THE PRIME MINISTER (82 page)

‘And who is a good man?’ she said, raising herself in her bed and looking him full in the face with her deep-sunken eyes. ‘If there be any truth in our religion, are we not all bad? Who is to tell the shades of difference in badness? He was not a drunkard, or a gambler. Through it all he was true to his wife.’ She, poor
creature, was of course ignorant of that little scene in the little street near May Fair, in which Lopez had offered to carry Lizzie Eustace away with him to Guatemala. ‘He was industrious. His ideas about money were not the same as yours or papa’s. How was he worse than others? It happened that his faults were distasteful to you – and so, perhaps, were his virtues.’

‘His faults, such as they
were, brought all these miseries.’

‘He would have been successful now if he had never seen me. But why should we talk of it? We shall never agree. And you, Everett, can never understand all that has passed through my mind during the last two years.’

There were two or three persons who attempted to see her at this period, but she avoided them all. First came Mrs Roby, who as her nearest neighbour,
as her aunt, and as an aunt who had been so nearly allied to her, had almost a right to demand admittance. But
she would not see Mrs Roby. She sent down word to say that she was too ill. And when Mrs Roby wrote to her, she got her father to answer the note. ‘You had better let it drop,’ the old man said at last to his sister-in-law. ‘Of course she remembers that it was you who brought them together.’

‘But I didn’t bring them together, Mr Wharton. How often am I to tell you so? It was Everett who brought Mr Lopez here.’

‘The marriage was made up in your house, and it has destroyed me and my child. I will not quarrel with my wife’s sister if I can help it, but at present you had better keep apart.’ Then he had left her abruptly, and Mrs Roby had not dared either to write or to call again.

At this time Arthur Fletcher saw both Everett and Mr Wharton frequently, but he did not go to the Square, contenting himself with asking whether he might be allowed to do so. ‘Not yet, Arthur,’ said the old man. ‘I am sure she thinks of you as one of her best friends, but she could not see you yet.’

‘She would have nothing to fear,’ said Arthur. ‘We knew each other when we were children, and I
should be now only as I was then.’

‘Not yet, Arthur; – not yet,’ said the barrister.

Then there came a letter, or rather two letters, from Mary Wharton; – one to Mr Wharton and the other to Emily. To tell the truth as to these letters, they contained the combined wisdom and tenderness of Wharton Hall and Longbarns. As soon as the fate of Lopez had been ascertained and thoroughly discussed in
Herefordshire, there went forth an edict that Emily had suffered punishment sufficient and was to be forgiven. Old Mrs Fletcher did not come to this at once, – having some deep-seated feeling which she did not dare to express even to her son, though she muttered it to her daughter-in-law, that Arthur would be disgraced for ever were he to marry the widow of such a man as Ferdinand Lopez. But when
this question of receiving Emily back into family favour was mooted in the Longbarns Parliament no one alluded to the possibility of such a marriage. There was the fact that she whom they had all loved had been freed by a great tragedy from the husband whom they had all condemned, – and also the knowledge that the poor victim had suffered greatly during the period of her married life. Mrs Fletcher
had frowned, and shaken her head, and made a little speech about the duties of women, and the necessarily fatal consequences when those duties are neglected. There were present there, with the old lady, John Fletcher and his wife, Sir Alured and Lady Wharton, and Mary Wharton. Arthur was not in the county, nor could the discussion have been held in his presence. ‘I can only say,’ said John, getting
up and looking away from his mother, ‘that she shall always find a home at Longbarns when she chooses to come here, and I hope Sir Alured will say the same as to Wharton Hall.’ After all, John Fletcher was king in these parts, and Mrs Fletcher, with many noddings and some sobbing, had to give way to King John. The end of all this was that Mary Wharton wrote her letters. In that to Mr Wharton
she asked whether it would not be better that her cousin should change the scene and come at once into the country. Let her come and stay a month at Wharton, and then go on to Longbarns. She might be sure that there would be no company at either house. In June the Fletchers would go up to town for a week, and then Emily might return to Wharton Hall. It was a long letter, and Mary gave many reasons
why the poor sufferer would be better in the country than in town. The letter to Emily herself was shorter, but full of affection. ‘Do, do, do come. You know how we all love you. Let it be as it used to be. You always liked the country. I will devote myself to try and comfort you.’ But Emily could not as yet submit to receive devotion even from her cousin Mary. Through it all, and under it all,
– though she would ever defend her husband because he was dead, – she knew that she had disgraced the Whartons and brought a load of sorrow upon the Fletchers, and she was too proud to be forgiven so quickly.

