CHAPTER XXXIII.
SHOWING WHY HARRY CLAVERING WAS WANTED AT THE RECTORY.
The letter which had summoned Harry to the parsonage had been fromhis mother, and had begged him to come to Clavering at once, astrouble had come upon them from an unexpected source. His fatherhad quarrelled with Mr. Saul. The rector and the curate had had aninterview, in which there had been high words, and Mr. Clavering hadrefused to see Mr. Saul again. Fanny also was in great trouble,--andthe parish was, as it were, in hot water. Mrs. Clavering thought thatHarry had better run down to Clavering, and see Mr. Saul. Harry, notunwillingly, acceded to his mother's request, much wondering at thesource of this new misfortune. As to Fanny, she, as he believed, hadheld out no encouragement to Mr. Saul's overtures. When Mr. Saul hadproposed to her,--making that first offer of which Harry had beenaware,--nothing could have been more steadfast than her rejectionof the gentleman's hand. Harry had regarded Mr. Saul as little lessthan mad to think of such a thing, but, thinking of him as a manvery different in his ways and feelings from other men, had believedthat he might go on at Clavering comfortably as curate in spite ofthat little accident. It appeared, however, that he was not going oncomfortably; but Harry, when he left London, could not quite imaginehow such violent discomfort should have arisen that the rector andthe curate should be unable to meet each other. If the reader willallow me, I will go back a little and explain this.
The reader already knows what Fanny's brother did not know,--namely,that Mr. Saul had pressed his suit again, and had pressed it verystrongly; and he also knows that Fanny's reception of the secondoffer was very different from her reception of the first. She hadbegun to doubt;--to doubt whether her first judgment as to Mr. Saul'scharacter had not been unjust,--to doubt whether, in addressing her,he was not right, seeing that his love for her was so strong,--todoubt whether she did not like him better than she had thought shedid,--to doubt whether an engagement with a penniless curate wasin truth a position utterly to be reprehended and avoided. Youngpenniless curates must love somebody as well as young beneficedvicars and rectors. And then Mr. Saul pleaded his cause so well!
She did not at once speak to her mother on the matter, and the factthat she had a secret made her very wretched. She had left Mr. Saulin doubt, giving him no answer, and he had said that he would ask heragain in a few days what was to be his fate. She hardly knew how totell her mother of this till she had told herself what were her ownwishes. She thoroughly desired to have her mother in her confidence,and promised herself that it should be so before Mr. Saul renewed hissuit. He was a man who was never hurried or impatient in his doings.But Fanny put off the interview with her mother,--put off her ownfinal resolution, till it was too late, and Mr. Saul came upon heragain, when she was but ill-prepared for him.
A woman, when she doubts whether she loves or does not love, isinclined five parts out of six towards the man of whom she isthinking. When a woman doubts she is lost, the cynics say. I simplyassert, being no cynic, that when a woman doubts she is won. The moreFanny thought of Mr. Saul, the more she felt that he was not the manfor which she had first taken him,--that he was of larger dimensionsas regarded spirit, manhood, and heart, and better entitled to awoman's love. She would not tell herself that she was attached tohim; but in all her arguments with herself against him, she restedher objection mainly on the fact that he had but seventy pounds ayear. And then the threatened attack, the attack that was to befinal, came upon her before she was prepared for it!
They had been together as usual during the intervening time. It was,indeed, impossible that they should not be together. Since she hadfirst begun to doubt about Mr. Saul, she had been more diligent thanheretofore in visiting the poor and in attending to her school, asthough she were recognizing the duty which would specially be hers ifshe were to marry such a one as he. And thus they had been broughttogether more than ever. All this her mother had seen, and seeing,had trembled; but she had not thought it wise to say anything tillFanny should speak. Fanny was very good and very prudent. It couldnot be but that Fanny should know how impossible must be such amarriage. As to the rector, he had no suspicions on the matter. Saulhad made himself an ass on one occasion, and there had been an end ofit. As a curate Saul was invaluable, and therefore the fact of hishaving made himself an ass had been forgiven him. It was thus thatthe rector looked at it.
