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026 - Hollingford in a Bustle · Wives and Daughters

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Speaker 1: Chapter twenty five of Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell.
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Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter twenty
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Speaker 1: five Hollingford. In a bustle all Hollingford felt as if
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Speaker 1: there was a great deal to be done before Easter.
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Speaker 1: This year there was Easter proper, which always required new
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Speaker 1: clothing of some kind, for fear of certain consequences from
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Speaker 1: little birds who were supposed to resent the impiety of
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Speaker 1: those who did not wear some new article of dress
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Speaker 1: on Easter Day. And most ladies considered it wiser that
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Speaker 1: the little birds should see the new article for themselves
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Speaker 1: and not have to take it upon trust, as they
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Speaker 1: would have to do if it were merely a pocket handkerchief,
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Speaker 1: or a petticoat, or any article of underclothing. So piety
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Speaker 1: demanded a new bonnet or a new gown, and was
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Speaker 1: barely satisfied with an Easter pair of gloves. Miss Rose
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Speaker 1: was generally very busy just before Easter in Hollingford. Then
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Speaker 1: this year there was a charity ball Ashcombe, Hollingford and
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Speaker 1: Coreham were three neighboring times of about the same number
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Speaker 1: of population, lying at the three equidistant corners. Of a triangle.
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Speaker 1: In imitation of greater cities with their festivals, these three
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Speaker 1: towns had agreed to have an annual ball for the
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Speaker 1: benefit of the County Hospital, to be held in turn
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Speaker 1: at each place, and Hollingford was to be the place
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Speaker 1: this year. It was a fine time for hospitality, and
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Speaker 1: every house of any pretension was as full as it
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Speaker 1: could hold, and the flies were engaged long months before.
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Speaker 1: If missus Gibson could have asked Osborne or in default
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Speaker 1: Roger Hamley to go to the ball with them and
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Speaker 1: to sleep at their house, or if indeed she could
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Speaker 1: have picked up any stray scion of a county family
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Speaker 1: to whom such an offer would have been a convenience,
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Speaker 1: she would have restored her own dressing room to its
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Speaker 1: former uses the spare room, with pleasure. But she did
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Speaker 1: not think it was worth her while to put herself
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Speaker 1: out for any of the humdrum and ill dressed women
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Speaker 1: who had been her former acquaintances at Ashcombe. For mister Preston,
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Speaker 1: it might have been worth while to give up her room,
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Speaker 1: considering him in the light of a handsome and prosperous
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Speaker 1: young man, and a good dancer besides. But there were
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Speaker 1: more lights in which he was to be viewed. Mister Gibson,
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Speaker 1: who really wanted to return the hospitality shown to him
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Speaker 1: by mister Preston at the time of his marriage, had
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Speaker 1: yet an instinctive distaste to the man, which no wish
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Speaker 1: of freeing himself from obligation, nor even the more worthy
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Speaker 1: feeling of hospitality, could overcome. Missus Gibson had some old
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Speaker 1: grudges of her own against him, but she was not
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Speaker 1: one to retain angry feelings or to be very active
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Speaker 1: in her retaliation. She was afraid of mister Preston and
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Speaker 1: admired him at the same time. It was awkward, too,
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Speaker 1: so she said to go into a ball room without
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Speaker 1: any gentleman at all. And mister Gibson was so uncertain
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Speaker 1: on the whole, partly for this last given reason, and
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Speaker 1: partly because conciliation was the best policy. Missus Gibson was
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Speaker 1: slightly in favor of inviting mister Preston to be their guest.
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Speaker 1: But as soon as Cynthia heard the question discussed, or
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Speaker 1: rather as soon as she heard it disgust in mister
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Speaker 1: Gibson's absence, she said that.
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Speaker 2: If mister Preston came to be their visitor on the occasion, she,
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Speaker 2: for one, would not go to the ball at all.
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Speaker 1: She did not speak with vehemence or in anger, but
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Speaker 1: with such quiet resolution that Molly looked up in surprise.
