The Way We Live Now

  CHAPTER XXXIV.

  RUBY RUGGLES OBEYS HER GRANDFATHER.

  The next day there was great surprise at Sheep's Acre farm, whichcommunicated itself to the towns of Bungay and Beccles, and evenaffected the ordinary quiet life of Carbury Manor. Ruby Ruggles hadgone away, and at about twelve o'clock in the day the old farmerbecame aware of the fact. She had started early, at about seven inthe morning; but Ruggles himself had been out long before that, andhad not condescended to ask for her when he returned to the housefor his breakfast. There had been a bad scene up in the bedroomovernight, after John Crumb had left the farm. The old man in hisanger had tried to expel the girl; but she had hung on to thebed-post and would not go; and he had been frightened, when the maidcame up crying and screaming murder. "You'll be out o' this to-morrowas sure as my name's Dannel Ruggles," said the farmer panting forbreath. But for the gin which he had taken he would hardly havestruck her;--but he had struck her, and pulled her by the hair, andknocked her about;--and in the morning she took him at his word andwas away. About twelve he heard from the servant girl that she hadgone. She had packed a box and had started up the road carrying thebox herself. "Grandfather says I'm to go, and I'm gone," she had saidto the girl. At the first cottage she had got a boy to carry herbox into Beccles, and to Beccles she had walked. For an hour or twoRuggles sat, quiet, within the house, telling himself that she mightdo as she pleased with herself,--that he was well rid of her, andthat from henceforth he would trouble himself no more about her. Butby degrees there came upon him a feeling half of compassion and halfof fear, with perhaps some mixture of love, instigating him to makesearch for her. She had been the same to him as a child, and whatwould people say of him if he allowed her to depart from him afterthis fashion? Then he remembered his violence the night before, andthe fact that the servant girl had heard if she had not seen it.He could not drop his responsibility in regard to Ruby, even if hewould. So, as a first step, he sent in a message to John Crumb, atBungay, to tell him that Ruby Ruggles had gone off with a box toBeccles. John Crumb went open-mouthed with the news to Joe Mixet, andall Bungay soon knew that Ruby Ruggles had run away.

  After sending his message to Crumb the old man still sat thinking,and at last made up his mind that he would go to his landlord. Heheld a part of his farm under Roger Carbury, and Roger Carbury wouldtell him what he ought to do. A great trouble had come upon him. Hewould fain have been quiet, but his conscience and his heart and histerrors all were at work together,--and he found that he could noteat his dinner. So he had out his cart and horse and drove himselfoff to Carbury Hall.

  It was past four when he started, and he found the squire seated onthe terrace after an early dinner, and with him was Father Barham,the priest. The old man was shown at once round into the garden, andwas not long in telling his story. There had been words between himand his granddaughter about her lover. Her lover had been acceptedand had come to the farm to claim his bride. Ruby had behaved verybadly. The old man made the most of Ruby's bad behaviour, and ofcourse as little as possible of his own violence. But he did explainthat there had been threats used when Ruby refused to take the man,and that Ruby had, this day, taken herself off.

  "I always thought it was settled they were to be man and wife," saidRoger.

  "It was settled, squoire;--and he war to have five hun'erd pounddown;--money as I'd saved myself. Drat the jade."

  "Didn't she like him, Daniel?"

  "She liked him well enough till she'd seed somebody else." Then oldDaniel paused, and shook his head, and was evidently the owner of asecret. The squire got up and walked round the garden with him,--andthen the secret was told. The farmer was of opinion that there wassomething between the girl and Sir Felix. Sir Felix some weeks sincehad been seen near the farm and on the same occasion Ruby had beenobserved at some little distance from the house with her best clotheson.

  "He's been so little here, Daniel," said the squire.

  "It goes as tinder and a spark o' fire, that does," said the farmer."Girls like Ruby don't want no time to be wooed by one such as that,though they'll fall-lall with a man like John Crumb for years."

  "I suppose she's gone to London."

  "Don't know nothing of where she's gone, squoire;--only she havegone some'eres. May be it's Lowestoffe. There's lots of quality atLowestoffe a' washing theyselves in the sea."

  Then they returned to the priest, who might be supposed to becognisant of the guiles of the world and competent to give advice onsuch an occasion as this. "If she was one of our people," said FatherBarham, "we should have her back quick enough."

  "Would ye now?" said Ruggles, wishing at the moment that he and allhis family had been brought up as Roman Catholics.

  "I don't see how you would have more chance of catching her than wehave," said Carbury.

  "She'd catch herself. Wherever she might be she'd go to the priest,and he wouldn't leave her till he'd seen her put on the way back toher friends."

  "With a flea in her lug," suggested the farmer.

  "Your people never go to a clergyman in their distress. It's the lastthing they'd think of. Any one might more probably be regarded as afriend than the parson. But with us the poor know where to look forsympathy."

  "She ain't that poor, neither," said the grandfather.

  "She had money with her?"

  "I don't know just what she had; but she ain't been brought up poor.And I don't think as our Ruby'd go of herself to any clergyman. Itnever was her way."

