eggs," George said, laughing."How they must set off her complexion! A perfect illumination it must be when her jewels are on her neck.Her jet-black hair is as curly as Sambo's.I dare say she wore a nose ring when she went to court; and with a plume of feathers in her top-knot she would look a perfect Belle Sauvage."George, in conversation with Amelia, was rallying the appearance of a young lady of whom his father and sisters had lately made the acquaintance, and who was an object of vast respect to the Russell Square family.She was reported to have I don't know how many plantations in the West Indies; a deal of money in the funds; and three stars to her name in the East India stockholders' list.She had a mansion in Surrey, and a house in Portland Place.
The name of the rich West India heiress had been mentioned with applause in the Morning Post.Mrs.Haggistoun, Colonel Haggistoun's widow, her relative, "chaperoned"her, and kept her house.She was just from school, where she had completed her education, and George and his sisters had met her at an evening party at old Hulker's house, Devonshire Place (Hulker, Bullock, and Co.were long the correspondents of her house in the West Indies), and the girls had made the most cordial advances to her, which the heiress had received with great good humour.
An orphan in her position--with her money--so interesting!
the Misses Osborne said.They were full of their new friend when they returned from the Hulker ball to Miss Wirt, their companion; they had made arrangements for continually meeting, and had the carriage and drove to see her the very next day.Mrs.Haggistoun, Colonel Haggistoun's widow, a relation of Lord Binkie, and always talking of him, struck the dear unsophisticated girls as rather haughty, and too much inclined to talk about her great relations: but Rhoda was everything they could wish--the frankest, kindest, most agreeable creature--wanting a little polish, but so good-natured.The girls Christian-named each other at once.
"You should have seen her dress for court, Emmy,"Osborne cried, laughing."She came to my sisters to show it off, before she was presented in state by my Lady Binkie, the Haggistoun's kinswoman.She's related to every one, that Haggistoun.Her diamonds blazed out like Vauxhall on the night we were there.(Do you remember Vauxhall, Emmy, and Jos singing to his dearest diddle diddle darling?) Diamonds and mahogany, my dear!
think what an advantageous contrast--and the white feathers in her hair--I mean in her wool.She had earrings like chandeliers; you might have lighted 'em up, by Jove--and a yellow satin train that streeled after her like the tail of a cornet.""How old is she?" asked Emmy, to whom George was rattling away regarding this dark paragon, on the morning of their reunion--rattling away as no other man in the world surely could.
"Why the Black Princess, though she has only just left school, must be two or three and twenty.And you should see the hand she writes! Mrs.Colonel Haggistoun usually writes her letters, but in a moment of confidence, she put pen to paper for my sisters; she spelt satin satting, and Saint James's, Saint Jams.""Why, surely it must be Miss Swartz, the parlour boarder," Emmy said, remembering that good-natured young mulatto girl, who had been so hysterically affected when Amelia left Miss Pinkerton's academy"The very name," George said."Her father was a German Jew--a slave-owner they say--connected with the Cannibal Islands in some way or other.He died last year, and Miss Pinkerton has finished her education.She can play two pieces on the piano; she knows three songs;she can write when Mrs.Haggistoun is by to spell for her;and Jane and Maria already have got to love her as a sister.""I wish they would have loved me," said Emmy, wistfully.
"They were always very cold to me."
"My dear child, they would have loved you if you had had two hundred thousand pounds," George replied."That is the way in which they have been brought up.Ours is a ready-money society.We live among bankers and City big-wigs, and be hanged to them, and every man, as he talks to you, is jingling his guineas in his pocket.There is that jackass Fred Bullock is going to marry Maria--there's Goldmore, the East India Director, there's Dipley, in the tallow trade--OUR trade," George said, with an uneasy laugh and a blush."Curse the whole pack of money-grubbing vulgarians! I fall asleep at their great heavy dinners.I feel ashamed in my father's great stupid parties.I've been accustomed to live with gentlemen, and men of the world and fashion, Emmy, not with a parcel of turtle-fed tradesmen.Dear little woman, you are the only person of our set who ever looked, or thought, or spoke like a lady: and you do it because you're an angel and can't help it.Don't remonstrate.You are the only lady.
Didn't Miss Crawley remark it, who has lived in the best company in Europe? And as for Crawley, of the Life Guards, hang it, he's a fine fellow: and I like him for marrying the girl he had chosen."Amelia admired Mr.Crawley very much, too, for this;and trusted Rebecca would be happy with him, and hoped (with a laugh) Jos would be consoled.And so the pair went on prattling, as in quite early days.Amelia's confidence being perfectly restored to her, though she expressed a great deal of pretty jealousy about Miss Swartz, and professed to be dreadfully frightened--like a hypocrite as she was--lest George should forget her for the heiress and her money and her estates in Saint Kitt's.But the fact is, she was a great deal too happy to have fears or doubts or misgivings of any sort: and having George at her side again, was not afraid of any heiress or beauty, or indeed of any sort of danger.
When Captain Dobbin came back in the afternoon to these people--which he did with a great deal of sympathy for them--it did his heart good to see how Amelia had grown young again--how she laughed, and chirped, and sang familiar old songs at the piano, which were only interrupted by the bell from without proclaiming Mr.
Sedley's return from the City, before whom George received a signal to retreat.
Beyond the first smile of recognition--and even that was an hypocrisy, for she thought his arrival rather provoking --Miss Sedley did not once notice Dobbin during his visit.But he was content, so that he saw her happy; and thankful to have been the means of making her so.