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Speaker 1: She saw that Cynthia was keeping her eyes fixed on
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Speaker 1: her work, and that she had no intention of meeting
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Speaker 1: any one's gaze or giving any further explanation. Missus Gibson,
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Speaker 1: too looked perplexed, and once or twice seemed on the
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Speaker 1: point of asking some question, but she was not angry,
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Speaker 1: as Molly had fully expected. She watched Cynthia furtively and
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Speaker 1: in silence for a minute or two, and then said
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Speaker 1: that after all she could not conveniently give up her
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Speaker 1: dressing room, and altogether they had better say no more
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Speaker 1: about it. So no stranger was invited to stay at
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Speaker 1: mister Gibson's at the time of the ball, but Missus
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Speaker 1: Gibson openly spoke of her regret at the unavoidable inhospitality,
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Speaker 1: and hoped that they might be able to build an
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Speaker 1: addition to their house before the next triennial Hollingford Ball.
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Speaker 1: Another cause of unusual bustle in Hollingford this Easter was
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Speaker 1: the expected return of the family to the towers after
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Speaker 1: their unusually long absence. Mister Sheepshanks might be seen trotting
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Speaker 1: up and down on his stout old cop speaking to
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Speaker 1: attentive masons, plasterers and glaziers about putting everything on the outside,
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Speaker 1: at least about the cottages belonging to my lord in
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Speaker 1: perfect repair. Lord Cumnor owned the greater part of the town,
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Speaker 1: and those who lived under other landlords or in houses
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Speaker 1: of their own were stirred up by the dread of
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Speaker 1: contrast to do up their dwellings. So the ladders and
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Speaker 1: whitewashers and painters were sadly in the way of the ladies,
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Speaker 1: tripping daintly along to make their purchases and holding their
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Speaker 1: gowns up in a bunch behind. After a fashion quite
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Speaker 1: gone out in these days. The housekeeper and steward from
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Speaker 1: the towers might also be seen coming in to give
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Speaker 1: orders at the various shops, and stopping here and there
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Speaker 1: at those kept by favorites to avail themselves of the
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Speaker 1: eagerly tendered refreshments. Lady Harriet came to call on her
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Speaker 1: old governess the day after the arrival of the family
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Speaker 1: at the tower. Molly and Cynthia were out walking when
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Speaker 1: she came, doing some errands for Missus Gibson, who had
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Speaker 1: a secret idea that Lady Harriet would call at the
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Speaker 1: particular time she did, and had a not uncommon wish
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Speaker 1: to talk to her ladyship without the corrective presence of
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Speaker 1: any member of her own family. Missus Gibson did not
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Speaker 1: give Molly the message of remembrance that Lady Harriet had
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Speaker 1: left for her, but she imparted various pieces of news
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Speaker 1: relating to the towers with great animation and interest. The
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Speaker 1: Duchess of Menteith and her daughter, Lady Alice were coming
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Speaker 1: to the towers, would be there the day of the ball,
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Speaker 1: would come to the ball, and the Menteith diamonds were famous.
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Speaker 1: That was a piece of news the first. The second
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Speaker 1: was that ever so many gentlemen were coming to the towers,
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Speaker 1: some English, some French. This piece of news would have
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Speaker 1: come first in order of importance, had there been much
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Speaker 1: probability of their being dancing men, and as such possible
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Speaker 1: partners at the coming ball, But Lady Harriet had spoken
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Speaker 1: of them as Lord Hollingford's friends, useless scientific men in
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Speaker 1: all probability, then Finally, Missus Gibson was to go to
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Speaker 1: the towers next day to lunch. Lady Cumnor had written
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Speaker 1: a little note by Lady Harriet.
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Speaker 3: To beg her to come. If Missus Gibson could manage
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Speaker 3: to find her way to the towers, one of the
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Speaker 3: carriages in use should bring her back to her own
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Speaker 3: home in the course of the afternoon.
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Speaker 1: The dear Countess, said Missus Gibson with soft affection. It
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Speaker 1: was a soliloquy uttered after a minute's pause. At the
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Speaker 1: end of all this information, and all the rest of
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Speaker 1: that day, her conversation had an aristocratic perfume hanging about it.
