Little Lord Fauntleroy Ch 2 Part 1

Tonight, I am reading Chapter Two, Part One of Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the beloved author of The Secret Garden and A Little Princess. This timeless classic follows the gentle and kind-hearted Cedric Errol, whose life is about to change in the most unexpected way. Filled with warmth, compassion, and the quiet magic of seeing the good in others, this story reminds us that kindness has the power to transform hearts. This audio is perfect for children or adults who want to relax, discover magic, or embark on an adventure before a great night's sleep.

Transcript

Chapter 2 Part 1 There was never a more amazed little boy than Cedric during the week that followed. There was never so strange or so unreal a week. In the first place, The story his mama told him was a very curious one. He was obliged to hear it two or three times before he could understand it. He could not imagine. What Mr. Hobbs would think of it. It began with earls. His grandpapa whom he had never seen. Was an earl. And his eldest uncle, If he had not been killed by a fall from his horse, Would have been an earl too, In time. And after his death, His other uncle would have been an earl. If he had not died suddenly in roam of a fever. After that, His own papa, If he had lived, Would have been an earl. But since they all had died and only Cedric was left. It appeared that he was to be the Earl after his grandpapa's death. And for the present he was Lord Fauntleroy. He turned quite pale when he was first told of it. Oh dearest, He said, I should rather not be an earl. None of the boys are earls. Can I not be one? But it seemed to be unavoidable. And when that evening they sat together by the open window, Looking out into the shabby street, He and his mother had a long talk about it. Cedric sat on his footstool. Clasping one knee in his favored attitude, And wearing a bewildered little face, Rather red from the exertion of thinking. His grandfather had set for him to come to England. And his mama thought he must go. Because, She said, Looking out the window with sorrowful eyes, I know your papa would wish it to be so, Settie. He loved his home very much, And there are many things to be thought of that a little boy can't quite understand. I should be a selfish little mother if I did not send you. When you are a man, You will see why. Said he shook his head mournfully. I shall be very sorry to leave Mr. Hobbs, He said. I'm afraid he'll miss me, And I shall miss him. And I shall miss them all. When Mr. Havisham, Who was the family lawyer of the Earl of Dorincourt, Who had been sent by him to bring Lord Fauntleroy to England, When he came the next day, Cedric heard many things, But somehow it did not console him to hear that he was to be a very rich man when he grew up, And that he would have castles here and castles there, And great parks, And deep mines, And grand estates, And tenantry. He was troubled about his friend Mr. Hobbs, And he went to see him at the store soon after breakfast. And great anxiety of mine. He found him reading the warning paper. And he approached him with a grave demeanor. He really felt it would be a great shock to Mr. Hobbs to hear what had befallen him. And on his way to the store. He'd been thinking how it would be best to break the news. "'Hello, ' said Mr. Hobbs. "'Morning. '" Good morning, Said Cedric. He did not climb up on the high stool as usual, But sat down on a cracker box and clasped his knee. And was so silent for a few minutes that Mr. Hobbs finally looked up inquiringly over the top of the newspaper. Hello, He said again. Cedric gathered all his strength and mind together. Mr. Hobbs, He said. Do you remember what we were talking about yesterday morning? "'Well, ' replied Mr. Hobbs, "'seems to me it was England. '" Yes, " said Cedric, But just when Mary came for me, You know. Mr. Hobbs rubbed the back of his head. He was mentioning Queen Victoria and the aristocracy. Yes, Said Cedric, Rather hesitatingly, And the earls. Don't you know? Why yes, Returned Mr. Hobbs, We did touch him up a little, That's so. Cedric flushed up to the curly bang on his forehead. Nothing so embarrassing as this had ever happened to him in his life. He was a little afraid that it might be a trifle embarrassing to Mr. Hobbs too. You said, He proceeded, That you wouldn't have them sitting round on your cracker barrels. So I did, Returned Mr. Hobbs stoutly, And I meant it. Let him try it, That's all. Mr. Hobbs said Cedric, One is sitting on this box now. Mr. Hobbs almost jumped out of his chair. What? He exclaimed. Yes, Cedric announced with due modesty. I am one. Or I'm going to be. I won't deceive you. Mr. Hobbs looked agitated. He rose up suddenly and went to look at the thermometer. The mercury's got to your head, He exclaimed, Turning back to examine his young friend's countenance. It is a hot day. How do you feel? Got any pain? When did you begin to feel that way? He put his big hand on the little boy's hair. This