Chapter XI
In which our heroine, being mistaken herself, gives occasion for a great many other mistakes.

As soon as the ladies entered the room, Mr. Selvin, with more gaiety than usual, advanced towards Arabella, who put on so cold and severe a countenance at his approach that the poor man, extremely confused, drew back, and remained in great perplexity, fearing he had offended her.

Mr. Tinsel, seeing Mr. Selvin’s reception, and awed by the becoming majesty in her person, notwithstanding all his assurance, accosted her with less confidence than was his custom; but Arabella, softening her looks with the most engaging smiles, made an apology for detaining them so long from the parade, gave her hand to the beau, as being not a suspected person, and permitted him to lead her out. Mr. Glanville, to whom she always allowed the preference on those occasions, being a little indisposed, and not able to attend her.

Mr. Tinsel, whose vanity was greatly flattered by the preference Arabella gave him to his companion, proceeded, according to his usual custom, to examine her looks and behaviour with more care, conceiving such a preference must proceed from a latent motive which was not unfavourable for him. His discernment on these occasions being very surprising, [174] he soon discovered in the bright eyes of Arabella a secret approbation of his person, which he endeavoured to increase by displaying it with all the address he was master of, and did not fail to talk her into an opinion of his wit, by ridiculing everybody that passed them, and directing several studied compliments to herself.

Miss Glanville, who was not so agreeably entertained by the grave Mr. Selvin, saw these advances to a gallantry with her cousin with great disturbance. She was resolved to interrupt it, if possible; and being convinced Mr. Selvin preferred Arabella’s conversation to hers, she plotted how to pair them together, and have the beau to herself.

As they walked a few paces behind her cousin and Mr. Tinsel, she was in no danger of being overheard; and taking occasion to put Mr. Selvin in mind of Arabella’s behaviour to him, when he accosted her, she asked him if he was conscious of having done anything to offend her.

“I protest, madam,” replied Mr. Selvin, “I know not of anything I have done to displease her. I never failed, to my knowledge, in my respects towards her ladyship, for whom indeed I have a most profound veneration.”

“I know so much of her temper,” resumed Miss Glanville, “as to be certain if she has taken it into her head to be angry with you, she will be ten times more so at your indifference. And if you hope for her favour, you must ask her pardon with the most earnest submission imaginable.”

[175] “If I knew I had offended her,” replied Mr. Selvin, “I would very willingly ask her pardon; but really, since I have not been guilty of any fault towards her ladyship, I don’t know how to acknowledge it.”

“Well,” said Miss Glanville coldly, “I only took the liberty to give you some friendly advice, which you may follow, or not, as you please. I know my cousin is angry at something, and I wish you were friends again, that’s all.”

“I am mightily obliged to you, madam,” said Mr. Selvin, “and since you assure me her ladyship is angry, I’ll ask her pardon, though, really, as I said before, I don’t know for what.”p. 267

“Well,” interrupted Miss Glanville, “we’ll join them at the end of the parade; and to give you an opportunity speaking to my cousin, I’ll engage Mr. Tinsel myself.”

Mr. Selvin, who thought himself greatly obliged to Miss Glanville for her good intentions, though in reality she had a view of exposing her cousin, as well as an inclination to engage Mr. Tinsel, took courage as they turned to get on the other side of Arabella, whom he had not dared before to approach, while Miss Glanville, addressing a whisper of no great importance to her cousin, parted her from the beau, and slackening her pace a little fell into a particular discourse with him, which Arabella being too polite to interrupt, remained in a very perplexing situation, dreading every moment that Mr. Selvin would explain himself; alarmed at his silence, yet resolved to interrupt him if he began to speak, and afraid of beginning a conversation [176] first lest he should construe it to his advantage.

Mr. Selvin, being naturally timid in the company of ladies, the circumstance of disgrace which he was in with Arabella, her silence and reserve, so added to his accustomed diffidence that though he endeavoured several times to speak, he was not able to bring out anything but a preluding hem, which he observed, to his extreme confusion, seemed always to increase Arabella’s constraint.

