One of Our Conquerors - World eBook Library

George Meredith
was a woman who loved to hear the truth; she was formed to
love the truth her position reduced her to violate; she esteemed
the hearing it as medical to her; she selected for counsellor
him who would apply it: so far she went on the straight
way; and the desire for a sustaining deception from the mouth
of a trustworthy man set her hanging on his utterances with
an anxious hope of the reverse of what was to come and
what she herself apprehended, such as checked her pulses
and iced her feet and fingers. The reason being, not that she
was craven or absurd or paradoxical, but that, living at an
intenser strain upon her nature than she or any around her
knew, her strength snapped, she broke down by chance there
where Colney was rendered spiteful in beholding the display
of her inconsequent if not puling sex.
She might have sought his counsel on another subject, if a
paralyzing chill of her frame in the foreview of it had allowed
her to speak: she felt grave alarms in one direction,
where Nesta stood in the eye of her father; besides an unformed
dread that the simplicity in generosity of Victor’s
nature was doomed to show signs of dross ultimately, under
the necessity he imposed upon himself to run out his forecasts,
and scheme, and defensively compel the world to serve
his ends, for the protection of those dear to him.
At night he was particularly urgent with her for the harmonious
duet in praise of Lakelands; and plied her with questions
all round and about it, to bring out the dulcet accord.
He dwelt on his choice of costly marbles, his fireplace and
mantelpiece designs, the great hall, and suggestions for imposing
and beautiful furniture; concordantly enough, for the
large, the lofty and rich of colour won her enthusiasm; but
overwhelmingly to any mood of resistance; and strangely in
a man who had of late been adopting, as if his own, a modern
tone, or the social and literary hints of it, relating to the
right uses of wealth, and the duty as well as the delight of
living simply.
‘Fredi was pleased.’
‘Yes, she was, dear.’
‘She is our girl, my love. “I could live and die here!” Live,
she may. There’s room enough.’
Nataly saw the door of a covert communication pointed at
in that remark. She gathered herself for an effort to do battle.
‘She’s quite a child, Victor.’
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