Menage and Menagerie - Pat Murphy

Menage and Menagerie - Pat Murphy, ebook

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PAT MURPHY
MENAGE AND MENAGERIE
When Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice, she wasn't writing about a pride of
lions, was she?
THE FAMILY OF RADFORD had been long settled in Devonshire. Their estate was
large, and their residence was at Selwyn Park, in the center of their property,
where, for many generations, they had lived in so respectable a manner as to
engage the general good opinion of their surrounding acquaintance.
Sir Radford, the present owner of the estate, did, in his habits, somewhat
strain the reputation established by his father and his grandfather and his
great grandfather before him. Sir Radford had a passion for exotic animals and
the wealth to indulge that passion. A widower, he lacked the guiding hand of a
wife to temper his eccentricities.
On his estate, he kept a menagerie of exotic creatures, brought to him by
adventurers and explorers from all parts of the globe. A visitor, riding up the
lane toward Sir Radford's large and handsome house, might hear the roar of an
African lion or the shrieking laugh of a wild hyena. Sir Radford's collection
included an Indian tiger, three ostriches from Africa, and an assortment of
gaudily colored birds from the jungles of South America, all obtained at great
expense.
Though Sir Radford's wife had borne him no children, he shared his home with a
young woman whom he had adopted as a daughter. There were those in the county
who said that Miss Selina was his natural daughter, born in one of those exotic
places where he had so often traveled, and brought home to be raised an
Englishwoman. But the story, as Sir Radford told it, was that she was the only
daughter of a gentleman in Russia who had been much like a brother to Sir
Radford. When that gentleman had met with an unfortunate hunting accident, Sir
Radford had taken the man's daughter as his own.
Whatever her ancestry, Miss Selina Radford was a handsome young woman, with
black hair and sparkling hazel eyes. Sir Radford had engaged governesses to
teach her, and she wrote a fine hand, played the pianoforte with considerable
skill, and had a lovely singing voice. She was a hearty girl, given to long
walks on the downs and vigorous rides.
Sir Radford was an exceedingly sociable gentleman. Every year, when spring mists
and rain gave way to warmer weather, he invited his elderly cousin, Lady Dustan
to visit his estate. And so, in the spring of 1828, Lady Dustan came to the
estate with a party of young friends..
Lady Dustan herself was never happier than when she had a noisy party of young
people gathered about her, so that she could watch over them and speculate on
 how they might best be paired off, as matchmaking was one of her favorite
occupations. The first evening at Selwyn Park, while Selina played the
pianoforte and the assembled company listened politely, Lady Dustan and Sir
Radford sat at the back of the room, where they might converse in lowered voices
about the members of Lady Dustan's party. She had brought her two nieces, Mary
and Lydia, and a young man, George Paxton. A second young man, William Gordon,
had joined the party at Sir Radford's request.
"I think you will enjoy the company of Mr. George Paxton, the son of my dear
friend," said Lady Dustan. "He has spent the past few years in the service of
the British Museum doing something frightfully scholarly with plants and animals
that are found in rocks."
"Fossils," Sir Radford ventured.
Lady Dustan fluttered her hand as if brushing away an annoying insect. "I
suppose. He tried to explain it to me once, but I could make no sense of it.
Something about chalk and seashells and dead creatures. He's left the museum in
any case and taken up with the newly established Zoological Society. They're
endeavoring to make a zoological garden in Hyde Park. He's a sweet-tempered,
amiable, young man, though a bit diffident and retiring for his family's tastes.
His mother wished him to go into the law or the army, but neither suited him. He
prefers to putter about with rocks and animals, it seems. Still, I think he has
an open and affectionate heart."
"I can understand wanting to putter about with rocks and animals," Sir Radford
commented, with the slightest edge in his voice.
"Of course you understand, Sir Radford. But Lady Paxton is quite bewildered by
his behavior." Lady Dustan smiled at the back of George Paxton's head. "I do
believe that he and my niece, Lydia, would make a fine match. Their temperaments
would complement one another admirably--she is an excitable girl and I think Mr.
