The Law and the Lady | Page 8

mother. Informing us that she too lived in the country, he had gone to
see her, without more particularly mentioning her address. In two days
he had returned to the Vicarage with a very startling message. His
mother intended no disrespect to me or my relatives, but she
disapproved so absolutely of her son's marriage that she (and the

members of her family, who all agreed with her) would refuse to be
present at the ceremony, if Mr. Woodville persisted in keeping his
engagement with Dr. Starkweather's niece. Being asked to explain this
extraordinary communication, Eustace had told us that his mother and
his sisters were bent on his marrying another lady, and that they were
bitterly mortified and disappointed by his choosing a stranger to the
family. This explanation was enough for me; it implied, so far as I was
concerned, a compliment to my superior influence over Eustace, which
a woman always receives with pleasure. But it failed to satisfy my
uncle and my aunt. The vicar expressed to Mr. Woodville a wish to
write to his mother, or to see her, on the subject of her strange message.
Eustace obstinately declined to mention his mother's address, on the
ground that the vicar's interference would be utterly useless. My uncle
at once drew the conclusion that the mystery about the address
indicated something wrong. He refused to favor Mr. Woodville's
renewed proposal for my hand, and he wrote the same day to make
inquiries of Mr. Woodville's reference and of his own friend Major
Fitz-David.
Under such circumstances as these, to speak of my uncle's motives was
to venture on very delicate ground. Eustace relieved me from further
embarrassment by asking a question to which I could easily reply.
"Has your uncle received any answer from Major Fitz-David?" he
inquired.
"Yes.
"Were you allowed to read it?" His voice sank as he said those words;
his face betrayed a sudden anxiety which it pained me to see.
"I have got the answer with me to show you," I said.
He almost snatched the letter out of my hand; he turned his back on me
to read it by the light of the moon. The letter was short enough to be
soon read. I could have repeated it at the time. I can repeat it now.
"DEAR VICAR--Mr. Eustace Woodville is quite correct in stating to

you that he is a gentleman by birth and position, and that he inherits
(under his deceased father's will) an independent fortune of two
thousand a year.
"Always yours,
"LAWRENCE FITZ-DAVID."
"Can anybody wish for a plainer answer than that?" Eustace asked,
handing the letter back to me.
"If I had written for information about you," I answered, "it would have
been plain enough for me."
"Is it not plain enough for your uncle?"
"No."
"What does he say?"
"Why need you care to know, my darling?"
"I want to know, Valeria. There must be no secret between us in this
matter. Did your uncle say anything when he showed you the major's
letter?"
"Yes."
"What was it?"
"My uncle told me that his letter of inquiry filled three pages, and he
bade me observe that the major's answer contained one sentence only.
He said, 'I volunteered to go to Major Fitz-David and talk the matter
over. You see he takes no notice of my proposal. I asked him for the
address of Mr. Woodville's mother. He passes over my request, as he
has passed over my proposal--he studiously confines himself to the
shortest possible statement of bare facts. Use your common-sense,
Valeria. Isn't this rudeness rather remarkable on the part of a man who
is a gentleman by birth and breeding, and who is also a friend of

mine?'"
Eustace stopped me there.
"Did you answer your uncle's question?" he asked.
"No," I replied. "I only said that I did not understand the major's
conduct."
"And what did your uncle say next? If you love me, Valeria, tell me the
truth."
"He used very stron g language, Eustace. He is an old man; you must
not be offended with him."
"I am not offended. What did he say?"
"He said, 'Mark my words! There is something under the surface in
connection with Mr. Woodville, or with his family, to which Major
Fitz-David is not at liberty to allude. Properly interpreted, Valeria, that
letter is a warning. Show it to Mr. Woodville, and tell him (if you like)
what I have just told you--'"
Eustace stopped me again.
"You are sure your uncle said those words?" he asked, scanning my
face attentively in the moonlight.
"Quite sure. But I don't say what my uncle says. Pray don't think that!"
He suddenly pressed me to his bosom, and fixed his eyes on mine. His
look frightened me.