was more embarrassing than ever. Thank you, Said Setti. I'm all right. There is nothing the matter with my head. I'm sorry to say it's true, Mr. Hobbs. That was what Mary came to take me home for. Mr. Havisham was telling my mama. And he's a lawyer. Mr. Hobbs sunk into his chair and mopped his forehead with his handkerchief. One of us has got a sunstroke, He exclaimed. No, Returned Cedric, We haven't. We shall have to make the best of it, Mr. Hobbs. Mr. Havisham came all the way from England to tell us about it. My grandpapa sent him. Mr. Hobbs stared wildly at the innocent, Serious little face before him. Who is your grandfather? He asked. Cedric put his hand in his pocket and carefully drew out a piece of paper on which something was written in his own round, Irregular hand. I couldn't easily remember it, So I wrote it down on this, He said, And he read aloud slowly. John Arthur Molyneux arrow Earl of Dorincourt. That is his name. And he lives in a castle. And two or three castles, I think. And my papa who died was his youngest son. And I shouldn't have been a lord or an earl if my papa hadn't died. And my papa wouldn't have been an Earl if his two brothers hadn't died. But they all died, And there is no one but me. No boy. And so I have to be one. And my grandpapa has sent me to come to England. Mr. Hobbs seemed to grow hotter and hotter. He mopped his forehead and his bald spot and breathed hard. He began to see that something very remarkable had happened. But when he looked at the little boy sitting on the cracker box, With the innocent, Anxious expression in his childish eyes, And saw that he was not changed at all, But was simply as he had been the day before, Just a handsome, Cheerful, Brave little fellow in a blue suit and a redneck ribbon. All this information about the nobility bewildered him. He was all the more bewildered because Cedric gave it with such ingenuous simplicity. And plainly without realizing himself how stupendous it was. What did you say your name was, Mr. Hobbs inquired. It's Cedric Errol. Lord Fauntleroy, " answered Cedric. That was what Mr. Havisham called me. He said when I went into the room, And so this is Little Lord Fauntleroy. Well, Said Mr. Hobbs, I'll be jiggered. This was an exclamation he always used when he was very much astonished or excited. He could think of nothing else to say just at that puzzling moment. Cedric felt it to be quite a proper and suitable ejaculation. His respect and affection for Mr. Hobbs were so great that he admired and approved of all his remarks. He had not seen enough of society as yet to make him realize that sometimes Mr. Hobbs was not quite conventional. He knew of course that he was different from his mama. But then Mama was a lady. And he had an idea that ladies were always different from gentlemen. He looked at Mr. Hobbs wistfully. England is a long way off, Isn't it? He asked. It's across the Atlantic Ocean, Mr. Hobbs answered. That's the worst of it, Said Cedric. Perhaps I shall not see you again for a long time. I don't like to think of that, Mr. Hobbs. The best of friends must part, " said Mr. Hobbs. Well, Said Cedric, We have been friends for a great many years, Haven't we? Ever since you were born, Mr. Hobbs answered. You were about six weeks old when you first walked out onto this street. Ah, Remarked Cedric with a sigh, I never thought I should have to be an Earl then. You think, Said Mr. Hobbs, There's no getting out of it? I'm afraid not, Answered Cedric. I'm afraid not, Answered Cedric. My mama says that my papa would wish me to do it. But if I have to be an earl, There's one thing I can do. I can try to be a good one. I'm not going to be a tyrant. And if there is ever to be another war with America, I shall try to stop it. His conversation with Mr. Hobbs was a long and serious one. Once having got over the first shock. Mr. Hobbs was not so rancorous as might have been expected. He endeavored to resign himself to the situation. And before the interview was at an end, He had asked a great many questions. As Cedric could answer but a few, He endeavored to answer them himself. And being fairly launched on the subject of earls and marquises and lordly estates, Explain many things in a way which probably would have astonished Mr. Havisham. Could the gentleman have heard it? But then there were many things which astonished Mr. Havisham. He had spent all his life in England and was not accustomed to American people and American habits. He had been connected professionally with the family of the Earl of Dorincourt for nearly 40 years, And he knew all about its grand estates and its great wealth and importance. And in a cold business-like way, He felt an interest to this little boy who in the future was to be the master and owner of them all. The future Earl of Dorincourt. He had known all about the old Earl's disappointment in his elder sons, And all about his fierce rage at Captain Cedric's American marriage. And he knew how he still hated the gentle little widow, And