Paxton might help make her less prone to extravagance and passion. And she might
help him approach life in a livelier manner. She's an amiable girl, though not
terribly handsome. She has 10,000 pounds settled on her, and that would make his
family much more willing to indulge his eagerness to study animals, rather than
the law."
"I imagine that would make the young man very happy," Sir Radford observed.
"But I have no match for Lydia's younger sister, Mary. She's a lovely girl,
though quiet by nature." Lady Dustan shifted her gaze to William Gordon. He was
handsome enough, with a fine dark mustache and a military air. "And what can you
tell me of Mr. Gordon,"
"He's a Navy man. He brought me two fine macaws when he returned from South
America. And he says he may bring me a zebra when next he voyages to Africa."
"What of his character.?"
 "A steady man on a hunt, I can say that. He's a capital fellow, I think."
Lady Dustan shook her head, dismayed by Sir Radford's lack of useful information
on the young man. Before she could inquire further or ask discreetly about
Selina's prospects, Selina's song came to an end and Lady Dustan and Sir Radford
joined in the polite applause. As the party moved off to the dining room, Lady
Dustan continued to watch the young men that she had discussed with Sir Radford.
"Your skill in playing is matched only by your beautiful voice," William was
saying. "I've never heard better -- not even in the finest salons in London."
Lady Dustan smiled. He flattered Selina unduly -- her playing was adequate and
her voice was quite pretty, but no more than that. She noticed that William took
care to seat himself between Selina and Lydia.
At dinner, Sir Radford told them about his latest acquisition -- a female
elephant, purchased from a circus menagerie that had fallen on hard times.
William had a few things to say about the unpredictable nature of elephants,
information gleaned on his last expedition to Africa. "I saw a stampede of the
great beasts," he said. "They trampled a village with no more trouble than you
would take in trampling an anthill."
George tried to break in with some discussion of the plans of the Zoological
Society with regard .to African animals. They had already obtained an African
elephant and they hoped to bring one of the beasts from Asia as well. And
perhaps a giraffe, one of those ungainly creatures with the tremendously long
necks.
Lady Dustan listened to the young men talk. She thought it unfortunate that
George's considered and soft-spoken plans could not match William's tales of
hunting for ferocious lions and visiting savage African villages. Lydia's eyes
were on William. Young women were not inclined to understand the virtues of a
quiet and thoughtful husband.
After dinner, Sir Radford prevailed upon the others to join him in a game of
whist. Mary sweetly begged to be excused so that she might play the pianoforte,
Sir Radford's instrument being so decidedly superior to the one she played at
home. And $elina asked if she might listen to the music rather than playing
whist, being an indifferent card player at best. William spoke up quickly,
offering to keep Selina company.
While Sir Radford, Lady Dustan, George, and Lydia played cards, Selina and
William chatted quietly in the corner. The music made it impossible for Lady
Dustan to hear their conversation, but she noticed that they seemed content with
one another's company. She also observed that George Paxton was oblivious to
Lydia's smiles. The girl was animated in her enthusiasm for the game, her eyes
bright with excitement, but George remained stubbornly distracted by the couple
in the corner. Later, when Selina and William strolled onto the terrace to take'
the air, Lady Dustan kept her eye on George, who seemed rather downcast. He
suggested a break in the game at that point, but Sir Radford insisted on another
 hand.
Mary had completed a song and the others had just finished their game when
$elina and William returned. The young lady was laughing at something William
had said, but her laughter lacked the ease of companionable amusement. Lady
Dustan detected an edge of strain, a hint of something amiss.
"Miss Selina!" Lady Dustan called. "Where have you and Nit. Gordon been
wandering?"
"Only as far as the aviary," William said. "It is a beautiful night for a
stroll."
"Whatever have you been telling Miss Selina to amuse her so?" Lady Dustan asked.
She regarded the young woman with interest. Selina's face was flushed; her eyes
unnaturally bright.
"Foolish stories," Selina said. "That is all."
