Which throws new lights upon Mr. Darner’s behaviour, and contains a very improving conversation.
The two ladies being again seated in their post-chaise, Mrs. Willis kindly applied herself to comfort her fair companion, whose affecting silence shewed a deeper sense of her new disappointment than any words could express. However, miss Courteney felt in reality fewer perturbations and less anxiety in her return, than when she began her journey. So true it is, that when we hope little, we fear little likewise.
She now looked upon her aunt’s affection as irrecoverable; miss Woodby’s vile insinuations had strengthened her suspicions: Mr. Damer, when he found himself detected, would doubtless account for his behaviour in a manner unfavourable to her; her unhappy flight had given such a colour to her succeeding actions, as rendered any justification of herself hopeless; and the insidious chaplain might now with ease confirm those prejudices he had raised.
In this manner she reasoned herself into a belief that her misfortune was irremediable: despair, as an ingenious writer2 observes, being that ease to the mind which mortification is to the flesh, Henrietta found some relief in being freed from that vicissitude of hopes and fears which had so long held her mind in the most racking suspence; and, with a kind of gloomy satisfaction, resigned herself to all the bitterness of her fate.
Mrs. Willis, who knew not the peculiarities of lady Meadows’s temper, or if she had, would not perhaps have considered, that obstinate people are ever most obstinate in error, thought all things might be set right again, by miss Courteney’s giving a candid narrative of what had happened to her since her leaving her; she therefore pressed the young lady to delay writing to her aunt no longer than the next day.
“There are some cases,” said Mrs. Willis to her, when she saw her sitting down to write, “in which simplicity is the greatest refinement of art; yours is one of them: be as simple and ingenuous as you can in the account you give your aunt, and let the facts speak for themselves.”
Henrietta followed her advice, and related every part of her conduct since she had left her, and the treachery and deceit that had been used towards her, with the utmost plainness and sincerity, and saw that she had made her letter more affecting by its simplicity, than she could have done by the nicest touches of art. Mrs. Willis read it, and approved of it; and it was immediately dispatched to the post.
Scarce was this little affair over, when Mr. Damer sent in his name.
“I like this piece of ceremony,” said Mrs. Willis; “it looks as if the man was ashamed of what he has done: do you chuse to see him, miss?”
“Oh! no,” replied Henrietta; “it would be strange, indeed, if I was willing to see a man whom you suspect of having such shocking designs, and who I am sure has not acted honestly.”
“Well then,” said Mrs. Willis, “I will go down to him, and hear what he has to say.”
She returned again in less than an hour, smiling. “This young man,” said she, “does not want sense: what would you say, miss, if I was to tell you that he has persuaded me he has acted very right, and with the best intentions in the world.”
“I should say that I am less unhappy than I thought I was,” replied miss Courteney; “for surely it is a great misfortune to meet with persons who abuse our confidence and the good opinions we have of them.”
“That misfortune,” said Mrs. Willis, “will in time become so common, that you will feel it less sensibly than you do now. The only way to avoid being deceived, is to be always upon your guard against deceit.”
“That is to say I must be always suspicious,” said Henrietta; “this may be a very prudent maxim, but my heart disavows it.”
“Alas! my dear,” replied Mrs. Willis, “we all enter upon the world with high notions of disinterestedness, friendship, sincerity, and candor: but experience shows us, that these qualities exist not, or among so very few, that it does not fall to the lot of one mortal in a thousand to meet with them in those we contract friendships with. The frequent disappointments we suffer in the search of them, make suspicion grow into a habit of thinking, which if it lessens our enjoyments lessens our inconveniencies likewise.”
“Then I,” said miss Courteney, “shall be always exposed to inconveniencies; for I am sure I can never bring myself to suspect persons who appear deserving of my good opinion: and indeed I think it is more honourable to be often deceived, than to be always doubting.”
“But it is not so safe,” replied Mrs. Willis, smiling: “however, my dear, in unexperienced youth like yours this way of thinking is meritorious: the faults of the world can only be learned by a long acquaintance with it, and by suffering from that acquaintance. Those who derive this kind of knowledge from the heart rather than the head, are indeed safe themselves, but dangerous to all others.
“But I will keep you no longer in suspense with regard to Mr. Damer. He has glossed over his behaviour so as to make me appear satisfied with it, which indeed it is necessary I should, if I would not wish to make an enemy of him; and a very powerful one he might be to my husband.
“He asked for you as soon as he saw me, and did not seem surprised at the very slight excuse I made for your not seeing him. He expressed great concern for the treatment you had received from his wife; for in her frantic rage it seems she told him all that had passed between you.”
“You find,” said he, “I did not exaggerate my wife’s failing.”
“It is a great misfortune,” replied I; “but, sir, I think if you had not made a secret of your connections with miss Courteney, Mrs. Darner’s jealousy would not have had so plausible an excuse, nor would the young lady have had any reason to complain of you.”
“I should have found it absolutely impossible,” said he, “to have concerned myself in miss Courteney’s affairs, or been of the least use to her, had my wife known any thing of the matter; the very sight of miss Courteney would have roused her suspicions, and have put it out of my power to act either as a friend or guardian by her; and, in her unhappy situation, she had great need of my care and attention.”