  "It never is the way with a Protestant," said the priest.

  "We'll say no more about that for the present," said Roger, who waswaxing wroth with the priest. That a man should be fond of his ownreligion is right; but Roger Carbury was beginning to think thatFather Barham was too fond of his religion. "What had we better do?I suppose we shall hear something of her at the railway. There arenot so many people leaving Beccles but that she may be remembered."So the waggonette was ordered, and they all prepared to go off to thestation together.

  But before they started John Crumb rode up to the door. He had goneat once to the farm on hearing of Ruby's departure, and had followedthe farmer from thence to Carbury. Now he found the squire and thepriest and the old man standing around as the horses were being putto the carriage. "Ye ain't a' found her, Mr. Ruggles, ha' ye?" heasked as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

  "Noa;--we ain't a' found no one yet."

  "If it was as she was to come to harm, Mr. Carbury, I'd never forgivemyself,--never," said Crumb.

  "As far as I can understand it is no doing of yours, my friend," saidthe squire.

  "In one way, it ain't; and in one way it is. I was over there lastnight a bothering of her. She'd a' come round may be, if she'd a'been left alone. She wouldn't a' been off now, only for our goingover to Sheep's Acre. But,--oh!"

  "What is it, Mr. Crumb?"

  "He's a coosin o' yours, squoire; and long as I've known Suffolk,I've never known nothing but good o' you and yourn. But if yourbaronite has been and done this! Oh, Mr. Carbury! If I was to wringhis neck round, you wouldn't say as how I was wrong; would ye, now?"Roger could hardly answer the question. On general grounds thewringing of Sir Felix's neck, let the immediate cause for such aperformance have been what it might, would have seemed to him to bea good deed. The world would be better, according to his thinking,with Sir Felix out of it than in it. But still the young man was hiscousin and a Carbury, and to such a one as John Crumb he was boundto defend any member of his family as far as he might be defensible."They says as how he was groping about Sheep's Acre when he was lasthere, a hiding himself and skulking behind hedges. Drat 'em all.They've gals enough of their own,--them fellows. Why can't they let afellow alone? I'll do him a mischief, Master Roger; I wull;--if he'shad a hand in this." Poor John Crumb! When he had his mistress towin he could find no words for himself; but was obliged to take aneloquent baker with him to talk for him. Now in his anger he couldtalk freely enough.

  "But you must first learn that Sir Felix has had anything
to do withthis, Mr. Crumb."

  "In coorse; in coorse. That's right. That's right. Must l'arn as hedid it, afore I does it. But when I have l'arned!"-- And John Crumbclenched his fist as though a very short lesson would suffice for himupon this occasion.

  They all went to the Beccles Station, and from thence to the Becclespost office,--so that Beccles soon knew as much about it as Bungay.At the railway station Ruby was distinctly remembered. She had takena second-class ticket by the morning train for London, and had goneoff without any appearance of secrecy. She had been decently dressed,with a hat and cloak, and her luggage had been such as she might havebeen expected to carry, had all her friends known that she was going.So much was made clear at the railway station, but nothing more couldbe learned there. Then a message was sent by telegraph to the stationin London, and they all waited, loitering about the post office, fora reply. One of the porters in London remembered seeing such a girlas was described, but the man who was supposed to have carried herbox for her to a cab had gone away for the day. It was believed thatshe had left the station in a four-wheel cab. "I'll be arter her.I'll be arter her at once," said John Crumb. But there was no traintill night, and Roger Carbury was doubtful whether his going would doany good. It was evidently fixed on Crumb's mind that the first steptowards finding Ruby would be the breaking of every bone in the bodyof Sir Felix Carbury. Now it was not at all apparent to the squirethat his cousin had had anything to do with this affair. It had beenmade quite clear to him that the old man had quarrelled with hisgranddaughter and had threatened to turn her out of his house, notbecause she had misbehaved with Sir Felix, but on account of herrefusing to marry John Crumb. John Crumb had gone over to the farmexpecting to arrange it all, and up to that time there had been nofear about Felix Carbury. Nor was it possible that there should havebeen communication between Ruby and Felix since the quarrel at thefarm. Even if the old man were right in supposing that Ruby and thebaronet had been acquainted,--and such acquaintance could not but beprejudicial to the girl,--not on that account would the baronet beresponsible for her abduction. John Crumb was thirsting for blood andwas not very capable in his present mood of arguing the matter outcoolly, and Roger, little as he loved his cousin, was not desirousthat all Suffolk should know that Sir Felix Carbury had been thrashedwithin an inch of his life by John Crumb of Bungay. "I'll tell youwhat I'll do," said he, putting his hand kindly on the old man'sshoulder. "I'll go up myself by the first train to-morrow. I cantrace her better than Mr. Crumb can do, and you will both trust me."

  "There's not one in the two counties I'd trust so soon," said the oldman.

  "But you'll let us know the very truth," said John Crumb. RogerCarbury made him an indiscreet promise that he would let him knowthe truth. So the matter was settled, and the grandfather and loverreturned together to Bungay.