In the matter of money, as of his physical health, he wanted to do too
much at once; he had spent largely of both in his efforts to repair the
injury done to Dr. Shrapnel. He was overworked, anxious, restless,
craving for a holiday somewhere in France, possibly; he was all but
leaping on board the boat at times, and, unwilling to leave his dear
old friend who clung to him, he stayed, keeping his impulses below the
tide-mark which leads to action, but where they do not yield peace of
spirit. The tone of Renée’s letters filled him with misgivings. She
wrote word that she had seen M. d’Henriel for the first time since his
return from Italy, and he was much changed, and inclined to thank
Roland for the lesson he had received from him at the sword’s point.
And next she urged Beauchamp to marry, so that he and she might meet,
as if she felt a necessity for it. “I shall love your wife; teach her
to think amiably of me,” she said. And her letter contained womanly
sympathy for him in his battle with his uncle. Beauchamp thought of his
experiences of Cecilia’s comparative coldness. He replied that there
was no prospect of his marrying; he wished there were one of meeting!
He forbore from writing too fervently, but he alluded to happy days in
Normandy, and proposed to renew them if she would say she had need of
him. He entreated her to deal with him frankly; he reminded her that
she must constantly look to him, as she had vowed she would, when in
any kind of trouble; and he declared to her that he was unchanged. He
meant, of an unchanged disposition to shield and serve her; but the
review of her situation, and his knowledge of her quick blood, wrought
him to some jealous lover’s throbs, which led him to impress his
unchangeableness upon her, to bind her to that standard.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account