by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER V.
Two days after his arrival at Cawnpore Dr. Wade moved into quarters ofhis own.
"I like Dr. Wade very much indeed, you know, uncle, still I am glad tohave you all to myself and to settle down into regular ways."
"Yes, we have got to learn to know each other, Isobel."
"Do you think so, uncle? Why, it seems to me that I know all about you,just the same as if we had always been together, and I am sure I alwaystold you all about myself, even when I was bad at school and got intoscrapes, because you said particularly that you liked me to tell youeverything, and did not want to know only the good side of me."
"Yes, that is so, my dear, and no doubt I have a fair idea as to whatare your strong points and what are your weak ones, but neither one orthe other affect greatly a person's ordinary everyday character. Itis the little things, the trifles, the way of talking, the way oflistening, the amount of sympathy shown, and so on, that make a manor woman popular. People do not ask whether he or she may be morallysleeping volcanoes, who, if fairly roused, might slay a rival or burna city; they simply look at the surface--is a man or a woman pleasant,agreeable, easily pleased, ready to take a share in making things go,to show a certain amount of sympathy in other people's pleasures ortroubles--in fact, to form a pleasant unit of the society of a station?
"So in the house you might be the most angelic temper in the world, butif you wore creaky boots, had a habit of slamming doors, little tricksof giggling or fidgeting with your hands or feet, you would be anunpleasant companion, for you would be constantly irritating one insmall matters. Of course, it is just the same thing with your opinion ofme. You have an idea that I am a good enough sort of fellow, because Ihave done my best to enable you to carry out your plans and wishes, butthat has nothing to do at all with my character as a man to live with.Till we saw each other, when you got out of the gharry, we really knewnothing whatever of each other."
Isobel shook her head decidedly.
"Nothing will persuade me that I didn't know everything about you,uncle. You are just exactly what I knew you would be in look, and voice,in manner and ways and everything. Of course, it is partly from what Iremember, but I really did not see a great deal of you in those days; itis from your letters, I think, entirely that I knew all about you, andexactly what you were. Do you mean to say that I am not just what youthought I should be?"
"Well, not so clearly as all that, Isobel. Of course you were only alittle child when I saw you, and except that you had big brown eyes, andlong eyelashes, I confess that it struck me that you were rather aplain little thing, and I do not think that your mother's letters sinceconveyed to my mind the fact that there had been any material changesince. Therefore I own that you are personally quite different from whatI had expected to find you. I had expected to find you, I think, ratherstumpy in figure, and square in build, with a very determined andbusinesslike manner."
"Nonsense, uncle, you could not have expected that."
"Well, my dear, I did, and you see I find I was utterly wrong."
"But you are not discontented, uncle?" Isobel asked, with a smile.
"No, my dear, but perhaps not quite so contented as you may think Iought to be."
"Why is that, uncle?"
"Well, my dear, if you had been what I had pictured you, I might havehad you four or five years to myself. Possibly you might even have gonehome with me, to keep house for me in England, when I retire. As it isnow, I give myself six months at the outside."
"What nonsense, uncle! You don't suppose I am going to fall in love withthe first man who presents himself? Why, everyone says the sea voyage isa most trying time, and, you see, I came through that quite scathless.
"Besides, uncle," and she laughed, "there is safety in multitude, andI think that a girl would be far more likely to fall in love in somecountry place, where she only saw one or two men, than where there arenumbers of them. Besides, it seems to me that in India a girl cannotfeel that she is chosen, as it were, from among other girls, as shewould do at home. There are so few girls, and so many men here, theremust be a sort of feeling that you are only appreciated because there isnothing better to be had.
"But, of course, uncle, you can understand that the idea of love makingand marrying never entered my head at all until I went on board aship. As you know, I always used to think that Robert and I would livetogether, and I am quite sure that I should never have left him if hehad lived. If I had stopped in England I should have done the work Ihad trained myself to do, and it might have been years and years, andperhaps never, before anyone might have taken a fancy to me, or I tohim. It seems strange, and I really don't think pleasant, uncle, foreveryone to take it for granted that because a girl comes out to Indiashe is a candidate for marriage. I think it is degrading, uncle."