Indeed, that lady, upon any suspicion that he was going to break his mysterious silence, always contracted her brow into a frown, cast down her eyes with an air of perplexity, endeavoured to hide her blushes with her fan; and to show her inattention, directed her looks to the contrary side.

The lady and gentleman being in equal confusion, no advances were made on either side towards a conversation, and they had reached almost the end of the parade in an uninterrupted silence; when Mr. Selvin, fearing he should never again have so good an opportunity of making his peace, collected all his resolution, and with an accent trembling under the importance of the speech he was going to make, began: “Madam, since I have had the honour of walking with your ladyship, I have observed so many signs of constraint in your manner that I hardly dare entreat you to grant me a moment’s hearing, while I—”

“Sir,” interrupted Arabella, “before you go any further, I must inform you that what you are [177] going to say will mortally offend me. Take heed then how you commit any indiscretion which will force me to treat you very rigorously.”

“If your ladyship will not allow me to speak in my own justification,” said Mr. Selvin, “yet I hope you will not refuse to tell me my offence, since I—”

“You are very confident, indeed,” interrupted Arabella again, “to suppose I will repeat what would be infinitely grievous for me to hear. Against my will,” pursued she, “I must give you the satisfaction to know that I am not ignorant of your crime, but I also assure you that I am highly incensed; and that not only with the thoughts you have dared to entertain of me, but likewise with your presumption in going about to disclose them.”p. 268

Mr. Selvin, whom the seeming contradictions in this speech astonished, yet imagined in general it hinted at the dispute between him and Mr. Tinsel; and supposing the story had been told to his disadvantage, which was the cause of her anger, replied in great emotion at the injustice done him:

“Since somebody has been so officious to acquaint your ladyship with an affair which ought to have been kept from your knowledge, it is a pity they did not inform you that Mr. Tinsel was the person that had the least respect for your ladyship, and is more worthy of your resentment.”

“If Mr. Tinsel,” replied Arabella, “is guilty of an offence like yours, yet since he has concealed it better, he is less culpable than you; and you have done that for him, which haply [178] he would never have had courage enough to do for himself as long as he lived.”

Poor Selvin, quite confounded at these intricate words, would have begged her to explain herself, had she not silenced him with a dreadful frown. And making a stop till Miss Glanville and Mr. Tinsel came up to them, she told her cousin with a peevish accent that she had performed her promise very ill, and whispered her that she was to blame for all the mortifications she had suffered.

Mr. Tinsel, supposing the alteration in Arabella’s humour proceeded from being so long deprived of his company, endeavoured to make her amends by a profusion of compliments, which she received with such an air of displeasure that the beau, vexed at the ill success of his gallantry, told her he was afraid Mr. Selvin’s gravity had infected her ladyship.

“Say rather,” replied Arabella, “that his indiscretion has offended me.”

Mr. Tinsel, charmed with this beginning confidence, which confirmed his hopes of having made some impression on her heart, conjured her very earnestly to tell him how Mr. Selvin had offended her.

“It is sufficient,” resumed she, “that I tell you he has offended me, without declaring the nature of his crime, since doubtless it has not escaped your observation, which if I may believe him, is not wholly disinterested. To confess yet more, it is true that he hath told me something concerning you, which—”

“Let me perish, madam,” interrupted the beau, “if one syllable he has said be true.”

[179] “How!” said Arabella, a little disconcerted. “Will you always persist in a denial then?”

“Deny it, madam!” returned Mr. Tinsel. “I’ll deny what he has said with my last breath. It is all a scandalous forgery. No man living is less likely to think of your ladyship in that manner. If you knew my thoughts, madam, you would be convinced nothing is more impossible, and—”

“Sir,” interrupted Arabella, extremely mortified, “methinks you are very eager in your justification. I promise you I do not think you guilty of the offence he charged you with. If I did, you would haply experience my resentment in such a manner as would make you repent of your presumption.”

Arabella, in finishing these words, interrupted Miss Glanville’s discourse with Mr. Selvin to tell her she desired to return home, to which that young lady, who had not been at all pleased with the morning’s walk, consented.