第24章

Acommon—lookingyoungmanonabicycle，whohadwheeledintothevillagewiththecarriage，ridingalongsideitforahundredyardsorso，stoppedbeforetheClockInnanddismounted，justasMrs。Brentnearedhim。Hesawherlookingaftertheequipage，andliftinghiscapspoketohercivilly。

"ThisisStornhamvillage，ain’tit，ma’am？"heinquired。

"Yes，myman。"Hiscostumeandgeneralaspectseemedtoindicatethathewasoftheclassoneaddressedas"myman，"

thoughtherewassomethingalittleoddabouthim。

"Thankyou。Thatwasn’tMissVanderpoel’seldestsisterinthatcarriage，wasit？"

"MissVanderpoel’s————"Mrs。Brenthesitated。"DoyoumeanLadyAnstruthers？"

"I’dforgottenhername。IknowMissVanderpoel’seldestsisterlivesatStornham——ReubenS。Vanderpoel’sdaughter。"

"LadyAnstruthers’youngersisterisaMissVanderpoel，andsheisvisitingatStornhamCourtnow。"Mrs。Brentcouldnothelpadding，curiously，"Whydoyouask？"

"Iamgoingtoseeher。I’manAmerican。"

Mrs。Brentcoughedtocoveraslightgasp。ShehadheardremarkablethingsofthedemocraticcustomsofAmerica。Itwaspainfulnottobeabletoaskquestions。

"TheladyinthecarriagewastheCountessofDunholm，"

shesaidrathergrandly。"TheyaregoingtotheCourttocallonMissVanderpoel。"

"ThenMissVanderpoel’sthereyet。That’sallright。

Thankyou，ma’am，"andliftinghiscapagainheturnedintothelittlepublichouse。

TheDunholmpartyhadbeenaccustomedontheirrarevisitstoStornhamtobereceivedbythekindofman—servantinthekindofliverywhichisamanifest，thoughunwilling，confession。Themenwhothrewopenthedoorswereofregulationheight，welldressed，andoftrainedbearing。Theentrancehallhadlostitshopelessshabbiness。Itwasacompleteandpicturesquelyluxuriousthing。Thechangesuggestedmagic。Themagicwhichhadbeenused，LordDunholmreflected，wasthesimplestandmostpowerfulonearth。Givensurroundings，combinedwithagiftforknowingvaluesofformandcolour，ifyouhavethepowertospendthousandsofguineasontigerskins，Orientalrugs，andotherbeauties，barrennessiseasilytransformed。

Thedrawing—roomworeachangedaspect，andatafirstglanceitwastobeseenthatinpoorlittleLadyAnstruthers，asshehadgenerallybeencalled，therewastobenotedalterationalso。Inhercasethechange，beinginitsfirststages，couldnotperhapsbeyetcalledtransformation，but，aidedbysoftlyprettyarrangementofdressandhair，alightinhereyes，andasuggestionofpinkunderherskin，onerecalledthatshehadoncebeenaprettylittlewoman，andthatafterallshewasonlyaboutthirty—twoyearsoldThathersister，MissVanderpoel，hadbeauty，itwasnotnecessarytohesitateindeciding。NeitherLordDunholmnorhiswifenortheirsondidhesitate。Agirlwithlonglimbsanalluringprofile，andextraordinaryblacklashessetroundlovelyIrish—blueeyes，possessesphysicalcapitalnottobearguedabout。

Shewasnotoneofthecurious，exoticlittlecreatures，whosethin，thoughsometimesrathersweet，andalwaysgay，high—

pitchedyoungvoicesLordDunholmhadbeensoespeciallystruckbyintheearlydaysoftheAmericaninvasion。Hervoicehadatoneonewouldbelikelytorememberwithpleasure。

Howwellshemoved——howwellherblackheadwassetonherneck！Yes，shewasofthenewtype——thelatergeneration。

Theseamazing，oddlypracticalpeoplehadevolvedit——plannedit，perhaps，bought——figurativelyspeaking——thearchitectsandmaterialtodesignandbuildit——boughttheminwhatevercountrytheyfoundthem，England，France，ItalyGermany——pocketingthemcoollyandcarryingthembackhometodevelop，complete，andsendforthintotheworldwhentheirinventionwasaperfectedthing。Struckbythehumourofhisfancy，LordDunholmfoundhimselfsmilingintotheIrish—blueeyes。Theysmiledbackathiminawaywhichwarmedhisheart。Therewerenopausesintheconversationwhichfollowed。Intimespast，callsatStornhamhadgenerallyheldpainfullyblankmoments。LadyDunholmwasaspleasedasherhusband。Areallycharminggirlwasanenormousacquisitiontotheneighbourhood。