"The Doctor was telling me yesterday that you had some idea of thatsort," the Major said, with a slight smile, "and I think girls oftenstart with that sort of idea. But it is like looking on at a game. Youdon't feel interested in it until you begin to play at it. Well, thelonger you entertain those ideas the better I shall be pleased, Isobel.I only hope that you may long remain of the same mind, and that whenyour time does come your choice will be a wise one."
There could be no doubt that the Major's niece was a great success inthe regiment. Richards and Wilson, two lads who had joined six monthsbefore, succumbed at once, and mutual animosity succeeded the closefriendship they had hitherto entertained for each other. Travers, theSenior Captain, a man who had hitherto been noted for his indifferenceto the charms of female society, went so far as to admit that MissHannay was a very nice, unaffected girl. Mrs. Doolan was quiteenthusiastic about her.
"It is very lucky, Jim," she said to her husband, "that you were a soberand respected married man before she came out, and that I am installedhere as your lawful and wedded wife instead of being at Ballycrogin withonly an engagement ring on my finger. I know your susceptible nature;you would have fallen in love with her, and she would not have had you,and we should both of us have been miserable."
"How do you know she wouldn't have had me, Norah?"
"Because, my dear, she will be able to pick and choose just where shelikes; and though no one recognizes your virtues more than I do, acompany in an Indian regiment is hardly as attractive as a Residency orLieutenant Governorship. But seriously, she is a dear girl, and as yetdoes not seem to have the least idea how pretty she is. How cordiallysome of them will hate her! I anticipate great fun in looking on. I amout of all that sort of thing myself."
"That is news to me, Norah; I think you are just as fond of a quietflirtation as you used to be."
"Just of a very little one, Jim; fortunately not more. So I can lookon complacently; but even I have suffered. Why, for weeks not a day haspassed without young Richards dropping in for a chat, and when he camein yesterday he could talk about nothing but Miss Hannay, until I shuthim up by telling him it was extremely bad form to talk to one ladyabout another. The boy colored up till I almost laughed in his face; infact, I believe I did laugh."
"That I will warrant you did, Norah."
"I could not help it, especially when he assured me he was perfectlyserious about Miss Hannay."
"You did not encourage him, I hope, Norah."
"No; I told him the Colonel set his face against married subalterns, andthat he would injure himself seriously in his profession if he were tothink of such a thing, and as I knew he had nothing but his pay, thatwould be fatal to him."
Captain Doolan went off into a burst of laughter.
"And he took it all in, Norah? He did not see that you were humbugginghim altogether?"
"Not a bit of it. They are very amusing, these boys, Jim. I was reallyquite sorry for Richards, but I told him he would get over it in time,for as far as I could learn you had been just as bad thirty-three timesbefore I finally took pity on you, and that I only did it then becauseyou were wearing away with your troubles. I advised him to put the bestface he could on it, for
that Miss Hannay would be the last person to bepleased, if he were to be going about with a face as long as if he hadjust come from his aunt's funeral."
The race meeting came off three weeks after Miss Hannay arrived atCawnpore. She had been to several dinners and parties by this time, andbegan to know most of the regular residents.
The races served as an excuse for people to come in from all thestations round. Men came over from Lucknow, Agra, and Allahabad, andfrom many a little outlying station; every bungalow in the cantonmentwas filled with guests, and tents were erected for the accommodation ofthe overflow.
Several of the officers of the 103d had horses and ponies entered in thevarious races. There was to be a dance at the club on the evening of thesecond day of the races, and a garden party at the General's on thatof the first. Richards and Wilson had both ponies entered for therace confined to country tats which had never won a race, and both hadendeavored to find without success what was Isobel's favorite color.
"But you must have some favorite color?" Wilson urged.
"Why must I, Mr. Wilson? One thing is suitable for one thing and oneanother, and I always like a color that is suitable for the occasion."
"But what color are you going to wear at the races, Miss Hannay?"
"Well, you see, I have several dresses," Isobel said gravely, "and Icannot say until the morning arrives which I may wear; it will depend agood deal how I feel. Besides, I might object to your wearing the samecolor as I do. You remember in the old times, knights, when they enteredthe lists, wore the favors that ladies had given them. Now I have noidea of giving you a favor. You have done nothing worthy of it. Whenyou have won the Victoria Cross, and distinguished yourself by someextraordinarily gallant action, it will be quite time to think aboutit."
