Chapter 9 Chapter Nine: Mrs. Beth's Words

The road back to Oban was very quiet.Miss Campbell was silent, and neither were the Melville brothers, though it was not their fault.Even if that pesky cloud happens to appear and blot out the last of the sun's rays, one should not be disappointed.The balmy season will continue for another six more weeks.It would be bad luck if there wasn't a night without clouds on the horizon all autumn.However, this fine evening was missed, and Barometer is no guarantee of another like it - at least not immediately.In fact, at night the capricious pointer of the barometer slowly returned to constant parameters.It was still fine weather for everyone, but not for Miss Campbell's satisfaction.The next day was August 8th, and the sun softened through some heat fog.The wind at noon this time was not strong enough to blow away the fog.When it was almost dusk, the entire sky was dyed red with unusually brilliant colors.From chrome yellow to dark teal, all colors blend together to make the sea level a dazzling palette for the painter who is skilled in color.Beneath the black sails of cloud, the setting sun painted the coastal vista with all the shades of the spectrum except that superstitious, whimsical light that Miss Campbell was bent on seeing.

The second day and the next third were spent in this way.The carriage was then returned to the hotel garage.What good is there in making an observation that weather conditions forbid?The Isle of Sale is not much higher than the coast of Oban, so let's not spoil the fun. It was so frustrating that Miss Campbell shut herself in her room after nightfall and got angry with the disobedient sun.She took a long walk to relax, but her mind was actively thinking, what was she thinking about?Is it the legend about the green flower?She needs to see it to see her own heart?Maybe it's not about seeing your own, but other people's hearts?

On this day, Helena, accompanied by Mrs. Bess, went for a walk in Donoli-Castle Castle to relieve her depression.The base of the old wall here is densely covered with ivy as high as the railing.Could there be a more charming place than the scenery here!The hollow of Oban Bay, the bleak face of Kerrere, the scattered Hebrides, and the Isle of Mull, whose western rocks bear the brunt of the landscape from the western Atlantic. Miss Campbell looked at the beautiful vista that opened before her eyes, but was she really looking?Or was there some memory that persisted in her mind?In any case, it can be concluded that it was by no means a shadow of Aristobulus Ursyklaus.The young pedant would have been bored to hear Mrs. Beth's frank opinions of him that day.

"He doesn't please me at all!" she repeated. "No! He doesn't please me at all! What will he look like at Helensburgh House? If I'm not mistaken, he's 'selfish. The Mark's! How can the two Mr. Melvilles think that he will some day be their niece-in-law? Partridge can't bear him any more than I can, sure! You see, Miss Campbell, you Will you like him?" "Who are you talking about?" asked the young girl, not listening to what Mrs. Bess had just said. "Speaking of the person you have to think about...is just for the honor of the family."

"Who do you think I might be thinking of?" "Mr. Aristoboulos, he'd better go up to Tweed and see if any of the Campbells are interested in the Ursey Krauses." Mrs. Bess was always outspoken, especially when she--for the young mistress--was at odds with the old mistress, and indeed she was!In addition, she clearly felt that Helena was particularly indifferent to this suitor.She could only imagine that this indifference might be due to passion for another person. Mrs. Beth may have doubted this when Miss Campbell asked if she could see the young man who had been lucky enough to be rescued from the Glengarry at Oban.

"Impossible, Miss Campbell," replied Mrs. Bess, "he must have left at once, but Partridge insisted that he saw him..." "when?" "Yesterday at Dalmary. He's back, with a bag, like a traveling artist! Ah! What a daring fellow he is, the young man! So sucked in by the Cory Wilkan vortex Well, it does not bode well for his future! There will not always be a boat to rescue him, and he will have bad luck in the future." "Do you think so, Mrs. Bess? Though he is a little rash, he is brave, and at least in this danger he has remained calm and not panicked at all!"

"It is possible. But there is no doubt, Miss Campbell," continued Mrs. Bess, "that the young man must not know that it was thanks to you that he was saved, for he should have come to thank you the day after he arrived in Oban..." "Thanks to me?" replied Miss Campbell. "Why? I did to him what I would have done to anyone, and believe it, I would have done it to anyone else!" "Do you recognize him?" asked Mrs. Bess, looking at the young girl. "Yes," replied Miss Campbell bluntly, "I admit that he came aboard with such individuality and courage as if he had not just escaped death, and that he sent his aged companions The words I said in my arms, all of them touched me deeply!"

"Undoubtedly," replied Lady Bess, "with whom he resembles, I, I cannot say; but he is certainly not like Mr. Aristobles Ursy Claus." Miss Campbell smiled and did not speak. She got up and stood still. She took a last look at the tall shadow of the Isle of Mull in the distance, and then walked down the steep path leading to the Oban Road, followed by Mrs. Bess. That night, the sun set in a layer of dust as light as a veil, and the last rays of light were still immersed in the light mist of the night. Miss Campbell returned to the hotel. She was not very interested in the dinner specially ordered for her by the two uncles. After walking on the beach for a while, she returned to her room.