A/N: At the end of last chapter, Emma was having a conversation with Mr. Dickenson and she was about to ask him about George. This chapter picks up from where they left off.
A Lady and a 'Gentleman'
Chapter Twenty Six: Her Gentleman
"Mr. Dickenson… as you have known Mr. Knightley since he was a little boy… have you ever seen him uncharitable? Or being uncharacteristic?"
Though not surprised, Mr. Dickenson found Emma's questions quite unusual. He took in the questions and began searching his memories.
"Humph! As long as I have known Mr. Knightley, I have never seen him uncharitable Mrs. Knightley. In fact, George has been generous since he was a young boy." A sudden thought came to the old gentleman, "Has he ever told you what happened to his marbles?"
"Marbles?" Emma's face lit up, wanting to hear more.
"He was… humph… let me think… about ten years old. I had known him for couple of years already. His father started taking him to agricultural events at a very young age with the aim to mold him early on." The warm memories of Young George put a fond smile on Mr. Dickenson's face. "He was the most delightful little boy I had ever known, bright and intelligent, always polite and proper, with the best manners and a wonderful sense of humor!
"That year he came to the Kingston Fair, or… was it Brentwood… no, it was Kingston! We all came to the Kingston Fair that year. Young George even brought the glass marbles that Mr. Knightley had bought him when he was traveling the Continent. George had wanted those marbles for months, and was over the moon when he finally had them. The marbles were so important to him that he could not part from them; he would take them everywhere he went, they were in his coat pocket everyday wherever he would be!"
The image of George at his tender age obsessing with his glass marbles was beyond endearing to Emma and brought a beautiful smile on her face.
"That morning when Mr. Knightley and I were at a meeting with other landowners and farmers, Mr. Knightley had ordered his valet to never let his young master out of his sight - you see, Mr. Knightley would not have his son wandering the fairground all on his own," Mr. Dickenson gave Emma a knowing smile, "because Mrs. Knightley made Mr. Knightley promised her that their son would never be left by himself in any foreign place!
"But George hated to be followed around! At age ten, he thought himself quite grown-up and wanted to be independent - he would think of all sorts of ways to escape from the watchful eyes of Harry (Mr. Knightley's valet.)" Mr. Dickenson tried to suppress his amusement. "Mind you that Harry was not young - he was Mr. Knightley's own father's valet before he was Mr. Knightley's valet. I suppose you could imagine how easy it would be for a ten year old boy to dash away leaving the old servant looking for him frantically!"
Emma never knew that the sensible Mr. Knightley was ever mischievous in his life, now that she knew - she would have something to tease him with when he called her mischievous!
"After he dashed away from Harry, George came to a group of children, who must be about his age, hovering over someone. Even though he had promised his father he would not speak to strangers or befriend with children who were not friendly, his curiosity caught the better of him when he heard crying and shouting from the group.
"He walked closer to them and to his astonishment he saw several children taunting a little cripple boy." Mr. Dickenson shook his head and sighed, "It never ceases to sadden me that sometimes children could be so cruel!"
Emma's heart sank at the image of the scene.
"Young George stood there watching them in disgust! His father and mother had always taught him to be kind and loving to all people regardless of their ranks and situations. Although many in society thought that disabilities were curses from the Almighty, the Knightleys strictly abhorred it and taught their sons to treat all people with regards."
"Poor George, he must have been immensely bothered by what he saw!" Emma exclaimed.
"Indeed! And instead of leaving the poor child alone after their taunting, couple older children began to kick and punch the little boy!" Mr. Dickenson sighed again, and Emma felt sick to her stomach!
"Though his parents had strictly forbidden their sons getting into fights, George, who was always in perfect manners and obeyed his parents' every order, could not bear it any longer, he jumped in and tried to pull the two mean children away from the little boy…"
"Did George get into a fight with the children then?" Emma grew exceedingly concerned, "What happened? Did he get hurt by them?"
"Oh, no! He did not get hurt – you see, Harry saw the whole happening from afar, but his legs were not in good orders, so it took him quite a while to walk from where he was to where the children were. And by the time Harry finally reached his young master, George and the bullies were already rolling on the ground in the dirt! His clothes were all ruined and his face and hair covered with dirt - but he won the fight and scared off the two bullies for the little boy!"
Emma was relieved! Then she remembered, "Oh! But his father… how did his father react to what happened?"
"Well, Mrs. Kngihtley, we will get to Mr. Knightley's reaction in a moment… After the bullies and all the other children left the scene, George helped the little boy got up on his foot (he only had one foot and a wooden crutch to support him.) He sat down with the little boy and talked with him for some time before Harry pleaded him to return to his father." Mr. Dickenson paused and looked at Emma with sparkling eyes, "You would never guess what he did before he parted the little boy!"
"What did he do, Mr. Dickenson?" Emma was desperate to know.
"Remember the glass marbles he kept in his pocket?"
