It was not long too before Julia had other matters of her own to attend to. Since the awakening of her fantastical interest in Major Steele, Augustus Wallowby's daily offerings of amorous rubbish had grown wearisome, and reply to them a positive bore. Her letters had grown intermittent, and dwindled down to the shortest billets. Augustus remonstrated--waxed plaintive--drivelled--Julia lost patience and ceased to write altogether. Had Augustus followed suit, it is likely the correspondence would not have remained long in abeyance, and that it would have been the lady who would have revived it; but Augustus dared not venture on that experiment, indeed he had become too deeply in earnest to think of it. He had thought over her pretty speeches spoken, and written in her earlier letters, and the delight of having a lord for a cousin and visitor, till from merely supposing that she must admire him very much, he had worked himself up to an almost crazy eagerness about her, believed himself to be cherishing a most ardent attachment, and began to feel deeply touched at his own sensibility.
Likewise he had cut the ground from under his own feet; or perhaps 'burned his ships' is the more usual metaphor. On returning home from the North, his good fortune with the ladies and this new conquest were much in his thoughts, weighty hints and dark sayings babbled from his lips before he was aware, and then, to mend matters, he would explain and confide till they were made much worse. All his acquaintance knew that he was going to be married, and the younger men reverenced him in advance on account of the noble family he was about to enter, 'related to half the peerage.'
The news did not act so pleasantly for him on his lady friends. No one should say that they had been jilted, or had made fruitless attempts to win him! and they took care that the cooling of the intimacy should begin on their side. His neighbour Sir Timothy Kettlebotham had three fine daughters, with £20,000 certain to their fortunes a-piece, and he had been wont to practise a good deal of archery with them on the lawn, as well as to sing numberless duets and glees, and assist at small carpet dances in the evening. But now Miss Kitura had strained her wrist and could not draw a bow, Miss Felicia had medical orders not to sing until her chest grew stronger, and Miss Frances was away on a visit. He found himself condemned to dine at home four or five times in the week, and to knock about the billiard hall of an evening if he could secure a companion, or to fall asleep in his chair if he could not, without a chance of the female society and admiration to which he had grown accustomed.
He wrote more and more pleadingly, which to Julia was more and more tiresome, and therefore elicited no reply. In sheer desperation, he packed his portmanteau and hurried to the north. He had a standing invitation to return when he pleased from Mrs. Sangster, who still cherished fatuous hopes of making him a son-in-law. Therefore, when one frosty evening about Christmas time he drew up at the door, he was made as welcome as the flowers in spring. Since the vindication of Roderick Brown's character, that lady had an uncomfortable intuition that her all-wisdom was set less store on both by her husband and daughter. But here was the prize returned; it could be with only one object, and these ingrates would have to admit her judicious management after all.
Augustus drove over to Inchbracken the following day very early. When his card was brought to Julia she was greatly surprised, and better pleased with the man than she had been yet. This long journey at such a season, and over muddy roads showed some energy and strength of purpose, and if only he would talk like a rational being and a gentleman, instead of maundering like a lackadaisical idiot as he had been doing of late in his letters, she believed she might bring herself to respect and even like him. She was beginning to realize, too, that her sympathy for Major Steele was so much brain power thrown away. There had been something respectable, nay more, touching, and almost grand, in such abandonment of grief and utter desolation on the part of a widower crushed by the untimely loss of his wife and child; but that a distinguished officer should ride away from good company every day to drivel for hours with an old woman over a sticky infant was preposterous, nay it was disgusting!
There were half-a-dozen of Augustus' latest letters on her table still unopened. She tore them open now, and glanced at the contents to place herself au courant with the gentleman's ideas, but the reading nearly destroyed her good resolutions. The letters were both abject and ridiculous, and she wondered how she would even learn to tolerate such a husband, and hesitated whether to go down to him at all. Being, however, a business minded person, who meant to settle herself comfortably and respectably in life, and knew she could not have everything, she choked down the unpractical idea, and after a critical survey of herself in the glass, she went down to receive her visitor.
Her manner was all gracious friendliness, and Augustus was disarmed for the moment, and saved from doing anything absurd, which might have been the death of his hopes. He had expected to be received with coldness, and had prepared many moving protestations; he had even selected the precise spot of the carpet on which he was prepared to kneel; and surely that, he thought, with perhaps a tear or two (and he had a misgiving that in certain contingencies they would not be far of!) would finish the matter. And so it would have done, for in spite of self-command, Julia would have laughed, and Augustus Wallowby's love, his infatuation,--whatever it should be called,--would never have survived a laugh. He would have rushed from the house, and no apology would ever have induced him to return.
They chatted as pleasantly as possible, thanks to Julia, who kept the conversation well on the ordinary track, carefully avoiding sentiment and everything tiresome. Augustus regained his equanimity under this treatment, and was saved from making a fool of himself. He had come with a purpose, however; and that purpose must be fulfilled, if not in the melodramatic fashion he had intended, at least in such form as circumstances would permit. He told her that his life was a burden to him at so great a distance from her, and begged that she would let the marriage take place the following month.
She replied that it was very nice of him to be so impatient, of course; but really he must allow her a little time to prepare for so momentous a change in her life. He pressed her to name a time. She supposed in a year. 'And you must not, dear Augustus, be so exacting as you have shown signs of being lately. A woman should be allowed to take the full enjoyment out of her last year of freedom. You know, after that, you expect us to be obedient slaves. Oh yes! Don't protest! Men are all alike!' with an engaging smile, which gratified Augustus, and made him pull out his whiskers to their greatest length.
He remonstrated about the year, however, with great earnestness, and there were threatenings of a watery look in his eyes, which induced her to relent so far; for her gracious blandishments being really well done, had had a reflex action, and she was getting into a less hard humour herself.