"Well, Molyneux," she said aside to the Earl afterward, "it could not possibly be better than this!""I think not," answered his lordship dryly. "He is a fine little fellow. We are great friends. He believes me to be the most charming and sweet-tempered of philanthropists. I will confess to you, Constantia,--as you would find it out if I did not,--that I am in some slight danger of becoming rather an old fool about him.""What does his mother think of you?" asked Lady Lorridaile, with her usual straightforwardness.
"I have not asked her," answered the Earl, slightly scowling.
"Well," said Lady Lorridaile, "I will be frank with you at the outset, Molyneux, and tell you I don't approve of your course, and that it is my intention to call on Mrs. Errol as soon as possible; so if you wish to quarrel with me, you had better mention it at once. What I hear of the young creature makes me quite sure that her child owes her everything. We were told even at Lorridaile Park that your poorer tenants adore her already.""They adore HIM," said the Earl, nodding toward Fauntleroy.
"As to Mrs. Errol, you'll find her a pretty little woman. I'm rather in debt to her for giving some of her beauty to the boy, and you can go to see her if you like. All I ask is that she will remain at Court Lodge and that you will not ask me to go and see her," and he scowled a little again.
"But he doesn't hate her as much as he used to, that is plain enough to me," her ladyship said to Sir Harry afterward. "And he is a changed man in a measure, and, incredible as it may seem, Harry, it is my opinion that he is being made into a human being, through nothing more nor less than his affection for that innocent, affectionate little fellow. Why, the child actually loves him--leans on his chair and against his knee. His own children would as soon have thought of nestling up to a tiger."The very next day she went to call upon Mrs. Errol. When she returned, she said to her brother:
"Molyneux, she is the loveliest little woman I ever saw! She has a voice like a silver bell, and you may thank her for making the boy what he is. She has given him more than her beauty, and you make a great mistake in not persuading her to come and take charge of you. I shall invite her to Lorridaile.""She'll not leave the boy," replied the Earl.
"I must have the boy too," said Lady Lorridaile, laughing.
But she knew Fauntleroy would not be given up to her, and each day she saw more clearly how closely those two had grown to each other, and how all the proud, grim old man's ambition and hope and love centered themselves in the child, and how the warm, innocent nature returned his affection with most perfect trust and good faith.
She knew, too, that the prime reason for the great dinner party was the Earl's secret desire to show the world his grandson and heir, and to let people see that the boy who had been so much spoken of and described was even a finer little specimen of boyhood than rumor had made him.
"Bevis and Maurice were such a bitter humiliation to him," she said to her husband. "Every one knew it. He actually hated them. His pride has full sway here." Perhaps there was not one person who accepted the invitation without feeling some curiosity about little Lord Fauntleroy, and wondering if he would be on view.
And when the time came he was on view.
"The lad has good manners," said the Earl. "He will be in no one's way. Children are usually idiots or bores,--mine were both,--but he can actually answer when he's spoken to, and be silent when he is not. He is never offensive."But he was not allowed to be silent very long. Every one had something to say to him. The fact was they wished to make him talk. The ladies petted him and asked him questions, and the men asked him questions too, and joked with him, as the men on the steamer had done when he crossed the Atlantic. Fauntleroy did not quite understand why they laughed so sometimes when he answered them, but he was so used to seeing people amused when he was quite serious, that he did not mind. He thought the whole evening delightful. The magnificent rooms were so brilliant with lights, there were so many flowers, the gentlemen seemed so gay, and the ladies wore such beautiful, wonderful dresses, and such sparkling ornaments in their hair and on their necks. There was one young lady who, he heard them say, had just come down from London, where she had spent the "season"; and she was so charming that he could not keep his eyes from her. She was a rather tall young lady with a proud little head, and very soft dark hair, and large eyes the color of purple pansies, and the color on her cheeks and lips was like that of a rose. She was dressed in a beautiful white dress, and had pearls around her throat. There was one strange thing about this young lady. So many gentlemen stood near her, and seemed anxious to please her, that Fauntleroy thought she must be something like a princess.
He was so much interested in her that without knowing it he drew nearer and nearer to her, and at last she turned and spoke to him.
"Come here, Lord Fauntleroy," she said, smiling; "and tell me why you look at me so.""I was thinking how beautiful you are," his young lordship replied.
Then all the gentlemen laughed outright, and the young lady laughed a little too, and the rose color in her cheeks brightened.
"Ah, Fauntleroy," said one of the gentlemen who had laughed most heartily, "make the most of your time! When you are older you will not have the courage to say that.""But nobody could help saying it," said Fauntleroy sweetly.
"Could you help it? Don't YOU think she is pretty, too?""We are not allowed to say what we think," said the gentleman, while the rest laughed more than ever.
But the beautiful young lady--her name was Miss Vivian Herbert--put out her hand and drew Cedric to her side, looking prettier than before, if possible.
"Lord Fauntleroy shall say what he thinks," she said; "and Iam much obliged to him. I am sure he thinks what he says." And she kissed him on his cheek.