It was hardly more than ten days since the last walk in Cumberly Lanewhen Mr. Saul renewed the attack. He did it again on the same spot,and at the same hour of the day. Twice a week, always on the samedays, he was in the chapel up at this end of the parish, and on thesedays he could always find Fanny on her way home. When he put his headin at the little school door and asked for her, her mind misgave her.He had not walked home with her since, and though he had been in theschool with her often, had always left her there, going about hisown business, as though he were by no means desirous of her company.Now the time had come, and Fanny felt that she was not prepared. Butshe took up her hat, and went out to him, knowing that there was noescape.
"Miss Clavering," said he, "have you thought of what I was saying toyou?" To this she made no answer, but merely played with the point ofthe parasol which she held in her hand. "You cannot but have thoughtof it," he continued. "You could not dismiss it altogether from yourthoughts."
"I have thought about it, of course," she said.
"And what does your mind say? Or rather what does your heart say?Both should speak, but I would sooner hear the heart first."
"I am sure, Mr. Saul, that it is quite impossible."
"In what way impossible?"
"Papa would not allow it."
"Have you asked him?"
"Oh, dear, no."
"Or Mrs. Clavering?"
Fanny blushed as she remembered how she had permitted the days to goby without asking her mother's counsel. "No; I have spoken to no one.Why should I, when I knew that it is impossible?"
"May I speak to Mr. Clavering?" To this Fanny made no immediateanswer, and then Mr. Saul urged the question again. "May I speak toyour father?"
Fanny felt that she was assenting, even in that she did not answersuch a question by an immediate refusal of her permission; and yetshe did not mean to assent. "Miss Clavering," he said, "if you regardme with affection, you have no right to refuse me this request.I tell you so boldly. If you feel for me that love which wouldenable you to accept me as your husband, it is your duty to tell meso,--your duty to me, to yourself, and to your God."
Fanny did not quite see the thing in this light, and yet she didnot wish to contradict him. At this moment she forgot that in orderto put herself on perfectly firm ground, she should have gone backto the first hypothesis, and assured him that she did not feel anysuch regard for him. Mr. Saul, whose intellect was more acute, tookadvantage of her here, and chose to believe that that matter of heraffection was now conceded to him. He knew what he was doing well,and is open to a charge of some jesuitry. "Mr. Saul," said Fanny,with grave prudence, "it cannot be right for people to marry whenthey have nothing to live upon." When she had shown him so plainlythat she had no other piece left on the board to play than this, thegame may be said to have been won on his side.
"If that be your sole objection," said he, "you cannot but think itright that I and your father should discuss it." To this she made noreply whatever, and they walked along the lane for a considerable wayin silence. Mr. Saul would have been glad to have had the interviewover now, feeling that at any future meeting he would have strongerpower of assuming the position of an accepted lover than he would donow. Another man would have desired to get from her lips a decidedword of love,--to take her hand, perhaps, and to feel some responsefrom it,--to go further than this, as is not unlikely, and plead forthe happy indulgences of an accepted lover. But Mr. Saul abstained,and was wise in abstaining. She had not so far committed herself, butthat she might even now have drawn back, had he pressed her too hard.For hand-pressing, and the titillations of love-making, Mr. Saul wasnot adapted; but he
was a man who, having once loved, would love onto the end.
The way, however, was too long to be completed without furtherspeech. Fanny, as she walked, was struggling to find some wordsby which she might still hold her ground, but the words were notforthcoming. It seemed to herself that she was being carried awayby this man, because she had suddenly lost her remembrance of allnegatives. The more she struggled the more she failed, and at lastgave it up in despair. Let Mr. Saul say what he would, it wasimpossible that they should be married. All his arguments about dutywere nonsense. It could not be her duty to marry a man who would haveto starve in his attempt to keep her. She wished she had told him atfirst that she did not love him, but that seemed to be too late now.The moment that she was in the house she would go to her mother andtell her everything.
"Miss Clavering," said he, "I shall see your father to-morrow."
"No, no," she ejaculated.
"I shall certainly do so in any event. I shall either tell him thatI must leave the parish,--explaining to him why I must go; or Ishall ask him to let me remain here in the hope that I may becomehis son-in-law. You will not now tell me that I am to go?" Fannywas again silent, her memory failing her as to either negative oraffirmative that would be of service. "To stay here hopeless wouldbe impossible to me. Now I am not hopeless. Now I am full of hope.I think I could be happy, though I had to wait as Jacob waited."
