Springhaven: A Tale of the Great War

by R. D. Blackmore

  CHAPTER XLV

  FATHER, AND CHILD

  "Tell Miss Faith, when she comes in, that I shall be glad to see her,"said Admiral Darling to his trusty butler, one hot afternoon in August.He had just come home from a long rough ride, to spend at least one dayin his own house, and after overhauling his correspondence, went intothe dining-room, as the coolest in the house, to refresh himself alittle with a glass of light wine before going up to dress for dinner.There he sat in an arm-chair, and looked at his hands, which werebrowned by the sun, and trembling from a long period of heavy work andlight sleep. He was getting too old to endure it with impunity, yetangry with himself for showing it. But he was not thinking of himselfalone.

  "I hope she will be sensible"--he was talking to himself, as elderlypeople are apt to do, especially after being left to themselves; "I hopeshe will see the folly of it--of living all her life as the bride ofa ghost; and herself such a beautiful, cheerful darling! Loving,warm-hearted, sweet-tempered, adoring children, and adored by them;obedient, gentle--I can't think of anything good that she hasn't got,except common-sense. And even for that, I like her all the more; becauseit is so different from all the other girls. They have got too much--onelover out of sight, even for a month or two, gone fighting for hisCountry, what do they do but take up with another, as I very greatlyfear our Dolly would? But Faith--Why, my darling, how well you look!"

  "How I wish that I could say the same of you, dear father!" said thelovely young woman, while kissing him, and smoothing with her soft handhis wrinkled forehead; "you never used to have these little tucks andgathers here. I would rather almost that the French should come anddevour us all, than see my father, whenever we do see him, once in amonth, say, gauffred like this--as their laundresses do it--and gettingreduced to the Classical shape, so that I can put one arm round him."

  "My darling," said the Admiral, though proud at heart of theconsiderable reduction of his stomach, "you should not say such thingsto me, to remind me how very old I am!"

  Fathers are crafty, and daughters childish, as behoves the both of them.The Admiral knew, as well as if he had ordered it, what Faith would do.And she must have perceived his depth, if only she had taken a moment tothink of it. Because when she plumped, like a child, into his arms, howcame his arms to be so wide open? and when two great tears rolled downher cheeks, how sprang his handkerchief so impromptu out from beneathhis braided lappet?

  "Tell me what harm I have done," she asked, with a bright smile dawningthrough the dew of her dark eyes; "what have I done to vex you, father,that you say things fit to make me cry? And yet I ought to laugh,because I know so well that you are only fishing for compliments. Youare getting so active that I shall be frightened to go for a walk ora ride with you. Only I do love to see you look fat, and your darlingforehead smooth and white."

  "My dear child, I must get up my substance. This very day I begin inearnest. Because I am to be a great man, Faith. How would you like tohave to call me 'Sir Charles'?"

  "Not at all, darling; except when you deserve it, by being cross to me;and that never, never happens. I wish there was more chance of it."

  "Well, dear, if you won't, the other people must; for His Majesty hasbeen graciously pleased to turn me into a Baronet. He says that I haveearned it; and perhaps I have; at any rate, he put it so nicely thatwithout being churlish I could not refuse. And it will be a good thingfor Frank, I hope, by bringing him back from his democratic stuff. Tomyself it is useless; but my children ought to like it."

  "And so they will, father, for your own dear sake. Let me be the firstto salute you, father. Oh, Dolly will be in such a rage because you toldme, without telling her!"

  "I never thought of that," said the Admiral, simply; "I am afraid thatI shall get in for it. However, I have a right to please myself, and youneed not tell her until I do. But that is not all my news, and not byany means the best of it. The King was reminded, the other day, of allthat he and his family owe to the late Sir Edmond Scudamore, and betterlate than never, he has ordered your governess, as he called her, to beput on the list for a pension of 300 pounds a year. Nothing that oncegets into his head can ever be got out of it, and he was shocked atseeing his old physician's widow 'gone out as a governess--gone out asa governess--great disgrace to the royal family!' I am very glad that ithappened so."

