Miss Sarah Jack of Spanish Town | Page 8

would say of Marian Leslie is this,
that she understood the working of the institution more thoroughly than
others did. And I must add also in her favour that she did not keep her
flirting for sly corners, nor did her admirers keep their distance till
mamma was out of the way. It mattered not to her who was present.
Had she been called on to make one at a synod of the clergy of the
island, she would have flirted with the bishop before all his priests. And
there have been bishops in the colony who would not have gainsayed
her!
But Maurice Cumming did not rightly calculate all this; nor indeed did
Miss Jack do so as thoroughly as she should have done, for Miss Jack
knew more about such matters than did poor Maurice. "If you like
Marion, why don't you marry her?"
Miss Jack had once said to him; and this coming from Miss Jack, who
was made of money, was a great deal.
"She wouldn't have me," Maurice had answered.
"That's more than you know or I either," was Miss Jack's reply. "But if
you like to try, I'll help you."
With reference to this, Maurice as he left Miss Jack's residence on his
return to Mount Pleasant, had declared that Marian Leslie was not
worth an honest man's love.

"Psha!" Miss Jack replied; "Marian will do like other girls. When you
marry a wife I suppose you mean to be master?"
"At any rate I shan't marry her," said Maurice. And so he went his way
back to Hanover with a sore heart. And no wonder, for that was the
very day on which Lieutenant Ewing had asked the question about the
musk rose.
But there was a dogged constancy of feeling about Maurice which
could not allow him to disburden himself of his love. When he was
again at Mount Pleasant among his sugar-canes and hogsheads he could
not help thinking about Marian. It is true he always thought of her as
flying round that ball-room in Ewing's arms, or looking up with rapt
admiration into that young parson's face; and so he got but little
pleasure from his thoughts. But not the less was he in love with
her;--not the less, though he would swear to himself three times in the
day that for no earthly consideration would he marry Marian Leslie.
The early months of the year from January to May are the busiest with
a Jamaica sugar-grower, and in this year they were very busy months
with Maurice Cumming. It seemed as though there were actually some
truth in Miss Jack's prediction that prosperity would return to him if he
attended to his country; for the prices of sugar had risen higher than
they had ever been since the duty had been withdrawn, and there was
more promise of a crop at Mount Pleasant than he had seen since his
reign commenced. But then the question of labour? How he slaved in
trying to get work from those free negroes; and alas! how often he
slaved in vain! But it was not all in vain; for as things went on it
became clear to him that in this year he would, for the first time since
he commenced, obtain something like a return from his land. What if
the turning-point had come, and things were now about to run the other
way.
But then the happiness which might have accrued to him from this
source was dashed by his thoughts of Marian Leslie. Why had he
thrown himself in the way of that syren? Why had he left Mount
Pleasant at all? He knew that on his return to Spanish Town his first
work would be to visit Shandy Hall; and yet he felt that of all places in
the island, Shandy Hall was the last which he ought to visit.
And then about the beginning of May, when he was hard at work
turning the last of his canes into sugar and rum, he received his annual

visit from Miss Jack. And whom should Miss Jack bring with her but
Mr. Leslie.
"I'll tell you what it is," said Miss Jack; "I have spoken to Mr. Leslie
about you and Marian."
"Then you had no business to do anything of the kind," said Maurice,
blushing up to his ears.
"Nonsense," replied Miss Jack, "I understand what I am about. Of
course Mr. Leslie will want to know something about the estate."
"Then he may go back as wise as he came, for he'll learn nothing from
me. Not that I have anything to hide."
"So I told him. Now there are a large family of them, you see; and of
course he can't give Marian much."
"I don't care a straw