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Miss Cayley's adventures (1899) by Grant AllenThe following is a Gaslight etext.... A message to you about copyright and permissionsBack to Gaslight's Grant Allen page Back to the Miss Cayley's adventures menu_Miss Cayley's adventures_ (1899)by Grant AllenChapter VTHE ADVENTURE OF THE IMPROMPTU MOUNTAINEERTHE explosion and evaporation of Dr. Fortescue-Langley (with whom were amalgamated the Comte deLaroche-sur-Loiret, Mr. Higginson the courier, andwhatever else that versatile gentleman chose tocall himself) entailed many results of varyingmagnitudes.In the first place, Mrs. Evelegh ordered a GreatManitou. That, however, mattered little to thefirm,' as I loved to call us (because it shockeddear Elsie so); for, of course, after all herkindness we couldn't accept our commission on herpurchase, so that she got her machine cheap for L15from the maker. But, in the second place--Ideclare I am beginning to write like a woman ofbusiness--she decided to run over to England forthe summer to see her boy at Portsmouth, beingcertain now that the discoloration of her bangledepended more on the presence of sulphur in theindia-rubber bottle than on the passing state ofher astral body. 'Tis an abrupt descent from theinner self to a hot-water bottle, I admit; but Mrs.Evelegh took the plunge with grace, like a sensiblewoman. Dr. Fortescue-Langley been annihilated forher at one blow: she returned forthwith to common-sense and England.'What will you do with the chalet while you'reaway?' Lady Georgina asked, when she announced herintention. 'You can't shut it up to take care ofitself. Every blessed thing in the place will goto rack and ruin. Shutting up a house meansspoiling it for ever. Why, I've got a cottage ofmy own that I let for the summer in the best partof Surrey--a pretty little place, now vacant, forwhich, by the way, I want a tenant, if you happento know of one: and when it's left empty for amonth or two----''Perhaps it would do for me?' Mrs. Eveleghsuggested, jumping at it. 'I'm looking out for afurnished house for the summer, within easy reachof Portsmouth and London, for myself and Oliver.'Lady Georgina seized her arm, with a face ofblank horror. 'My dear,' she cried. 'For you! Iwouldn't dream of letting it to you. A nasty,damp, cold, unwholesome house, on stiff clay soil,with detestable drains, in the deadliest part ofthe Weald of Surrey,--why, you and your boy wouldcatch your deaths of rheumatism.''Is it the one I saw advertised in the _Times_this morning, I wonder?' Mrs. Evelegh inquired in aplacid voice. '"Charming furnished house onHolmesdale Common; six bedrooms, four reception-rooms; splendid views; pure air; picturesquesurroundings; exceptionally situated." I thoughtof writing about it.''That's it!' Lady Georgina exclaimed, with ademonstrative wave of her hand. I drew up theadvertisement myself. Exceptionally situated! Ishould just think it was! Why, my dear, I wouldn'tlet you rent the place for worlds; a horrid, pokylittle hole, stuck down in the bottom of a boggyhollow, as damp as Devonshire, with the paperpeeling off the walls, so that I had to take mychoice between giving it up myself ten years ago,or removing to the cemetery; and I've let it eversince to City men with large families. Nothingwould induce me to allow you and your boy to exposeyourself to such risks.' For Lady Georgina hadtaken quite a fancy to Mrs. Evelegh. 'But what Iwas just going to say was this: you can't shut yourhouse up; it'll all go mouldy. Houses always gomouldy, shut up in summer. And you can't leave itto your servants; I know the baggages; noconscience--no conscience; they'll ask their entirefamilies to come and stop with them en bloc, andturn your place into a perfect piggery. Why, whenI went away from my house in town one autumn,didn't I leave a policeman and his wife in charge--a most respectable man--only he happened to be anIrishman. And what was the consequence? My dear,I assure you, I came back unexpectedly from poordear Kynaston's one day at a moment's notice--having quarrelled with him over Home Rule orEducation or something--poor dear Kynaston's whatthey call a Liberal, I believe--got at by that manRosebery--and there didn't I find all theO'Flanagans, and O'Flahertys, and O'Flynns in theneighbourhood camping out in my drawing-room; witha strong detachment of O'Donohues, and O'Dohertys,and O'Driscolls lying around loose in possession ofthe library? Never leave a house to the servants,my dear! It's positively suicidal. Put in aresponsible caretaker of whom you know somethinglike , Lois here, for instance.''Lois!' Mrs. Evelegh echoed. 