Lord Colambre endeavoured to answer, and mechanically
said something about, ‘happy to have the honour.’
Lady Dashfort, truly happy to see that her blow had
hit the mark so well, turned from his lordship without
seeming to observe how seriously he was affected; and
Lady Isabel sighed, and looked with compassion on
Lord Colambre, and then reproachfully at her mother.
But Lord Colambre heeded not her looks, and heard
not of her sighs; he heard nothing, saw nothing, though
his eyes were intently fixed on the genealogy, on
which Lady Dashfort was still descanting to Lady Killpatrick.
He took the first opportunity he could of quitting
the room, and went out to take a solitary walk.
’There he is, departed, but not in peace, to
reflect upon what has been said,’ whispered
Lady Dashfort to her daughter. ’I hope it
will do him a vast deal of good.’
‘None of the women Sans REPROCHE!
None!—without one exception,’ said
Lord Colambre to himself; ’and Grace Nugent’s
mother a St. Omar!—Is it possible?
Lady Dashfort seems certain. She could not assert
a positive falsehood—no motive. She
does not know that Miss Nugent is the person to whom
I am attached she spoke at random. And I have
heard it first from a stranger—not from
my mother. Why was it kept secret from me?
Now I understand the reason why my mother evidently
never wished that I should think of Miss Nugent—why
she always spoke so vehemently against the marriages
of relations, of cousins. Why not tell me the
truth? It would have had the strongest effect,
had she known my mind.’
Lord Colambre had the greatest dread of marrying any
woman whose mother had conducted herself ill.
His reason, his prejudices, his pride, his delicacy,
and even his limited experience, were all against it.
All his hopes, his plans of future happiness, were
shaken to their very foundation; he felt as if he
had received a blow that stunned his mind, and from
which he could not recover his faculties. The
whole of that day he was like one in a dream.
At night the painful idea continually recurred to
him; and whenever he was falling asleep, the sound
of Lady Dashfort’s voice returned upon his ear,
saying the words, ’What could he expect when
he married one of the St. Omars? None of the women
Sans REPROCHE.’
In the morning he rose early; and the first thing
he did was to write a letter to his mother, requesting
(unless there was some important reason for her declining
to answer the question) that she would immediately
relieve his mind from a great uneasiness (he altered
the word four times, but at last left it uneasiness).
He stated what he had heard, and besought his mother
to tell him the whole truth, without reserve.
One morning Lady Dashfort had formed an ingenious
scheme for leaving Lady Isabel and Lord Colambre tete-A-tete;
but the sudden entrance of Heathcock disconcerted
her intentions. He came to beg Lady Dashfort’s
interest with Count O’Halloran, for permission
to hunt and shoot on his grounds.—’Not
for myself, ’pon honour, but for two officers
who are quartered at the next town here, who will
indubitably hang or drown themselves if they are debarred
from sporting.’
