Part 50 (1/2)
He looked up with his winning smile, and held out his lips. ”Kiss me,”
he said; ”I never felt better.”
Lady Roehampton after a time slumbered; how long she knew not, but when she woke, her lord was not at her side. She struck a light and looked at her watch. It was past three o'clock; she jumped out of bed, and, merely in her slippers and her _robe de chambre_, descended to the library. It was a large, long room, and Lord Roehampton worked at the extreme end of it. The candles were nearly burnt out. As she approached him, she perceived that he was leaning back in his chair. When she reached him, she observed he was awake, but he did not seem to recognise her. A dreadful feeling came over her. She took his hand. It was quite cold.
Her intellect for an instant seemed to desert her. She looked round her with an air void almost of intelligence, and then rus.h.i.+ng to the bell she continued ringing it till some of the household appeared. A medical man was near at hand, and in a few minutes arrived, but it was a bootless visit. All was over, and all had been over, he said, ”for some time.”
CHAPTER Lx.x.xV
”Well, you have made up your government?” asked Lady Montfort of the prime minister as he entered her boudoir. He shook his head.
”Have you seen her?” he inquired.
”No, not yet; I suppose she will see me as soon as any one.”
”I am told she is utterly overwhelmed.”
”She was devoted to him; it was the happiest union I ever knew; but Lady Roehampton is not the woman to be utterly overwhelmed. She has too imperial a spirit for that.”
”It is a great misfortune,” said the prime minister. ”We have not been lucky since we took the reins.”
”Well, there is no use in deploring. There is n.o.body else to take the reins, so you may defy misfortunes. The question now is, what are you going to do?”
”Well, there seems to me only one thing to do. We must put Rawchester there.”
”Rawchester!” exclaimed Lady Montfort, ”what, 'Niminy-Piminy'?”
”Well, he is conciliatory,” said the premier, ”and if you are not very clever, you should be conciliatory.”
”He never knows his own mind for a week together.”
”We will take care of his mind,” said the prime minister, ”but he has travelled a good deal, and knows the public men.”
”Yes,” said Lady Montfort, ”and the public men, I fear, know him.”
”Then he can make a good House of Lords' speech, and we have a first-rate man in the Commons; so it will do.”
”I do not think your first-rate man in the House of Commons will remain,” said Lady Montfort drily.
”You do not mean that?” said the prime minister, evidently alarmed.
”His health is delicate,” said Lady Montfort; ”had it not been for his devotion to Lord Roehampton, I know he thought of travelling for a couple of years.”
”Ferrars' health delicate?” said the premier; ”I thought he was the picture of health and youthful vigour. Health is one of the elements to be considered in calculating the career of a public man, and I have always predicted an eminent career for Ferrars, because, in addition to his remarkable talents, he had apparently such a fine const.i.tution.”
”No health could stand working under Lord Rawchester.”
”Well, but what am I to do? I cannot make Mr. Ferrars secretary of state.”
”Why not?”