CHAPTER vii. -- A BOLD STROKE.
When Cecilia returned home, she heard with much concern that no tidingsof Mr Harrel had yet been obtained. His lady, who did not stay out late,was now very seriously frightened, and entreated Cecilia to sit up withher till some news could be procured; she sent also for her brother, andthey all three, in trembling expectation of what was to ensue, passedthe whole night in watching.
At six o'clock in the morning, Mr Arnott besought his sister and Ceciliato take some rest, promising to go out himself to every place whereMr Harrel was known to resort, and not to return without bringing someaccount of him.
Mrs Harrel, whose feelings were not very acute, finding the persuasionsof her brother were seconded by her own fatigue, consented to follow hisadvice, and desired him to begin his search immediately.
A few moments after he was gone, while Mrs Harrel and Cecilia wereupon the stairs, they were startled by a violent knocking at the door;Cecilia, prepared for some calamity, hurried her friend back to thedrawing-room, and then flying out of it again to enquire who entered,saw to her equal surprize and relief, Mr Harrel himself.
She ran back with the welcome information, and he instantly followedher; Mrs Harrel eagerly told him of her fright, and Cecilia expressedher pleasure at his return; but the satisfaction of neither was of longduration.
He came into the room with a look of fierceness the most terrifying, hishat on, and his arms folded. He made no answer to what they said, butpushed back the door with his foot, and flung himself upon a sofa.
Cecilia would now have withdrawn, but Mrs Harrel caught her hand toprevent her. They continued some minutes in this situation, and then MrHarrel, suddenly rising, called-out "Have you any thing to pack up?"
"Pack up?" repeated Mrs Harrel, "Lord bless me, for what?"
"I am going abroad," he answered; "I shall set off to-morrow."
"Abroad?" cried she, bursting into tears, "I am sure I hope not!"
"Hope nothing!" returned he, in a voice of rage; and then, with adreadful oath, he ordered her to leave him and pack up.
Mrs Harrel, wholly unused to such treatment, was frightened into violenthysterics; of which, however, he took no notice, but swearing at her fora fool who had been the cause of his ruin, he left the room.
Cecilia, though she instantly rang the bell, and hastened to herassistance, was so much shocked by this unexpected brutality, that shescarcely knew how to act, or what to order. Mrs Harrel, however, soonrecovered, and Cecilia accompanied her to her own apartment, where shestayed, and endeavoured to sooth her till Mr Arnott returned.
The terrible state in which Mr Harrel had at last come home wasimmediately communicated to him, and his sister entreated him to useall his influence that the scheme for going abroad might be deferred, atleast, if not wholly given up.
Fearfully he went on the embassy, but speedily, and with a lookwholly dismayed, he returned. Mr Harrel, he said, told him that he hadcontracted a larger debt of honour than he had any means to raise, andas he could not appear till it was paid, he was obliged to quit thekingdom without delay.
"Oh brother!" cried Mrs Harrel, "and can you suffer us to go?"
"Alas, my dear sister," answered he, "what can I do to prevent it? andwho, if I too am ruined, will in future help you?"
Mrs Harrel then wept bitterly, nor could the gentle Mr Arnott, forbear,while he tried to comfort her, mixing his own tears with those ofhis beloved sister; but Cecilia, whose reason was stronger, and whosejustice was offended, felt other sensations; and leaving Mrs Harrel tothe care of her brother, whose tenderness she infinitely compassionated,she retreated into her own room. Not, however, to rest; the dreadfulsituation of the family made her forget she wanted it, but to deliberateupon what course she ought herself to pursue.
She determined without any hesitation against accompanying them in theirflight, as the irreparable injury she was convinced she had already doneher fortune, was more than sufficient to satisfy the most romanticideas of friendship and humanity; but her own place of abode must nowimmediately be changed, and her choice rested only between Mr Delvileand Mr Briggs.
Important as were the obstacles which opposed her residence at MrDelvile's, all that belonged to inclination and to happiness encouragedit; while with respect to Mr Briggs, though the objections were lighter,there was not a single allurement. Yet whenever the suspicion recurredto her that Miss Belfield was beloved by young Delvile, she resolvedat all events to avoid him; but when better hopes intervened, andrepresented that his enquiries were probably accidental, the wish ofbeing finally acquainted with his sentiments, made nothing so desirableas an intercourse more frequent.
Such still was her irresolution, when she received a message from MrArnott to entreat the honour of seeing her. She immediately went downstairs, and found him in the utmost distress, "O Miss Beverley," hecried, "what can I do for my sister! what can I possibly devise torelieve her affliction!"
"Indeed I know not!" said Cecilia, "but the utter impracticability ofpreparing her for this blow, obviously as it has long been impending,makes it now fall so heavily I wish much to assist her,--but a debt sounjustifiably contracted--"
"O madam," interrupted he, "imagine not I sent to you with sotreacherous a view as to involve you in our misery; far too unworthilyhas your generosity already been abused. I only wish to consult with youwhat I can do for my sister."