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Speaker 1: One of the few books she had brought with her
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Speaker 1: into mister Gibson's house was bound in pink, and in
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Speaker 1: it she studied Menteeth, Duke of Adolphus George, et cetera,
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Speaker 1: et cetera, until she was fully up in all the
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Speaker 1: Duchess's connections and probable interests. Mister Gibson made his mouth
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Speaker 1: up into a droll whistle when he came home at
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Speaker 1: night and found himself in a towers at the misps. Molly
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Speaker 1: saw the shade of annoyance through the drollery. She was
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Speaker 1: beginning to see it oftener than she liked. Not that
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Speaker 1: she reasoned upon it, or that she consciously traced the
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Speaker 1: annoyance to its source, but she could not help feeling
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Speaker 1: uneasy in herself when she knew her father was in
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Speaker 1: the least put out. Of course, a fly was ordered
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Speaker 1: for Missus Gibson in the early afternoon she came home.
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Speaker 1: If she had been disappointed in her interview with the Countess,
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Speaker 1: she never told her woe, nor revealed the fact that
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Speaker 1: when she first arrived at the Towers she had to
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Speaker 1: wait for an hour in Lady Cumnor's morning room, uncheered
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Speaker 1: by any companionship save that of her old friend, Missus Bradley,
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Speaker 1: till suddenly Lady Harriet coming in. She exclaimed, why Claire, you,
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Speaker 1: dear woman, are you here all alone?
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Speaker 2: Does Mamma know?
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Speaker 1: And after a little more affectionate conversation, she rushed to
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Speaker 1: find her Ladyship, who was perfectly aware of the fact,
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Speaker 1: but too deep in giving the Duchess the benefit of
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Speaker 1: her wisdom and experience in Trousseau's to be at all
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Speaker 1: aware of the length of time Missus Gibson had been
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Speaker 1: passing in patients solitude at lunch, missus Gibson was secretly
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Speaker 1: hurt by my lord's supposing it to be her dinner,
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Speaker 1: and calling out his urgent hospitality from the very bottom
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Speaker 1: of the table, giving as a reason for it that
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Speaker 1: she must remember it was her dinner. In vain, she
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Speaker 1: piped out in her soft, high voice.
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Speaker 4: Oh, my Lord, I never eat meat in the middle
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Speaker 4: of the day. I can hardly eat anything at lunch.
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Speaker 1: Her voice was lost, and the Duchess might go away
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Speaker 1: with the idea that the Hollingford doctor's wife dined early,
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Speaker 1: that is to say, if her grace ever condescended to
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Speaker 1: have any idea on the subject at all, which presupposes
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Speaker 1: that she was cognizant of the fact of there being
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Speaker 1: a doctor at Hollingford, and that he had a wife,
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Speaker 1: and that his wife was the pretty, faded, elegant looking
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Speaker 1: woman sending away her plate of untasted food, food which
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Speaker 1: she longed to eat, for she was really desperately hungry
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Speaker 1: after her drive and her solitude. And then after lunch
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Speaker 1: there did come a tete a tete with Lady Cumnor,
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Speaker 1: which was conduct after this.
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Speaker 3: Was well, Claire, I am really glad to see you
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Speaker 3: I once thought I should never get back to the towers.
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Speaker 3: But here I am. There was such a clever man
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Speaker 3: at Bath, a doctor Snape. He cured me at last,
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Speaker 3: quite set me up. I really think if ever I
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Speaker 3: am ill again, I shall send for him. It is
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Speaker 3: such a thing to find a really clever medical man. Oh,
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Speaker 3: by the way, I always forget you've married mister Gibson.
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Speaker 3: Of course he is very clever and all that. The
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Speaker 3: carriage to the door in ten minutes Brown and desire
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Speaker 3: Bradley to bring my things done. What was I asking you? Oh,
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Speaker 3: how do you get on with the step daughter? She
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Speaker 3: seemed to me to be a young lady with a
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Speaker 3: pretty stubborn will of her own. I put a letter
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Speaker 3: for the post down somewhere, and I cannot think where.
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Speaker 3: Do help me look for it? There's a good woman.
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Speaker 3: Just run to my room and see if Brown can
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Speaker 3: find it, for it is of great consequence.