"I was describing a legend I heard among the African savages," William said.
"When the moon is full, they say that some men .turn into hyenas and run wild on
the savannah." He smiled, showing his teeth entirely too freely, Lady Dustan
thought. "The moon is almost full and the story came to mind when I heard the
hyenas laughing in the distance."
"My dear child," said Lady Dustan. She took Selina's hand and pressed it in her
own. "I'm sure no civilized people could ever believe in such a thing."
"On the contrary, Lady Dustan, many people have believed in stories that are
equally fabulous," George Paxton said. Though he spoke to the assembled company,
his eyes were on William and Selina. "Tales of men who become beasts go back to
antiquity. In ancient Rome, learned men wrote of the tumskin, versipellis, a man
who turned into a wolf. The French tell of the same creature, calling him loup
garou."
William laughed. "Do you suppose the Zoological Society will have a loup garou
in your collection, George? Would they welcome such a creature?"
George nodded, but his smile was strained. "If you would only bring us one, I
would ensure that the creature found a home there."
Lady Dustan felt Selina's hand tighten on hers and patted the young woman's
shoulder companionably. "Enough ot these foolish tales. Play another song, Mary,
and let us leave these men to talk of their unlikely adventures together."
Dutifully, Mary began to play.
The next morning, George Paxton woke just after dawn when a peacock screamed
under his window. He lay in bed for a moment, trying to recapture his dream.
Selina had been in distress and he had been running to save her, confident that
 he would win her gratitude.
George was, as Lady Dustan had observed to Sir Radford, an amiable, open-hearted
young man, though too quiet and diffident to do justice to himself. He was
enthusiastic when he was engaged in pursuits that interested him, such as the
study of natural philosophy. In those pursuits, his understanding was excellent
and his scholarly endeavors had been greatly praised by his colleagues at the
museum. But he was fitted neither by abilities nor by disposition to answer to
the wishes of his family, who longed to see him in a distinguished profession.
In company, his tendency was to retire to a quiet comer and observe, rather than
speak out and draw the attention of the crowd to his own accomplishments. He was
aware of this tendency and regretted his natural shyness, but he could not bring
himself to hold forth as William Gordon did.
Sunlight shone through his bedroom window, slipping through a small opening
between the drapes. As the day was clear and bright, he dressed and went out for
a walk in the garden before the rest of the company woke.
A peacock-- perhaps the same one that had disturbed his slumber-strutted down
the path ahead of him, colorful tail trailing in the dust. The path wound past a
cage of parrots that greeted him with rode squawks and flapping wings. "Blast
you to pieces!" one bird shrieked. "Blast you to pieces!" A scarlet macaw
watched him with bright and beady eyes and croaked softly, "You're a bounder,
you are."
No doubt Sir Radford had purchased the birds from sailors who had taught them
these questionable refrains. Still, it was difficult to ignore the second bird's
quiet insistence and steady gaze. "You're a bounder," the bird muttered again.
George turned away, fighting the urge to protest that he was not a bounder, but
he knew of a bounder in the vicinity.
The night before, he had shared a nightcap with William Gordon after the other
members of the party had gone to bed. Jovial and relaxed, William had told
George of his walk with Selina in the garden. William seemed smugly confident
that Selina was partial to him, saying that he had stolen a kiss from the young
lady when they were strolling out by the aviary.
George had contained his feelings, listening to William's cheerful confession
without comment but with a sick feeling at heart. He knew the man's reputation
through his connections at the Zoological Society: an officer in the Navy,
Gordon often returned from his travels with exotic animals for sale. He spent
the money from these sales in a life of idleness and dissipation, riding and
hunting and drinking and gambling. George knew that some thought Gordon
handsome, but he thought the man had rather a brutish countenance.
"Yes, Miss Selina is a beautiful girl," William said. "And I am certain that Sir
Radford will settle a tidy fortune on her at the time of her marriage." He
smiled, showing his teeth, and George thought of the versipellis. In the
company, he had not mentioned that the French attributed the nature of the loup
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