John Herring: A West of England Romance. Volume 1 (of 3)Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
General
John Herring: A West of England Romance. Volume 1 (of 3)
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
West Country (England) -- Fiction
As he called, a feeble old woman, in a big cap with lilac ribands and a
pink bow under her chin, appeared at a side door, and with her the
daughter whom he called Orange. The latter entered the hall.
’Father,’ said Miss Orange Trampleasure, reproachfully, ’you are too
boisterous with the young lady. Do you not see? She is tired with her
journey, and your noise frightens her.’
’Frightens me!’ repeated Mirelle, with perfect composure. ’Non, il ne
me fait paspeur—il me revolte.’
’Come with me, cousin,’ said Orange. ’Let me take off your things, and
show you your room.’
Mirelle hesitated.
’My dear,’ Orange went on, ’there is no help for it. Whether you like
it or not, here you must stay; you cannot go back to the Battishills.
It is unreasonable to expect them to take charge of you. Besides, your
father committed you to us.’
’My father has left a gentleman in France my guardian equally with this
person here.’
’Then you must stay with us till he has been communicated with,’ said
Orange. ’Come with me.’
Mirelle allowed herself to be conducted upstairs.
Old Tramplara went into a muffled convulsion of laughter. He winked at
Herring and said, ’She’s a queer piece of flesh, ain’t she—full of
French hoity-toity? We must take all that out of her, and make good
English homespun take the place of mouslin-de-laine, parley-vous,
bong-soir, mossou!’ Then the old man curtsied and grimaced, and went
into attitudes. ’So,’ said he, ’you be the gent that has escorted my
Lady High and Mighty here! My son said something about you. You gave
him a rap over the knuckles, hey? Serve the beggar right. He had been
drinking, I’ll swear. He said he had come across a temperance fellow
who had insulted him. And you also, I suppose, are the party that have
been paying sixty pounds for old Battishill; lending him the
money—making him a present of it, I should rather say—for he who lends
to him don’t hear the chink of his coin again. I suppose you have
plenty of brass to throw away. Well, there be better investments than
West Wyke, I can tell’y. I wish I had been by to have tipped you a
hint. Herring is your name! I wonder whether you are any relation to
old Jago Herring, of Welltown?’
The young man did not enlighten him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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