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Hearing this allusion to Cecilia, Emily drops to the level of the other girls. She too pays her homage to the Pope of private life. "You promised me your unbiased opinion of Cecilia," she reminds him; "and you haven't given it yet." The ladies' friend gently remonstrates. "Miss Wyvil's beauty dazzles me. How can I give an unbiased opinion?
Will you please come to us?" Later in the forenoon, Mrs. Ellmother was called to the door by the arrival of a visitor. The personal appearance of the stranger impressed her favorably. He was a handsome little gentleman; his manners were winning, and his voice was singularly pleasant to hear. "I have come from Mr. Wyvil's house in the country," he said; "and I bring a letter from his daughter.
Out of the music room, and away from his violin, the sound side of Mr. Wyvil's character was free to assert itself. In his public and in his private capacity, he was an eminently sensible man. As a member of parliament, he set an example which might have been followed with advantage by many of his colleagues.
If there are any obstacles which you can place in her way if there is any influence which you can exert, without exciting suspicion of your motive prevent her, I entreat you, from accepting Miss Wyvil's invitation, until Mr. Mirabel's visit has come to an end." "Is there anything against Mr. Mirabel?" he asked. "I say nothing against him." "Is Miss Emily acquainted with him?" "No."
He had spoken of her, and of the bodily affliction which confined her to her room, in terms which had already interested Emily. In the present emergency, he decided on returning to the subject, and on hastening the meeting between the two women which he had first suggested at Mr. Wyvil's country seat. No time was to be lost in carrying out this intention. He wrote to Mrs.
"Was that your motive," he asked, "for answering my letter as cautiously as if you had been writing to a stranger?" "Indeed you are quite wrong!" Emily earnestly assured him. "I was perplexed and startled and I took Mr. Wyvil's advice, before I wrote to you. Shall we drop the subject?" Alban would have willingly dropped the subject but for that unfortunate allusion to Mr. Wyvil.
The longer Alban resisted, the more surely he lost ground in the general estimation. Cecilia was disappointed; Emily was grieved; Mr. Wyvil's favorable opinion began to waver; Francine was disgusted. When dinner was over, and the carriage was waiting to take the shepherd back to his flock by moonlight, Mirabel's triumph was complete.
Alban remained silent ungraciously silent as Emily thought, after Mr. Wyvil's kindness to him. "The thing to regret," she remarked, "is that Mr. Morris allowed Miss Jethro to leave him without explaining herself. In his place, I should have insisted on knowing why she wanted to prevent me from meeting Mr. Mirabel in this house." Cecilia made another unlucky attempt at judicious interference.
If he interrupted the sweet-tempered clergyman submitted, and went on. If he differed modest Mr. Mirabel said, in the most amiable manner, "I daresay I am wrong," and handled the topic from his opponent's point of view. Never had such a perfect Christian sat before at Mr. Wyvil's table: not a hard word, not an impatient look, escaped him.
"Miss Jethro left me," he said, "with the intention quite openly expressed of trying to prevent you from accepting Mr. Wyvil's invitation. Did she make the attempt?" Mirabel admitted that she had made the attempt. "But," he added, "without mentioning Miss Emily's name. I was asked to postpone my visit, as a favor to herself, because she had her own reasons for wishing it.
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