Emma's bright hazel eyes opened wide, she asked incredulously, "Did he give his marbles to the little boy?"
Mr. Dickenson grinned widely, "He did!"
"But I thought those marbles were precious to him!" Emma still could not believe.
"They were! But not as precious as the cripple boy who had just been bullied by other children – and he gave his precious marbles to the little boy - who had nothing but a crutch!"
Emma's eyes were twinkling with pride! Yes – this was the George she knew all her life. He would never hesitate to give to those in needs, and he had done it without reservation since he was a boy! Her regard for him instantly sent her heart to him, wishing to be by his side to tell him how proud of him she was.
"You wanted to know Mr. Knightley's reaction, did you not?"
"Was he upset with George… for ruining his clothes and giving away his precious glass marbles?"
"By the time Harry took George to his father, we had all returned from our meeting. And yes! One look at his son's ruined clothes and dirty face, Mr. Knightley was furious."
Emma gasped, absolutely engrossed in this tale of Young George Knightley!
"He was furious, not for his son's ruined clothes, but for his son's getting into a fight. As I said, Mr. and Mrs. Knightley forbade their sons getting into fights. Though boys often do get into fights, the Knightley boys did not; and the Knightleys made it their rules to abhor physical violence. So George was punished for his crime – no supper for the night and he must study the first two chapters of the Book of Proverbs until he could recite them by end of the evening."
"That was severe! George had a good reason… would his father not listen to his reason?"
Mr. Dickenson sighed. "Only if Young George was willing to tell his father why he got into the fight, he would have been acquitted of his crime or at least gotten a lesser punishment, but he kept his mouth shut tight!"
"What? He would not tell his father… why?"
"Not only he would not tell his father himself, he made Harry swore secrecy to never tell a soul of why he got into the fight. And there was more - when his father discovered the marbles he bought him from the Continent were gone, all he told his father was that he had lost them!"
Emma wished, on one hand, that George would tell his father the truth to ease his punishment; but on the other, she understood he would never willingly tell others the good deeds he did, and she was amazed that he had been this way since he was a young boy!
"But it must have come out – otherwise how would you know this story yourself Mr. Dickenson?"
"Yes, Mrs. Knightley, it did come out – but it was not from the mouth of Young George himself! Harry might have sworn secrecy in front of his young master, but he took wages from the father of his young master, so when Mr. Knightley interrogated Harry after George was sent to his chamber, Harry immediately recounted everything that he saw to his master and the truth was revealed."
"Did Mr. Knightley rescind, or at least reduce George's punishment?"
Mr. Dickenson smiled, "Mr. Knightley respected his son's wish of not making his kind deed to the little cripple boy known. Although he desired to change it to a lesser sentence, he kept it at the same degree so that George would not know his secret was out - and I dare say even to this day George still does not know that his father knew!"
Emma smiled in silence admiring the wisdom of her late father-in-law in handling his obstinate son!
"But he did send supper to George so that his son need not go hungry for the night!" Mr. Dickenson added.
"Then George must know that his father knew?"
"Oh, no!" Mr. Dickenson grinned, "Mr. Knightley made Harry swore the secrecy of not telling George that the supper was sent by his father. And he knew Harry would never go against his master's wish. He told Harry to tell George that the supper was his own idea for he knew his young master did not commit any crime… And one wonders where George learnt his virtue of doing good deeds in secret!" Mr. Dickenson chuckled heartily.
The gloominess on Emma's face at the inn's dining-room as well as the grave look hung on her face when she was sitting alone on the bench had disappeared. The old gentleman was very happy to see the return of a charming smile on her beautiful face. He continued to address her next question.
"Mrs. Knightley, you also asked me if I had ever seen George being uncharacteristic of himself?"
Emma nodded nervously for they were getting back into the subject that troubled her in the first place – George's uncharacteristic unreasonableness from the night before!
"As you counted so accurately earlier, steadiness is one of George's marked traits. He has always been a delightful and pleasant-temper gentleman, nothing seems to put him out very much – the many years that I have known him, there were less than a handful of times I had seen him out of character."
Emma's beseeching eyes urged Mr. Dickenson to go on.
"Shortly after Mr. Knightley passed away, George had gone to an agricultural event with Mr. Larkins before his leave for the university. I believe that was the very first time I had ever seen him beside himself.
"For a young man who never ran out of subjects or opinions for discussion, he was extremely quiet those days. But then at times he would burst into anger and filled with emotion that he could hardly control!" Mr. Dickenson sighed, "George was very close to his father, his father's death must have thrown him into an unbearable state; it broke my heart to see how the young man suffered from his lost!"
Emma continued to listen intently in silence.
"Then a few years later, when his mother was very ill, we met again at an event. Because of his duty he must come, but his every desire was to be by the side of his mother and his younger brother John! I supposed he knew there was not much time left for his mother on this earth and he was torn apart for having to leave her even for a few days. The same surges of emotion appeared again, and with a great sense of helplessness… everyone would be out of character in the same situation… but when it was George - who was always delightful and steady - it was simply too disheartening to witness!"
