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Oh, the little lady doesnt remember. She never heard or knew. The circumstances of his death? I thought with some intensity. Perhaps not. But Miles would rememberMiles would know. Ah, dont try him! broke from Mrs. Grose. I returned her the look she had given me. Dont be afraid. I continued to think. It is rather odd. That he has never spoken of him? Never by the least allusion. And you tell me they were great friends? Oh, it wasnt him! Mrs. Grose with emphasis declared. It was Quints own fancy. To play with him, I meanto spoil him. She paused a moment; then she added: Quint was much too free. This gave me, straight from my vision of his facesuch a face!a sudden sickness of disgust. Too free with my boy? Too free with everyone! I forbore, for the moment, to analyze this description further than by the reflection that a part of it applied to several of the members of the household, of the half-dozen maids and men who were still of our small colony. But there was everything, for our apprehension, in the lucky fact that no discomfortable legend, no perturbation of scullions, had ever, within anyones memory attached to the kind old place. It had neither bad name nor ill fame, and Mrs. Grose, most apparently, only desired to cling to me and to quake in silence. I even put her, the very last thing of all, to the test. It was when, at midnight, she had her hand on the schoolroom door to take leave. I have it from you thenfor its of great importancethat he was definitely and admittedly bad? Oh, not admittedly. I knew itbut the master didnt. And you never told him? Well, he didnt like tale-bearinghe hated complaints. He was terribly short with anything of that kind, and if people were all right to him He wouldnt be bothered with more? This squared well enough with my impressions of him: he was not a trouble-loving gentleman, nor so very particular perhaps about some of the company he kept. All the same, I pressed my interlocutress. I promise you I would have told! She felt my discrimination. I daresay I was wrong. But, really, I was afraid. Afraid of what? Of things that man could do. Quint was so cleverhe was so deep. I took this in still more than, probably, I showed. You werent afraid of anything else? Not of his effect? His effect? she repeated with a face of anguish and waiting while I faltered. On innocent little precious lives. They were in your charge. No, they were not in mine! she roundly and distressfully returned. The master believed in him and placed him here because he was supposed not to be well and the country air so good for him. So he had everything to say. Yesshe let me have iteven about them. |
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