– You are quite right, Mr. Morris, it is low and cynical of me," he agreed, after carefully considering his conduct. – The girls should be given time to heal and rest.
– Exactly, sir, and in spite of your noble intentions, I am glad to be able to reason with you," said the doctor. These words did not hurt the Viscount's pride, for he had a high regard for the person of Mr. Morris, with whom the lord's late father had been a friend. – 'As far as I know, Miss Cassie was very much attached to her father. How she must be suffering, poor girl!
– But you wanted to adopt her. And, on account of the parson's death, you can now put it into effect, at the right time, of course," the Viscount reminded him. – Don't mistake my reasoning for cynicism, doctor. I deeply regret Pastor Glowford's death, but I am also thinking of poor Miss Cassandra's fate.
– Ah, yes, of course, but I would not wish to begin the adoption process now that the lovely girl is in great sadness. Especially, Miss Catherine's consent would be required, and I don't think she would so readily allow me to take Cassie away from her and tear her away from her family. I rightly suppose it would take long persuasion and good reasoning to get Miss Catherine to agree to this step, for she has been bringing up Cassie since she was born, and she cannot bear the thought of her beloved sister not being with her. Cassie and Catherine are very attached to each other. Miss Catherine's love for her sister is so deep that she even rejects marriage in order not to be separated from her sister.
– We shall certainly help them… When the right time comes, of course. But I wish to be of some assistance to them immediately.
– Mr. Pilough has written that Walsingham is in urgent need of a new parson, and his arrival must be as soon as possible, for the late Glowford is to be buried according to the laws of Anglicanism. Besides, the Walsingham people are in desperate need of a parson: they are lost without a pastor and church meetings," said the doctor, remembering his friend's message. – Mr. Pilough has also informed Lord Draymore of this, but I am aware that he is not in London at the moment and cannot do his duty regarding the problem.
– You are correctly informed, Mr. Morris: Colin is in Bristol. So, we should approach the head of the church and send a new pastor to Walsingham. But something tells me that a young seminarian, fresh out of the seminary, will be sent to the village. And it is unlikely that the young man in question will be happy to be sent into the wilderness, far from the capital," said the Viscount rightly. – But I will write to the church today. It is long enough since the parson's death, and he must be buried no later than tomorrow evening. I beg your pardon, doctor, I will not delay this important matter. – He rose from the table, his companion did likewise, they shook hands and parted.
Viscount Wilworth kept his word: going up to his study, he wrote the necessary letter and sent it off with a messenger. The answer to the petition came the same evening: the clergy had appointed a new parson, Mr. Litley, to Walsingham, assuring the Viscount that the clergyman would do a good job, and that he was on his way to the village. The Viscount wished to meet in person the person who would replace the late Parson Glowford, but was unable to do so, but he was not dismayed, for he was soon to come to Rivershold and Walsingham himself to visit the Glowford girls and offer his condolences. Viscount was still full of hope that the Count of Draymore would sell his estate to him and waited for a letter or telegram from his friend: it was pointless to go to Walsingham now, when the Glowford girls were in black mourning and could not recover from the loss of their beloved father. Viscount Wilworth himself sent a note to Lord Draymore's mansion, asking for the Earl's address in Bristol, but the messenger returned with the news that the Count had left no address for correspondence, and that the Lord would not return until August.
Not wasting any time, the day after Mr. Morris's visit the Viscount found a well-known Dutch psychiatrist, Mr. Henrik Liabrist, consulted him about Miss Cassandra's illness and inquired as to the possibility of her full or partial recovery. The story of a grown-up girl with the mind and consciousness of a child interested the psychiatrist, and he asked the Viscount to bring her to see him.
– I am sorry, but Miss Glowford is not in London at present, and will not be here for about a month," replied the Viscount.
– 'That's a pity,' he said briefly. – I think I can help the girl.
– Do you think you can overcome her illness? – The Viscount asked: the psychiatrist's words gave him hope.
– Yes, I do. You say her development has been neglected? But can she even read?
– Her father thought it would be a great sin to treat her. He was a very religious man.
– 'That's a dark thing,' Mr. Liabrist grinned at that.
– 'But I suppose she was taught to read: her father was a well-educated and competent man.
– How far from London does your Miss Glowford reside?
– Norfolk. There's a lost village called Walsingham.
– Bring the girl to me and I will examine her.
– I am truly grateful to you for agreeing to help, but I cannot get Miss Glowford to London for the rest of the summer. What if we came to see you in a month or two? The girl's father died the other day, and she is deeply distressed and hard to bear.
– You think rightly, sir: after a heavy loss a man necessarily needs time, but how much, there are many opinions on that. Every man needs the comfort of time as much as his nature compels him, and Miss Glowford's brain is a very fragile one, so there is no hurry to take her to me. But long practice shows that mentally retarded people do not understand all the distress and bitterness of loss," Mr. Liabrist explained gravely to his interlocutor.
– I shall not object, for your knowledge in this field is certainly far superior to mine. Miss Glowford requires special care, and her older sister will probably object to the treatment, and it will take a lot of persuasion to get Miss Cassandra to come with me.
The psychiatrist chuckled and adjusted his glasses.
– This is an extremely interesting case," he said with a slight smile.
"What a cynic!" – The Viscount thought grudgingly, displeased that he had called Cassie's illness an "interesting case."
