Stranica 116 [116]
96 LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY.
heavy athim. During all the years in which Mr. Mordaunt had been
in charge of Dorincourt parish, the rector certainly did not remember
having seen his lordship, of his own free will, do any one a kindness,
or, under any circumstances whatever, show that he thought of any
one but himselt.
He had: called to-day to speak to him of a specially pressing
case, and as he had walked up the avenue, he had, for two reasons,
dreaded his visit more than usual. In the first place, he knew that
his lordship had for several days been suffering with the gout, and
had been in so villainous a humor that rumors of it had even reached
the village — carried there by one of the young women servants, to
her sister, who kept a little shop and retailed darning-needles and
cotton and peppermints and gossip, as a means of earning an-honest.
living. What Mrs. Dibble did not know about the Castle and its
inmates, and the farm-houses and their inmates, and the village and
its population, was really not worth being talked about. And of
course she knew everything about the Castle, because her sister,
Jane Shorts, was one of the upper housemaids, and was very friendly
and intimate with Thomas.
“And the way his lordship do go on!” said Mrs. Dibble, over
the counter, "and the way he do use language, Mr. Thomas told
Jane herself, no flesh and blood as is in livery could stand — for
throw a plate of toast at Mr. Thomas, hisself, he did, not more than
two days since, and if it were nt for other things being agreeable
and the society below stairs most genteel, warning would have been
gave within a hour!”
And the rector had heard all this, for somehow the Earl was a
favorite black sheep in the cottages and farm-houses, and his bad
behavior gave many a good woman something to talk about when
she had company to tea.