"You see one has to send one's color in four days beforehand, in timefor them to print it on the card," the lad said; "and besides, one hasto get a jacket and cap made."
"But you don't reflect that it is quite possible your pony won't winafter all, and supposing that I had colors, I certainly should not liketo see them come in last in the race. Mr. Richards has been asking mejust the same thing, and, of course, I gave him the same answer. I canonly give you the advice I gave him."
"What was that, Miss Hannay?" Wilson asked eagerly.
"Well, you see, it is not very long since either of you left school, soI should think the best thing for you to wear are your school colors,whatever they were."
And with a merry laugh at his look of discomfiture, Isobel turned awayand joined Mrs. Doolan and two or three other ladies who were sittingwith her.
"There is one comfort," Mrs. Doolan was just saying, "in this country,when there is anything coming off, there is no occasion to be anxious asto the weather; one knows that it will be hot, fine, and dusty. One canwear one's gayest dress without fear. In Ireland one never knew whetherone wanted muslin or waterproof until the morning came, and even thenone could not calculate with any certainty how it would be by twelveo'clock. This will be your first Indian festivity, Miss Hannay."
"Do the natives come much?"
"I should think so! All Cawnpore will turn out, and we shall have theLord of Bithoor and any number of Talookdars and Zemindars with theirsuites. A good many of them will have horses entered, and they have somegood ones if they could but ride them. The Rajah of Bithoor is a mostimportant personage. He talks English very well, and gives splendidentertainments. He is a most polite gentleman, and is always over hereif there is anything going on. The general idea is that he has set hismind on having an English wife, the only difficulty being our objectionto polygamy. He has every other advantage, and his wife would havejewels that a queen might envy."
Isobel laughed. "I don't think jewels would count for much in my ideasof happiness."
"It is not so much the jewels, my dear, in themselves, but the envy theywould excite in every other woman."
"I don't think I can understand that feeling, Mrs. Doolan. I canunderstand that there might be a satisfaction in being envied for beingthe happiest woman, or the most tastefully dressed woman, or even theprettiest woman, though that after all is a mere accident, but not forhaving the greatest number of bright stones, however valuable. I don'tthink the most lovely set of diamonds ever seen would give me as muchsatisfaction as a few choice flowers."
"Ah, but that is because you are quite young," Mrs. Doolan said. "Evewas tempted by an apple, but Eve had not lived long. You see, an applewill tempt a child, and flowers a young girl. Diamonds are the bait of awoman."
"You would not care for diamonds yourself, Mrs. Doolan?"
"I don't know, my dear; the experiment was never tried--bog oak andIrish diamonds have been more in my line. Jim's pay has never run todiamonds, worse luck, but he has promised me that if he ever gets achance of looting the palace of a native prince he will keep a speciallookout for them for me. So far he has never had the chance. When he wasan ensign there was some hard fighting with the Sikhs, but nothing ofthat sort fell to his share. I often tell him that he took me underfalse pretenses altogether. I had visions of returning some day andastonishing Ballycrogin, as a sort of begum covered with diamonds; butas far as I can see the children are the only jewels that I am likely totake back."
"And very nice jewels too," Isobel said heartily; "they are dear littlethings, Mrs. Doolan, and worth all the diamonds in the world. I hear,Mrs. Prothero, that your husband has a good chance of winning the racefor Arabs; I intend to wager several pairs of gloves on his horse."
"Yes, Seila is very fast. She won last year. But Nana Sahib has had thehorse that won the cup at Poona last year, and is considered one of thefastest in India, brought across from Bombay. Our only hope is that hewill put a native up, and in that case we ought to have a fair chance,for the natives have no idea of riding a waiting race, but go off atfull speed, and take it all out of their horse before the end of therace."
"Well, we must hope he will, Mrs. Prothero; that seems, from what Ihear, the only chance there is of the regiment winning a prize. So allour sympathies will be with you."
"Hunter and his wife and their two girls are coming," the Major said,the next morning, as he opened his letters.
"Very well, uncle, then we will do as we arranged. The Miss Huntersshall have my room, and I will take the little passage room."
"I am afraid it will put you out, Isobel; but they have been here forthe last two years at the race times and I did not like not asking themagain."
"Of course, uncle. It will make no difference to me, and I don't requireany very great space to apparel myself."