'Dear me, that'sjust the very thing. What a capital idea! I neverthought of Lois! She and Elsie might stop on here,with Ursula and the gardener.'I protested that if we did it was our clear dutyto pay a small rent; but Mrs. Evelegh brushed thataside. 'You've robbed yourselves over thebicycle,' she insisted, 'and I'm delighted to letyou have it. It's I who ought to pay, for you'llkeep the house dry for me.'I remembered Mr. Hitchcock--'Mutual advantage:benefits you, benefits me'--and made no bones aboutit. So in the end Mrs. Evelegh set off for Englandwith Cecile, leaving Elsie and me in charge ofUrsula, the gardener, and the chalet.As for Lady Georgina, having by this timecompleted her 'cure' at Schlangenbad (complexion asusual; no guinea yellower), she telegraphed forGretchen--'I can't do without the idiot'--and hunground Lucerne, apparently for no other purpose butto send people up the Brunig on the hunt for ourwonderful new machines, and so put money in ourpockets. She was much amused when I told her thatAunt Susan (who lived, you will remember, inrespectable indigence at Blackheath) had written toexpostulate with me on my 'unladylike' conduct inbecoming a bicycle commission agent. 'Unladylike!'the Cantankerous Old Lady exclaimed, with warmth.'What does the woman mean? Has she got nogumption? It's "ladylike," I suppose, to be acompanion, or a governess, or a music-teacher, orsomething else in the black-thread-glove way, inLondon; but not to sell bicycles for a good roundcommission. My dear, between you and me, I don'tsee it. If you had a brother, now, he might sellcycles, or corner wheat, or rig the share market,or do anything else he pleased, in these days, andnobody'd think the worse of him--as long as he mademoney; and it's my opinion that what is sauce forthe goose can't be far out for the gander--andvice-versa. Besides which, what's the use oftrying to be ladylike? You are a lady, child, andyou couldn't help being one; why trouble to be likewhat nature made you? Tell Aunt Susan from me toput that in her pipe and smoke it!'I did tell Aunt Susan by letter, giving LadyGeorgina's authority for the statement; and Ireally believe it had a consoling effect upon her;for Aunt Susan is one of those innocent-mindedpeople who cherish a profound respect for theopinions and ideas of a Lady of Title. Especiallywhere questions of delicacy are concerned. Itcalmed her to think that though I, an officer'sdaughter, had declined upon trade, I was mixing atleast with the Best People!We had a lovely time at the chalet--two girlsalone, messing just as we pleased in the kitchen,and learning from Ursula how to concoct pot-au-feuin the most approved Swiss fashion. We pottered,as we women love to potter, half the day long; theother half we spent in riding our cycles about theeternal hills, and ensnaring the flies whom LadyGeorgina dutifully sent up to us. She was ourdecoy duck: and, in virtue of her handle, shedecoyed to a marvel. Indeed, I sold so manyManitous that I began to entertain a deep respectfor my own commercial faculties. As for Mr. CyrusW. Hitchcock, he wrote to me from Frankfort: 'Theworld continues to revolve on its axis, theManitou, and the machine is booming. Orders rompin daily. When you ventilated the suggestion of anagency at Limburg, I concluded at a glance you hadthe material of a first-class business woman aboutyou; but I reckon I did not know what a travellermeant till you started on the road. I am nowenlarging and altering this factory, to meetincreased demands. Branch offices at Berlin,Hamburg, Crefeld, and Dusseldorf. Inspect ourstock before dealing elsewhere. A liberal discountallowed to the trade. Two hundred agents wanted inall towns of Germany. If they were every one ofthem like you, miss--well, I guess I would hire thetown of Frankfort for my business premises.'One morning, after we had spent about a week atthe chalet by ourselves, I was surprised to see ayoung man with a knapsack on his back walking upthe garden path towards our cottage. 'Quick,quick, Elsie!' I cried, being in a mischievousmood. 'Come here with the opera-glass! There's aMan in the offing!''A what?' Elsie exclaimed, shocked as usual at mylevity.'A Man,' I answered, squeezing her arm. 'A Man!A real live Man! A specimen of the masculinegender in the human being! Man, ahoy! He has comeat last--the lodestar of our existence!'Next minute, I was sorry I spoke; for as the mandrew nearer, I perceived that he was endowed withvery long legs and a languidly poetical bearing.That supercilious smile--that enticing moustache!Could it be?--yes, it was--not a doubt of it--HaroldTillington!I grew grave at once; Harold Tillington and thesituation were serious. 'What can he want here?' Iexclaimed, drawing back.'Who is it?' Elsie asked; for,... [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]