Camilla; or, A Picture of Youth. Burney Fanny

CHAPTER IX

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An Explication

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      The visit which Camilla had designed this morning to Mrs. Arlbery, she had been induced to relinquish through a speech made to her by Lionel. 'You have done for yourself, now!' said he, exultingly; 'so you may be governed by that scare-crow, Miss Margland, at your leisure. Do you know you were not once mentioned again at the Grove, neither by Mrs. Arlbery nor any body else? and they all agreed Indiana was the finest girl in the world.'

      Camilla, though of the same opinion with respect to Indiana, concluded Mrs. Arlbery was offended by her retreat, and lost all courage for offering any apology.

      Edgar did not return to Cleves till some time after the departure of Mr. and Mrs. Tyrold, when he met Miss Margland and the young ladies strolling in the park.

      Camilla, running to meet him, asked if he had restored the locket to the right owner.

      'No,' answered he, smiling, 'not yet.'

      'What can be done then? my half guinea is gone; and, to confess the truth, I have not another I can well spare!'

      He made no immediate reply; but, after speaking to the rest of the party, walked on towards the house.

      Camilla, in some perplexity, following him, exclaimed: 'Pray tell me what I must do? indeed I am quite uneasy.'

      'You would really have me give the locket to its rightful proprietor?'

      'To be sure I would!'

      'My commission, then, is soon executed.' And taking a little shagreen case from his waistcoat pocket, he put it into her hand.

      'What can you mean? is there still any mistake?'

      'None but what you may immediately rectify, by simply retaining your own prize.'

      Camilla, opening the case, saw the locket, and perceived under the crystal a light knot of braided hair. But while she looked at it, he hurried into the house.

      She ran after him, and insisted upon an explanation, declaring it to be utterly impossible that the locket and the half guinea should belong to the same person.

      'You must not then,' he said, 'be angry, if you find I have managed, at last, but aukwardly. When I came to the library, the master of the raffle told me it was against all rule to refund a subscription.' He stopt.

      'The half guinea you put into my hand, then,' cried she, colouring, 'was your own?'

      'My dear Miss Camilla, there is no other occasion upon which I would have hazarded such a liberty; but as the money was for a charity, and as I had undertaken what I could not perform, I rather ventured to replace it, than suffer the poor objects for whom it was destined, to miss your kind intention.'

      'You have certainly done right,' said she (feeling for her purse); 'but you must not, for that reason, make me a second time do wrong.'

      'You will not so much hurt me?' replied he, gravely; 'you will not reprove me as if I were a stranger, a mere common acquaintance? Where could the money have been so well bestowed? It is not you, but those poor people who are in my debt. So many were the chances against your gaining the prize, that it was an event I had not even taken into consideration: I had merely induced you to leave the shop, that you might not have the surprise of finding your name was not withdrawn; the rest was accident; and surely you will not punish me that I have paid to the poor the penalty of my own ill weighed officiousness?'

      Camilla put up her purse, but, with some spirit, said: 'There is another way to settle the matter which cannot hurt you; if I do not pay you my half guinea, you must at least keep the fruits of your own.' And she returned him the locket.

      'And what,' cried he, laughing 'must I do with it? would you have me wear it myself?'

      'Give it,' answered she, innocently, 'to Indiana.'

      'No;' replied he, (reddening and putting it down upon a table,) but you may, if you believe her value will be greater than your own for the hair of your two sisters.'

      Camilla, surprised, again looked at it, and recognized the hair of Lavinia and Eugenia.

      'And how in the world did you get this hair?'

      'I told them both the accident that had happened, and begged them to contribute their assistance to obtain your pardon.'

      'Is it possible,' cried she, with vivacity, 'you could add to all your trouble so kind a thought?' and, without a moment's further hesitation, she accepted the prize, returning him the most animated thanks, and flying to Eugenia to inquire further into the matter, and then to her uncle, to shew him her new acquisition.

      Sir Hugh, like herself, immediately said: 'But why did he not give it to Indiana?'

      'I suppose,' said Eugenia, 'because Camilla had herself drawn the prize, and he had only added our hair to it.'

      This perfectly satisfied the baronet; but Indiana could by no means understand why it had not been managed better; and Miss Margland, with much ill will, nourished a private opinion that the prize might perhaps have been her own, had not Mandlebert interfered. However, as there seemed some collusion which she could not develope, her conscience wholly acquitted her of any necessity to refund her borrowed half guinea.

      Camilla, meanwhile, decorated herself with the locket, and had nothing in her possession which gave her equal delight.

      Miss Margland now became, internally, less sanguine, with regard to the preference of Edgar for Indiana; but she concealed from Sir Hugh a doubt so unpleasant, through an unconquerable repugnance to acknowledge it possible she could have formed a wrong judgment.