“However, sir,” replied I, “it was certainly ill judged to conceal from miss Courteney, that you was married: what must she think of such a strange conduct?”
“Why, Mrs. Willis,” resumed he, “I have already told you, that I could not own my marriage to miss Courteney, without letting her into my reasons for not being able to offer her an asylum in my house, during her aunt’s displeasure, an offer she had great reason to expect. I was unwilling to expose my wife’s foible, and to raise scruples in the young lady’s mind, which might prevent her from receiving those little services from me which she had so much need of: I hope you will represent all this to her, and let her know how greatly I am afflicted at what she has suffered.”
“To be sure I will,” replied I; “but miss Courteney tells me you have received letters from Mr. Damer, in which he acquaints you that there are some foreign merchants coming to reside in my house, and that she was to be removed for that reason. I surprised her greatly by saying I had heard nothing of it; and, indeed I am a good deal surprised myself at it.”
“Why, to be plain with you, Mrs. Willis,” said the young gentleman, “this was only an invention.”
“Indeed!” said I, looking very grave: “to be sure you had some good reason for it.”
“Doubtless I had,” pursued he, “and you yourself shall be judge of my reason—This is a bad world, Mrs. Willis, a very bad world: nothing but stratagems and designs, fraud and cunning. Our sex, Mrs. Willis, is in a state of war with yours, our arms are sighs and vows, and flattery and protestation, and (as in all other warfares) we fight to destroy.”
“Bless us!” interrupted Henrietta, half smiling, “what could this fine preface lead to?”
“I protest,” resumed Mrs. Willis laughing, “it was with the utmost difficulty I composed my countenance to a look of grave attention; while he uttered all this with a solemn accent, and an air of infinite importance.”
“Truly, sir,” replied I, “for so young a gentleman you think very gravely of these matters: it is highly commendable in one of your years.”
“Heaven forbid, Mrs. Willis,” said he, “that all men should be libertines; but in short it was to preserve miss Courteney from falling into the snares of one, that I formed an excuse for sending her into the country.”
“Vile dissembler!” exclaimed miss Courteney again, glowing with indignation; “preserve me from falling into the snares of a libertine! I hope my own discretion, without any aid from him, was sufficient to guard me against any snares that a libertine could lay for me.”
“I hope so too,” said Mrs. Willis.
Henrietta blushed a little at this expression, which seemed, she thought, to imply a doubt, but would not interrupt Mrs. Willis again.
“I told you that this gentleman was very artful,” continued the good woman, “as you will be convinced by the story he related.”
“You must know,” said he to me, looking extremely wise, and lowering his voice, “that when I waited upon miss Courteney at the lodgings she had taken after she left her aunt, I observed a fine gay young man there, who followed me when I went out, and looked at me in a manner that shewed great curiosity and attention. It came into my head that this might be the spark3 of whom miss Courteney’s aunt was apprehensive: I discovered that he lodged in the house with the young lady; and this circumstance I liked by no means. I resolved to remove her immediately, and place her with you: she so readily consented to my proposal, that I doubted whether I had not been extremely mistaken in my conjectures concerning this young gentleman; but a day or two after she was settled with you, my spark came to enquire for her at my house: now it was plain that miss Courteney held some correspondence with him, otherwise he could not have known where to come after her.
“I happened not to be at home, and the servants told him, that no such person was there. He came several times, and was always answered in the same manner. His enquiries at length reached the ears of my wife; she desired he might be shewn up to her apartment when he came next; and it was from him that she learned miss Courteney was under my care.
“To one of her temper it was enough to know that I had the management of a lady’s affairs, to make her suspect that I had a more than ordinary interest in the lady herself. But she concealed her thoughts from me: and I, who was wholly ignorant that this gentleman had seen my wife, was only concerned at the connexion there seemed to be between miss Courteney and him; and therefore fixed upon that stratagem, to remove her out of his reach, without giving her any suspicions of the cause.
“I have since enquired about the gentleman; and I hear that he is a man of quality, and that he is shortly to be married to a great fortune. Judge now whether his designs on miss Courteney could be honourable; and whether I had not reason to act as I did with regard to sending her away?”
“And now, my dear,” added Mrs. Willis, smiling, “did you ever hear a more plausible tale?”
“I have somewhere read it observed,” replied Henrietta, “that we are better deceived by having some truth told us than none. Mr. Damer has put this maxim in practice; his tale is plausible, because part of it is true: but his inferences are all false; and their cause lies too deep for me to discover it.”
She then related succinctly all that had passed in the house of Mrs. Eccles, and that she had earnestly intreated Mr. Damer to dispose of her elsewhere, being resolved, after the affront that had been offered to her, to remain there no longer. She added, that the young lord having hinted his suspicions that Mr. Damer was her lover, she thought herself obliged to tell him his name, and explain the nature of his connexions with her, that she might not, by going away with a person unknown, leave room for calumny to slander her.
Mrs. Willis was charmed with this candid account of her conduct, which overthrew all Mr. Damer’s insinuations. She embraced her with great tenderness. “All will soon be set right (said she) your aunt will receive you with redoubled affection.” Miss Courteney sighed; but having already taken her resolution, she was prepared for whatever events might happen.