Eline could control herself no longer. The person who was dearest to her in the whole world, who reminded her so much of her father, was being vilified in society by her own sister, in the most vulgar terms imaginable! And she was making Hovel laugh! Eyes flashing, Eline burst out in tremulous indignation, raising her voice so that it would reach across the crystal centrepiece to the other side of the table:
‘Betsy! Please mind what you’re saying! You are not in your own home, and I advise you to find something else to amuse Mr Hovel with instead of saying such hateful things about Vincent!’
Her voice was so commanding that everyone stopped talking in mid-sentence. All eyes were fixed on Betsy and Eline as the fun succumbed to leaden embarrassment. And Eline, to whom making a scene in public would have been anathema before, sat bolt upright, glaring defiantly at Betsy and the rest of them, not caring a whit that her conduct went against the conventions of respectable society. Betsy, her face flushed with nervous agitation, was on the point of making some cutting reply, but mastered herself just in time. Turning to Hovel instead, she spoke with ostensible calm:
‘I do apologise, Mr Hovel, for this interruption. My sister has been suffering from her nerves lately. Do not mind her, please.’
Suppressing her anger with tact, she was soon laughing again and holding forth on another more light-hearted topic.
The hostess was rather shaken by the embarrassing episode at her dinner table, but Emilie de Woude, true to her ebullient nature, came to the rescue with more tact than Betsy could muster. She turned to Eline, who was still casting baleful looks at her sister, and addressed her directly. Her tone was placatory at first, but very soon turned humorous.
‘Ah well, Eline, personally I don’t find him nearly as objectionable as most people seem to. But you must understand, having someone to stay under one’s roof for an extended period, as Betsy has experienced, is a different matter altogether; it’s bound to lead to a certain amount of friction. It’s only naturaclass="underline" young men always get under one’s feet. I know what I’m talking about, because with Georges living at home — oh, you wouldn’t believe how much bother and commotion he causes! Always getting in the way — why, it’s enough to drive anyone to distraction!’
‘Me?’ spluttered Georges, affecting outrage. ‘Me?’ and he defended himself with vigour.
There was a chorus of laughter at this comical tiff between siblings, who were known to be devoted to each another. It even brought a fleeting smile to Eline’s face, and Madame Hovel overflowed with gratitude to Emilie.
. .
It had rained heavily throughout the day, with strong winds lashing the trees and making the branches groan as they littered the ground with broken twigs and autumn leaves. Come the evening, when Betsy, Eline and Henk rode homewards in their carriage at half-past ten, the wind had risen to a raging storm, causing the glass shades of the street lamps to jingle in their sockets and blowing tiles off the roofs. Betsy had meant to give Eline a piece of her mind on the way, but there was so much noise that conversation was virtually impossible, and the cold coming in through a chink in the door made her shiver.
‘Such stormy weather!’ she fretted. ‘Do you think it is dangerous,
Henk? Won’t the horses be frightened?’ Henk shook his head. Like her, he listened to the howling wind and heard the rain drumming on the roof. Eline, too, kept silent. When they drew up at Nassauplein they were welcomed by Gerard, who flung open the front door even before Herman had time to ring the bell, and Betsy and Eline ran inside while Henk gave some last-minute instructions to Dirk concerning the horses. Eline went straight up to her room.
‘What a stormy night, Ma’am,’ said Mina as she helped Betsy out of her cape. ‘You’d think the end of the world was nigh! A fair number of trees will be knocked down before morning, you mark my words. Grete and I were ever so frightened. Oh, I’m so glad you’re safely home again!’
Betsy did not answer, and started up the stairs with the full intention of confronting Eline. But the storm raging outside seemed to have deflected her anger, leaving her in some doubt as to what she would say. Her thoughts turned to the possibility of windows in the house having been left open and chimney stacks being blown off the roof.
‘Gerard! Mina!’ she called from the landing.
They both came running.
‘Are you sure you have locked up properly?’
‘Oh yes, Ma’am!’
‘Well, I want you to make quite sure all the windows are securely closed. What about the attic, for instance? Go and check, you never know.’
Having dispatched the servants, Betsy regained her presence of mind. Yes, she would confront Eline in her room. Her sister was not to think she could get away with such insolence.
Betsy entered Eline’s boudoir, where the gas lamp was lit. The wind rattled the window panes and made the curtains billow. Eline was taking off her cloak.
‘What is it?’ she asked haughtily. ‘I should like to be alone.’
‘May I remind you that you are in my house, and that I can enter any room I please? I have something to say to you.’
‘Well, get on with it then, because, as I said, I want to be alone.’
‘“I want! I want!” What gives you the right to speak to me in that tone? You are here in my house, and it is not for you to want anything!’ fumed Betsy, stamping her feet. ‘Acting like some spoilt little princess who always gets her way! Did you think I’d let you get away with being rude to me in public? Did you? How dare you tell me what I may or may not say? I can say whatever I like to Hovel! I don’t need any prompting from you, do you hear?’
‘I warn you, Betsy, that from now on, whenever I hear you speak about Vincent in that disgraceful way, even if it’s in your own home, I shall put a stop to it.’
‘Ah, so you’re warning me now are you? I have no intention of making any allowances whatsoever for your idiotic sensitivity regarding Vincent! Now he’s gone, you’d think we’d have some peace again, but no! Was it he who taught you that it was perfectly all right to interrupt people in the middle of a conversation? I can’t think what came over you! They must have thought you were mad. Yes, you must be mad, that’s the only excuse I can think of for behaving the way you did! And you call me vulgar — what do you think that makes you? You, who dared to—’
‘I know, I know — I, who dared to interrupt you at a dinner party! Yes, I dared to do so! But I promise you that I shall dare a great deal more if I hear another word spoken against Vincent. You think he’s spiteful, but you’re the one who’s spiteful — first you invite him to stay and then you throw a tantrum over some trifle and shout at him like a fishwife so that he’ll leave! You’re the one who’s spiteful!’
‘Keep your insults to yourself, pray.’
‘And you keep your nasty remarks about Vincent to yourself in future!’ raged Eline. ‘I will not hear another word spoken against him, I’ve put up with it long enough for the sake of peace, but now I can’t stand it any longer! Do you understand?’
‘You can’t stand it any longer, you say? Oh, so it’s because of Vincent that you can’t stand Otto anymore either, I suppose.’
‘Leave Otto out of this!’ screamed Eline.
‘You don’t mean to say that you’ve taken a fancy to that reptile? Is that why you treated Otto as if he were just another beau, someone to have a little fling with? You say you won’t put up with my criticism of Vincent, but I–I won’t put up with any more of your compromising behaviour! Who do you think you are? First you’re stupid enough to break off your engagement, out of sheer caprice, without the slightest reason, so that now we’ve got all the tongues wagging, then you start making a fuss of Vincent here in my house as if you’re in love with him, and to cap it all you have the nerve to insult me in front of other people! I’m not having it, do you hear? If you’ve picked up your bad manners from all those idiotic philosophical discussions you had with Vincent, then—’