"And perhaps have Jacob's consolation," said Fanny. She was lost bythe joke and he knew it. A grim smile of satisfaction crossed histhin face as he heard it, and there was a feeling of triumph at hisheart. "I am hardly fitted to be a patriarch, as the patriarchs wereof old," he said. "Though the seven years should be prolonged tofourteen I do not think I should seek any Leah."
They were soon at the gate, and his work for that evening was done.He would go home to his solitary room at a neighbouring farm-house,and sit in triumph as he eat his morsel of cold mutton by himself.He, without any advantage of a person to back him, poor, friendless,hitherto conscious that he was unfitted to mix even in ordinarysocial life--he had won the heart of the fairest woman he had everseen. "You will give me your hand at parting," he said, whereupon shetendered it to him with her eyes fixed upon the ground. "I hope weunderstand each other," he continued. "You may at any rate understandthis, that I love you with all my heart and all my strength. Ifthings prosper with me, all my prosperity shall be for you. If therebe no prosperity for me, you shall be my only consolation in thisworld. You are my Alpha and my Omega, my first and last, my beginningand end,--my everything, my all." Then he turned away and left her,and there had come no negative from her lips. As far as her lips wereconcerned no negative was any longer possible to her.
She went into the house knowing that she must at once seek hermother; but she allowed herself first to remain for some half-hourin her own bedroom, preparing the words that she would use. Theinterview she knew would be difficult,--much more difficult than itwould have been before her last walk with Mr. Saul; and the worst ofit was that she could not quite make up her mind as to what it wasthat she wished to say. She waited till she should hear her mother'sstep on the stairs. At last Mrs. Clavering came up to dress, and thenFanny, following her quickly into her bedroom, abruptly began.
"Mamma," she said, "I want to speak to you very much."
"Well, my dear?"
"But you mustn't be in a hurry, mamma." Mrs. Clavering looked at herwatch, and declaring that it still wanted three-quarters of an hourto dinner, promised that she would not be very much in a hurry.
"Mamma, Mr. Saul has been speaking to me again."
"Has he, my dear? You cannot, of course, help it if he chooses tospeak to you, but he ought to know that it is very foolish. It mustend in his having to leave us."
"That is what he says, mamma. He says he must go away unless--"
"Unless what?"
"Unless I will consent that he shall remain here as--"
"As your accepted lover. Is that it, Fanny?"
"Yes, mamma."
"Then he must go, I suppose. What else can any of us say? I shall besorry both for his sake and for your papa's." Mrs. Clavering as shesaid this looked at her daughter, and saw at once that this edict onher part did not settle the difficulty. There was that in Fanny'sface which showed trouble and the necessity of further explanation."Is not that what you think yourself, my dear?" Mrs. Clavering asked.
"I should be very sorry if he had to leave the parish on my account."
"We all shall feel that, dearest; but what can we do? I presume youdon't wish him to remain as your lover?"
"I don't know, mamma," said Fanny.
It was then as Mrs. Clavering had feared. Indeed from the first wordthat Fanny had spoken on the present occasion, she had almost beensure of the facts, as they now were. To her father it would appearwonderful that his daughter should have come to love such a man asMr. Saul, but Mrs. Clavering knew better than he how far perseverancewill go with women,--perseverance joined with high mental capacity,and with high spirit to back it. She was grieved but not surprised,and would at once have accepted the idea of Mr. Saul becoming herson-in-law, had not the poverty of the man been so much against him."Do you mean, my dear, that you wish him to remain here after whathe has said to you? That would be tantamount to accepting him. Youunderstand that, Fanny;--eh, dear?"
"I suppose it would, mamma."
"And is that what you mean? Come, dearest, tell me the whole of it.What have you said to him yourself? What has he been led to thinkfrom the answer you have given him to-day?"
"He says that he means to see papa to-morrow."
"But is he to see him with your consent?" Fanny had hitherto placedherself in the nook of a bow-window which looked out into the garden,and there, though she was near to the dressing-table at which hermother was sitting, she could so far screen herself as almost to hideher face when she was speaking. From this retreat her mother found itnecessary to withdraw her; so she rose, and going to a sofa in theroom, bade her daughter come and sit beside her. "A doctor, my dear,can never do any good," she said, "unless the patient will tell himeverything. Have you told Mr. Saul that he may see papa,--as comingfrom you, you know?"