"We must have dinners for twelve at least, the day before the races, andon the three days of the meeting."
Isobel looked alarmed. "I hope you don't rely on me for thearrangements, uncle. At each of the four dinners we have been to I havedone nothing but wonder how it was all done, and have been tremblingover the thought that it would be our turn presently. It seemed afearful responsibility; and four, one after the other, is an appallingprospect."
"Rumzan will see to it all, my dear. He has always managed very wellbefore. I will talk it over with him; besides, these will not be likeregular set dinner parties. At race meetings everyone keeps prettynearly open house. One does not ask any of the people at the station;they have all their own visitors. One trusts to chance to fill up thetable, and one never finds any difficulty about it. It is lucky I got upa regular stock of china, and so on, in anticipation of your coming.Of course, as a bachelor, I have not been a dinner giver, except onoccasions like this, when nobody expects anything like state, and thingsare conducted to a certain extent in picnic fashion. I have paid off mydinner obligations by having men to mess or the club. However, I willconsult Rumzan, and we will have a regular parade of our materials,and you shall inspect our resources. If there is anything in the wayof flower vases or center dishes, or anything of that sort, you thinkrequisite, we must get them. Jestonjee has got a good stock of all thatsort of thing. As to tablecloths and napkins and so o
n, I had a supplywith the china, so you will find that all right. Of course you will getplenty of flowers; they are the principal things, after all, towardsmaking the table look well. You have had no experience in arrangingthem, I suppose?"
"None at all, uncle; I never arranged a vase of flowers in my life."
"Then I tell you what you had better do, Isobel. You coax the Doctorinto coming in and undertaking it. He is famous in that way. He alwayshas the decoration of the mess table on grand occasions; and when wegive a dance the flowers and decorations are left to him as a matter ofcourse."
"I will ask him, uncle; but he is the last man in the world I shouldhave thought of in connection with flowers and decorations."
"He is a many sided man, my dear; he paints excellently, and haswonderful taste in the way of dress. I can assure you that no lady inthe regiment is quite satisfied with a new costume until it has receivedthe stamp of the Doctor's approval. When we were stationed at Delhi fouryears ago there was a fancy ball, and people who were judges of thatsort of thing said that they had never seen so pretty a collection ofdresses, and I should think fully half of them were manufactured fromthe Doctor's sketches."
"I remember now," Isobel laughed, "that he was very sarcastic on boardship as to the dresses of some of the people, but I thought it was onlyhis way of grumbling at things in general, though certainly I generallyagreed with him. He told me one day that my taste evidently inclined tothe dowdy, but you see I wore half mourning until I arrived out here."
The Doctor himself dropped in an hour later.
"I shall be glad, Doctor, if you will dine with us as often as you canduring the four days of the races," Major Hannay said. "Of course, Ishall be doing the hospitable to people who come in from out stations,and as Isobel won't know any of them, it will be a little trying toher, acting for the first time in the capacity of hostess. As you knoweverybody, you will be able to make things go. I have got Hunter and hiswife and their two girls coming in to stay. I calculate the table willhold fourteen comfortably enough. At any rate, come first night, even ifyou can't come on the others."
"Certainly I will, Major, if you will let me bring Bathurst in with me;he is going to stay with me for the races."
"By all means, Doctor; I like what I have seen of him very much."
"Yes, he has got a lot in him," the Doctor said, "only he is always headover heels in work. He will make a big mark before he has done. He isone of the few men out here who has thoroughly mastered the language; hecan talk to the natives like one of themselves, and understands them sothoroughly that they are absolutely afraid to lie to him, which is thehighest compliment a native can pay to an Indian official. It is veryseldom he comes in to this sort of thing, but I seized him the otherday and told him that I could see he would break down if he didn't givehimself a holiday, and I fairly worried him into saying he would comeover and stay for the races. I believe then he would not have come if Ihad not written to him that all the native swells would be here, andit would be an excellent opportunity for him to talk to them aboutthe establishment of a school for the daughters of the upper class ofnatives; that is one of his fads at present."
"But it would be a good thing surely, Doctor," Isobel said.
