Lord Ormont and his Aminta | Page 8

would exchange; but the plain, conceivable, almost visible,
outside of the letter had a stronger spell for them than the visionary
inside. This fancied contemplation of the love-letter was reversed in
them at once by the startling news of Miss Vincent's discovery and
seizure of the sealed thing, and her examination of the burden it
contained. Then their thirst was for drama--to see, to drink every
wonderful syllable those lovers had written.
Miss Vincent's hand was upon one of Matey's letters. She had come
across the sister of little Collett, Selina her name was, carrying it. She
saw nothing of the others. Aminta was not the girl to let her. Nor did
Mr. Cuper dare demand from Matey a sight or restitution of the young
lady's half of the correspondence. He preached heavily at Matey;

deplored that the boy he most trusted, etc.--the school could have
repeated it without hearing. We know the master's lecture in tones--it
sings up to sing down, and touches nobody. As soon as he dropped to
natural talk, and spoke of his responsibility and Miss Vincent's, Matey
gave the word of a man of honour that he would not seek to
communicate farther with Miss Farrell at the school.
Now there was a regular thunder-hash among the boys on the rare
occasions when they met the girls. All that Matey and Browny were
forbidden to write they looked--much like what it had been before the
discovery; and they dragged the boys back from promised instant
events. It was, nevertheless, a heaving picture, like the sea in the
background of a marine piece at the theatre, which rouses anticipations
of storm, and shows readiness. Browny's full eyebrow sat on her dark
eye like a cloud of winter noons over the vanishing sun. Matey was the
prisoner gazing at light of a barred window and measuring the strength
of the bars. She looked unhappy, but looked unbeaten more. Her look
at him fed the school on thoughts of what love really is, when it is not
fished out of books and poetry. For though she was pale, starved and
pale, they could see she was never the one to be sighing; and as for him,
he looked ground dower all to edge. However much they puzzled over
things, she made them feel they were sure, as to her, that she drove
straight and meant blood, the life or death of it: all her own, if need be,
and confidence in the captain she had chosen. She could have been
imagined saying, There is a storm, but I am ready to embark with you
this minute.
That sign of courage in real danger ennobled her among girls. The
name Browny was put aside for a respectful Aminta. Big and bright
events to come out in the world were hinted, from the love of such a
couple. The boys were not ashamed to speak the very word love. How
he does love that girl! Well, and how she loves him! She did, but the
boys had to be seeing her look at Matey if they were to put the girl on
some balanced equality with a fellow she was compelled to love. It
seemed to them that he gave, and that she was a creature carried to him,
like driftwood along the current of the flood, given, in spite of herself.
When they saw those eyes of hers they were impressed with an idea of

her as a voluntary giver too; pretty well the half to the bargain; and it
confused their notion of feminine inferiority. They resolved to think her
an exceptional girl, which, in truth, they could easily do, for none but
an exceptional girl could win Matey to love her.
Since nothing appeared likely to happen at the school, they speculated
upon what would occur out in the world, and were assisted to
conjecture, by a rumour, telling of Aminta Farrell's aunt as a resident at
Dover. Those were days when the benevolently international M. de
Porquet had begun to act as interpreter to English schools in the portico
of the French language; and under his guidance it was asked, in
contempt of the answer, Combien de postes d'ici a Douvres? But,
accepting the rumour as a piece of information, the answer became
important. Ici was twenty miles to the north-west of London. How long
would it take Matey to reach Donvres? Or at which of the combien did
he intend to waylay and away with Aminta? The boys went about
pounding at the interrogative French phrase in due sincerity, behind the
burlesque of traveller bothering coachman. Matey's designs could be
finessed only by a knowledge of his character: that he was not the
fellow to give up the girl he had taken to; and impediments might
multiply,