would not speak of her except with bitter and cruel words. He insisted that she was only a common American girl who had entrapped his son into marrying her because she knew he was an Earl's son. The old lawyer himself had more than half believed this was true. He had seen a great many selfish, Mercenary people in his life, And he had not a good opinion of Americans. When he had been driven into the cheap street and his coupe had stopped before the cheap small house. He had felt actually shocked. It seemed really quite dreadful to think that the future owner of Dorincourt Castle and Wyndham Towers in Turlworth and all the other stately splendors should have been born and brought up in an insignificant house in a street with a sort of green grocery at the corner. He wondered what kind of child he would be and what kind of mother he had. He rather shrank from seeing them both. He had a sort of pride in the noble family whose legal affairs he had conducted so long. And it would have annoyed him very much to have found himself obliged. To manage a woman who would seem to vulgar, Money-loving person. And no respect for her dead husband's country and the dignity of his name. It was a very old name, And a very splendid one, And Mr. Havisham had a great respect for it himself, Though he was only a cold, Keen, Business-like lawyer. When Mary handed him into the small parlor, He looked around it critically. It was plainly furnished, But it had a home-like look. There were no cheap common ornaments and no cheap gaudy pictures. The few adornments on the walls were in good taste, And about the room were many pretty things which a woman's hand might have made. Not at all bad so far, He had said to himself. But perhaps the captain's taste predominated. But when Miss Errol came into the room, He began to think she herself might have had something to do with it. If he had not been quite as self-contained, And stiff old gentleman, He would probably have started when he saw her. She looked in the simple black dress, Fitting closely to her slender figure. More like a young girl than the mother of a boy of seven. She had a pretty, Sorrowful young face and a very tender, Innocent look in her large brown eyes. The sorrowful look that had never quite left her face since her husband had died. Cedric was used to seeing it there. The only times he had ever seen it fade out had been when he was playing with her, Or talking to her, And had said some old-fashioned thing, Or used some long word he had picked up out of the newspaper, Or in his conversations with Mr. Hobbs. He was fond of using long words, And he was always pleased when they made her laugh. Though he could not understand why they were laughing. They were very quite serious matters with him. The lawyer's experience taught him to read people's characters very shrewdly, And as soon as he saw Cedric's mother, He knew that the old Earl had made a great mistake in thinking her a vulgar mercenary woman. Mr. Havisham had never been married. He had never been in love. But he'd divine that this pretty young creature with the sweet voice and the sad eyes had married Captain Errol only because she loved him with all her affectionate heart. And that she had never once thought it an advantage that he was an earl's son. And he saw he should have no trouble with her. Then he began to feel that perhaps little Lord Fauntleroy might not be such a trial to his noble family after all. The captain had been a handsome fellow. And the young mother was very pretty. And perhaps the boy might be well enough to look at. When he first told Miss Errol what he had come for, She turned very pale. Oh, She said. Will he have to be taken away from me? We love each other so much. He is such a happiness to me. He is all I have. I have tried to be a good mother to him. And her sweet young voice trembled, And the tears rushed into her eyes. You do not know what he's been to me, She cried. The lawyer cleared his throat. I am obliged to tell you, " he said, That the Earl of Dorincourt is not. Is not very friendly toward you. He's an old man and his prejudices are very strong. He's always especially disliked America and Americans and was very much enraged by his son's marriage. I am so sorry to be the bearer of so unpleasant a communication, But he is very fixed in his determination not to see you. His plan is that Lord Fauntleroy shall be educated under his own supervision, That he shall live with him. The Earl is attached to Dorncourt Castle and spends a great deal of time there. He is a victim to inflammatory gout and is not fond of London. Lord Fauntleroy will, Therefore, Be likely to live chiefly at Dorincourt. The Earl offers you, As a home, Court Lodge, Which is situated pleasantly and is not far from the castle. He also offers you a suitable income. Lord Fauntleroy will be permitted to visit you. The only stipulation is that you shall never visit him or enter the park gates. You see, You will not be really separated from your son, And I assure