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Speaker 1: Off went missus Gibson, rather unwillingly, for there were several
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Speaker 1: things she wanted to speak about, and she had not
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Speaker 1: heard half of what she had expected to learn of
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Speaker 1: the family gossip. But all chance was gone, for when
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Speaker 1: she came back from her fruitless errand Lady Cumnor and
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Speaker 1: the Duchess were in full talk, Lady Cumnor with the
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Speaker 1: missing letter in her hand, which she was using something
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Speaker 1: like a baton to enforce her words.
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Speaker 3: Every iota from Paris, every iota.
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Speaker 1: Lady Cumnor was too much of a lady not to
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Speaker 1: apologize for useless trouble. But there were nearly the last
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Speaker 1: words she spoke to Missus Gibson, for she had to
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Speaker 1: go out and drive with the Duchess and the brom
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Speaker 1: to take Claire. As she persisted in calling Missus Gibson
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Speaker 1: back to Hollingford followed the carriage to the door. Lady
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Speaker 1: Harriet came away from her entourage of young men and
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Speaker 1: young ladies, all prepared for some walking expedition, to wish
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Speaker 1: Missus Gibson good bye. We shall see you at that,
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Speaker 1: she said, you'll be there with your.
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Speaker 4: Two girls, of course, and I must have a little talk.
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Speaker 2: With you there.
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Speaker 3: With all these visitors in the house, it has been
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Speaker 3: impossible to see anything of you to day. You know.
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Speaker 1: Such were the facts, but rose color was the medium
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Speaker 1: through which they were seen by Missus Gibson's household listeners.
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Speaker 1: On her return.
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Speaker 4: There are many visitors staying at the towers. Oh, yes,
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Speaker 4: a great many, the Duchess and Lady Alice, and mister
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Speaker 4: and Missus Gray, and Lord Albert Monson and his sister,
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Speaker 4: and my old friend Captain James of the Blues, many
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Speaker 4: more in fact. But of course I preferred going to
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Speaker 4: Lady Cumnor's own room, where I could see her and
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Speaker 4: Lady Harriet quietly, and where we were not disturbed by
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Speaker 4: the bustle down stairs. Of course, we were obliged to
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Speaker 4: go down to lunch, and then I saw my old friends,
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Speaker 4: and when he had pleasant acquaintances, but I really could
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Speaker 4: hardly get any connected conversation with any one. Lord Cumnor
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Speaker 4: seemed so delighted to see me there again, though there
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Speaker 4: were six or seven between us. He was always interrupting
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Speaker 4: with some civil or kind speech actually addressed to me,
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Speaker 4: And after lunch, Lady Cumnor asked me all sorts of
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Speaker 4: questions about my new life, with as much interest as
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Speaker 4: if I had been her daughter. To be sure, when
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Speaker 4: the Duchess came in, we had to leave off and
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Speaker 4: talk about the trousseau she is preparing for. Lady Alice.
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Speaker 4: Lady Harriet made such a point of our meeting at
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Speaker 4: the ball. She is such a good affectionate creature, is
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Speaker 4: Lady Harriet.
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Speaker 1: This last was said in a tone of meditative appreciation.
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Speaker 1: The afternoon of the day on which the ball was
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Speaker 1: to take place, a servant rode over from Hamley with
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Speaker 1: two lovely nosegays, with.
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Speaker 4: The mister Hamley's compliments to Miss Gibson and Miss Kirkpatrick.
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Speaker 1: Cynthia was the first to receive them. She came dancing
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Speaker 1: into the drawing room, flourishing the flowers about in either hand,
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Speaker 1: and danced up to Molly, who was trying to settle
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Speaker 1: to her reading by way of passing the time away
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Speaker 1: till the evening came.
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Speaker 2: Look, Molly, look, here are bouquets for us long life
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Speaker 2: to the givers.
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Speaker 1: Who are they from, asked Molly, taking hold of one
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Speaker 1: and examining it with tender delight at its beauty?
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Speaker 2: Who from? Why? The two paragons of Hamleys. To be sure,
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Speaker 2: is it not a pretty attention?
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Speaker 1: How kind of them? Said Molly.
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Speaker 2: I'm sure it is Osborne who thought of it. He
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Speaker 2: has been so much abroad where it is such a
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Speaker 2: common compliment to send bouquets to young ladies.
