'Papa! once again I beg you to trust me.If you ask Mr Preston you will very likely hear the whole truth; but that is just what I have been trying so hard to conceal, for it will only make several people very unhappy if it is known, and the whole affair is over and done with now.'
'Not your share in it.Miss Browning sent for me this evening to tell me how people were talking about you.She implied that it was a complete loss of your good name.You do not know, Molly, how slight a thing may blacken a girl's reputation for life.I had hard work to stand all she said, even though I did not believe a word of it at the time.And now you have told me that much of it is true.'
'But I think you are a brave man, papa.And you believe me, don't you?
We shall outlive these rumours, never fear.'
'You don't know the power of ill-natured tongues, child,' said he.
'Oh, now you've called me "child" again I don't care for anything.Dear, dear papa, I'm sure it is best and wisest to take no notice of these speeches.
After all they may not mean them ill-naturedly.I am sure Miss Browning would not.By-and-by they'll quite forget how much they made out of so little, - and even if they don't, you would not have me break my solemn word, would you?'
'Perhaps not.But I cannot easily forgive the person who, by practising on your generosity, led you into this scrape.You are very young, and look upon these things as merely temporary evils.I have more experience.'
'Still, I don't see what I can do now, papa.Perhaps I've been foolish;but what I did, I did of my ownself.It was not suggested to me.And I'm sure it was not wrong in morals, whatever it might be in judgment.As Isaid, it is all over now; what I did ended the affair, I am thankful to say; and it was with that object I did it.If people choose to talk about me, I must submit; and so must you, dear papa.'
'Does your mother - does Mrs Gibson - know anything about it?' asked he with sudden anxiety.
'No; not a bit; not a word.Pray don't name it to her.That might lead to more mischief than anything else.I have really told you everything I am at liberty to tell.'
It was a great relief to Mr Gibson to find that his sudden fear that his wife might have been privy to it all was ill-founded; he had been seized by a sudden dread that she, whom he had chosen to marry in order to have a protectress and guide for his daughter, had been cognizant of this ill-advised adventure with Mr Preston; nay, more, that she might even have instigated it to save her own child; for that Cynthia was somehow or other at the bottom of it all he had no doubt whatever.But now, at any rate, Mrs Gibson had not been playing a treacherous part; that was all the comfort he could extract out of Molly's mysterious admission, that much mischief might result from Mrs Gibson's knowing anything about these meetings with Mr Preston.
'Then, what is to be done?' said he.'These reports are abroad, - am I to do nothing to contradict them? Am I to go about smiling and content with all this talk about you, passing from one idle gossip to another?'
'I'm afraid so.I'm very sorry, for I never meant you to have known anything about it, and I can see now how it must distress you.But surely when nothing more happens, and nothing comes of what has happened, the wonder and the gossip must die away? I know you believe every word I have said, and that you trust me, papa.Please, for my sake, be patient with all this gossip and cackle.'
'It will try me hard, Molly,' said he.
'For my sake, papa!'
'I don't see what else I can do,' replied he moodily, 'unless I get hold of Preston.'
'That would be the worst of all.That would make a talk.And, after all, perhaps he was not so very much to blame.Yes! he was.But he behaved well to me as far as that goes,' said she, suddenly recollecting his speech when Mr Sheepshanks came up in the Towers' Park, - 'Don't stir, you have done nothing to be ashamed of.'
'That is true.A quarrel between men which drags a woman's name into notice is to be avoided at any cost.But sooner or later I must have it out with Preston.He shall find it not so pleasant to have placed my daughter in equivocal circumstances.'
'He did not place me.He did not know I was coming, did not expect to meet me either time; and would far rather not have taken the letter I gave him if he could have helped himself.'
'It is all a mystery.I hate to have you mixed up in mysteries.'
'I hate to be mixed up.But what can I do? I know of another mystery which I am pledged not to speak about.I cannot help myself.'
'Well, all I can say is, never be the heroine of a mystery.That you can avoid, if you can't help being an accessory.Then, I suppose, I must yield to your wishes and let this scandal wear itself out without any notice from me?'
'What else can you do under the circumstances?'
'Ay; what else indeed? How shall you bear it?'
For an instant the quick hot tears sprang into her eyes; to have everybody - all her world thinking evil of her, did seem hard to the girl who had never thought or said an unkind thing of them.But she smiled as she made answer, -'It's like tooth-drawing, it will be over some time.It would be much worse if I had really been doing wrong.'
'Cynthia shall beware - ' he began; but Molly put her hand before his mouth.
'Papa, Cynthia must not be accused, or suspected; you will drive her out of your house if you do, she is so proud, and so unprotected, except by you.And Roger, - for Roger's sake, you will never do or say anything to send Cynthia away, when he has trusted us all to take care of her, and love her in his absence.Oh! I think if she were really wicked, and I did not love her at all, I should feel bound to watch over her, he loves her so dearly.And she is really good at heart, and I do love her dearly.You must not vex or hurt Cynthia, papa, - remember she is dependent upon you!'
'I think the world would get on tolerably well, if there were no women in it.They plague the life out of one.You've made me forget, amongst you - poor old Job Haughton that I ought to have gone to see an hour ago.'
Molly put up her mouth to be kissed.'You're not angry with me now, papa, are you?'