THE TWO CANDIDATES FOR SILVERBRIDGE.
On his arrival in London Ferdinand Lopez found a letter waiting for him from the Duchess.This came into his hand immediately on his reaching the rooms at Belgrave Mansions and was of course the first object of his care.'That contains my fate,' he said to his wife, putting his hand down upon the letter.He had talked to her much of the chance that had come in his way, and had shown himself to be very ambitious of the honour offered to him.She of course had sympathized with him, and was willing to think all good things both of the Duchess and the Duke, if they would between them put her husband into Parliament.He paused a moment still holding the letter under his hand.'You would hardly think that I should be such a coward that I don't like to open it,' he said.
'You've got to do it.'
'Unless I make you do it for me,' he said, holding out the letter to her.'You will have to learn how weak I am.When I am really anxious I become like a child.'
'I do not think you are ever weak,' she said, caressing him.'If there were a thing to be done you would do it at once.But I'll open it if you like.' Then he tore off the envelope with an air of comic importance, and stood for a few minutes while he read it.
'What I first perceive is that there has been a row about it,' he said.
'A row about it! What sort of row?'
'My dear friend the Duchess has not quite hit it off with my less dear friend the Duke.'
'She does not say so?'
Oh dear no! My friend the Duchess is much too discreet for that;--but I can see that it has been so.'
'Are you to be the new member? If that is arranged I don't care a bit about the Duke and Duchess.'
'These things do not settle themselves quite so easily as that.
I am not to have the seat at any rate without fighting for it.
There's the letter.'
The Duchess's letter to her new adherent shall be given, but it must first be understood that many different ideas had passed through the writer's mind between the writing of the letter and the order given by the Prime Minister to his wife concerning the borough.She of course became aware at once that Mr Lopez must be informed that she could not do for him what she had suggested that she would do.But there was no necessity of writing at the instant.Mr Grey had not yet vacated the seat, and Mr Lopez was away on his travels.The month of January was passed in comparative quiet at the Castle, and during that time it became known at Silverbridge that the election would be open.The Duke would not even make a suggestion, and would neither express, nor feel, resentment should a member be returned altogether hostile to his Ministry.By degrees the Duchess accustomed herself to this condition of affairs, and as the consternation caused by her husband's very imperious conduct wore off, she began to ask herself whether even yet she need not quite give up the game.
She could not make a Member of Parliament altogether out of her own hand, as she had once fondly hoped she might do; but still she might do something.She would in nothing disobey her husband, but if Mr Lopez were to stand for Silverbridge, it could not but be known in the borough that Mr Lopez was her friend.
Therefore she wrote the following letter:
Gatherum,--January, 18--
MY DEAR MR LOPEZ, I remember that you said that you would be at home at this time, and therefore I write to you about the borough.Things are changed since you went away, and Ifear, not changed for your advantage.
We understand that Mr Grey will apply for the Chiltern Hundreds at the end of March, and that the election will take place in April.No candidates will appear as favoured from hence.We need to run a favourite, and our favourite would sometimes win,--would sometimes even have a walk over, but good times are gone.All the good times are going, I think.There is no reason that I know why you should not stand as well as anyone else.You can be early in the field;--because it is only now known that there will be no Gatherum interest.And I fancy it has already leaked out that you would have been the favourite had there been a favourite;--which might be beneficial.
I need hardly say that I do not wish my name to be mentioned in the matter.
Sincerely yours, GLENCORA OMNIUM
Sprugeon, the ironmonger, would I do not doubt, be proud to nominate you.
'I don't understand much about it,' said Emily.
'I dare say not.It is not meant that any novice should understand much about it.Of course you will not mention her Grace's letter.'
'Certainly not.'
'She intends to do the very best she can for me.I have no doubt that some understrapper from the Castle has had some communication with Mr Sprugeon.The fact is that the Duke won't be seen in it, but that the Duchess does not mean that the borough shall quite slip through their fingers.'
'Shall you try it?'
'If I do I must send an agent down to see Mr Sprugeon on the sly, and the sooner I do the better.I wonder what your father will say about it.'
'He is an old Conservative.'
'But would he not like his son-in-law to be in Parliament?'
'I don't know that he would care about it very much.He seems always to laugh at people who want to get into Parliament.But if you have set your heart upon it, Ferdinand--'
'I have not set my heart on spending a great deal of money.When I first thought of Silverbridge the expense would have been almost nothing.It would have been a walk over, as the Duchess calls it.But now there will certainly be a contest.'
'Give it up if you cannot afford it.'
'Nothing venture nothing have.You don't think your father would help me doing it? It would add almost as much to your position as to mine.' Emily shook her head.She had always heard her father ridicule the folly of men who spent more than they could afford in the vanity of writing two letters after their name, and she now explained that it had always been so with him.'You would not mind asking him,' he said.