Page:All the Year Round - Series 1 - Volume 13.djvu/11

 'THE STORY OF OUR LIVES FROM YEAR TO YEAR."-SHAKESPEARE.

ALL THE YEAR ROUND. A WEEKLY JOURNAL.

CONDUCTED BY CHARLES DICKENS. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED HOUSEHOLD WORDS.

No. 301.] SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 1865. [PRICE 2d.

NEVER FORGOTTEN.

PART THE SECOND. CHAPTER XXII. FOREBODINGS;

Miss MANUEL had returned. She had been at Torquay, or at St. Leonard's, or at some of those sheltered winter comers where invalids go to find colour and strength. This her world sup- posed; her court of writers and "clergymanical" reviewers, all knew this; and when they made their congratulations on her return, never suspected that her fresh brilliancy was owing to the keen breezes of the little dun town so far away. She returned with all the enthusiasm of triumph.

Almost on the day of her arrival she met Major Carter. He had heard of her visit. He had fallen in with Fermor, who, in a pettish way, had told of her sudden departure. "She is gone, God knows where, and has told nobody." Which speech disturbed the major not a little. Now, as she passed him to enter a shop, there was a look of insolent victory in her face, which made him yet more uneasy, and sent him home thoughtful. If he had only watched her care- fully for the rest of the day, he would not have slept that night.

For early that morning Mr. Speedy had received a fairy-looking note at his Irrefragable office, and was almost intoxicated at finding in it a request that he would, after office hours, wait on Miss Manuel at her house. From that day he became generally superior to homely Mrs. Speedy. The note was long preserved in the Speedy archives, and it lay for many a day on the top of the other notes in the little basket. Major Carter was not passing, or he would have seen Mr. Speedy with a new pair of gloves going in, and Major Carter was not Asmodeus Carter, or he would have frantically torn away the front of that house, of all houses in London, to see and hear Miss Manuel and the man of business sitting close, and talking with extra- ordinary eagerness. Major Carter did not watch the terminus at Euston-square for the night-train to start, or he would have seen a muffled Mr. Speedy drive up and take a ticket for Bangor, on "special mission," as it was said at the office, where he was missed next day. On this "special mission," sent by order of the directors, he was away more than a week. Thus over the head of unsuspecting Major Carter was already hanging a spectral sword of Damocles, and as it swung and shook, he felt himself brought within its cold shadow, and shivered; but the world was going so pleasantly with him, that he shook off all dis- agreeable thoughts for the present.

Mrs. Fermor, full of enthusiasm and young affection, had soon shut out the memory of what she had heard during her night-watch, and came eagerly to welcome her friend back again. She had worked herself into a sort of romantic love for this friend; and though she felt again, when ascending the stairs, something of her old recollections, when she entered and saw Miss Manuel sitting nearly as "bright" as ever, she forgot it, and ran forward to embrace her with real affection.

"I am so glad, so delighted, to see you down again," she said, with a sort of punctuation, as it were, of kissing.

Pauline tried to be cold, but her resolution gave way before the genuine delight of this faithful little woman. Then she turned from her suddenly and sharply, and she called herself (mentally) " She-Judas!"

"I am so glad!" said Mrs. Fermor. "I never discovered until you were ill how much I liked you. I don't know why; we have known each other for so short a time; and I dare say," she added, a little ruefully, for she again thought of what she had heard during the night-watching, "you do not care so much for me?" And she looked at her wistfully.

"Why should you think that?" said Pauline. "You know I like you, and indeed I feel grateful for all you have done for me. I only learnt today how you nursed and watched me. And it has distressed me more than you would suppose. I wanted nobody," and she added, a little vehemently, "and you-not for the world. You might have caught it. But I am indeed grateful." And again she turned sharply, and called herself Judas. " I never thank," she went on earnestly. "They tell me I am cold, and do not feel obligations. So that you will understand, if I should ever appear not to value what you have done as it deserves to be valued, you will set it down to the right cause. Don't judge me too harshly; there may be more behind than you know of. We may not all have our free will."

Deeply mystified at the beseeching manner with which this was said, Mrs. Fermor knew not VOL. XIII. 301