  "And so am I. She ought to have had it long and long ago, especiallyafter the sad misfortune of her husband. You will let me tell her? Itwill be such a pleasure."

  "Certainly, my dear; you are the very one to do it. Tell her that hereldest pupil is come with a little piece of news for her; it will makeher smile--she has a very pretty smile, which reminds me of thegallant Blyth. And now, my child, the third piece of news concernsyourself--your good, and dutiful, and exceedingly sensible self. Ahem!"cried the Admiral, as he always did, when he feared that he might haveoverstepped the truth.

  "I know what it is; you need not tell me," Faith answered, confirmingher fear at once. "It is no use, father; it is no good at all--unlessyou intend to forget your own promise."

  "That I shall never do," he replied, while looking at her sadly; "no, mydear child, I shall never attempt to drive instead of lead you. But youhave not heard me out as yet. You don't even know who it is I mean."

  "Oh yes, I do; I know well enough, father. I am not like Dolly,universally admired. Because I do not want to be. You mean LordDashville--can you tell me that you don't?"

  "No, my dear"--Sir Charles was a little surprised that Faith should beso quick, for (like most people of gentle nature) she was taken tobe slow, because she never snapped--"I cannot deny that it is LordDashville, because that is the man, and no other. But how you could tellsurpasses me, and it shows that he must be very often in your mind:"the Admiral thought he had caught her there. "Now can you say anythingagainst him? Is he not honest, manly, single-minded, faithful asyourself, I do believe, good-looking, well-bred, a Tory, and agentleman, certain to make any woman happy whom he loves? Can you say asyllable against all that?"

  "No," replied Faith--a very long, slow "no," as if she only wished shecould say something hard about him.

  "Very well," her father went on, with triumph, "and can you deny thathe is just the person you might have taken a great liking to--fallenin love with, as they call it--if only he had come before your mindwas full of somebody else--a very fine young fellow, no doubt; but--mydarling, I won't say a word against him, only you know what I mean toowell. And are you forever to be like a nun because it has pleased theLord to take him from you?"

  "Lord Dashville has not advanced himself in my good opinion, if he caresfor that," said Faith, starting sideways, as a woman always does, fromthe direct issue, "by going to you, when I declined to have anythingmore to say to him."

  "My dear, you are unjust," replied Sir Charles; "not purposely, I know,for you are the most upright darling that can be, in general. But youaccuse young Dashville of what he never did. It was his good mother, theCountess of Blankton, a most kind-hearted and lady-like person, withoutany nonsense about her, who gave me the best cup of tea I ever tasted,and spoke with the very best feeling possible. She put it so sweetlythat I only wish you could have been there to hear her."

  "Father, what is the good of it all? You hate turncoats even worse thantraitors. Would you like your daughter to be one? And when she wouldseem to have turned her coat--for the ladies wear coats now, the horridugly things!--for the sake of position, and title, and all that. If LordDashville had been a poor man, with his own way to make in the world, aplain Mister, there might have been more to be said for it. But tothink that I should throw over my poor darling because he will come homewithout a penny, and perhaps tattoed, but at any rate turned black, forthe sake of a coronet, and a heap of gold--oh, father, I shall breakdown, if you go on so!"

  "My dear girl, I will not say a word to vex you. But you are famous forcommon-sense, as well as every other good quality, and I would ask youto employ just a little of it. Can you bear me to speak of your tr
ouble,darling?"

  "Oh yes, I am so well accustomed to it now; and I know that it isnothing compared to what thousands of people have to bear. Sometimes Iam quite ashamed of giving way to it."

  "You do not give way to it, Faith. No person can possibly say that ofyou. You are my brave, unselfish, cheerful, sweet-natured, upright, andloving child. Nobody knows, but you and I--and perhaps I know it evenmore than you do--the greatness of the self-command you use, to bepleasant and gay and agreeable, simply for the sake of those aroundyou."