Then she received another tender of affection from a quarter whence she certainly did not expect it. The Duchess of Omnium wrote to her. The Duchess, though she had lately been considerably
restrained by the condition of the Duke’s mind, and by the effects of her own political and social mistakes, still from time to time made renewed efforts to keep together the Coalition by giving dinners, balls, and garden parties, and by binding to herself the gratitude and worship of young parliamentary aspirants. In carrying out her plans, she had lately showered her courtesies upon Arthur Fletcher,
who had been made welcome even by the Duke as the sitting member for
Silverbridge. With Arthur she had of course discussed the conduct of Lopez as to the election bills, and had been very loud in condemning him. And from Arthur also she had heard something of the sorrows of Emily Lopez. Arthur had been very desirous that the Duchess, who had received them both at her house, should distinguish
between the husband and the wife. Then had come the tragedy, to which the notoriety of the man’s conduct of course gave additional interest. It was believed that Lopez had destroyed himself because of the disgrace which had fallen upon him from the Silverbridge affair. And for much of that Silverbridge affair the Duchess herself was responsible. She waited till a couple of months had gone by, and
then, in the beginning of May, sent to the widow what was intended to be, and indeed was, a very kind note. The Duchess had heard the sad story with the greatest grief. She hoped that Mrs Lopez would permit her to avail herself of a short acquaintance to express her sincere sympathy. She would not venture to call as yet, but hoped that before long she might be allowed to come to Manchester Square.

This note touched the poor woman to whom it was written, not because she herself was solicitous to be acquainted with the Duchess of Omnium, but because the application seemed to her to contain something like an acquittal, or at any rate a pardon, of her husband. His sin in that measure of the Silverbridge election, – a sin which her father had been loud in denouncing before the wretch had destroyed
himself, – had been especially against the Duke of Omnium. And now the Duchess came forward to say that it should be forgiven and forgotten. When she showed the letter to her father, and asked him what she should say in answer to it, he only shook his head. ‘It is meant for kindness, papa.’

‘Yes; – I think it is. There are people who have no right to be kind to me. If a man stopped me in the
street and offered me half-a-crown it might be kindness; – but I don’t want the man’s half-crown.’

‘I don’t think it is the same, papa. There is a reason here.’

‘Perhaps so, my dear; but I do not see the reason.’

She became very red, but even to him she would not explain her ideas. ‘I think I shall answer it.’

‘Certainly answer it. Your compliments to the Duchess and thank her for her kind
inquiries.’

‘But she says she will come here.’

‘I should not notice that.’

‘Very well, papa. If you think so, of course I will not. Perhaps it would be an inconvenience, if she were really to come.’ On the next day she did write a note, not quite so cold as that which her father proposed, but still saying nothing as to the offered visit. She felt, she said, very grateful for the Duchess’s kind
remembrance of her. The Duchess would perhaps understand that at present her sorrow overwhelmed her.

And there was one other tender of kindness which was more surprising than even that from the Duchess. The reader may perhaps remember that Ferdinand Lopez and Lady Eustace had not parted when they last saw each other on the pleasantest terms. He had been very affectionate, but when he had proposed
to devote his whole life to her and to carry her off to Guatemala she had simply told him that he was – a fool. Then he had escaped from her house and had never again seen Lizzie Eustace. She had not thought very much about it. Had he returned to her the next day with some more tempting proposition for making money she would have listened to him, – and had he begged her pardon for what had taken
place on the former day she would have merely laughed. She was not more offended than she would have been had he asked her for half her fortune instead of her person and her honour. But, as it was, he had escaped and had never again shown himself in the little street near May Fair. Then she had the tidings of his death, first seeing the account in a very sensational article from the pen of Mr
Quintus Slide himself. She was immediately filled with an intense interest which was infinitely increased by the fact that the man had but a few days before declared himself to be her lover. It was bringing her almost as near to the event as though she had seen it! She was, perhaps, entitled to think that she had caused it! Nay; – in one sense she had caused it, for he certainly would not have destroyed
himself had she consented to go with him to Guatemala or elsewhere. And she knew his wife. An uninteresting, dowdy creature she had called her. But, nevertheless, they had been in company together more than once. So she presented her compliments, and expressed her sorrow, and hoped that she might be allowed to call. There had been no one for whom she had felt more sincere respect and esteem
than for her late friend Mr Ferdinand Lopez. To this note there was sent an answer written by Mr Wharton himself.

MADAM
,

My daughter is too ill to see even her own friends.

I am, Madam,

Your obedient servant,

ABEL WHARTON
.