"No, mamma;--I did not tell him that. I told him that it would bealtogether impossible, because we should be so poor."
"He ought to have known that himself."
"But I don't think he ever thinks of such things as that, mamma. Ican't tell you quite what he said, but it went to show that he didn'tregard money at all."
"But that is nonsense; is it not, Fanny?"
"What he means is, not that people if they are fond of each otherought to marry at once when they have got nothing to live upon, butthat they ought to tell each other so and then be content to wait.I suppose he thinks that some day he may have a living."
"But, Fanny, are you fond of him;--and have you ever told him so?"
"I have never told him so, mamma."
"But you are fond of him?" To this question Fanny made no answer, andnow Mrs. Clavering knew it all. She felt no inclination to scold herdaughter, or even to point out in very strong language how foolishFanny had been in allowing a man to engage her affections merely byasking for them. The thing was a misfortune, and should have beenavoided by the departure of Mr. Saul from the parish after his firstdeclaration of love. He had been allowed to remain for the sake ofthe rector's comfort, and the best must now be made of it. That Mr.Saul must now go was certain, and Fanny must endure the wearinessof an attachment with an absent lover to which her father would notconsent. It was very bad, but Mrs. Clavering did not think thatshe could make it better by attempting to scold her daughter intorenouncing the man.
"I suppose you would like me to tell papa all this before Mr. Saulcomes to-morrow?"
"If you think it best, mamma."
"And you mean, dear, that you would wish to accept him, only that hehas no income?"
"I think so, mamma."
"Have you told him so?"
"I did not tell
him so, but he understands it."
"If you did not tell him so, you might still think of it again."
But Fanny had surrendered herself now, and was determined to make nofurther attempt at sending the garrison up to the wall. "I am sure,mamma, that if he were well off, like Edward, I should accept him. Itis only because he has no income."
"But you have not told him that?"
"I would not tell him anything without your consent and papa's. Hesaid he should go to papa to-morrow, and I could not prevent that.I did say that I knew it was quite impossible."
The mischief was done and there was no help for it. Mrs. Claveringtold her daughter that she would talk it all over with the rectorthat night, so that Fanny was able to come down to dinner withoutfearing any further scene on that evening. But on the followingmorning she did not appear at prayers, nor was she present at thebreakfast table. Her mother went to her early, and she immediatelyasked if it was considered necessary that she should see her fatherbefore Mr. Saul came. But this was not required of her. "Papa saysthat it is out of the question," said Mrs. Clavering. "I told himso myself," said Fanny, beginning to whimper. "And there must be noengagements," said Mrs. Clavering. "No, mamma. I haven't engagedmyself. I told him it was impossible." "And papa thinks that Mr.Saul must leave him," continued Mrs. Clavering. "I knew papa wouldsay that;--but, mamma, I shall not forget him for that reason." Tothis Mrs. Clavering made no reply, and Fanny was allowed to remainupstairs till Mr. Saul had come and gone.
Very soon after breakfast Mr. Saul did come. His presence at therectory was so common that the servants were not generally summonedto announce his arrivals, but his visits were made to Mrs. Claveringand Fanny more often than to the rector. On this occasion he rang thebell, and asked for Mr. Clavering, and was shown into the rector'sso-called study, in a way that the maid-servant felt to be unusual.And the rector was sitting uncomfortably prepared for the visit, nothaving had his after-breakfast cigar. He had been induced to declarethat he was not, and would not be, angry with Fanny; but Mr. Saulwas left to such indignation as he thought it incumbent on himselfto express. In his opinion, the marriage was impossible, not onlybecause there was no money, but because Mr. Saul was Mr. Saul,and because Fanny Clavering was Fanny Clavering. Mr. Saul was agentleman; but that was all that could be said of him. There is aclass of country clergymen in England, of whom Mr. Clavering was one,and his son-in-law, Mr. Fielding, another, which is so closely alliedto the squirearchy, as to possess a double identity. Such clergymenare not only clergymen, but they are country gentlemen also. Mr.Clavering regarded clergymen of his class,--of the country gentlemenclass, as being quite distinct from all others,--and as being, I maysay, very much higher than all others, without reference to any moneyquestion. When meeting his brother rectors and vicars, he had quitea different tone in addressing them,--as they might belong to hisclass, or to another. There was no offence in this. The clericalcountry gentlemen understood it all as though there were some secretsign or shibboleth between them; but the outsiders had no complaintto make of arrogance, and did not feel themselves aggrieved. Theyhardly knew that there was an inner clerical familiarity to whichthey were not admitted. But now that there was a young curate fromthe outer circle demanding Mr. Clavering's daughter in marriage, andthat without a shilling in his pocket, Mr. Clavering felt that theeyes of the offender must be opened. The nuisance to him was verygreat, but this opening of Mr. Saul's eyes was a duty from which hecould not shrink.