Cecilia, after some little consideration, proposed that Mrs Harrelshould still be left in England, and under their joint care.
"Alas!" cried he, "I have already made that proposal, but Mr Harrel willnot go without her, though his whole behaviour is so totally altered,that I fear to trust her with him."
"Who is there, then, that has more weight with him?" said Cecilia,"shall we send for Sir Robert Floyer to second our request?"
To this Mr Arnott assented, forgetting in his apprehension of losing hissister, the pain he should suffer from the interference of his rival.
The Baronet presently arrived, and Cecilia, not chusing to apply to himherself, left him with Mr Arnott, and waited for intelligence in thelibrary.
In about an hour after, Mrs Harrel ran into the room, her tears driedup, and out of breath with joy, and called out "My dearest friend, myfate is now all in your hands, and I am sure you will not refuse to makeme happy."
"What is it I can do for you?" cried Cecilia, dreading someimpracticable proposal; "ask me not, I beseech you, what I cannotperform!"
"No, no," answered she, "What I ask requires nothing but good nature;Sir Robert Floyer has been begging Mr Harrel to leave me behind, and hehas promised to comply, upon condition you will hasten your marriage,and take me into your own house."
"My marriage!" cried the astonished Cecilia.
Here they were joined by Mr Harrel himself, who repeated the same offer.
"You both amaze and shock me!" cried Cecilia, "what is it you mean, andwhy do you talk to me so wildly?"
"Miss Beverley," cried Mr Harrel, "it is high time now to give up thisreserve, and trifle no longer with a gentleman so unexceptionable as SirRobert Floyer. The whole town has long acknowledged him as your husband,and you are every where regarded as his bride, a little frankness,therefore, in accepting him, will not only bind him to you for ever, butdo credit to the generosity of your character."
At that moment Sir Robert himself burst into the room, and seizing oneof her hands, while both of them were uplifted in mute amazement, hepressed it to his lips, poured forth a volley of such compliments ashe had never before prevailed with himself to utter, and confidentlyentreated her to complete his long-attended happiness without thecruelty of further delay.
Cecilia, almost petrified by the excess of her surprise, at an attack soviolent, so bold, and apparently so sanguine, was for some time scarceable to speak or to defend herself; but when Sir Robert, presuming onher silence, said she had made him the happiest of men, she indignantlydrew back her hand, and with a look of displeasure that required littleexplanation,
would have walked out of the room; when Mr Harrel, in atone of bitterness and disappointment, called out "Is this lady-liketyranny then never to end?" And Sir Robert, impatiently following her,said "And is my suspense to endure for ever? After so many months'attendance--"
"This, indeed, is something too much," said Cecilia, turning back, "Youhave been kept, Sir, in no suspense; the whole tenor of my conduct hasuniformly declared the same disapprobation I at present avow, and whichmy letter, at least, must have put beyond all doubt."
"Harrel," exclaimed Sir Robert, "did not you tell me--"
"Pho, Pho," cried Harrel, "what signifies calling upon me? I never sawin Miss Beverley any disapprobation beyond what it is customary foryoung ladies of a sentimental turn to shew; and every body knows thatwhere a gentleman is allowed to pay his devoirs for any length of time,no lady intends to use him very severely."
"And can you, Mr Harrel," said Cecilia, "after such conversations ashave passed between us, persevere in this wilful misapprehension? Butit is vain to debate where all reasoning is disregarded, or to make anyprotestations where even rejection is received as a favour."
And then, with an air of disdain, she insisted upon passing them, andwent to her own room.
Mrs Harrel, however, still followed, and clinging round her, stillsupplicated her pity and compliance.
"What infatuation is this!" cried Cecilia, "is it possible that you,too, can suppose I ever mean to accept Sir Robert?"
"To be sure I do," answered she, "for Mr Harrel has told me a thousandtimes, that however you played the prude, you would be his at last."
Cecilia, though doubly irritated against Mr Harrel, was now appeasedwith his lady, whose mistake, however ill-founded, offered an excusefor her behaviour; but she assured her in the strongest terms that herrepugnance to the Baronet was unalterable, yet told her she might claimfrom her every good office that was not wholly unreasonable.
These were words of slender comfort to Mrs Harrel, who well knew thather wishes and reason had but little affinity, and she soon, therefore,left the room.
Cecilia then resolved to go instantly to Mrs Delvile, acquaint her withthe necessity of her removal, and make her decision whither, accordingto the manner in which her intelligence should be received.
She sent, therefore, to order a chair, and was already in the hall, whenshe was stopt by the entrance of Mr Monckton, who, addressing her witha look of haste and earnestness, said, "I will not ask whither you aregoing so early, or upon what errand, for I must beg a moment's audience,be your business what it may."
