Chapter VIII

by Frances Hodgson Burnett

　　Lord Dorincourt had occasion to wear his grim smile many a timeas the days passed by. Indeed, as his acquaintance with hisgrandson progressed, he wore the smile so often that there weremoments when it almost lost its grimness. There is no denyingthat before Lord Fauntleroy had appeared on the scene, the oldman had been growing very tired of his loneliness and his goutand his seventy years. After so long a life of excitement andamusement, it was not agreeable to sit alone even in the mostsplendid room, with one foot on a gout-stool, and with no otherdiversion than flying into a rage, and shouting at a frightenedfootman who hated the sight of him. The old Earl was too clevera man not to know perfectly well that his servants detested him,and that even if he had visitors, they did not come for love ofhim--though some found a sort of amusement in his sharp,sarcastic talk, which spared no one. So long as he had beenstrong and well, he had gone from one place to another,pretending to amuse himself, though he had not really enjoyed it;and when his health began to fail, he felt tired of everythingand shut himself up at Dorincourt, with his gout and hisnewspapers and his books. But he could not read all the time,and he became more and more "bored," as he called it. He hatedthe long nights and days, and he grew more and more savage andirritable. And then Fauntleroy came; and when the Earl saw him,fortunately for the little fellow, the secret pride of thegrandfather was gratified at the outset. If Cedric had been aless handsome little fellow, the old man might have taken sostrong a dislike to him that he would not have given himself thechance to see his grandson's finer qualities. But he chose tothink that Cedric's beauty and fearless spirit were the resultsof the Dorincourt blood and a credit to the Dorincourt rank. Andthen when he heard the lad talk, and saw what a well-bred littlefellow he was, notwithstanding his boyish ignorance of all thathis new position meant, the old Earl liked his grandson more, andactually began to find himself rather entertained. It had amusedhim to give into those childish hands the power to bestow abenefit on poor Higgins. My lord cared nothing for poor Higgins,but it pleased him a little to think that his grandson would betalked about by the country people and would begin to be popularwith the tenantry, even in his childhood. Then it had gratifiedhim to drive to church with Cedric and to see the excitement andinterest caused by the arrival. He knew how the people wouldspeak of the beauty of the little lad; of his fine, strong,straight body; of his erect bearing, his handsome face, and hisbright hair, and how they would say (as the Earl had heard onewoman exclaim to another) that the boy was "every inch a lord."My lord of Dorincourt was an arrogant old man, proud of his name,proud of his rank, and therefore proud to show the world that atlast the House of Dorincourt had an heir who was worthy of theposition he was to fill.The morning the new pony had been tried, the Earl had been sopleased that he had almost forgotten his gout. When the groomhad brought out the pretty creature, which arched its brown,glossy neck and tossed its fine head in the sun, the Earl had satat the open window of the library and had looked on whileFauntleroy took his first riding lesson. He wondered if the boywould show signs of timidity. It was not a very small pony, andhe had often seen children lose courage in making their firstessay at riding.Fauntleroy mounted in great delight. He had never been on a ponybefore, and he was in the highest spirits. Wilkins, the groom,led the animal by the bridle up and down before the librarywindow."He's a well plucked un, he is," Wilkins remarked in the stableafterward with many grins. "It weren't no trouble to put himup. An' a old un wouldn't ha' sat any straighter when he wereup. He ses--ses he to me, `Wilkins,' he ses, `am I sitting upstraight? They sit up straight at the circus,' ses he. An' Ises, `As straight as a arrer, your lordship!'--an' he laughs, aspleased as could be, an' he ses, `That's right,' he ses, `youtell me if I don't sit up straight, Wilkins!'"But sitting up straight and being led at a walk were notaltogether and completely satisfactory. After a few minutes,Fauntleroy spoke to his grandfather--watching him from thewindow:"Can't I go by myself?" he asked; "and can't I go faster? Theboy on Fifth Avenue used to trot and canter!""Do you think you could trot and canter?" said the Earl."I should like to try," answered Fauntleroy.His lordship made a sign to Wilkins, who at the signal brought uphis own horse and mounted it and took Fauntleroy's pony by theleading-rein."Now," said the Earl, "let him trot."The next few minutes were rather exciting to the smallequestrian. He found that trotting was not so easy as walking,and the faster the pony trotted, the less easy it was."It j-jolts a g-goo-good deal--do-doesn't it?" he said toWilkins. "D-does it j-jolt y-you?""No, my lord," answered Wilkins. "You'll get used to it intime. Rise in your stirrups.""I'm ri-rising all the t-time," said Fauntleroy.He was both rising and falling rather uncomfortably and with manyshakes and bounces. He was out of breath and his face grew red,but he held on with all his might, and sat as straight as hecould. The Earl could see that from his window. When the riderscame back within speaking distance, after they had been hidden bythe trees a few