Sevenoaks: A Story of TodayHolland, J. G. (Josiah Gilbert)
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Sevenoaks: A Story of Today
Holland, J. G. (Josiah Gilbert)
Didactic fiction; Political fiction; Social problems -- Fiction
What is that angel's name who, shut away from ten thousand selfish,
sinful lives, stands always ready, when the bearers of those lives are
tired of them, and are longing for something better, to open the door
into a new realm? What patience and persistence are his! Always waiting,
always prepared, cherishing no resentments, willing to lead, anxious to
welcome, who is he, and whence came he? If Mrs. Dillingham did not pray,
she had a vision of this heavenly visitant, and kissed the hem of his
garments.
She rose and walked to her dressing-table. There she found a note in
Mrs. Belcher's handwriting, inviting her to a drive in the Park with her
and Mr. Belcher on the following afternoon. Whether the invitation was
self-moved, or the result of a suggestion from Mr. Belcher, she did not
know. In truth, she did not care. She had wronged Mrs. Belcher in many
ways, and she would go.
Why was it that when the new and magnificent carriage rolled up to her
door the next afternoon, with its wonderful horses and showy equipage,
and appointments calculated to attract attention, her heart was smitten
with disgust? She was to be stared at; and, during all the drive, she
was to sit face to face with a man who believed that he had fascinated
her, and who was trying to use her for all the base purposes in which it
was possible for her to serve his will. What could she do with him? How,
in the new relations of her life to him, should she carry herself?
The drive was a quiet one. Mr. Belcher sat and feasted his greedy,
exultant eyes on the woman before him, and marveled at the adroitness
with which, to use his own coarse phrase, she "pulled the wool" over the
eyes of his wife. In what a lovely way did she hide her passion for him!
How sweetly did she draw out the sympathy of the deceived woman at her
side! Ah! he could trust her! Her changed, amiable, almost pathetic
demeanor was attributed by him to the effect of his power upon her, and
her own subtle ingenuity in shielding from the eyes of Mrs. Belcher a
love that she deemed hopeless. In his own mind it was not hopeless. In
his own determination, it should not be!
As for Mrs. Belcher, she had never so much enjoyed Mrs. Dillingham's
society before. She blamed herself for not having understood her better;
and when she parted with her for the day, she expressed in hearty terms
her wish that she might see more of her in the future.
Mrs. Dillingham, on the return, was dropped at her own door first. Mr.
Belcher alighted, and led her up the steps. Then, in a quiet voice, he
said:
"Did you find out anything of the boy?"
"Yes, some things, but none that it would be of advantage to you to
know."
"Well, stick to him, now that you have got hold of him."
"I intend to."
"Good for you!"
"I imagine that he has been pretty well drilled," said Mrs. Dillingham,
"and told just what he may and must not say to any one."
"You can work it out of him. I'll risk you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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