After this, life went on in a very quiet way at Manchester Square for many weeks. Gradually Mrs Lopez recovered her capability of attending to the duties of life. Gradually
she became again able to interest herself in her brother’s pursuits and in her father’s comforts, and the house returned to its old form as it had been before these terrible two years, in which the happiness of the Wharton and Fletcher families had been marred, and scotched, and almost destroyed for ever by the interference of Ferdinand Lopez. But Mrs Lopez never for a moment forgot that she
had done the mischief, – and that the black enduring cloud had been created solely by her own perversity and self-will. Though she would still defend her late husband if any attack were made upon his memory, not the less did she feel that hers had been the fault, though the punishment had come upon them all.

The sensation created by the man’s death was by no means confined to Manchester Square, but was very general in the metropolis, and, indeed, throughout the country. As the catastrophe became the subject of general conversation, many people learned that the Silver-bridge affair had not, in truth, had much to do with it. The man had killed himself, as many
other men have done before him, because he had run through his money and had no chance left of redeeming himself. But to the world at large, the disgrace brought upon him by the explanation given in Parliament was the apparent cause of his self-immolation, and there were not wanting those who felt and
expressed a sympathy for a man who could feel so acutely the effect of his own wrong-doing. No
doubt he had done wrong in asking the Duke for the money. But the request, though wrong, might almost be justified. There could be no doubt, these apologists said, that he had been ill-treated between the Duke and the Duchess. No doubt Phineas Finn, who was now described by some opponents as the Duke’s creature, had been able to make out a story in the Duke’s favour. But all the world knew what
was the worth and what was the truth of ministerial explanations! The Coalition was very strong; and even the question in the House, which should have been hostile, had been asked in a friendly spirit. In this way there came to be a party who spoke and wrote of Ferdinand Lopez as though he had been a martyr.

Of course Mr Quintus Slide was in the front rank of these accusers. He may be said to
have led the little army which made this matter a pretext for a special attack upon the Ministry. Mr Slide was especially hostile to the Prime Minister, but he was not less hotly the enemy of Phineas Finn. Against Phineas Finn he had old grudges, which, however, age had never cooled. He could, therefore, write with a most powerful pen when discussing the death of that unfortunate man, the late candidate
for Silverbridge, crushing his two foes in the single grasp of his journalistic fist. Phineas had certainly said some hard things against Lopez, though he had not mentioned the man’s name. He had congratulated the House that it had not been contaminated by the presence of so base a creature, and he had said that he would not pause to stigmatize the meanness of the application for money which
Lopez had made. Had Lopez continued to live and to endure ‘the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’,
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no one would have ventured to say that these words would have inflicted too severe a punishment. But death wipes out many faults, and a self-inflicted death caused by remorse will, in the minds of many, wash a blackamoor almost white. Thus it came to pass that some heavy weapons were hurled
at Phineas Finn, but none so heavy as those hurled by Quintus Slide. Should not this Irish knight, who was so ready with his lance in the defence of the Prime Minister, asked Mr Slide, have remembered the past events of his own rather peculiar life? Had not he, too, been poor, and driven in his poverty to rather questionable straits? Had not he been abject in
his petition for office, – and in
what degree were such petitions less disgraceful than a request for money which had been hopelessly expended on an impossible object, attempted at the instance of the great Croesus who, when asked to pay it, had at once acknowledged the necessity of doing so? Could not Mr Finn remember that he himself had stood in danger of his life before a British jury, and that, though he had been, no doubt properly,
acquitted of the crime imputed to him, circumstances had come out against him during the trial which, if not as criminal, were at any rate almost as disgraceful?
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Could he not have had some mercy on a broken political adventurer who, in his aspirations for public life, had shown none of that greed by which Mr Phineas Finn had been characterized in all the relations of life? As for the Prime Minister,
‘We,’ as Mr Quintus Slide always described himself, – ‘We do not wish to add to the agony which the fate of Mr Lopez must have brought upon him. He has hounded that poor man to his death in revenge for the trifling sum of money which he was called on to pay for him. It may be that the first blame lay not with the Prime Minister himself, but with the Prime Minister’s wife. With that we have
nothing to do. The whole thing lies in a nutshell. The bare mention of the name of her Grace the Duchess in Parliament would have saved the Duke, at any rate as effectually as he has been saved by the services of his man-of-all-work, Phineas Finn, and would have saved him without driving poor Ferdinand Lopez to insanity. But rather than do this he allowed his servant to make statements about mysterious
agents, which we are justified in stigmatizing as untrue, and to throw the whole blame where but least of the blame was due. We all know the result It was found in those gory shreds and tatters of a poor human being with which the Tenway Railway Station was bespattered.’