Part 16 (1/2)

So far he had encountered no special desire on the part of the ”upper cla.s.ses” to cultivate him. He was quite shrewd enough to perceive that those he had met--the Campions at Marlehouse and the few who had offered him hospitality in London--had done so purely on political grounds.

Only one, so far, had shown any kindness to him, the shy, wistfully self-conscious young man, hungry for sympathy and comprehension. Only one, Mary Ffolliot, had seemed to recognise in him other possibilities than those of party: but had she?

Anyway, here was he in the same village with her not a mile away, and yet a gulf stretched between them apparently impa.s.sable as a river in flood to a boatless man who could not swim.

That evening Miss Gallup decided that her nephew did not possess much general conversation.

CHAPTER XII

MISS ELSMARIA b.u.t.tERMISH

The twins were not in the least alike, either in disposition or appearance, but they were inseparable. They were known to their large circle of friends and still more numerous censors as ”Uz” and ”Buz,”

but their real names were Lionel and Hilary, a fact they rigidly suppressed at all times.

Buz was tall for his age, slender and fair, with regular, Grantly features, and eyes like his mother's. Uz was short and chubby, tirelessly mischievous, and of an optimistic cheerfulness that neither misfortune nor misunderstanding could diminish. Buz was the reading Ffolliot, imaginative, and easily swayed by what he read; and his was the fertile brain that created and suggested all manner of wrong-doing to his twin. Just then the mania of both was for impersonation. ”To dress up,” and if possible to mislead their fellow-creatures as to their ident.i.ty, was their chief aim in life. Here, the ”prettiness”

that in his proper person Buz deplored and abhorred came in useful. He made a charming girl, his histrionic power was considerable, and on both accounts he was much in demand at school theatricals; moreover, his voice had not yet broken, and when he desired to do so he could speak with lady-like softness and precision.

”Who's the chap that read the second lesson?” he asked Ger, who proudly walked between the twins on their way from church. Ger adored the twins.

”He's the muddy young man who came last Sunday,” Ger answered promptly.

Proud to be able to afford information, he continued, ”His aunt's our nice Miss Gallup, and he's going to get in at the Election, nurse says.”

”Oh, is he?” cried Uz, whose political views were the result of strong conviction unbia.s.sed by reflection. ”We'll see about that.”

”I feel,” Buz murmured dreamily, ”that it is my duty to find out that young man's views on Female Suffrage. The women in this district appear to me sadly indifferent as to this important question. It's doubtful if any of them will tackle him. Now I'm well up in it just now, owing to that rotten debate last term.”

”When that long-winded woman jawed for nearly an hour, d'you mean?”

asked Uz ”Exactly. I never dreamt she would come in useful, but you never know.”

”Shall you call?” Uz gurgled delightedly. ”Where'll you get the clothes? Mary's would be too big, besides everyone about here knows 'em, they're so old, and she'd never lend you anything decent.'

”I shouldn't ask her if I really wanted them; but in this instance I scorn the mouldy garments of Sister Mary.”

”Whose'll you get?” Uz asked curiously.

”My son,” Buz rejoined, ”I shall be like the king's daughter in the Psalms. Never you fear for my appearance. As our dear French prose book would remark: 'The grandmother of the young man so attractive has a maid French, of the heart excellent, and of the habits most chic.'”

”You mean Adele will lend them?”

”You bet. She says I speak her tongue to the marvel, is it not?”

On Boxing-Day Eloquent called upon as many of the vote-possessing inhabitants of Redmarley as could be got in before his aunt's early dinner. He found but few at home, for on that morning there is always a meet in the market-place at Marlehouse, and the male portion of the inhabitants is sporting both by inclination and tradition. He found the wives, however, and on the whole they were gracious to him. His visit pleased, for the then member, Mr Brooke, had not been near Redmarley for years, and left the whole const.i.tuency to his agent, who was nearly as slack as the member for Marlehouse himself.

Eloquent, who had by no means made up his mind as to Female Suffrage, was much relieved that not a single woman in Redmarley had so much as breathed its name. His inclinations led him to follow where Mr Asquith led, but his long training in the doctrines of expediency gave him pause. He decided that he could not yet range himself alongside of the anti-suffrage party. As his old father was wont to remark cautiously, ”You must see where you are first,” and as yet Eloquent had not clearly discovered his whereabouts.

He ate his cold turkey with an excellent appet.i.te, feeling that he had spent a useful if arduous morning. The give-and-take of ordinary conversation was always a difficult matter for Eloquent, but on this occasion he related his experiences to his aunt, and was quite talkative; so that, to a certain extent, she revised her unfavourable impression as to his conversational powers, and became more hopeful for his success in the Election. His gloom and taciturnity on Christmas Day had filled her with forebodings.