you, Madam, The terms are not as harsh as they might have been. The advantage of such surroundings and education as Lord Fauntleroy will have I am sure you must see, Will be very great. He felt a little uneasy lest she should begin to cry or make a scene, As he knows some women should have done. It embarrassed and annoyed him to see women cry. But she did not. She went to the window and stood with her face turned away for a few moments, And he saw she was trying to steady herself. Captain Errol was very fond of Dorincourt, She said at last. He loved England, And everything English. It was always a grief to him that he was parted from his home. He was proud of his home and of his name. He would wish, I know he would wish, That his son should know the beautiful old places, And be brought up in such a way as would be suitable to his future position. Then she came back to the table and stood looking up at Mr. Havisham very gently. My husband would wish it, She said. It will be best for my little boy. I know. I am sure the Earl would not be so unkind as to try to teach him not to love me. And I know, Even if he tried, That my little boy is too much like his father to be harmed. He has a warm, Faithful nature and a true heart. He would love me even if he did not see me. And so long as we may see each other, I ought not to suffer very much. She thinks little of herself, The lawyer thought. She does not make any terms for herself. Madam, " he said aloud, I respect your consideration for your son. He will thank you for it when he is a man. I assure you Lord Fauntleroy will be most carefully guarded, And every effort will be used to ensure his happiness. The Earl of Dorincourt will be anxious for his comfort and well-being. As you yourself could be. I hope, " said the tender, Loving mother. In a rather broken voice. That his grandfather will love Setti. The little boy has a very affectionate nature and he has always been loved. Mr. Havisham cleared his throat again. He could not quite imagine the gouty, Fire-tempered old Earl loving anyone very much. But he knew it would be to his interest to be kind, In his irritable way, To the child who was to be his heir. He knew, Too, That if Seti were at all a credit to his name, His grandfather would be proud of him. Lord Fauntleroy will be very comfortable, I am sure, " he replied. It was with a view to his happiness that the Earl desired that you should be near enough to him to see him frequently. He did not think it would be discreet to repeat the exact words the Earl had used, Which were in fact neither polite nor amicable. Mr. Havisham preferred to express his noble patron's offer in smoother and more courteous language. He had another slight shock when Miss Errol asked Mary to find her little boy and bring him to her, And Mary told her where he was. Sure, I'll find him, Ansy enough, Ma'am, " she said. For it's with Mr. Hobson this minute, Setting on his high stool by the counter, Talking politics, Most likely, And enjoying himself among the soap and candles, Insensible as you please. Mr. Hobbs has known him all his life, Miss Errol said to the lawyer. He is very kind to Settie, And there is a great friendship between them. Remembering the glimpse he had caught of the store as he passed it, And having a recollection of the barrels of potatoes and apples, And the various odds and ends, Mr. Havisham felt his doubts arise again. In England, Gentlemen's sons did not make friends of grocery men, And it seemed to him a rather singular proceeding. It would be very awkward if the child had bad manners. And a disposition to like low company. One of the bitterest humiliations of the old earl's life had been that his two elder sons had been fond of low company. Could it be, He thought, That this boy shared their bad qualities instead of his father's good qualities? He was thinking uneasily about this as he talked to Ms. Errol until the child came into the room. When the door opened. He actually hesitated a moment before looking at Cedric. It would perhaps have seemed very queer to a great many people who knew him, If they could have known the curious sensations that passed through Mr. Havisham when he looked down at the boy, Who ran into his mother's arms. He experienced a revulsion of feeling which was quite exciting. He recognized in an instant that here was one of the finest and handsomest little fellows he had ever seen. His beauty was something unusual. He had a strong, Graceful little body and a manly little face. He held his childish head up and carried himself with a brave air. He was so like his father that it was really startling, And he had his father's golden hair and his mother's brown eyes, And there was nothing sorrowful or timid in them. They were innocently fearless eyes. He looked as if he had never feared or doubted anything in his life. He is the best-bred-looking and handsomest little fellow I ever saw, " was what Mr. Havisham thought. What he said aloud was simply, And so this is Little Lord Fauntleroy.