“No, why, ma’am?” he said. “Only fancy what it must be like! Cousin Alverstoke says he once saw a man giving displays: I wish I had!”
They had by this time entered the park; and when they reached the site of the ascension Felix was delighted to see that, although the balloon was already tethered, the casks of hydrogen, from which the bag would presently be inflated by means of a hosepipe, were still being assembled within the roped-off enclosure. He drew a deep breath of gratification, demanded of Alverstoke if he wasn’t now glad they had started early, jumped down from the phaeton, and made all haste towards the scene of activity.
“I do hope he won’t meet with a repulse!” remarked Eliza. “It would quite ruin his day!”
“From what I know of him he is more likely to meet with quite unnecessary encouragement,” replied Alverstoke. “They took him to their bosoms at the foundry, to which it was my fate to escort him; and he appears to have had a similar success on the steam-boat he once boarded. He has a thirst for information on all forms of mechanical invention, and, for his age, a remarkable grasp of the subject.”
“You too seem to know more about such things than I had suspected!”
“No more than any other man of moderate understanding. I am now going to withdraw into the shade of the trees — no matter how anxious you may be to remain as close as possible to the enclosure!”
She laughed. “I shall be thankful — though I fear Felix will think it very poor-spirited of us!”
Early though it was, they had not been the first of the spectators to arrive. A number of persons had gathered round the enclosure already; and several carriages had taken up positions under the shade of the trees. Amongst these was Lady Buxted’s landaulet: a circumstance which made Eliza ejaculate: “Good God, isn’t that Louisa’s carriage? I wonder how she was induced to lend it? She detests the Merrivilles, you know.”
“I should suppose that she had little choice in the matter. I find Carlton intolerably boring, but I’ll say this for him: he’s not afraid of Louisa’s tongue, and he doesn’t knuckle down to her. Or so I collect, from the complaints she has from time to time poured into my unwilling ears.”
“I had not credited him with so much spirit. Do draw up beside the carriage! I should like to pursue my acquaintance with Frederica.”
He complied with this request, backing the phaeton into place on the right of the landaulet, so that although the high perch of the phaeton made it impossible for his sister to shake hands with Frederica she was able to exchange greetings with her, and might have maintained a conversation had she not decided that to be obliged to talk to anyone sitting so far above her would soon give Frederica a stiff neck. Jessamy had descended from the landaulet, and, with an awkward gallantry, helped her to climb down from her seat, when she expressed her intention to enjoy a comfortable cose with his sisters. She smiled upon him, saying: “Thank you! You, I believe, are Jessamy — the one who handles the reins in form! How do you do?”
He flushed, and, as he bowed over her extended hand, stammered a disclaimer. Her ladyship was very good, but quite mistook the matter! He was the merest whipster, as Cousin Alverstoke would tell her!
“Oh, no! He says you have a — a bit of the drag about you! How do you do, Carlton? I am delighted to see you, but you had liefer go to watch what they are doing to the balloon than talk to an aunt, so you shall give me your place for a while.”
There seemed to be no reason why her ladyship should not have occupied Jessamy’s place, but Lord Buxted, taking his smiling dismissal in good part, forbore to point this out to her. He handed her into the carriage, and turned to look up at his uncle, saying humorously: “I can guess what — or perhaps I should say who! — has brought you here in such excellent time, sir!”
“Yes, an irresistible force. But what the devil brought you here so early?”
“Oh, much the same cause!” said Carlton, glancing towards Jessamy, who was paying no heed to him, his attention being divided between his lordship’s horses, and his lordship’s groom. He continued, lowering his voice: “I knew that our young cousin there would want to see everything, from the start, and would think himself very hardly used if we had arrived only in time to watch the actual ascension!”
A deadly, and all too familiar boredom crept over the Marquis; an acrid rejoinder hovered on his lips, but remained unspoken. As his derisive eyes scanned his nephew’s countenance he realized that the pompous young slow-top was sincere: he believed in all honesty that he was giving Jessamy a high treat; and, as his next words proved, he had taken pains to render it as instructive as it was exciting.
“Knowing that I should be expected to answer all manner of questions, I took the precaution of consulting my Encyclopaedia yesterday,” Buxted said. “I must own that I became quite absorbed in the subject! The information was not quite up-to-date, but the adventures of the first ballooners held me positively spellbound! I have been entertaining my companions with an account of Professor Charles’s experiments. I daresay Jessamy will be able to tell you the height to which he rose on one occasion, eh, Jessamy?” he added, raising his voice.
He was obliged to repeat the question before he could divert Jessamy’s attention from the leader to whom he was addressing soft blandishments, and even then it was Alverstoke who supplied him with the answer.
“Two thousand feet,” he said, coming to Jessamy’s rescue. “Not for nothing have I endured your brother’s company this day, Jessamy! So don’t attempt to tell me that Lunardi filled his balloon with gas procured from zinc; or that Tyler ascended half-a-mile, at Edinburgh; or even that Blanchard once came to rest in an oak-tree, because I am already fully informed on these and a great many other matters!”
“Ah, Felix has an enquiring mind!” said Buxted, smiling indulgently. “Where is the little rascal?”
“Probably taking an active part in the excessively tedious preparations within the enclosure.”
“I hardly think he will have contrived to gain admittance, but perhaps we should go to see that he isn’t in mischief, Jessamy. I daresay you too will like to watch the bag being filled,” said Buxted kindly.
He turned away, to suggest that the ladies might care to go with them; and Jessamy, looking up at the Marquis, said: “I wish I were in Felix’s shoes! Your grays too! Did he ask you to drive him behind a team, sir? I told him you would not, so now he’s got a point the best of me. Little ape! — Yes, Cousin Buxted, I’m coming!”
The ladies having declined the offered treat, Buxted and Jessamy went off together; but it was not many minutes before Jessamy returned. Alverstoke, who had alighted from the phaeton, and was standing talking to Frederica, turned his head. “Murdered him?” he enquired.
Jessamy was betrayed into a laugh, which he instantly checked, saying: “No, no! But there was no bearing it, so I made an excuse to come away. It was bad enough when he would prose on for ever about these intolerable aeronautics — just as though I hadn’t heard enough of them from Felix! — but when he got to reading Felix a lecture, and begging those men’s pardons for having permitted him to plague them, I knew I should be at dagger-drawing with him, if I stayed! So I didn’t.”
“Is Felix plaguing them?” asked Frederica. “Ought I to fetch him away?”
“He wouldn’t come — particularly now that Cousin Buxted has told him to do so! Saying that people engaged on important matters didn’t want ‘little boys’ under their feet. That set up Felix’s bristles in a trice, I can tell you! Well, can you wonder at it?”