minutes, Fauntleroy's hat was off, his cheekswere like poppies, and his lips were set, but he was stilltrotting manfully."Stop a minute!" said his grandfather. "Where's your hat?"Wilkins touched his. "It fell off, your lordship," he said,with evident enjoyment. "Wouldn't let me stop to pick it up, mylord.""Not much afraid, is he?" asked the Earl dryly."Him, your lordship!" exclaimed Wilkins. "I shouldn't say ashe knowed what it meant. I've taught young gen'lemen to rideafore, an' I never see one stick on more determinder.""Tired?" said the Earl to Fauntleroy. "Want to get off?""It jolts you more than you think it will," admitted his younglordship frankly. "And it tires you a little, too; but I don'twant to get off. I want to learn how. As soon as I've got mybreath I want to go back for the hat."The cleverest person in the world, if he had undertaken to teachFauntleroy how to please the old man who watched him, could nothave taught him anything which would have succeeded better. Asthe pony trotted off again toward the avenue, a faint color creptup in the fierce old face, and the eyes, under the shaggy brows,gleamed with a pleasure such as his lordship had scarcelyexpected to know again. And he sat and watched quite eagerlyuntil the sound of the horses' hoofs returned. When they didcome, which was after some time, they came at a faster pace.Fauntleroy's hat was still off; Wilkins was carrying it for him;his cheeks were redder than before, and his hair was flying abouthis ears, but he came at quite a brisk canter."There!" he panted, as they drew up, "I c-cantered. I didn'tdo it as well as the boy on Fifth Avenue, but I did it, and Istaid on!"He and Wilkins and the pony were close friends after that.Scarcely a day passed in which the country people did not seethem out together, cantering gayly on the highroad or through thegreen lanes. The children in the cottages would run to the doorto look at the proud little brown pony with the gallant littlefigure sitting so straight in the saddle, and the young lordwould snatch off his cap and swing it at them, and shout,"Hullo! Good-morning!" in a very unlordly manner, though withgreat heartiness. Sometimes he would stop and talk with thechildren, and once Wilkins came back to the castle with a storyof how Fauntleroy had insisted on dismounting near the villageschool, so that a boy who was lame and tired might ride home onhis pony."An' I'm blessed," said Wilkins, in telling the story at thestables,--"I'm blessed if he'd hear of anything else! He wouldn't let me get down, because he said the boy mightn't feelcomfortable on a big horse. An' ses he, `Wilkins,' ses he, `thatboy's lame and I'm not, and I want to talk to him, too.' And upthe lad has to get, and my lord trudges alongside of him with hishands in his pockets, and his cap on the back of his head,a-whistling and talking as easy as you please! And when we cometo the cottage, an' the boy's mother come out all in a taking tosee what's up, he whips off his cap an' ses he, `I've broughtyour son home, ma'am,' ses he, `because his leg hurt him, and Idon't think that stick is enough for him to lean on; and I'mgoing to ask my grandfather to have a pair of crutches made forhim.' An' I'm blessed if the woman wasn't struck all of a heap,as well she might be! I thought I should 'a' hex-plodid,myself!"When the Earl heard the story he was not angry, as Wilkins hadbeen half afraid that he would be; on the contrary, he laughedoutright, and called Fauntleroy up to him, and made him tell allabout the matter from beginning to end, and then he laughedagain. And actually, a few days later, the Dorincourt carriagestopped in the green lane before the cottage where the lame boylived, and Fauntleroy jumped out and walked up to the door,carrying a pair of strong, light, new crutches shouldered like agun, and presented them to Mrs. Hartle (the lame boy's name wasHartle) with these words: "My grandfather's compliments, and ifyou please, these are for your boy, and we hope he will getbetter.""I said your compliments," he explained to the Earl when hereturned to the carriage. "You didn't tell me to, but I thoughtperhaps you forgot. That was right, wasn't it?"And the Earl laughed again, and did not say it was not. In fact,the two were becoming more intimate every day, and every dayFauntleroy's faith in his lordship's benevolence and virtueincreased. He had no doubt whatever that his grandfather was themost amiable and generous of elderly gentlemen. Certainly, hehimself found his wishes gratified almost before they wereuttered; and such gifts and pleasures were lavished upon him,that he was sometimes almost bewildered by his own possessions.Apparently, he was to have everything he wanted, and to doeverything he wished to do. And though this would certainly nothave been a very wise plan to pursue with all small boys, hisyoung lordship bore it amazingly well. Perhaps, notwithstandinghis sweet nature, he might have been somewhat spoiled by it, ifit had not been for the hours he spent with his mother at CourtLodge. That "best friend" of his watched over him over closelyand tenderly. The two had many long talks together, and he neverwent back to the Castle with her kisses on his cheeks withoutcarrying in his heart some simple, pure words worth remembering.There was one thing, it is true, which puzzled the little fellowvery much. He thought over the mystery of it much oftener thanany one supposed; even his mother did not know how often hepondered on it; the