第29章

CHAPTERXXXII

AGREATBALL

Acertaingreatball，givenyearlyatDunholmCastle，wasoneofthemostnotablesocialfeaturesofthecounty。Ittookplacewhenthehousewasfullofitsmostinterestinglydistinguishedguests，and，thoughotherballsmightbegivenatothertimes，thisonewasmarkedbyadegreeofgreaterstate。

Onseveraloccasionsthechiefguestshadbeengreatpersonagesindeed，andtobebiddentomeetthemimpliedaselectionflatteringinitself。One’sinvitationmustconveybyinferencethatonewaseitherbrilliant，beautiful，oradmirable，ifnotimportant。

NigelAnstruthershadneverappearedatwhattheuninvitedwerewont，withderisivesmiles，tocallTheGreatPanjandrumFunction——whichwasanironicdesignationnotemployedbysuchpersonsasreceivedcardsbiddingthemtothefestivity。StornhamCourtwasnotpopularinthecounty；

noonehadyearnedforthesocietyoftheDowagerLadyAnstruthers，eveninheryouth；andanottoowell—favouredyoungmanwithanill—favouredtemper，noticeablyonthelookoutforgrievances，isnotanadditiontoone’scircle。AtnineteenNigelhaddiscoveredtheolderLordMountDunstanandhissonTenhamtobecongenialacquaintances，andhadbeensooftenabsentfromhomethathisneighbourswouldhavefoundsocialintercoursewithhimdifficult，evenifdesirable。

Accordingly，whenthecountypaperrecordedthesplendoursofTheGreatPanjandrumFunction——whichitbynomeansmentionedbythatname——thelistof"Amongthosepresent"

hadnotsofarcontainedthenameofSirNigelAnstruthers。

So，onamorningafewdaysafterhisreturn，themasterofStornhamturnedoveracardofinvitationandreaditseveraltimesbeforespeaking。

"Isupposeyouknowwhatthismeans，"hesaidatlasttoRosalie，whowasalonewithhim。

"ItmeansthatweareinvitedtoDunholmCastlefortheball，doesn’tit？"

Herhusbandtossedthecardasideonthetable。

"ItmeansthatBettywillbeinvitedtoeveryhousewherethereisasonwhomustbedisposedofprofitably。

"Sheisinvitedbecausesheisbeautifulandclever。Shewouldbeinvitedifshehadnomoneyatall，"saidRosydaringly。Shewasactuallygrowingdaring，shethoughtsometimes。Itwouldnothavebeenpossibletosayanythinglikethisafewmonthsago。

"Don’tmakesillymistakes，"saidNigel。"Thereareagoodmanyhandsomegirlswhoreceivecomparativelylittleattention。Butthehoundsofwarareletloose，whenoneofyourswollenAmericanfortunesappears。Theobviousnessofit`virtuously’makesmesick。It’sasvulgar——asNewYork。"

WhatbefelnextbroughttoSirNigelashockofcuriousenlightenment，butnoonewasmoreamazedthanRosyherself。

Shefelt，whensheheardherownvoice，asifshemustberathermad。

"Iwouldrather，"shesaidquitedistinctly，"thatyoudidnotspeaktomeofNewYorkinthatway。"

"What！"saidAnstruthers，staringatherwithcontemptwhichwasderision。

"Itismyhome，"sheanswered。"ItisnotproperthatI

shouldhearitspokenofslightingly。"

"Yourhome！Ithasnottakentheslightestnoticeofyoufortwelveyears。Yourpeopledroppedyouasifyouwereahotpotato。"

"Theyhavetakenmeupagain。"Stillinamazementatherownboldness，butsomehowlearningsomethingasshewenton。

Hewalkedovertoherside，andstoodbeforeher。

"Lookhere，Rosalie，"hesaid。"Youhavebeentakinglessonsfromyoursister。Sheisabeautyandyoungandyouarenot。Peoplewillstandthingsfromhertheywillnottakefromyou。Iwouldstandsomethingsmyself，becauseitratheramusesamantoseeafinegirlpeacocking。It’smerelyridiculousinyou，andIwon’tstandit——notabitofit。"

Itwasnotspeciallyfortunateforhimthatthedooropenedashewasspeaking，andBettycameinwithherowninvitationinherhand。Hewasquickenough，however，toturntogreetherwithashrugofhisshoulders。

"Iambeingfavouredwithalittlescenebymywife，"heexplained。"Sheiscapableofgettingupexcellentlittlescenes，butIdaresayshedoesnotshowyouthatsideofhertemper。"

Bettytookacomfortablechintz—covered，easychair。Herexpressionwasevasivelyspeculative。