"No doubt, my dear, no doubt; and so would scores of other things, ifyou could but persuade the natives so. But this is really one of themost impracticable schemes possible, simply because the whole of theseunfortunate children get betrothed when they are two or three yearsold, and are married at twelve. Even if all parties were agreed, thehusband's relations and the wife's relations and everyone else, what areyou going to teach a child worth knowing before she gets to the age oftwelve? Just enough to make her discontented with her lot. Once get thenatives to alter their customs and to marry their women at the age ofeighteen, and you may do something for them; but as long as theystick to this idiotic custom of marrying them off when they are stillchildren, the case is hopeless."
"There is something I wanted to ask you, Doctor," Isobel said. "You knowthis is the first time I have had anything to do with entertaining, andI know nothing about decorating a table. Uncle says that you are a greathand at the arrangement of flowers. Would you mind seeing to it for me?"
The Doctor nodded. "With pleasure, Miss Hannay. It is a thing I enjoy.There is nothing more lamentable than to see the ignorant, and I mayalmost say brutal, way in which people bunch flowers up into greatmasses and call that decoration. They might just as well bunch up somany masses of bright colored rags. The shape of the flower, its mannerof growth, and its individuality are altogether lost, and the soleeffect produced is that of a confused mass of color. I will undertakethat part of the business, and you had better leave the buying of theflowers to me."
"Certainly, Doctor," the Major said; "I will give you carte blanche."
"Well, I must see your dinner service, Major, so that I may know aboutits color, and what you have got to put the flowers into."
"I will have a regular parade tomorrow morning after breakfast, if itwould be convenient for you to look in then, and at the same time I willget you to have a talk with Rumzan and the cook. I am almost as new togiving dinner parties as Isobel is. When one has half a dozen men todine with one at the club, one gives the butler notice and choosesthe wine, and one knows that it will be all right; but it is avery different thing when you have to go into the details yourself.Ordinarily I leave it entirely to Rumzan and the cook, and I am bound tosay they do very well, but this is a different matter."
"We will talk it over with them together, Major. You can seem to consultme, but it must come from you to them, or else you will be getting theirbacks up. Thank goodness, Indian servants don't give themselves the airsEnglish ones do; but human nature is a good deal the same everywhere,and the first great rule, if you want any domestic arrangements to gooff well, is to keep the servants in good temper."
"We none of us like to be interfered with, Doctor."
"A wise man is always ready to be taught," the Doctor saidsententiously.
"Well, there are exceptions, Doctor. I remember, soon after I joined, aman blew off two of his fingers. A young surgeon who was here wantedto amputate the hand; he was just going to set about it when a staffsurgeon came in and said that it had better not be done, for thatnatives could not stand amputations. The young surgeon was very muchannoyed. The staff surgeon went away next day. There was a good deal ofinflammation, and the young surgeon decided to amputate. The man neverrallied from the operation, and died next day."
"I said, Major, that a wise man was always ready to listen to goodadvice. I was not a wise man in those days--I was a pig headed youngfool. I thought I knew all about it, and I was quite right accordingto my experience in London hospitals. In the case of an Englishman, thehand would have been amputated, and the man would have been all rightthree weeks afterwards. But I knew nothing about these soft heartedHindoos, and never dreamt that an operation which would be a trifle toan Englishman would be fatal to one of them, and that simply because,although they are plucky enough in some respects, they have no moreheart than a mouse when anything is the matter with them. Yes, if ithadn't been for the old Colonel, who gave me a private hint to saynothing about the affair, but merely to put down in my report, 'Diedfrom the effect of a gunshot wound,' I should have got into a deuce of ascrape over that affair. As it was, it only cost me a hundred rupeesto satisfy the man's family and send them back to their native village.That was for years a standing joke against me, Miss Hannay; except youruncle and the Colonel, there is no one left in the regiment who wasthere, but it was a sore subject for a long time. Still, no doubt, itwas a useful lesson, and my rule has been ever since, never amputateexcept as a forlorn hope, and even then don't amputate, for if you dothe relatives of the man, as far as his fourth cousins, will inevitablyregard you as his murderer. Well, I must be off; I will look in tomorrowmorning, Major, and make an inspection of your resources."
"I am glad to see the Hunters are going to bring over their carriage,"the M
ajor said, two days later, as he looked through a letter. "I amvery glad of that, for I put it off till too late. I have been tryingeverywhere for the last two days to hire one, but they are all engaged,and have been so for weeks, I hear. I was wondering what I should do,for my buggy will only hold two. I was thinking of asking Mrs. Doolan ifshe could take one of the Miss Hunters, and should have tried to find aplace for the other. But this settles it all comfortably. They are goingto send on their own horses halfway the day before, and hire nativeponies for the first half. They have a good large family vehicle; Ihoped that they would bring it, but, of course, I could not trust toit."