Westholt，hisfathersaw，hadfoundevenmorethanthestoryofoldDoby’spipehadpreparedhimtoexpect。

Countrycallswerenotusuallyinterestingorstimulating，andthisonewas。LordDunholmlaidsubtlybrilliantplanstoleadMissVanderpoeltotalkofhernativelandandherviewsofit。Heknewthatshewouldsaythingsworthhearing。

Incidentallyonegatheredpicturesquedetail。Tohavevibratedbetweenthetwocontinentssinceherthirteenthyear，tohavespentafewyearsatschoolinonecountry，afewyearsinanother，andyetafewyearsmoreinstillanother，aspartofanarrangededucationalplan；tohavecrossedtheAtlanticfortheholidays，andtohavejourneyedthousandsofmileswithherfatherinhisprivatecar；tomakethevisitsofamanofgreatschemestohispossessionsofmines，railroads，andlandswhichwerealmostprincipalities——thesethingshadbeenmerelydetailsofherlife，addinginterestandvariety，itwastrue，butseemingthemerelynormaloutcomeofexistence。

TheywerenormaltoVanderpoelsandothersoftheirclasswhowereabnormalitiesinthemselveswhencomparedwiththerestoftheworld。

Herownverylackofanyabnormalityreached，inLordDunholm’smind，thehighestpointofillustrationofthephaseoflifeshebeautifullyrepresented——forbeautifulhefeltitsrarecharmswere。

Whentheystrolledouttolookatthegardenshefoundtalkwithhernolessastimulatingthing。ShetoldherstoryofKedgers，andshowedthechosenspotwherethicketsofliliesweretobloom，withthegiantsliftingwhitearchangeltrumpetsabovetheminthecentre。

"Hecanbetrusted，"shesaid。"Ifeelsurehecanbetrusted。Helovesthem。Hecouldnotlovethemsomuchandnotbeabletotakecareofthem。"Andasshelookedathiminfrankappealforsympathy，LordDunholmfeltthatforthemomentshelookedlikeatall，queenlychild。

Butpleasedashewas，hepresentlygaveuphisplaceathersidetoWestholt。Hemustnotbeaselfisholdfellowandmonopoliseher。Hehopedtheywouldseeeachotheroften，hesaidcharmingly。HethoughtshewouldbesuretolikeDunholm，whichwasreallyathoroughlyEnglisholdplace，markedbyallthefeaturessheseemedsomuchattractedby。Thereweresomebeautifulrelicsofthepastthere，andsomerathershockingones——certaindungeons，forinstance，andagallowsmount，onwhichingoodoldtimesthefamilygallowshadstood。Thishadapparentlybeenaworkingadjuncttothedomesticarrangementsofeveryrespectablefamily，andthatirritatingpersonsshoulddanglefromithadbeenasimpledomesticnecessity，ifoneweretobelieveoldstories。

"Itwasthenthatnobleswereregardedwithrespect，"hesaid，withhisfinesmile。"Inthedayswhenamanappearedwithclangofarmsandwithjavelinsandspearsbefore，anddonjonkeepsinthebackground，theattitudeofbentkneesandawfulreverenceweretheinevitableresults。Whenonecouldhangaservantonone’sownprivategallows，orchopoffhishandforirreverenceordisobedience——obedienceandreverencewerearule。Now，amonth’snoticeistheextremityofpunishment，andtheoldpompofarmedservitorssuggestscomicopera。ButwecanshowyourelicsofitatDunholm。"

HejoinedhiswifeandbeganatoncetomakehimselfsodelightfultoRosythatsheceasedtobeafraidofhim，andendedbytalkingalmostgailyofherLondonvisit。

BettyandWestholtwalkedtogether。Theafternoonbeinglovely，theyhadallsaunteredintotheparktolookatcertainviews，andthesunwasshiningbetweenthetrees。Bettythoughttheyoungmanalmostascharmingashisfather，whichwassayingmuch。ShehadfallenwhollyinlovewithLordDunholm——withhishandsome，elderlyface，hisvoice，hiserectbearing，hisfinesmile，hisattractionofmanner，hiscourteouseaseandwit。Hewasoneofthemenwhostoodforthebestofalltheyhadbeenborntorepresent。

Herownfather，shefelt，stoodforthebestofallsuchanAmericanashimselfshouldbe。LordWestholtwouldintimebewhathisfatherwas。Hehadinheritedfromhimgoodlooks，goodfeeling，andasenseofhumour。Yes，hehadbeengivenfromtheoutsetallthattheothermanhadbeendenied。

ShewasthinkingofMountDunstanas"theotherman，"andspokeofhim。

"YouknowLordMountDunstan？"shesaid。

Westholthesitatedslightly。

"Yes——andno，"heanswered，afterthehesitation。"Nooneknowshim

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