“Excuse my interrupting you, Lawless,” exclaimed I—for I felt certain who it was he was thinking of; and the idea of Miss Saville's name being mentioned and discussed with the tone of licence common on such occasions, appeared to me such complete profanation, that I determined, be the consequences what they might, to prevent it—“Excuse my interrupting you, but I should feel greatly obliged by your substituting some other toast for the one you are about to propose”.
“Eh, what! not drink the young woman's health? why I thought you admired her more than I do: not drink her health? how's that, eh?”
“I shall be most happy to explain to you the reasons for my request at some other time,” replied I; “at present I can only add that I shall consider it as a personal favour if you will accede to it.”
“It does not appear to me to require an OEdipus to discover Mr. Fairlegh's reasons for this request,” observed Stephen Wilford; “he evidently does not consider the present company deserving of the high honour of drinking the health of a young lady whom he distinguishes by his admiration.”
“Not over-flattering, I must say,” muttered Lawless, looking annoyed.
“I suppose he's afraid of our hearing her name, lest some of us should go and cut him out,” suggested Curtis in an undertone, which was, however, perfectly audible.
“In the meanwhile, Lawless, I hope you're not going to indulge your friend's caprice at the expense of the rest of the company,” resumed Wilford; “having raised our expectations you are bound to gratify them.”
Lawless, who evidently hesitated between his desire to assert his independence and his wish to oblige me, was beginning with his usual, “Eh? why, don't you see,”—when I interrupted him by saying, “Allow me to set this matter at rest in a very few words. Lawless, I hope, knows me well enough to feel sure that I could not intend any disrespect either to himself or to his guests—I believe it is not such an unheard-of thing for a gentle-man to object to the name of any lady whom he respects being commented upon with the freedom incidental to a convivial meeting like the present—however that may be, I have asked Lawless as a favour not to drink a certain toast in my presence; should he be unwilling to comply with my request, as I would not wish to be the slightest restraint upon him at his own table, I shall request his permission to withdraw; on this point I await his decision. I have only one more observation to make,” continued I, looking at Wilford, who was evidently preparing to speak, “which is, that if, after what I have just said, any gentleman should continue to urge Lawless to give the toast to which I object, I must perforce consider that he wishes to insult me.”
As I concluded, there was a murmur of applause, and Archer and one or two others turned to Lawless, declaring it was quite impossible to press the matter further after what I had said; when Wilford, in a cold, sarcastic tone of voice, observed: “I am sorry Mr. Fairlegh's last argument should have failed in convincing me, as easily as it seems to have done some others of the party; such, however, unfortunately being the case, I must repeat, even at the risk of incurring a thing so terrible as that gentleman's displeasure, my decided opinion that Lawless, having informed us he was going to drink a particular toast, should not allow himself to be bullied out of it, in compliance with any man's humour”.
This speech, as it might be expected, produced great excitement; I sprang to my feet (an example followed by several of the party), and was about to make an angry reply, when Oaklands, who up to this moment had taken no part in the discussion, but sat sipping his wine with his usual air of listless contentment, apparently indifferent to, if not wholly unconscious of, all that was going on, now rose from his seat, and having obtained silence said: “Really, gentlemen, all this confusion appears to me very unnecessary, when a word from our host will end it. Fairlegh has asked you not to propose a certain toast; it only remains for you, Lawless, to say, whether you intend to do so or not.”