The infamous dog has got every vice except hypocrisy, and that belongs to his brother.""Hush, my dearest love! we're in Sir Pitt's grounds,"interposed his wife.
"I say he has got every vice, Mrs.Crawley.Don't Ma'am, bully me.Didn't he shoot Captain Marker? Didn't he rob young Lord Dovedale at the Cocoa-Tree? Didn't he cross the fight between Bill Soames and the Cheshire Trump, by which I lost forty pound? You know he did;and as for the women, why, you heard that before me, in my own magistrate's room ""For heaven's sake, Mr.Crawley," said the lady, "spare me the details.""And you ask this villain into your house!" continued the exasperated Rector."You, the mother of a young family--the wife of a clergyman of the Church of England.By Jove!""Bute Crawley, you are a fool," said the Rector's wife scornfully.
"Well, Ma'am, fool or not--and I don't say, Martha, I'm so clever as you are, I never did.But I won't meet Rawdon Crawley, that's flat.I'll go over to Huddleston, that I will, and see his black greyhound, Mrs.Crawley;and I'll run Lancelot against him for fifty.By Jove, I will;or against any dog in England.But I won't meet that beast Rawdon Crawley.""Mr.Crawley, you are intoxicated, as usual," replied his wife.And the next morning, when the Rector woke, and called for small beer, she put him in mind of his promise to visit Sir Huddleston Fuddleston on Saturday, and as he knew he should have a wet night, it was agreed that he might gallop back again in time for church on Sunday morning.Thus it will be seen that the parishioners of Crawley were equally happy in their Squire and in their Rector.
Miss Crawley had not long been established at the Hall before Rebecca's fascinations had won the heart of that good-natured London rake, as they had of the country innocents whom we have been describing.Taking her accustomed drive, one day, she thought fit to order that "that little governess" should accompany her to Mudbury.
Before they had returned Rebecca had made a conquest of her; having made her laugh four times, and amused her during the whole of the little journey.
"Not let Miss Sharp dine at table!" said she to Sir Pitt, who had arranged a dinner of ceremony, and asked all the neighbouring baronets."My dear creature, do you suppose I can talk about the nursery with Lady Fuddleston, or discuss justices' business with that goose, old Sir Giles Wapshot? I insist upon Miss Sharp appearing.Let Lady Crawley remain upstairs, if there is no room.But little Miss Sharp! Why, she's the only person fit to talk to in the county!"Of course, after such a peremptory order as this, Miss Sharp, the governess, received commands to dine with the illustrious company below stairs.And when Sir Huddleston had, with great pomp and ceremony, handed Miss Crawley in to dinner, and was preparing to take his place by her side, the old lady cried out, in a shrill voice, "Becky Sharp! Miss Sharp! Come you and sit by me and amuse me; and let Sir Huddleston sit by Lady Wapshot."When the parties were over, and the carriages had rolled away, the insatiable Miss Crawley would say, "Come to my dressing room, Becky, and let us abuse the company"--which, between them, this pair of friends did perfectly.Old Sir Huddleston wheezed a great deal at dinner; Sir Giles Wapshot had a particularly noisy manner of imbibing his soup, and her ladyship a wink of the left eye; all of which Becky caricatured to admiration; as well as the particulars of the night's conversation; the politics;the war; the quarter-sessions; the famous run with the H.H., and those heavy and dreary themes, about which country gentlemen converse.As for the Misses Wapshot's toilettes and Lady Fuddleston's famous yellow hat, Miss Sharp tore them to tatters, to the infinite amusement of her audience.
"My dear, you are a perfect trouvaille," Miss Crawley would say."I wish you could come to me in London, but I couldn't make a butt of you as I do of poor Briggs no, no, you little sly creature; you are too clever--Isn't she, Firkin?"Mrs.Firkin (who was dressing the very small remnant of hair which remained on Miss Crawley's pate), flung up her head and said, "I think Miss is very clever,"with the most killing sarcastic air.In fact, Mrs.Firkin had that natural jealousy which is one of the main principles of every honest woman.
After rebuffing Sir Huddleston Fuddleston, Miss Crawley ordered that Rawdon Crawley should lead her in to dinner every day, and that Becky should follow with her cushion--or else she would have Becky's arm and Rawdon with the pillow."We must sit together," she said.
"We're the only three Christians in the county, my love"--in which case, it must be confessed, that religion was at a very low ebb in the county of Hants.
Besides being such a fine religionist, Miss Crawley was, as we have said, an Ultra-liberal in opinions, and always took occasion to express these in the most candid manner.
"What is birth, my dear!" she would say to Rebecca--"Look at my brother Pitt; look at the Huddlestons, who have been here since Henry II; look at poor Bute at the parsonage--is any one of them equal to you in intelligence or breeding? Equal to you--they are not even equal to poor dear Briggs, my companion, or Bowls, my butler.