第149章

`I have always considered you a particularly well-behaved young person for your station in life,' said Mrs Wititterly; `and as you are a person of healthy appearance, and neat in your dress and so forth, I have taken an interest in you, as I do still, considering that I owe a sort of duty to that respectable old female, your mother. For these reasons, Miss Nickleby, I must tell you once for all, and begging you to mind what I say, that I must insist upon your immediately altering your very forward behaviour to the gentleman who visit at this house. It really is not becoming,' said Mrs Wititterly, closing her chaste eyes as she spoke; `it is improper --quite improper."

`Oh!' cried Kate, looking upwards and clasping her hands; `is not this, is not this, too cruel, too hard to bear! Is it not enough that I should have suffered as I have, night and day; that I should almost have sunk in my own estimation from very shame of having been brought into contact with such people; but must I also be exposed to this unjust and most unfounded charge!'

`You will have the goodness to recollect, Miss Nickleby,' said Mrs Wititterly, `that when you use such terms as "unjust", and "unfounded", you charge me, in effect, with stating that which is untrue.'

`I do,' said Kate with honest indignation. `Whether you make this accusation of yourself, or at the prompting of others, is alike to me. I say it is vilely, grossly, wilfully untrue. Is it possible!' cried Kate, `that anyone of my own sex can have sat by, and not have seen the misery these men have caused me? Is it possible that you, ma'am, can have been present, and failed to mark the insulting freedom that their every look bespoke? Is it possible that you can have avoided seeing, that these libertines, in their utter disrespect for you, and utter disregard of all gentlemanly behaviour, and almost of decency, have had but one object in introducing themselves here, and that the furtherance of their designs upon a friendless, helpless girl, who, without this humiliating confession, might have hoped to receive from one so much her senior something like womanly aid and sympathy? I do not -- I cannot believe it!'

If poor Kate had possessed the slightest knowledge of the world, she certainly would not have ventured, even in the excitement into which she had been lashed, upon such an injudicious speech as this. Its effect was precisely what a more experienced observer would have foreseen. Mrs Wititterly received the attack upon her veracity with exemplary calmness, and listened with the most heroic fortitude to Kate's account of her own sufferings.

But allusion being made to her being held in disregard by the gentlemen, she evinced violent emotion, and this blow was no sooner followed up by the remark concerning her seniority, than she fell back upon the sofa, uttering dismal screams.

`What is the matter?' cried Mr Wititterly, bouncing into the room. `Heavens, what do I see? Julia! Julia! look up, my life, look up!'

But Julia looked down most perseveringly, and screamed still louder;so Mr Wititterly rang the bell, and danced in a frenzied manner round the sofa on which Mrs Wititterly lay; uttering perpetual cries for Sir Tumley Snuffim, and never once leaving off to ask for any explanation of the scene before him.

`Run for Sir Tumley,' cried Mr Wititterly, menacing the page with both fists. `I knew it, Miss Nickleby,' he said, looking round with an air of melancholy triumph, `that society has been too much for her. This is all soul, you know, every bit of it.' With this assurance Mr Wititterly took up the prostrate form of Mrs Wititterly, and carried her bodily off to bed.

Kate waited until Sir Tumley Snuffim had paid his visit and looked in with a report, that, through the special interposition of a merciful Providence (thus spake Sir Tumley), Mrs Wititterly had gone to sleep. She then hastily attired herself for walking, and leaving word that she should return within a couple of hours, hurried away towards her uncle's house.

It had been a good day with Ralph Nickleby -- quite a lucky day; and as he walked to and fro in his little back-room with his hands clasped behind him, adding up in his own mind all the sums that had been, or would be, netted from the business done since morning, his mouth was drawn into a hard stern smile; while the firmness of the lines and curves that made it up, as well as the cunning glance of his cold, bright eye, seemed to tell, that if any resolution or cunning would increase the profits, they would not fail to be excited for the purpose.

`Very good!' said Ralph, in allusion, no doubt, to some proceeding of the day. `He defies the usurer, does he? Well, we shall see. "Honesty is the best policy," is it? We'll try that too.'

He stopped, and then walked on again.

`He is content,' said Ralph, relaxing into a smile, `to set his known character and conduct against the power of money -- dross, as he calls it. Why, what a dull blockhead this fellow must be! Dross too -- dross!

-- Who's that?'

`Me,' said Newman Noggs, looking in. `Your niece.'

`What of her?' asked Ralph sharply.

`She's here.'

`Here!'

Newman jerked his head towards his little room, to signify that she was waiting there.

`What does she want?' asked Ralph.

`I don't know,' rejoined Newman. `Shall I ask?' he added quickly.

`No,' replied Ralph. `Show her in -- stay.' He hastily put away a padlocked cash-box that was on the table, and substituted in its stead an empty purse.

`There,' said Ralph. ` Now she may come in.'

Newman, with a grim smile at this manoeuvre, beckoned the young lady to advance, and having placed a chair for her, retired; looking stealthily over his shoulder at Ralph as he limped slowly out.

`Well,' said Ralph, roughly enough; but still with something more of kindness in his manner than he would have exhibited towards anybody else.

`Well, my -- dear. What now?'