He did not say what he promised her, as he went thoughtfully home, leaving his father and Doctor Vinnicombe to do all the talking; but as they parted at the doctors door in the High Street, the latter turned sharply, and said
Good-night, Luke Ross. I say, Michael Ross, I dont think you need envy the parson his good fortune in the matter of boys.
I dont envy him, Luke, my boy, said the little thin, dry old man, as soon as they were out of hearing; and if I were you, my boy, Id have precious little to do with these young fellows.
Dont be alarmed, father, said Luke, laughing; they would think it an act of condescension to associate with me.
No, he said to himself, as he stood at last in his clean, plainly-furnished bedroom in the quaint little market-place, I should be insulting Sage if I thought she could care for any one but me.
But all the same Luke Rosss dreams were not of a very pleasant kind that night; and those of the two sisters of a less happy character still.
Part 1, Chapter XV. The Prodigal Sons
His first great trouble had been the illness of his wife, who, after the birth of Cynthia, had for years and years been taken to this famous specialist, to that celebrated physician, and from both to springs all over the Continent, till, finding no relief, Mr Mallow had yielded to the suffering womans prayer.
It is hopeless, dear, she had said, with a calm look of resignation in her pensive eyes. Let us go home, and I will pray for strength to bear my lot.
They returned then, and it was for her sake that the garden was made to bloom with flowers, and the hothouses to produce the most delicious fruits. Their income was large from private resources, while the Lawford living was good, so that all that money could bring to alleviate the suffering womans trouble was there, and the Rector was almost constantly at her side.
But Fate, as has been said, who had endowed the Rev. Eli Mallow with wealth, a handsome presence, and with good intellect, had not been chary in the matter of what commercial people term set-offs. Trouble besides his wifes sickness came upon him thickly, principally in the persons of his handsome, manly-looking sons.
Frank had been a difficulty from childhood. He had not been more spoilt than most boys are, though certainly his invalid mother had been most indulgent; but there was a moral bias by nature in his disposition, which somehow seemed to make him, just as he was apparently going straight for a certain goal, turn right off in a very unpleasantly-rounded curve.
Quite early in his youth he had to be recalled, to save expulsion from a certain school, on account of his heading a series of raids upon various orchards, and in defiance of divers corrections on the principals part.
He had to return home from his two next schools for various offences against their rules, and finally his college career came to an end with rustication.
Frank laughed, and said that he did not know how it was. One thing, he said, was evident: he was not cut out for the church, and he would not go back to college when the term of his rustication was at an end.
A clerkship was obtained for him then, through great interest, in the Treasury, and here
for three or four years he got along pretty well, the confinement not being great, and the number of friends he met with being of a character to suit his taste.
There were bounds, though, even in those days, to the limits accorded to a gentlemanly clerk of good birth, and when Frank took to absenting himself from the office for a week at a time, matters became serious.
For the first time or two the plea of illness was accepted, but when another absence occurred, also from illness, and Mr Frank Mallow was seen by his superiors riding a showy-looking hack in the park, and was known to have given a bachelors party in the same week, to which several fellow-clerks were invited, it became necessary to hint to the peccant youth that the next time he was unwell, a certificate to that effect would be necessary from some well-known medical man.
Frank was ill again, so he sent in word to the office, and stayed away for another week, after which, on presenting himself, he received a warning one which he bore in mind for a couple of months, and then his head must have once more been very bad, for there was a fresh absence, and this endured so long that Franks seat in the Treasury knew him no more.
Well, it dont matter, mother, he said. It was a wretched set-out, and I was sick of the eternal copying.
But it was such a pity, dear, his mother said, in a tone of remonstrance.
Pity? Stuff! Eighty pounds a year, and a rise of ten pounds annually! Not bricklayers wages, and all the time people think its such a tremendous thing to be a Treasury clerk.
Poor papa is so vexed and grieved, for he took such pains to get you the appointment.
Then poor papa must get pleased again, said the young man, petulantly. I cannot, and I will not, stand a clerks desk. Id sooner enlist.
Frank! cried his mother, reproachfully.