NO, SHE WOULD NOT
Sir Nigel did not invite Rosalie to accompany them, when the next morning, after breakfast, he reminded Betty of his suggestion of the night before, that she should walk over the place with him, and show him what had been done.He preferred to make his study of his sister-in-law undisturbed.
There was no detail whose significance he missed as they went about together.He had keen eyes and was a quite sufficiently practical person on such matters as concerned his own interests.In this case it was to his interest to make up his mind as to what he might gain or lose by the appearance of his wife's family.He did not mean to lose--if it could be helped--anything either of personal importance or material benefit.And it could only be helped by his comprehending clearly what he had to deal with.Betty was, at present, the chief factor in the situation, and he was sufficiently astute to see that she might not be easy to read.His personal theories concerning women presented to him two or three effective ways of managing them.
You made love to them, you flattered them either subtly or grossly, you roughly or smoothly bullied them, or you harrowed them with haughty indifference--if your love-****** had produced its proper effect--when it was necessary to lure or drive or trick them into submission.Women should be made useful in one way or another.Little fool as she was, Rosalie had been useful.He had, after all was said and done, had some comparatively easy years as the result of her existence.But she had not been useful enough, and there had even been moments when he had wondered if he had made a mistake in separating her entirely from her family.There might have been more to be gained if he had allowed them to visit her and had played the part of a devoted husband in their presence.A great bore,of course, but they could not have spent their entire lives at Stornham.Twelve years ago, however, he had known very little of Americans, and he had lost his temper.He was really very fond of his temper, and rather enjoyed referring to it with tolerant regret as being a bad one and beyond his control--with a manner which suggested that the attribute was the inevitable result of strength of character and masculine spirit.The luxury of giving way to it was a great one, and it was exasperating as he walked about with this handsome girl to find himself beginning to suspect that, where she was concerned, some self-control might be necessary.He was led to this thought because the things he took in on all sides could only have been achieved by a person whose mind was a steadily-balanced thing.In one's treatment of such a creature, methods must be well chosen.
The crudest had sufficed to overwhelm Rosalie.He tried two or three little things as experiments during their walk.
The first was to touch with dignified pathos on the subject of Ughtred.Betty, he intimated gently, could imagine what a man's grief and disappointment might be on finding his son and heir deformed in such a manner.The delicate reserve with which he managed to convey his fear that Rosalie's own uncontrolled hysteric attacks had been the cause of the misfortune was very well done.She had, of course, been very young and much spoiled, and had not learned self-restraint, poor girl.
It was at this point that Betty first realised a certain hideous thing.She must actually remain silent--there would be at the outset many times when she could only protect her sister by refraining from either denial or argument.If she turned upon him now with refutation, it was Rosy who would be called upon to bear the consequences.He would go at once to Rosy, and she herself would have done what she had said she would not do--she would have brought trouble upon the poor girl before she was strong enough to bear it.She suspected also that his intention was to discover how much she had heard, and if she might be goaded into betraying her attitude in the matter.
But she was not to be so goaded.He watched her closely and her very colour itself seemed to be under her own control.
He had expected--if she had heard hysteric, garbled stories from his wife--to see a flame of scarlet leap up on the cheek he was admiring.There was no such leap, which was baffling in itself.Could it be that experience had taught Rosalie the discretion of keeping her mouth shut?
"I am very fond of Ughtred," was the sole comment he was granted."We made friends from the first.As he grows older and stronger, his misfortune may be less apparent.He will be a very clever man.""He will be a very clever man if he is at all like----" He checked himself with a slight movement of his shoulders."Iwas going to say a thing utterly banal.I beg your pardon.Iforgot for the moment that I was not talking to an English girl."It was so stupid that she turned and looked at him, smiling faintly.But her answer was quite mild and soft.
"Do not deprive me of compliments because I am a mere American,"she said."I am very fond of them, and respond at once.""You are very daring," he said, looking straight into her eyes--"deliciously so.American women always are, I think.""The young devil," he was saying internally."The beautiful young devil! She throws one off the track."He found himself more and more attracted and exasperated as they made their rounds.It was his sense of being attracted which was the cause of his exasperation.A girl who could stir one like this would be a dangerous enemy.Even as a friend she would not be safe, because one faced the absurd peril of losing one's head a little and forgetting the precautions one should never lose sight of where a woman was concerned--the precautions which provided for one's holding a good taut rein in one's own hands.
