第36章 At Christminster(13)

On turning the corner and entering the village the first sight that greeted his eyes was that of two figures under one umbrella coming out of the vicarage gate.He was too far back for them to notice him,but he knew in a moment that they were Sue and Phillotson.The latter was holding the umbrella over her head,and they had evidently been paying a visit to the vicar -probably on some business connected with the school work.

And as they walked along the wet and deserted lane Jude saw Phillotson place his arm round the girl's waist;whereupon she gently removed it;but he replaced it;and she let it remain,looking quickly round her with an air of misgiving.She did not look absolutely behind her,and therefore did not see Jude,who sank into the hedge like one struck with a blight.

There he remained hidden till they had reached Sue's cottage and she had passed in,Phillotson going on to the school hard by.

'Oh,he's too old for her -too old!'cried Jude in all the terrible sickness of hopeless,handicapped love.

He could not interfere.Was he not Arabella's?He was unable to go on further,and retraced his steps towards Christminster.Every tread of his feet seemed to say to him that he must on no account stand in the schoolmaster's way with Sue.Phillotson was perhaps twenty years her senior,but many a happy marriage had been made in such conditions of age.The ironical clinch to his sorrow was given by the thought that the intimacy between his cousin and the schoolmaster had been brought about entirely by himself.

Jude's old and embittered aunt lay unwell at Marygreen,and on the following Sunday he went to see her -a visit which was the result of a victorious struggle against his inclination to turn aside to the village of Lumsdon and obtain a miserable interview with his cousin,in which the word nearest his heart could not be spoken,and the sight which had tortured him could not be revealed.

His aunt was now unable to leave her bed,and a great part of Jude's short day was occupied in making arrangements for her comfort.The little bakery business had been sold to a neighbour,and with the proceeds of this and her savings she was comfortably supplied with necessaries and more,a widow of the same village living with her and ministering to her wants.It was not till the time had nearly come for him to leave that he obtained a quiet talk with her,and his words tended insensibly towards his cousin.

'Was Sue born here?'

'She was -in this room.They were living here at that time.What made 'ee ask that?'

'Oh -I wanted to know.'

'Now you've been seeing her!'said the harsh old woman.'And what did I tell 'ee?'

'Well -that I was not to see her.'

'Have you gossiped with her?'

'Yes.'

'Then don't keep it up.She was brought up by her father to hate her mother's family;and she'll look with no favour upon a working chap like you -a townish girl as she's become by now.I never cared much about her.A pert little thing,that's what she was too often,with her tight-strained nerves.Many's the time I've smacked her for her impertinence.Why,one day when she was walking into the pond with her shoes and stockings off,and her petticoats pulled above her knees,afore I could cry out for shame,she said:'Move on,Aunty!This is no sight for modest eyes!''

'She was a little child then.'

'She was twelve if a day.'

'Well -of course.But now she's older she's of a thoughtful,quivering,tender nature,and as sensitive as -'

'Jude!'cried his aunt,springing up in bed.'Don't you be a fool about her!'

'No,no,of course not.'

'Your marrying that woman Arabella was about as bad a thing as a man could possibly do for himself by trying hard.But she's gone to the other side of the world,and med never trouble you again.And there'll be a worse thing if you,tied and bound as you be,should have a fancy for Sue.If your cousin is civil to you,take her civility for what it is worth.But anything more than a relation's good wishes it is stark madness for 'ee to give her.If she's townish and wanton it med bring 'ee to ruin.'

'Don't say anything against her,Aunt!Don't,please!'

A relief was afforded to him by the entry of the companion and nurse of his aunt,who must have been listening to the conversation,for she began a commentary on past years,introducing Sue Bridehead as a character in her recollections.She described what an odd little maid Sue had been when a pupil at the village school across the green opposite,before her father went to London -how,when the vicar arranged readings and recitations,she appeared on the platform,the smallest of them all,'in her little white frock,and shoes,and pink sash';how she recited 'Excelsior,''There was a sound of revelry by night,'and 'The Raven';how during the delivery she would knit her little brows and glare round tragically,and say to the empty air,as if some real creature stood there -'Ghastly,grim,and ancient Raven,wandering from the Nightly shore,Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!''She'd bring up the nasty carrion bird that clear,'corroborated the sick woman reluctantly,'as she stood there in her little sash and things,that you could see un a'most before your very eyes.You too,Jude,had the same trick as a child of seeming to see things in the air.'

The neighbour told also of Sue's accomplishments in other kinds:

'She was not exactly a tomboy,you know;but she could do things that only boys do,as a rule.I've seen her hit in and steer down the long slide on yonder pond,with her little curls blowing,one of a file of twenty moving along against the sky like shapes painted on glass,and up the back slide without stopping.All boys except herself;and then they'd cheer her,and then she'd say,'Don't be saucy,boys,'and suddenly run indoors.

They'd try to coax her out again.But 'a wouldn't come.'