– I shall be deeply grateful and thankful to you if you will help the girl," said the Viscount, still quite coolly. – I feel madly sorry for her.
– Then, when the time is right, bring her to see me. I will do my best," Mr. Liabrist assured him.
The Viscount thanked him warmly and went home. He decided that his new task was to befriend Cassie and become her friend, to bind her to him so that Miss Catherine would not be able to insist that Cassie could not live a day without her home and sisters. The Viscount knew that his behaviour would not be blameless, but he was moved only by a noble desire to keep Cassie out of his worries and to cure her sick mind of years of fog.
Chapter 13
Walsingham was preparing for the funeral of Pastor Glowford.
The church had been empty for the third day: no work was being done in it, no divine services were being held, but only a light oak coffin stood, in which lay the body of the dead parson, clothed in his best ecclesiastical robes. While the villagers came tearfully to bid farewell to their beloved parson, his daughter Cassie was running free, cheerful and unsuspecting of her father's death: at Catherine Glowford's request, the Walsingham people kept silent about the tragedy and concealed it from Cassie. The cold air circulated inside the church, but outside it was hot July, and the smell of corpse decomposition filled the vaults of the building. But this did not dampen Catherine's spirit; she sat by her father's coffin all day reading the Scriptures aloud. Christine was confused by her older sister's behaviour, though she was no less upset. Christine would come to church and exhort Kate to go home, eat, sleep and rest, but she steadfastly refused to rest and would come home only to show herself to Cassie and feed her, then leave for church again. A little worried about her father's long absence, Cassie often asked her sisters, "Where is Daddy?" but they reassured her with the answer, "He'll be back soon, honey. It's a long way home."
Apart from the sadness of losing their beloved pastor, the Walsingham people were worried about who would now replace him, and on the third day after Mr. Glowford's death, a new pastor finally arrived in the village, and the excited villagers purposely went straight to the road to greet him.
The new pastor of Walsingham, appointed by the Church of England, was a young man: he was tall, thin, red-haired, and his oblong, pale face was studded with large freckles, which gave him a somewhat mysterious appearance (the unmarried women of the village immediately set their eyes on him). Mr. Litley (that was the name of the new parson) was embarrassed by this warm welcome, but Catherine, who had left her dead father's body for a couple of hours, immediately told him that the funeral should be held today. Mr. Litley was tired from the long journey, but could not refuse Miss Glowford's insistence. Pastor Glowford was buried the same evening. Cassie did not attend the funeral: she and the children were playing on the river during the funeral.
The funeral was modest. The parson was buried next to the grave of his late wife Emma. Throughout the ceremony, the peasants wept and sobbed loudly, while Catherine and Christine, holding hands and with tears in their eyes, watched the earth swallow up their beloved father. The new pastor wistfully recited scripture and prayers, but did the proper job. It wasn't until after the funeral that Mr. Litley was taken to his new home which was the home of Fred the butcher who had died of frostbite that winter.
Mr. Litley was unpleasantly shocked at the "godforsaken hole" into which the Church had sent him, but seeing the respect and reverence in which his new parish regarded him, and feeling his power over these religious foolish peasants, he suppressed his resentment and disgust, and decided to accept his fate. Besides, he could not help noticing how many beautiful girls there were in the village. Miss Catherine Glowford especially caught his eye: she attracted him by her mournful beauty and the humility with which she had borne her father's death. The parson looked round his new home, the peasants helped him to unload the cart with his belongings, though they were few in number, and all went home.
The doors and windows of the church were left open all night to let the dead pastor's cadaverous odour fade away.
Kate and Christine returned from the funeral to their shabby home, ate dinner in silence, then Catherine opened the Scriptures to comfort their souls. When darkness fell, Cassie came running home, tired from the long day, the heat and running through the fields, so, without supper, she collapsed on her bollard, asked: "Isn't Daddy back yet?" and immediately fell into a deep, childlike sleep.
Christine went to bed after Cassie. Catherine read the Scriptures for a short time, then gathered up her clothes and her father's belongings to distribute to the men of the village before reaching the bed. The elder Glowford was very weary both in mind and body, but from tomorrow the work in the fields would resume, for prolonged mourning was too great a luxury for the Walsingham people.
The peasants received the long-awaited matins the very next morning, and gladdened their hearts with it. The Glowford sisters also came, and Cassie was very much embarrassed to see that it was not her father who conducted the matins, but a complete stranger, a complete stranger, "a strange, scrawny man," as she told her sisters. Asking her sisters why this was so, Cassie was told that Pastor Litley was merely filling in for their father until he returned from his journey, and these words reassured the worried girl.
She looked pleadingly at Mr. Litley, and he could not resist the beautiful gaze of her brown eyes.
– Of course, Miss Glowford, as you say," he replied. – I shall remain silent until you yourself have told your sister of your terrible loss.
– Thank you, reverend, you are so kind! – Catherine smiled. – What do you think of our church?
– The church is beautiful, but I'm not sure what's going on in it. I think it's being repaired? – The pastor was flattered that Catherine was interested in his opinion.
– The matter is that our landlord is restoring it, and that's where my poor father died: a slab fell on him… I know he's in heaven now, at the foot of God's throne, and I find peace in that. But we have decided that you, Mr. Litley, will not assist on the construction, for your own safety.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию (https://www.litres.ru/pages/biblio_book/?art=69557404&lfrom=174836202) на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
