Two, by Tricks: A Novel

by Edmund Yates

'Not at all, my dear Tito,' said Mrs. Hamblin, disengaging herself with a smile; 'however we may be situated, there will always be a great bond of camaraderie between us.'

There was no smile, however, upon her face when, five minutes afterwards, she threw herself into the corner of her brougham, and lay back revolving plans of vengeance.

[CHAPTER X].

ON THE WATCH.

Mrs. Hamblin, although she spoke so fairly to Spiridion Pratt, and seemed to experience so little annoyance at the idea of his proposing for Eleanor Irvine, was by no means prepared to let the matter run on smoothly and in an even course. Spiridion himself, who knew the passionate nature of the woman, and whose vanity induced him to believe that her existence without his devotion was almost impossible, had been wonderfully relieved when he found not merely that there was no necessity for him to break the real facts of the case to her, but that when he had confirmed her impression she received his candid declaration with more than calmness, and with the expression of a desire to help him in the attainment of his wishes. He was too foolish and too vain to believe that this woman with whom he had been intriguing would grow tired of him as he had grown tired of her; and yet such little knowledge of the world had he gained during all his six-and-thirty years of life as to think it possible that a woman's affection could be strong enough not only to permit her to give up the man whom she loved, feeling it was for his good, but actually to help him in his attempt to win the hand of another.

Mrs. Hamblin's character was not easily to be fathomed by such a superficial observer as Spiridion Pratt; and when she quitted the Villa after the interview in which her quondam admirer had suffered his secret to be so easily extracted from him, however calm she appeared outwardly, she was inwardly raging with spite and jealousy. Not that she particularly regretted the loss of Spiridion as an admirer. She had originally conceived the idea of allowing him to pay her attention at a time when the publication of his book of poems had given him a little temporary popularity amongst people in society, and when, consequently, many women of a certain class would have been glad to have entangled the lion in their net; and once entangled, Mr. Pratt was one of those tea-table Lovelaces whose romantic outpourings in private, and perpetual attentions in public, are so agreeable to some women. Mrs. Hamblin, however, who in far-seeing appreciation was in advance of the generality of her sex, had long since become somewhat weary of her adorer's inanity, and had more than once meditated on the desirability of giving him his congé; when, however, she discovered that the man of whom she thought it would be difficult to rid herself had actually transferred his devotion to another shrine, she was furious; and though she cared nothing at all about him for herself, she determined as far as possible to thwart his plans with regard to Eleanor Irvine solely to gratify her revenge.

Whirling away from the Villa, Mrs. Hamblin lay back in her brougham, pondering how her purpose could best be accomplished.

'Very bright and intelligent, is she?' she muttered. 'That may or may not be. A man in love not merely finds a Venus in the object of his admiration, but credits her with innumerable qualities which she never possessed; and Tito in this respect is worse than the majority of men, for he allows his folly, which he calls his fancy, completely to run away with him. The girl is pretty--I remember that distinctly--but I cannot call to mind anything else about her, and it is just such an alliance as would please that weak-minded Tito; to have a young girl sit and worship him all day, and to realise all his romantic aspirations of love in a cottage, with the cottage left out and a charming villa with all kinds of luxury instead, would render him supremely happy. And I am to sit by actually; and when we meet I am to be specially introduced, and to hear told before my face what a dear friend I have been, and under what obligations he is to me; and to imagine her being told behind my back--for the man is vain and weak and boastful, like most of them--what a conquest he had made of me, and how I had followed at the wheels of my lord's chariot. No, I do not think that I can quite brook that from any man. One might put up with a good deal from a great creature who was obviously one's master, but from Tito, who was my slave, and whose every thought and action I have directed since I first knew him, it is too absurd. I always knew that he would marry, for his romance, like his cynicism, and most of his other self-asserted characteristics, is a sham, and he would be far happier in the honest prose of domestic life; but I intended that his wife should be one of my choosing; and if this young lady really answers his description, she is by no means what I should have selected for him. He would be convenient for many reasons, even as a married man, under one's thumb; and with a wife of any sort of intelligence that would of course be impossible.

'Very bright and intelligent, and can quite hold her own in conversation. That I can perfectly understand; her sister, Mrs. Chadwick, is one of those women who have the superficial knowledge and the taking manner which would please a man like Tito, and the girl no doubt has caught it from her. But, in addition to this, Mrs. Chadwick is a keen woman of the world, who conducted her own marriage on the cleverest commercial principles, and who wishes to see her sister as safely and as reputably landed. To such a person Tito is a catch, and his alliance very desirable; so that I shall have no assistance from her. The girl may possibly have the same views; but I should have a better chance with her than with her sister. If she be as described, it is impossible she can have any real feeling for Tito, but is simply prepared to accept him from a worldly point of view; and it seems to me that there are two ways by which I can spoil the plan on which my faithless Tito has set his heart. To carry out either I must make the acquaintance of the young lady, and find out all about her. If she does not care for Tito, it will be easy enough to introduce her to some one who will soon obliterate any recollection of that romantic youth; and if she does care for him, it will not be difficult to lead her into such an entanglement as, once proved to him, will prevent his having any further thought of her.'

Actuated by these benevolent intentions, Mrs. Hamblin determined upon calling upon Mrs. Chadwick as soon as possible.