I now submitted to be dressed for dinner--a duty which Rachel had been urging upon me for the last twenty minutes; and when that important business was completed, I repaired to the drawing room where I found Mr and Miss Wilmot, and Milicent Hargrave already assembled. Shortly after, Lord Lowborough entered, and then Mr Boarham, who seemed quite willing to forget and forgive my former conduct, and to hope that a little conciliation and steady perseverance on his part might yet succeed in bringing me to reason. While I stood at the window, conversing with Milicent, he came up to me, and was beginning to talk in nearly his usual strain, when Mr Huntingdon entered the room.
`How will he greet me, I wonder?' said my bounding heart; and instead of advancing to meet him, I turned to the window to hide or subdue my emotion. But having saluted his host and hostess, and the rest of the company, he came to me, ardently squeezed my hand, and murmured be was glad to see me once again. At that moment dinner was announced, my aunt desired him to take Miss Hargrave into the dining-room, and odious Mr Wilmot, with un speakable grimaces, offered his arm to me; and I was condemned to sit between himself and Mr Boarham. But afterwards, when we were all again assembled in the drawing-room, I was indemnified for so much suffering by a few delightful minutes of conversation with Mr Huntingdon.
In the course of the evening, Miss Wilmot was called upon to sing and play for the amusement of the company, and I to exhibit my drawings, and, though he likes music, and she is an accomplished musician, I think I am right in affirming that he paid more attention to my drawings than to her music.
So far, so good;--but, hearing him pronounce, sotto voce, but with par emphasis concerning one of the pieces, ` This is better than all!'--I looked up, curious to see which it was, and, to my horror, beheld him complacently gazing at the back of the picture--It was his own face that I had sketched there and for gotten to rub out! To make matters worse, in the agony of the moment, I attempted to snatch it from his hand;--but he pre vented me, and exclaiming, `No--by George, I'll keep it!' placed it against his waistcoat, and buttoned his coat upon it with a de lighted chuckle.
Then, drawing a candle close to his elbow, he gathered all the drawings to himself, as well what he had seen as the others, and muttering, `I must look at both sides now,' he eagerly commenced an examination which I watched, at fr>t, with tolerable composure, in the confidence that his vanity would not be gratified by any further discoveries; for, though I must plead guilty to having disfigured the backs of several with abortive attempts to delineate that too fascinating physiognomy, I was sure that, with that one unfortunate exception, I had carefully obliterated all such witnesses of my infatuation. But the pencil frequently leaves an impression upon cardboard that no amount of rubbing can efface. Such, it seems, was the case with most of these; and I confess I trembled when I saw him holding them so close to the candle, and poring so intently over the seeming blanks; but still I trusted he would not be able to make out these dim traces to his own satisfaction. I was mistaken, however--having ended his scrutiny, lie quietly remarked,--`I perceive, the backs of young ladies' drawings, like the post scripts of their letters, are the most important and interesting part of the concern.'
Then, leaning back in his chair, he reflected a few minutes in silence, complacently smiling to himself, and, while I was concocting some cutting speech wherewith to check his gratification, he rose, and passing over to where Annabella Wilmot sat vehemently coquetting with Lord Lowborough, seated himself on the sofa beside her, and attached himself to her for the rest of the evening.
`So then!' thought I--`he despises me, because he knows I love him.'
And the reflection made me so miserable I knew not what to do.
Milicent came and began to admire my drawings and make remarks upon them; but I could not talk to her--I could talk to no one; and upon the introduction of tea, I took advantage of the open door and the slight diversion caused by its entrance, to slip out--for I was sure I could not take any--and take refuge in the library. My aunt sent Thomas in quest of me, to ask if I were not coming to tea; but I bade him say I should not take any tonight; and happily she was too much occupied with her guests to make any further enquiries at the time.
As most of the company had travelled far that day, they retired early to rest; and having heard them all, as I thought, go upstairs, I ventured out, to get my candlestick from the drawing-room sideboard. But Mr Huntingdon had lingered behind the rest: he was just at the foot of the stairs when I opened the door; and hearing my step in the hall--though I could hardly hear it myself--he instantly turned back.
`Helen, is that you?' said he; `why did you run away from us?'
`Good night, Mr Huntingdon,' said I, coldly, not choosing to answer the question. And I turned away to enter the drawing. room.
`But you'll shake hands, won't you?' said he, placing himself in the doorway before me. And he seized my hand, and held it much against my will.
`Let me go, Mr Huntingdon!' said I--`I want to get a candle.'
`The candle will keep,' returned he.
I made a desperate effort to free my hand from his grasp `Why are you in such a hurry to leave me, Helen?' he said, with a smile of the most provoking self-sufficiency--`you don't hate me, you know.'
`Yes, I do--at this moment.'
`Not you! It is Annabella Wilmot you hate, not me.'
`I have nothing to do with Annabella Wilmot,' said I, burning with indignation.
`But I have, you know,' returned he, with peculiar emphasis, `That is nothing to me, sir!' I retorted.
` Is it nothing to you, Helen?--Will you swear it?--Will you?'
`No, I won:t, Mr Huntingdon! and I will go!' cried I, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry, or to break out into a tempest of fury.