Sandra Belloni (originally Emilia in England) — CompleteMeredith, George
General
Sandra Belloni (originally Emilia in England) — Complete
Meredith, George
English fiction -- 19th century
“He has an old friend to reside in his house?”
“It is not that. I have noticed him. His mind...he requires watching.”
“And how long is it since you made this discovery?”
“One sees clearer perhaps when one is not quite happy.”
“Not happy! Then it's for him that you turn the night to tears?”
Cornelia closed her lips. She divined that her betrayer must be close in
his confidence. She went shortly after to Emilia, whose secret at once
stood out bare to a kindled suspicion. There was no fear that Cornelia
would put her finger on it accusingly, or speak of it directly. She had
the sentimentalist's profound respect for the name and notion of love.
She addressed Emilia vaguely, bidding her keep guard on her emotions,
and telling her there was one test of the truth of masculine
protestations; this, Will he marry you? The which, if you are poor, is a
passably infallible test. Emilia sucked this in thoughtfully. She heard
that lovers were false. Why, then of course they were not like her
lover! Cornelia finished what she deemed her duty, and departed, while
Emilia thought: “I wonder whether he could be false to me;” and she
gave herself shrewd half-delicious jarrings of pain, forcing herself to
contemplate the impossible thing.
She was in this state when Mrs. Chump came across her, and with a slight
pressure of a sovereign into her hand, said: “There, it's for you,
little Belloni! and I see ye've been thinkin' me one o' the scrape-hards
and close-fists. It's Pole who keeps me low, on purpose. And I'm a
wretch if I haven't my purse full, so you see I'm all in the dark in
the house, and don't know half so much as the sluts o' the kitchen. So,
ye'll tell me, little Belloni, is Arr'bella goin' to marry Mr. Annybody?
And is Cornelia goin' to marry Sir Tickleham? And whether Mr. Wilfrud's
goin' to marry Lady Charlotte Chill'nworth? Becas, my dear, there's
Arr'bella, who's sharp, she is, as a North-easter in January, (which
Chump 'd cry out for, for the sake of his ships, poor fella--he kneelin'
by 's bedside in a long nightgown and lookin' just twice what he was!)
she has me like a nail to my vary words, and shows me that nothin' can
happen betas o' what I've said. And Cornelia--if ye'll fancy a tall
codfish on its tail: 'Mrs. Chump, I beg ye'll not go to believe
annything of me.' So I says to her, 'Cornelia! my dear! do ye think,
now, it's true that Chump went and marrud his cook, that ye treat me so?
becas my father,' I tell her, 'he dealt in porrk in a large way, and
I was a fine woman, full of the arr'stocracy, and Chump a little
puffed-out bladder of a man.' So then she says: 'Mrs. Chump, I listen to
no gossup: listen you to no gossup. 'And Mr. Wilfrud, my dear, he sends
me on the flat o' my back, laughin'. And Ad'la she takes and turns me
right about, so that I don't see the thing I'm askin' after; and there's
nobody but you, little Belloni, to help me, and if ye do, ye shall know
what the crumple of paper sounds like.”
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