Emma took a deep breath as her heart wrenched, not sure if she could bear to hear anymore of her beloved George's sadness!
"When his brother John decided to move to London, he had many apprehensions, too! John was his charge since both his parents passed away. He had loved him dearly, even though he was quite a young man himself, he tried his best to fulfill both roles as his older-brother and a father-figure. So when John decided to move to London after he married your sister, I could tell he bore a great sense of lost in his heart! He did well to hide it though – probably because he knew John would only be sixteen miles away and he could visit him as often as he desired.
"Then - the last time he was out of character … was… " Mr. Dickenson finally paused and looked Emma in the eyes.
Emma wondered why the old gentleman paused; she was intrigued beyond beliefs, dying to know what the last time was about!
Mr. Dickenson smiled archly, his eyes seemed dancing, which almost put Emma out of breath with suspense!
"The last time I had seen him out of character was at last year's Kingston Fair - he was so grave and gloomy that I could have mistaken him an entire different person - not the George Knightley whom I knew all his life!"
"What happened, Mr. Dickenson?" Emma asked urgently.
"He came to Kingston right before a certain Ball was supposed to take place in Highbury, and because he thought that a certain young lady was in love with a young gentleman, and he was so desperately in love with that young lady that he could not bear the thought of her in love with someone else!"
Emma knew whom and which event Mr. Dickenson was speaking of! Her silky soft skin was flushed with the most beautiful crimson color.
Mr. Dickenson smiled warmly, "Mrs. Knightley – if you would have seen George then, you would agree that he was a completely different person now! He was so grave those days that he did not speak more than a few words at a time, nothing could make him smile or arouse his interest - not even his passion for agricultural improvement could revive his soul!"
Emma finally looked up to meet Mr. Dickenson's eyes, though feeling embarrassed by the subject, her curiosity moved her to ask shyly, "Did he speak with you regarding his feelings?"
Mr. Dickenson chuckled, "Oh no! Mrs. Knightley, you know George better than I do, and you know he would never speak to anyone about his feelings!"
Emma smiled, nodded and looked down demurely again.
"Nonetheless, by how out of character he was, and the little intelligence he betrayed regarding the Ball, the young lady and the young gentleman, I could easily surmise what brought on the uncharacteristic demeanor of this very pleasant and steady gentleman!"
The crimson color on Emma's beautiful face just went a shade deeper.
Mr. Dickenson paused and searched his thoughts for a moment. While Emma was looking down, he examined her quietly - remembering the grave looks on the faces of his favorite couple at the dining-room in the morning, then the charming Mrs. Knightley's unusually withdrawn countenance, and the strange questions she just asked regarding her husband – the wise old gentleman seemed to put two and two together! His eyes shined when he spoke sincerely to Emma, "Mrs. Knightley… I have a theory regarding George… would you like to hear it?"
She looked up at him beseechingly.
"As you know, George has been the most generous gentleman all his life; material things are not so important to him - what is most important to him are the people he loves very much!" Emma nodded silently. "He would give up almost any material thing without hesitation when he knows he could help someone in some ways." She nodded again, completely absorbed. "But - when it comes to those he loves dearly, he becomes extremely protective of them - because they are infinitely dearer to his heart!" She smiled tenderly at the truthfulness of the statement – George had indeed protected her all her life! "To someone who is not attached to or possessive in terms of material things, the incredibly strong feelings he has for the ones he loves, I suspect, could take him by surprise, obscure his senses and cause him to act uncharacteristically of himself!"
Mr. Dickenson paused, looked Emma in the eyes intently and slowly and distinctly he went on, "Especially - when it comes to the one person who is most precious to his entire being - Mrs. Knightley, do you know whom I am speaking of?"
Emma's eyes met Mr. Dickenson's, tears began to well up in them - she understood the old gentleman and she knew whom he was speaking of! The unanswered questions that she pondered for so long earlier in the morning had at last found their answers. There was so much emotion in her heart that she could not speak even if she tried. All she could do was to blink away the tears that were about to fall on her delicate cheeks.
"Emma, would you come watch us play?" Little Anna emerged seemingly from nowhere and broke away Emma's eyes from Mr. Dickenson's.
She wiped the tears from her eyes and gathered up a beautiful smile for the little girl, "Of course Anna!"
Then she turned to face the old gentleman, placed her soft hand on his forearm gently, "Thank you, Mr. Dickenson!" The sincerity in her voice expressed an infinite gratitude that no words could ever convey.
"Would you please excuse me?" She stood up gracefully.
Mr. Dickenson immediately got up on his feet and bowed deeply, all the while with the kindest smile on his face.
While Mr. Dickenson took his leave, Emma took Anna's little hand in hers and together they walked back to where Adam and Betty were.
A/N: Thank you for reading! :-)