He got up when the curate entered, and greeted his curate, as thoughhe were unaware of the purpose of the present visit. The whole burdenof the story was to be thrown upon Mr. Saul. But that gentleman wasnot long in casting the burden from his shoulders. "Mr. Clavering,"he said, "I have come to ask your permission to be a suitor for yourdaughter's hand."
The rector was almost taken aback by the abruptness of the request."Quite impossible, Mr. Saul," he said--"quite impossible. I am toldby Mrs. Clavering that you were speaking to Fanny again about thisyesterday, and I must say, that I think you have been behaving verybadly."
"In what way have I behaved badly?"
"In endeavouring to gain her affections behind my back."
"But, Mr. Clavering, how otherwise could I gain them? How otherwisedoes any man gain any woman's love? If you mean--"
"Look here, Mr. Saul. I don't think that there is any necessity foran argument between you and me on this point. That you cannot marryMiss Clavering is so self-evident that it does not require to bediscussed. If there were nothing else against it, neither of youhave got a penny. I have not seen my daughter since I heard of thismadness,--hear me out if you please, sir,--since I heard of thismadness, but her mother tells me that she is quite aware of thatfact. Your coming to me with such a proposition is an absurdity if itis nothing worse. Now you must do one of two things, Mr. Saul. Youmust either promise me that this shall be at an end altogether, oryou must leave the parish."
"I certainly shall not promise you that my hopes as they regard yourdaughter will be at an end."
"Then, Mr. Saul, the sooner you go the better."
A dark cloud came across Mr. Saul's brow as he heard these lastwords. "That is the way in which you would send away your groom, ifhe had offended you," he said.
"I do not wish to be unnecessarily harsh," said Mr. Clavering, "andwhat I say to you now I say to you not as my curate, but as to a mostunwarranted suitor for my daughter's hand. Of course I cannot turnyou out of the parish at a day's notice. I know that well enough. Butyour feelings as a gentleman ought to make you aware that you shouldgo at once."
"And that is to be my only answer?"
"What answer did you expect?"
"I have been thinking so much lately of the answers I might get fromyour daughter, that I have not made other calculations. Perhaps I hadno right to expect any other than that you have now given me."
"Of course you had not. And now I ask you again to give her up."
"I shall not do that, certainly."
"Then, Mr. Saul, you must go; and, inconvenient as it will be tomyself,--terribly inconvenient, I must ask you to go at once. Ofcourse I cannot allow you to meet my daughter any more. As long asyou remain she will be debarred from going to her school, and youwill be debarred from coming here."
"If I say that I will not seek her at the school?"
"I will not have it. It is out of the question that you should remainin the parish. You ought to feel it."
"Mr. Clavering, my going,--I mean my instant going,--is a matter ofwhich I have not yet thought. I must consider it before I give you ananswer."
"It ought to require no consideration," said Mr. Clavering, risingfrom his chair,--"none at all; not a moment's. Heavens and earth!Why, what did you suppose you were to live upon? But I won'tdiscuss it. I will not say one more word upon a subject which is sodistasteful to me. You must excuse me if I leave you."
Mr. Saul then departed, and from this interview had arisen that stateof things in the parish which had induced Mrs. Clavering to callHarry to their assistance. The rector had become more energetic onthe subject than any of them had expected. He did not actually forbidhis wife to see Mr. Saul, but he did say that Mr. Saul should notcome to the rectory. Then there arose a question as to the Sundayservices, and yet Mr. Clavering would have no intercourse with hiscurate. He would have no intercourse with him unless he would fix animmediate day for going, or else promise that he would think no moreof Fanny. Hitherto he had done neither, and therefore Mrs. Claveringhad sent for her son.