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Speaker 1: I don't see why you should think it is Osborne's thought,
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Speaker 1: said Molly, reddening a little. Mister Roger Hamley, you used
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Speaker 1: to gather nose gays constantly for his mother and sometimes
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Speaker 1: for me.
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Speaker 2: Well, never mind whose thought it was or who gathered them.
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Speaker 2: We've got the flowers and that's enough, Molly. I'm sure
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Speaker 2: these red flowers will just match your coral necklace and.
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Speaker 1: Bracelets, said Cynthia, pulling out some camellias, then a rare
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Speaker 1: kind of flower. Oh please don't, exclaimed Molly. Don't you
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Speaker 1: see how carefully the colors are arranged. They have taken
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Speaker 1: such pains. Please don't nonsense, said Cynthia, continuing to pull
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Speaker 1: them out.
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Speaker 2: See here are quite enough. I'll make you a little
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Speaker 2: coronett of sown on black velvet which will never be seen,
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Speaker 2: just as they do in France.
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Speaker 1: Oh, I am so sorry, it is quite spoilt, said Molly.
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Speaker 2: Never mind, I'll take this spoiled bouquet. I can make
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Speaker 2: it up again, just as prettily as ever. Then you
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Speaker 2: shall have this which has never been touched.
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Speaker 1: Cynthia went on arranging the crimson buds and flowers to
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Speaker 1: her taste. Molly said nothing, but kept watching Cynthia's nimble
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Speaker 1: fingers tying up the wreath. There said Cynthia.
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Speaker 2: At last, when that is sown on black velvet, to
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Speaker 2: keep the flowers from dying, you'll see how pretty it
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Speaker 2: will look. And there are enough red flowers in this
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Speaker 2: untouched nosegay to carry out the idea.
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Speaker 1: Thank you very slowly, But shan't you mind having only
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Speaker 1: the wrecks of the other.
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Speaker 2: Not I red flowers would not go with my pink dress.
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Speaker 1: But I dare say they arranged each snowsgaede so carefully.
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Speaker 2: Perhaps they did, but I never would allow sentiment to
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Speaker 2: interfere with my choice of colors. And pink does tie
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Speaker 2: one down. Now, you in white muslin, just tipped with
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Speaker 2: crimson like a daisy. They wear anything.
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Speaker 1: Cynthia took the utmost pains in dressing Molly, leaving the
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Speaker 1: clever housemaid to her mother's exclusive service. Missus Gibson was
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Speaker 1: more anxious about her attire than was either of the girls.
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Speaker 1: It had given her occasion for deep thought and not
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Speaker 1: a few sighs. Her deliberation had ended in her wearing
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Speaker 1: her pearl gray satin wedding gown with a profusion of
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Speaker 1: lace and white and colored lilacs. Cynthia was the one
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Speaker 1: who took the affair most lightly. Molly looked upon the
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Speaker 1: ceremony of dressing for a first ball as rather a
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Speaker 1: serious ceremony, certainly as an anxious proceeding. Cynthia was almost
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Speaker 1: as anxious as herself. Only Molly wanted her appearance to
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Speaker 1: be correct and unnoticed, and Cynthia was desirous of setting
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Speaker 1: off Molly's rather peculiar charms, her cream colored skin, her
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Speaker 1: profusion of curly black hair, her beautiful, long shaped eyes
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Speaker 1: with their shy, loving expression. Cynthia took up so much
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Speaker 1: time in dressing Molly to her mind, that she herself
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Speaker 1: had to perform her toilette in a Molly, ready dressed,
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Speaker 1: sat on a low chair in Cynthia's room, watching the
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Speaker 1: pretty creature's rapid movements as she stood in her petticoat
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Speaker 1: before the glass, doing up her hair with quick certainty
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Speaker 1: of effect. At length, Molly heaved a long sigh and said,
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Speaker 1: I should like to be pretty? Why Molly said Cynthia,
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Speaker 1: turning round with an exclamation on the tip of her tongue.
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Speaker 1: But when she caught the innocent, wistful look on Molly's face.
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Speaker 1: She instinctively checked what she was going to say, and,
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Speaker 1: half smiling to her own reflection in the glass, she said, the.
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Speaker 2: French girls would tell you to believe that you were pretty,
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Speaker 2: would make you so.
