'At any rate, you'll promise me to take no further step without consultation,' said the archdeacon. Mr Harding made no answer, but slowly proceeded to light his candle.
'Of course,' continued the other, 'such a declaration as that you made to Sir Abraham means nothing. Come, warden, promise me this. The whole affair, you see, is already settled, and that with very little trouble or expense. Bold has been compelled to abandon his action, and all you have to do is to remain quiet at the hospital.' Mr Harding still made no reply, but looked meekly into his son-in-law's face. The archdeacon thought he knew his father-in-law, but he was mistaken; he thought that he had already talked over a vacillating man to resign his promise. 'Come,' said he, 'promise Susan to give up this idea of resigning the wardenship.'
The warden looked at his daughter, thinking probably at the moment that if Eleanor were contented with him, he need not so much regard his other child, and said, 'I am sure Susan will not ask me to break my word, or to do what I know to be wrong.'
'Papa,' said she, 'it would be madness in you to throw up your preferment. What are you to live on?'
'God, that feeds the young ravens, will take care of me also,' said Mr Harding, with a smile, as though afraid of giving offence by making his reference to scripture too solemn.
'Pish!' said the archdeacon, turning away rapidly. 'If the ravens persisted in refusing the food prepared for them, they wouldn't be fed.' A clergyman generally dislikes to be met in argument by any scriptural quotation; he feels as affronted as a doctor does, when recommended by an old woman to take some favourite dose, or as a lawyer when an unprofessional man attempts to put him down by a quibble.
'I shall have the living of Crabtree,' modestly suggested the warden.
'Eighty pounds a year!' sneered the archdeacon.
'And the precentorship,' said the father-in-law.
'It goes with the wardenship,' said the son-in-law. Mr Harding was prepared to argue this point, and began to do so, but Dr Grantly stopped him. 'My dear warden,' said he, 'this is all nonsense. Eighty pounds or a hundred and sixty makes very little difference. You can't live on it--you can't ruin Eleanor's prospects for ever. In point of fact, you can't resign; the bishop wouldn't accept it; the whole thing is settled. What I now want to do is to prevent any inconvenient tittle-tattle--any more newspaper articles.'
'That's what I want, too,' said the warden.
'And to prevent that,' continued the other, 'we mustn't let any talk of resignation get abroad.'
'But I shall resign,' said the warden, very, very meekly.
'Good heavens! Susan, my dear, what can I say to him?'
'But, papa,' said Mrs Grantly, getting up, and putting her arm through that of her father, 'what is Eleanor to do if you throw away your income?'
A hot tear stood in each of the warden's eyes as he looked round upon his married daughter. Why should one sister who was so rich predict poverty for another? Some such idea as this was on his mind, but he gave no utterance to it. Then he thought of the pelican feeding its young with blood from its own breast, but he gave no utterance to that either; and then of Eleanor waiting for him at home, waiting to congratulate him on the end of all his trouble.
'Think of Eleanor, papa,' said Mrs Grantly.
'I do think of her,' said her father.
'And you will not do this rash thing?' The lady was really moved beyond her usual calm composure.
'It can never be rash to do right,' said he. 'I shall certainly resign this wardenship.'
'Then, Mr Harding, there is nothing before you but ruin,' said the archdeacon, now moved beyond all endurance. 'Ruin both for you and Eleanor. How do you mean to pay the monstrous expenses of this action?'
Mrs Grantly suggested that, as the action was abandoned, the costs would not be heavy.
'Indeed they will, my dear,' continued he. 'One cannot have the attorney-general up at twelve o'clock at night for nothing--but of course your father has not thought of this.'
'I will sell my furniture,' said the warden.
'Furniture!' ejaculated the other, with a most powerful sneer.
Come, archdeacon,' said the lady, 'we needn't mind that at present. You know you never expected papa to pay the costs.'
'Such absurdity is enough to provoke job,' said the archdeacon, marching quickly up and down the room. 'Your father is like a child. Eight hundred pounds a year!--eight hundred and eighty with the house--with nothing to do. The very place for him. And to throw that up because some scoundrel writes an article in a newspaper! Well--I have done my duty. If he chooses to ruin his child I cannot help it'; and he stood still at the fire-place, and looked at himself in a dingy mirror which stood on the chimney-piece.
There was a pause for about a minute, and then the warden, finding that nothing else was coming, lighted his candle, and quietly said, 'Good-night.'
'Good-night, papa,' said the lady.
And so the warden retired; but, as he closed the door behind him, he heard the well-known ejaculation--slower, lower, more solemn, more ponderous than ever--'Good heavens!'
