One of Our Conquerors - World eBook Library

One of Our Conquerors
a flighty little woman!’ ‘She has a speck of some sort on her
mind.’ Nataly spied at Dudley’s behaviour, and said: ‘That
will wear away. Is Mr. Blathenoy much here?’ ‘As often as he
can come, I believe.’ ‘That is … ?’ ‘I have seen him twice.’
‘His wife remains?’ ‘Fixed here for the season.’ ‘My friend!’
‘No harm, no harm!’ ‘But-to her!’ ‘You have my word of
honour.’ ‘Yes: and she is doing you a service, at your request;
you occasionally reward her with thanks; and she sees you
are a man of honour. Do you not know women?’
Dartrey blew his pooh-pooh on feminine suspicions.
‘There’s very little left of the Don Amoroso in me. Women
don’t worship stone figures.’
‘They do: like the sea-birds. And what do you say to me,
Dartrey?—I can confess it: I am one of them: I love you.
When last you left England, I kissed your hand. It was because
of your manly heart in that stone figure. I kept from
crying: you used to scorn us English for the “whimpering
fits” you said we enjoy and must have in books, if we can’t
get them up for ourselves. I could have prayed to have you as
brother or son. I love my Victor the better for his love of
you. Oh!—poor soul—how he is perverted since that building
of Lakelands! He cannot take soundings of the things he
does. Formerly he confided in me, in all things: now not
one;—I am the chief person to deceive. If only he had waited!
We are in a network of intrigues and schemes, every artifice
in London—tempting one to hate simple worthy people,
who naturally have their views, and see me an impostor, and
tolerate me, fascinated by him: —or bribed—it has to be
said. There are ways of bribeing. I trust he may not have in
the end to pay too heavily for succeeding. He seems a man
pushed by Destiny; not irresponsible, but less responsible
than most. He is desperately tempted by his never failing.
Whatever he does! . . it is true! And it sets me thinking of
those who have never had an ailment, up to a certain age,
when the killing blow comes. Latterly I have seen into him:
I never did before. Had I been stronger, I might have saved,
or averted … . But, you will say, the stronger woman would
not have occupied my place. I must have been blind too. I
did not see, that his nature shrinks from the thing it calls up.
He dreads the exposure he courts—or has to combat with all
his powers. It has been a revelation to me of him life as well.
Nothing stops him. Now it is Parliament—a vacant London
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