Earl for a long time never suspected that hedid so at all. But, being quick to observe, the little boy couldnot help wondering why it was that his mother and grandfathernever seemed to meet. He had noticed that they never did meet.When the Dorincourt carriage stopped at Court Lodge, the Earlnever alighted, and on the rare occasions of his lordship's goingto church, Fauntleroy was always left to speak to his mother inthe porch alone, or perhaps to go home with her. And yet, everyday, fruit and flowers were sent to Court Lodge from thehot-houses at the Castle. But the one virtuous action of theEarl's which had set him upon the pinnacle of perfection inCedric's eyes, was what he had done soon after that first Sundaywhen Mrs. Errol had walked home from church unattended. About aweek later, when Cedric was going one day to visit his mother, hefound at the door, instead of the large carriage and prancingpair, a pretty little brougham and a handsome bay horse."That is a present from you to your mother," the Earl saidabruptly. "She can not go walking about the country. She needsa carriage. The man who drives will take charge of it. It is apresent from you."Fauntleroy's delight could but feebly express itself. He couldscarcely contain himself until he reached the lodge. His motherwas gathering roses in the garden. He flung himself out of thelittle brougham and flew to her."Dearest!" he cried, "could you believe it? This is yours!He says it is a present from me. It is your own carriage todrive everywhere in!"He was so happy that she did not know what to say. She could nothave borne to spoil his pleasure by refusing to accept the gifteven though it came from the man who chose to consider himselfher enemy. She was obliged to step into the carriage, roses andall, and let herself be taken to drive, while Fauntleroy told herstories of his grandfather's goodness and amiability. They weresuch innocent stories that sometimes she could not help laughinga little, and then she would draw her little boy closer to herside and kiss him, feeling glad that he could see only good inthe old man, who had so few friends.The very next day after that, Fauntleroy wrote to Mr. Hobbs. Hewrote quite a long letter, and after the first copy was written,he brought it to his grandfather to be inspected."Because," he said, "it's so uncertain about the spelling.And if you'll tell me the mistakes, I'll write it out again."This was what he had written:"My dear mr hobbs i want to tell you about my granfarther he isthe best earl you ever new it is a mistake about earls beingtirents he is not a tirent at all i wish you new him you would begood friends i am sure you would he has the gout in his foot andis a grate sufrer but he is so pashent i love him more every daybecaus no one could help loving an earl like that who is kind toevery one in this world i wish you could talk to him he knowseverything in the world you can ask him any question but he hasnever plaid base ball he has given me a pony and a cart and mymamma a bewtifle cariage and I have three rooms and toys of allkinds it would serprise you you would like the castle and thepark it is such a large castle you could lose yourself wilkinstells me wilkins is my groom he says there is a dungon under thecastle it is so pretty everything in the park would serprise youthere are such big trees and there are deers and rabbits andgames flying about in the cover my granfarther is very rich buthe is not proud and orty as you thought earls always were i liketo be with him the people are so polite and kind they take oftheir hats to you and the women make curtsies and sometimes saygod bless you i can ride now but at first it shook me when itroted my granfarther let a poor man stay on his farm when hecould not pay his rent and mrs mellon went to take wine andthings to his sick children i should like to see you and i wishdearest could live at the castle but i am very happy when i dontmiss her too much and i love my granfarther every one does pleeswrite soon"your afechshnet old frend"Cedric Errol"p s no one is in the dungon my granfarfher never had any onelangwishin in there."p s he is such a good earl he reminds me of you he is aunerversle favrit""Do you miss your mother very much?" asked the Earl when he hadfinished reading this."Yes," said Fauntleroy, "I miss her all the time."He went and stood before the Earl and put his hand on his knee,looking up at him."You don't miss her, do you?" he said."I don't know her," answered his lordship rather crustily."I know that," said Fauntleroy, "and that's what makes mewonder. She told me not to ask you any questions, and--and Iwon't, but sometimes I can't help thinking, you know, and itmakes me all puzzled. But I'm not going to ask any questions.And when I miss her very much, I go and look out of my window towhere I see her light shine for me every night through an openplace in the trees. It is a long way off, but she puts it in herwindow as soon as it is dark, and I can see it twinkle far away,and I know what it says.""What does it say?" asked my lord."It says, `Good-night, God keep you all the night!'--just whatshe used to say when we were together. Every night she used tosay that to me, and every morning she said, `God bless you allthe day!' So you see I am quite safe all the time----""Quite, I have no doubt," said his lordship dryly. And he drewdown his beetling eyebrows and looked at the little boy sofixedly and so long that Fauntleroy wondered what he could bethinking of.