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Speaker 1: Molly paused before replying, I suppose they would mean that
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Speaker 1: if you knew you were pretty, you would never think
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Speaker 1: about your looks. You would be so certain of being liked,
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Speaker 1: and that it is scaring.
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Speaker 2: Listen, that's eight o'clock striking. Don't trouble yourself with trying
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Speaker 2: to interpret a French girl's meaning, but help me on
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Speaker 2: with my frock. There's a dear one.
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Speaker 1: The two girls were dressed and was standing over the
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Speaker 1: fire waiting for the carriage in Cynthia's room when Maria,
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Speaker 1: Betty's successor, came hurrying into the room. Maria had been
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Speaker 1: officiating as made to missus Gibson, but she had had
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Speaker 1: intervals of leisure in which she had rushed upstairs and
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Speaker 1: under the pretense of offering her services, had seen the
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Speaker 1: young lady's dresses, and the sight of so many nice
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Speaker 1: clothes had sent her into a state of excitement which
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Speaker 1: made her think nothing of rushing upstairs for the twentieth time,
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Speaker 1: with a nosegay, still more beautiful than the two previous ones.
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Speaker 1: Dear miss kirk Patrick, No, it's not for you, miss
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Speaker 1: as Molly, being nearer to the door, offered to take
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Speaker 1: it and pass it to Cynthia. It's for miss Kirkpatrick,
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Speaker 1: and there's a note for her besides. Cynthia said nothing,
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Speaker 1: but she took the note and the flowers. She held
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Speaker 1: the note so that Molly could read it at the
17:43
Speaker 1: same time she did.
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Speaker 2: I send you some flowers, and you must allow me
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Speaker 2: to claim the first dance after nine o'clock, before which
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Speaker 2: time I fear I cannot arrive.
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Speaker 1: R p Who is it, asked Molly. Cynthia looked extremely irritated, indignant, purpler.
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Speaker 1: What was it? Turned her cheeks so pale and made
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Speaker 1: her eyes so full of fire. It is mister Preston,
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Speaker 1: said she in answer to Molly, I.
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Speaker 2: Shall not dance with him. And here go his flowers.
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Speaker 1: Into the very middle of the embers, which she immediately
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Speaker 1: stirred down upon the beautiful, shriveling petals, as if she
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Speaker 1: wished to annihilate them as soon as possible. Her voice
18:20
Speaker 1: had never been raised. It was as sweet as usual,
18:23
Speaker 1: nor though her movements were prompt enough. Were they hasty
18:26
Speaker 1: or violent? Oh, said Molly, those beautiful flowers. We might
18:32
Speaker 1: have put him in water. No, said Cynthia.
18:36
Speaker 2: It's best to destroy them. We don't want them. And
18:38
Speaker 2: I can't bear to be reminded of that man.
18:40
Speaker 1: It was an impertinent familiar note, said Molly. What right
18:44
Speaker 1: had you to express himself in that way? No beginning,
18:47
Speaker 1: no end, and only initials? Did you know him well
18:50
Speaker 1: when you were at Ashcombe? Cynthia?
18:52
Speaker 2: Oh, don't let us think any more about him.
18:54
Speaker 1: Replied Cynthia.
18:56
Speaker 2: It is quite enough to spoil any pleasure at the
18:58
Speaker 2: ball to think that he will be there. But I
19:00
Speaker 2: hope I shall get engaged before he comes, so that
19:02
Speaker 2: I can't dance with him. And don't you why there.
19:05
Speaker 1: There they are calling for us, exclaimed Molly, And with
19:09
Speaker 1: a quick step, yet careful of their draperies, they made
19:12
Speaker 1: their way downstairs to the place where mister and missus
19:14
Speaker 1: Gibson awaited them. Yes, mister Gibson was going, even if
19:18
Speaker 1: he had to lay them afterwards to attend to any
19:20
Speaker 1: professional call. And Molly suddenly began to admire her father
19:24
Speaker 1: as a handsome man. When she saw him, now in
19:27
Speaker 1: full evening attire. Missus Gibson too, how pretty she was.
19:31
Speaker 1: In short, it was true that no better looking a
19:34
Speaker 1: party than these four people entered the Hollingford ball Room
19:37
Speaker 1: that evening. End of Chapter twenty five