The Doctor presently dropped in with Captain Doolan. After chatting forsome time the former said, "I have had the satisfaction this morning,Miss Hannay, of relieving Mrs. Cromarty's mind of a great burden."
"How was that, Doctor?"
"It was in relation to you, my dear."
"Me, Doctor! how could I have been a weight on Mrs. Cromarty's mind?"
"She sent for me under the pretense of being feverish; said she had aheadache, and so on. Her pulse was all right, and I told her at once Idid not think there was much the matter with her; but I recommended herto keep out of the sun for two days. Then she begun a chat about thestation. She knows that, somehow or other, I generally hear all that isgoing on. I wondered what was coming, till she said casually, 'Do youknow what arrangement Major Hannay has made as to his niece for theraces?' I said, of course, that the Hunters were coming over to stay.I could see at once that her spirit was instantly relieved of a heavyburden, but she only said, 'Of course, then, that settles the question.I had intended to send across to her this morning, to ask if she wouldlike a seat in my carriage; having no lady with her, she could not verywell have gone to the races alone. Naturally, I should have been verypleased to have had her with us. However, as Mrs. Hunter will be stayingat the Major's, and will act as her chaperon, the matter is settled.'"
"Well, I think it was very kind of her thinking of it," Isobel said,"and I don't think it is nice of you, Doctor, to say that it was anevident relief to her when she found I had someone else to take care ofme. Why should it have been a relief?"
"I have no doubt it has weighed on her mind for the last fortnight," theDoctor said; "she must have seen that as you were freshly joined, andthe only unmarried girl in the regiment, except her own daughters, itwas only the proper thing she should offer you a seat in her carriage.No doubt she decided to put it off as late as possible, in hopes thatyou might make some other arrangement. Had you not done so, she mighthave done the heroic thing and invited you, though I am by no means sureof it. Of course, now she will say the first time she meets you that shewas quite disappointed at having heard from me that Mrs. Hunter wouldbe with you, as she had hoped to have the pleasure of having you in hercarriage with her."
"But why shouldn't she like it?" Isobel said indignantly. "Surely I amnot as disagreeable as all that! Come, Doctor!"
Captain Doolan laughed, while the Doctor said, "It is just the contrary,my dear; I am quite sure that if you were in Mrs. Cromarty's place,and had two tall, washed out looking daughters, you would not feel theslightest desire to place Miss Hannay in the same carriage with them."
"I call that very disagreeable of you, Doctor," Isobel said, flushing,"and I shall not like you at all if you take such unkind and maliciousviews of people. I don't suppose such an idea ever entered into Mrs.Cromarty's head, and even if it did, it makes it all the kinder that sheshould think of offering me a seat. I do think most men seem to considerthat women think of nothing but looks, and that girls are always tryingto attract men, and mothers always thinking of getting their daughtersmarried. It is not at all nice, Doctor, to have such ideas, and I shallthank Mrs. Cromarty warmly, when I see her, for her kindness in thinkingabout me."
Accordingly, that afternoon, when they met at the usual hour, when theband was playing, Isobel went up to the Colonel's wife.
"I want to thank you, Mrs. Cromarty. Dr. Wade has told me that you hadintended to offer me a seat in your carriage to the races. It was verykind and nice of you to think of me, and I am very much obliged to you.I should have enjoyed it very much if it hadn't been that Mrs. Hunteris coming to stay with us, and, of course, I shall be under her wing.Still, I am just as much obliged to you for having thought of it."
Mrs. Cromarty was pleased with the girl's warmth and manner, andafterwards mentioned to several of her friends that she thought thatMiss Hannay seemed a very nice young woman.
"I was not quite favorably impressed at first," she admitted. "She hasthe misfortune of being a little brusque in her manner, but, of course,her position is a difficult one, being alone out here, without anylady with her, and no doubt she feels it so. She was quite touchinglygrateful, only because I offered her a seat in our carriage for theraces, though she was unable to accept it, as the Major will have theHunters staying with him."