemed

Incapable Of Talking Long On Any Subject Without Coming Back To The

Fatal One Of His Childlessness; And,  When He Did Return To This,  It Was

Sure To Make Him Either Deeply Dejected Or Else Violent Against Richard

Bassett And His Son; He Swore At Them,  And Said They Were Waiting For

His Shoes.

 

Lady Bassett's Anxiety Deepened; Strange Fears Came Over Her. She Put

Subtle Questions To The Doctor; He Returned Obscure Answers,  And Went

On Prescribing Medicines That Had No Effect.

 

She Looked Wistfully Into Mary Wells's Face,  And There She Saw Her Own

Thoughts Reflected.

 

"Mary," Said She,  One Day,  In A Low Voice,  "What Do They Say In The

Kitchen?"

 

"Some Say One Thing,  Some Another. What Can They Say? They Never See

Him,  And Never Shall While I Am Here."

 

This Reminded Lady Bassett That Mary's Time Was Up. The Idea Of A

Stranger Taking Her Place,  And Seeing Sir Charles In His Present

Condition,  Was Horrible To Her. "Oh,  Mary," Said She,  Piteously,

"Surely You Will Not Leave Me Just Now?"

 

"Do You Wish Me To Stay,  My Lady?"

 

"Can You Ask It? How Can I Hope To Find Such Devotion As Yours,  Such

Fidelity,  And,  Above All,  Such Secrecy? Ah,  Mary,  I Am The Most Unhappy

Lady In All England This Day."

 

Then She Began To Cry Bitterly,  And Mary Wells Cried With Her,  And Said

She Would Stay As Long As She Could; "But," Said She,  "I Gave You Good

Advice,  My Lady,  And So You Will Find."

 

Lady Bassett Made No Answer Whatever,  And That Disappointed Mary,  For

She Wanted A Discussion.

 

 

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