  "Then, father," cried Faith, who was surprised at this, for the Admiralhad never said a word about such matters, "you think, after all, that Iam--that I am almost as good as Dolly!"

  "You jealous little vixen, I shall recall every word I have said in yourfavour! My child, and my pride, you are not only as good as Dolly, butmy best hope is that when Dolly grows older she may be like you. Don'tcry, darling; I can't stand crying, when it comes from eyes that soseldom do it. And now that you know what I think of you, allow me tothink a little for you. I have some right to interfere in your life; youwill allow that--won't you?"

  "Father, you have all right, and a thousand times as much, because youare so gentle about using it."

  "I calls that bad English, as Zeb Tugwell says when he doesn't want tounderstand a thing. But, my pretty dear, you must remember that youwill not have a father always. Who will look after you, when I am gone,except the Almighty?--and He does not do it, except for the few wholook after themselves. It is my duty to consider these points, and theyoverride sentimentality. To me it is nothing that Dashville will bean Earl, and a man of great influence, if he keeps up his present highcharacter; but it is something to me that I find him modest,truthful, not led away by phantoms, a gentleman--which is more than anobleman--and with his whole heart given to my dear child Faith."

  Faith sighed heavily, partly for herself, but mainly, perhaps, for thesake of a fine heart sadly thrown away on her. "I believe he is allthat," she said.

  "In that case, what more can you have?" pursued the triumphant Admiral."It is one of the clearest things I ever knew, and one of the mostconsistent"--consistent was a great word in those days--"as well as inevery way desirable. Consider, not yourself--which you never do--butthe state of the Country, and of Dolly. They have made me a baronet,for being away from home nearly every night of my life; and if I hadDashville to see to things here, I might stay away long enough to be alord myself, like my late middy the present Duke of Bronte."

  Faith laughed heartily. "You call me jealous! My dear father, I knowthat you could have done a great deal more than Lord Nelson has, becausehe learned all that he knows from you. And now who is it that reallydefends the whole south coast of England against the French? Is it LordNelson? He has as much as he can do to look after their fleet in theMediterranean. Admiral Cornwallis and Sir Charles Darling are the realdefenders of England."

  "No, my dear, you must never say that, except of course in private.There may be some truth in it, but it would be laughed at in the presentcondition of the public mind. History may do me justice; but after allit is immaterial. A man who does his duty should be indifferent to theopinion of the public, which begins more and more to be formed lessby fact than by the newspapers of the day. But let us return to moreimportant matters. You are now in a very sensible frame of mind. You seewhat my wishes are about you, and how reasonable they are. I should beso happy, my darling child, if you would consider them sensibly, andyield some little of your romantic views. I would not ask you unlessI were sure that this man loves you as you deserve, and in his owncharacter deserves your love."

  "Then, father, will this content you, dear? Unless I hear something ofErle Twemlow, to show that he is living, and still holds to me, in thecourse of another twelvemonth, Lord Dashville, or anybody else, maytry--may try to take his place with me. Only I must not be worried--Imean, I must not hear another word about it, until the time has quiteexpired."

  "It is a very poor concession, Faith. Surely you might say half a year.Consider, it is nearly three years now--"

  "No, papa, I should despise myself if I were so unjust to one sounlucky. And I only go so much from my own wishes because you are such adear and good father. Not a bit of it for Lord Dashville's sake."

  "Well, my poor darling," the Admiral replied, for he saw that she wasupon the brink of tears, and might hate Lord Dashville if further urged,"half a loaf is better than no bread. If Dashville is worthy of yourconstant heart, he will stand this long trial of his constancy. This isthe tenth day of August, 1804. I hope that the Lord may be pleased tospare me till the 10th of August, 1805. High time for them to come andlay the cloth. I am as hungry as a hunter."