第10章

'Indeed then, she's a sweet girl, and I am very partial to her, there's the truth,' cried Lady Clonbrony, in an undisguised Irish accent, and with her natural warm manner.But a moment afterwards her features and whole form resumed their constrained stillness and stiffness, and, in her English accent, she continued--'Before you put my IDEES out of my head, Colambre, I had something to say to you--Oh! I know what it was--we were talking of embarrassments--and I wished to do your father the justice to mention to you that he has been UNCOMMON LIBERAL to me about this gala, and has REELLY given me carte-blanche; and I've a notion--indeed I know--that it is you, Colambre, I am to thank for this.'

'Me!--ma'am!'

'Yes! Did not your father give you any hint?'

'No, ma'am; I have seen my father but for half an hour since Icame to town, and in that time he said nothing to me--of his affairs.'

'But what I allude to is more your affair.'

'He did not speak to me of any affairs, ma'am--he spoke only of my horses.'

'Then I suppose my lord leaves it to me to open the matter to you.I have the pleasure to tell you, that we have in view for you--and I think I may say with more than the approbation of all her family--an alliance--'

'Oh! my dear mother! you cannot be serious,' cried Lord Colambre; 'you know I am not of years of discretion yet--I shall not think of marrying these ten years, at least.'

'Why not? Nay, my dear Colambre, don't go, I beg--I am serious, I assure you--and, to convince you of it, I shall tell you candidly, at once, all your father told me: that now you've done with Cambridge, and are come to Lon'on, he agrees with me in wishing that you should make the figure you ought to make, Colambre, as sole heir-apparent to the Clonbrony estate, and all that sort of thing.But, on the other hand, living in Lon'on, and making you the handsome allowance you ought to have, are, both together, more than your father can afford, without inconvenience, he tells me.'

'I assure you, mother, I shall be content--'

'No, no; you must not be content, child, and you must hear me.

You must live in a becoming style, and make a proper appearance.

I could not present you to my friends here, nor be happy, if you did not, Colambre.Now the way is clear before you: you have birth and title, here is fortune ready made; you will have a noble estate of your own when old Quin dies, and you will not be any encumbrance or inconvenience to your father or anybody.

Marrying an heiress accomplishes all this at once; and the young lady is everything we could wish, besides--you will meet again at the gala.Indeed, between ourselves, she is the grand object of the gala; all her friends will come EN MASSE, and one should wish that they should see things in proper style.You have seen the young lady in question, Colambre--Miss Broadhurst.Don't you recollect the young lady I introduced you to last night after the opera?'

'The little, plain girl, covered with diamonds, who was standing beside Miss Nugent?'

'In di'monds, yes.But you won't think her plain when you see more of her--that wears off; I thought her plain, at first--Ihope--'

'I hope,' said Lord Colambre, 'that you will not take it unkindly of me, my dear mother, if I tell you, at once, that I have no thoughts of marrying at present--and that I never will marry for money.Marrying an heiress is not even a new way of paying old debts--at all events, it is one to which no distress could persuade me to have recourse; and as I must, if I outlive old Mr.

Quin, have an independent fortune, THERE IS NO occasion to purchase one by marriage.'

'There is no distress, that I know of, in the case,' cried Lady Clonbrony.'Where is your imagination running, Colambre? But merely for your establishment, your independence.'

'Establishment, I want none--independence I do desire, and will preserve.Assure my father, my DEAR MOTHER, that I will not be an expense to him.I will live within the allowance he made me at Cambridge--I will give up half of it--I will do anything for his convenience--but marry for money, that I cannot do.'

'Then, Colambre, you are very disobliging,' said Lady Clonbrony, with an expression of disappointment and displeasure; 'for your father says, if you don't marry Miss Broadhurst, we can't live in Lon'on another winter.'

This said--which, had she been at the moment mistress of herself, she would not have let out--Lady Clonbrony abruptly quitted the room.Her son stood motionless, saying to himself--'Is this my mother?--How altered!'

The next morning he seized an opportunity of speaking to his father, whom he caught, with difficulty, just when he was going out, as usual, for the day.Lord Colambre, with all the respect due to his father, and with that affectionate manner by which he always knew how to soften the strength of his expressions, made nearly the same declarations of his resolution, by which his mother had been so much surprised and offended.Lord Clonbrony seemed more embarrassed, but not so much displeased.When Lord Colambre adverted, as delicately as he could, to the selfishness of desiring from him the sacrifice of liberty for life, to say nothing of his affections, merely to enable his family to make a splendid figure in London, Lord Clonbrony exclaimed, 'That's all nonsense!--cursed nonsense! That's the way we are obliged to state the thing to your mother, my dear boy, because I might talk her deaf before she would understand or listen to anything else.

But, for my own share, I don't care a rush if London was sunk in the salt sea.Little Dublin for my money, as Sir Terence O'Fay says.'

'Who is Sir Terence O'Fay, may I ask, sir?'

'Why, don't you know Terry? Ay, you've been so long at Cambridge, I forgot.And did you never see Terry?'

'I have seen him, sir--I met him yesterday at Mr.Mordicai's, the coachmaker's.'

'Mordicai's!' exclaimed Lord Clonbrony, with a sudden blush, which he endeavoured to hide by taking snuff.'He is a damned rascal, that Mordicai! I hope you didn't believe a word he said --nobody does that knows him.'