Cecilia then accompanied him to the deserted breakfast room, which nonebut the servants had this morning entered, and there, grasping her hand,he said, "Miss Beverley, you must fly this house directly! it is theregion of disorder and licentiousness, and unfit to contain you."
She assured him she was that moment preparing to quit it, but begged hewould explain himself.
"I have taken care," he answered, "for some time past, to be wellinformed of all the proceedings of Mr Harrel; and the intelligence Iprocured this morning is of the most alarming nature. I find he spentthe night before the last entirely at a gaming table, where, intoxicatedby a run of good luck, he passed the whole of the next day in riotingwith his profligate intimates, and last night, returning again to hisfavourite amusement, he not only lost all he had gained, but much morethan he could pay. Doubt not, therefore, but you will be called upon toassist him; he still considers you as his resource in times of danger,and while he knows you are under his roof, he will always believehimself secure."
"Every thing indeed conspires," said Cecilia, more shocked thansurprised at this account, "to make it necessary I should quit hishouse; yet I do not think he has at present any further expectationsfrom me, as he came into the room this morning not merely withoutspeaking to me, but behaved with a brutality to Mrs Harrel that he mustbe certain would give me disgust. It shewed me, indeed, a new part ofhis character, for ill as I have long thought of him, I did not suspecthe could be guilty of such unmanly cruelty."
"The character of a gamester," said Mr Monckton, "depends solely uponhis luck; his disposition varies with every throw of the dice, and heis airy, gay and good humoured, or sour, morose and savage, neither fromnature nor from principle, but wholly by the caprice of chance."
Cecilia then related to him the scene in which she had just been engagedwith Sir Robert Floyer.
"This," cried he, "is a manoeuvre I have been some time expecting; butMr Harrel, though artful and selfish, is by no means deep. The planhe had formed would have succeeded with some women, and he thereforeconcluded it would with all. So many of your sex have been subduedby perseverance, and so many have been conquered by boldness, that hesupposed when he united two such powerful besiegers in the person ofa Baronet, he should vanquish all obstacles. By assuring you that theworld thought the marriage already settled, he hoped to surprise youinto believing there was no help for it, and by the suddenness andvehemence of the attack, to frighten and hurry you into compliance.His own wife, he knew, might have been managed thus with ease, and so,probably, might his sister, and his mother, and his cousin, for in lovematters, or what are so called, women in general are, readily duped. Hediscerned not the superiority of your understanding to tricks so shallowand impertinent, nor the firmness of your mind in maintaining its ownindependence. No doubt but he was amply to have been rewarded for hisassistance, and probably had you this morning been propitious, theBaronet in return was to have cleared him from his present difficulty."
"Even in my own mind," said Cecilia, "I can no longer defend him, for hecould never have been so eager to promote the interest of Sir Robert,in the present terrible situation of his own affairs, had he not beenstimulated by some secret motives. His schemes and his artifices,however, will now be utterly lost upon me, since your warning andadvice, aided by my own suffering experience of the inutility of all Ican do for him, will effectually guard me from all his future attempts."
"Rest no security upon yourself," said Mr Monckton, "since you haveno knowledge of the many tricks and inventions by which you may yetbe plundered. Perhaps he may beg permission to reside in your house inSuffolk, or desire an annuity for his wife, or chuse to receive yourfirst rents when you come of age; and whatever he may fix upon, hisdagger and his bowl will not fail to procure him. A heart so liberal asyours can only be guarded by flight. You were going, you said, when Icame,--and whither?"
"To--to St James's-square," answered she, with a deep blush.
"Indeed!--is young Delvile, then, going abroad?"
"Abroad?--no,--I believe not."
"Nay, I only imagined it from your chusing to reside in his house."
"I do not chuse it," cried Cecilia, with quickness, "but is not anything preferable to dwelling with Mr Briggs?"
"Certainly," said Mr Monckton coolly, "nor should I have supposed he hadany chance with you, had I not hitherto observed that your conveniencehas always been sacrificed to your sense of propriety."
Cecilia, touched by praise so full of censure, and earnest to vindicateher delicacy, after an internal struggle, which Mr Monckton was toosubtle to interrupt, protested she would go instantly to Mr Briggs, andsee if it were possible to be settled in his house, before she made anyattempt to fix herself elsewhere.
"And when?" said Mr Monckton.
"I don't know," answered she, with some hesitation, "perhaps thisafternoon."
"Why not this morning?"
"I can go out no where this morning; I must stay with Mrs Harrel."
"You thought otherwise when I came, you were then content to leave her."
Cecilia's alacrity, however, for changing her abode, was now at an end,and she would fain have been left quietly to re-consider her plans; butMr Monckton urged so strongly the danger of her lengthened stay in thehouse of so designing a man as Mr Harrel, that he prevailed with her toquit it without delay, and had himself the satisfaction of handing herto her chair.