"WasitasceneIinterrupted？"shesaid。"ThenImustnotgoawayandleaveyoutofinishit。Youweresayingthatyouwouldnot`stand’something。Whatdoesamandowhenhewillnot`stand’athing？Italwayssoundssofinalandappalling——asifhewerethreateninghorriblethingssuchas，perhaps，werearesourceinfeudaltimes。WhatIStheresourceinthesedulldaysoflawandorder——andpolicemen？"

"IsthisAmericanchaff？"hewasdisagreeablyconsciousthathewasnotwhollysuccessfulinhisefforttobelofty。

ThefranknessofBetty’ssmilewasquitewithoutprejudice。

"Dearme，no，"shesaid。"Itisonlytheunpicturesqueresultofanunfeminineknowledgeofthelaw。AndIwasthinkinghowoneislimited——andyethowthingsaresimplifiedafterall。"

"Simplified！"disgustedly。

"Yes，really。Yousee，ifRosywereviolentshecouldnotbeatyou——evenifshewerestrongenough——becauseyoucouldringthebellandgiveherintocustody。Andyoucouldnotbeatherbecausethesameunpleasantthingwouldhappentoyou。Policemendorobthingsofcolour，don’tthey？Andbesides，whenoneremembersthatmerevulgarlawinsiststhatnoonecanbeforcedtolivewithanotherpersonwhoisbrutalorloathsome，that’ssimple，isn’tit？YoucouldgoawayfromRosy，"withsweetclearness，"atanymomentyouwished——asfarawayasyouliked。"

"Youseemtoforget，"stillfeelingthatconvincingloftinesswasnoteasy，"thatwhenamanleaveshiswife，orshedesertshim，itisshewhoislikelytobecalledupontobeartheonusofpublicopinion。"

"Wouldshebecalledupontobearitunderallcircumstances？"

"Damnedcleverwomanasyouare，youknowthatshewould，aswellasIknowit。"Hemadeanabruptgesturewithhishand。"YouknowthatwhatIsayistrue。WomenwhotaketotheirheelsaredeucedlyunpopularinEngland。"

"IhavenotbeenlonginEngland，butIhavebeenstruckbytheprevalenceofasortofconstitutionalBritishsenseoffairplayamongthepeoplewhoreallycount。TheDunholms，forinstance，haveitmarkedly。InAmericaitisthemenwhoforcewomentotaketotheirheelswhoaredeucedlyunpopular。TheAmericans’senseoffairplayistheirmostEnglishquality。Itwasbroughtoverinshipsbythefirstcolonists——likethepiecesoffinesolidoldfurniture，oneevennowsees，hereandthere，inhousesinVirginia。"

"Butthefactremains，"saidNigel，withanunpleasantlaugh，"thefactremains，mydeargirl。"

"Thefactthatdoesremain，"saidBetty，notunpleasantlyatall，andstillwithhergentleairofmereunprejudicedspeculation，"isthat，ifamanorwomanisproperlyill—

treated——PROPERLY——notinanyamateurishway——theyreachthepointofnotcaringintheleast——nothingmatters，butthattheymustgetawayfromthehorroroftheunbearablething——nevertoseeorhearofitagainisheavenenoughtomakeanythingelseathingtosmileat。Butonecouldsettletheotherpointbyexperimenting。SupposeyourunawayfromRosy，andthenwecanseeifsheiscutbythecounty。"

Hislaughwasunpleasantagain。

"Solongasyouarewithher，shewillnotbecut。Thereareanumberofpennilessyoungmenoffamilyinthis，aswellastheadjoining，counties。DoyouthinkMountDunstanwouldcuther？"

Shelookeddownatthecarpetthoughtfullyamoment，andthenliftedhereyes。

"Idonotthinkso，"sheanswered。"ButIwillaskhim。"

Hewasstartledbyasuddenfeelingthatshemightbecapableofit。

"Oh，comenow，"hesaid，"thatgoesbeyondajoke。Youwillnotdoanysuchabsurdthing。Onedoesnotwantone’sdomesticdifficultiesdiscussedbyone’sneighbours。"

Bettyopenedcoollysurprisedeyes。

"Ididnotunderstanditwasapersonalmatter，"sheremarked。"Wheredothedomesticdifficultiescomein？"

Hestaredatherafewsecondswiththelookshedidnotlike，whichwaslesslikeableatthemoment，becauseitcombineditselfwithotherthings。

"Hangit，"hemuttered。"IwishIcouldkeepmytemperasyoucankeepyours，"andheturnedonhisheelandlefttheroom。

Rosyhadnotspoken。Shehadsatwithherhandsinherlap，lookingoutofthewindow。Shehadatfirsthadamomentofterror。Shehad，indeed，onceutteredinhersoultheabjectcry："Don’tmakehimangry，Betty——oh，don’t，don’t！"Andsuddenlyithadbeenstilled，andsheha

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