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diff --git a/41646.txt b/41646.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d104020..0000000 --- a/41646.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,23556 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Emmeline, by Charlotte Turner Smith - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: Emmeline - The Orphan of the Castle - - -Author: Charlotte Turner Smith - - - -Release Date: December 17, 2012 [eBook #41646] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EMMELINE*** - - -E-text prepared by Delphine Lettau, Matthias Grammel, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 41646-h.htm or 41646-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41646/41646-h/41646-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41646/41646-h.zip) - - -Transcriber's note: - - There were several instances of numbered footnote markers - without matching footnotes in the original text. These have - been removed. - - Minor differences in hyphenation have been made consistent. - - - - - - EMMELINE - - THE ORPHAN OF THE CASTLE - - - [Illustration: '_Miss Mowbray! is it thus you fulfil the promise you - gave me?_' - (p. 103)] - - - CHARLOTTE SMITH - - * * * * * - - EMMELINE - THE ORPHAN OF THE CASTLE - - * * * * * - - - - -CONTENTS - - - EMMELINE, THE ORPHAN OF THE CASTLE - - 'To My Children' xxvii - - VOLUME I 1 - CHAPTER I 1 - CHAPTER II 7 - CHAPTER III 13 - CHAPTER IV 20 - CHAPTER V 28 - CHAPTER VI 36 - CHAPTER VII 41 - CHAPTER VIII 49 - CHAPTER IX 56 - CHAPTER X 61 - CHAPTER XI 69 - CHAPTER XII 78 - CHAPTER XIII 86 - CHAPTER XIV 100 - CHAPTER XV 107 - CHAPTER XVI 114 - - VOLUME II 119 - CHAPTER I 119 - CHAPTER II 131 - CHAPTER III 137 - CHAPTER IV 148 - CHAPTER V 152 - CHAPTER VI 161 - CHAPTER VII 169 - CHAPTER VIII 179 - CHAPTER IX 186 - CHAPTER X 194 - CHAPTER XI 201 - CHAPTER XII 218 - - VOLUME III 227 - CHAPTER I 227 - CHAPTER II 238 - CHAPTER III 248 - CHAPTER IV 262 - CHAPTER V 273 - CHAPTER VI 283 - CHAPTER VII 291 - CHAPTER VIII 296 - CHAPTER IX 301 - CHAPTER X 313 - CHAPTER XI 322 - CHAPTER XII 329 - CHAPTER XIII 337 - CHAPTER XIV 344 - - VOLUME IV 355 - CHAPTER I 355 - CHAPTER II 364 - CHAPTER III 372 - CHAPTER IV 383 - CHAPTER V 393 - CHAPTER VI 400 - CHAPTER VII 410 - CHAPTER VIII 421 - CHAPTER IX 434 - CHAPTER X 442 - CHAPTER XI 457 - CHAPTER XII 470 - CHAPTER XIII 486 - CHAPTER XIV 496 - CHAPTER XV 508 - CHAPTER XVI 525 - - EXPLANATORY NOTES 528 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - '_Miss Mowbray! is it thus you fulfil the promise you - gave me?_' (p. 103) xx - - _Emmeline and Lady Adelina surprised at the appearance - of Fitz-Edward_ (p. 477) xxv - - - - - EMMELINE - - THE ORPHAN OF THE CASTLE - -[Illustration: _Emmeline and Lady Adelina surprised at the appearance -of Fitz-Edward_ (p. 477)] - - - VOLUME I - - - - -TO MY CHILDREN - - - O'erwhelm'd with sorrow--and sustaining long - 'The proud man's contumely, the oppressor's wrong,' - Languid despondency, and vain regret, - Must my exhausted spirit struggle yet? - Yes! robb'd myself of all that Fortune gave, - Of every hope--but shelter in the grave; - Still shall the plaintive lyre essay it's powers, - And dress the cave of Care, with Fancy's flowers; - Maternal love, the fiend Despair withstand, - Still animate the heart and guide the hand. - May you, dear objects of my tender care! - Escape the evils, I was born to bear: - Round my devoted head, while tempests roll, - Yet there--'where I have treasured up my soul,' - May the soft rays of dawning hope impart - Reviving patience to my fainting heart; - And, when it's sharp anxieties shall cease, - May I be conscious, in the realms of peace, - That every tear which swells my children's eyes, - From evils past, not present sorrows, rise. - Then, with some friend who loves to share your pain, - (For 'tis my boast, that still such friends remain,) - By filial grief, and fond remembrance prest, - You'll seek the spot where all my miseries rest, - Recall my hapless days in sad review, - The long calamities I bore for you, - And, with an happier fate, resolve to prove - How well ye merited your mother's love! - - - - - EMMELINE - - THE ORPHAN OF THE CASTLE - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -In a remote part of the county of Pembroke, is an old building, formerly -of great strength, and inhabited for centuries by the ancient family of -Mowbray; to the sole remaining branch of which it still belonged, tho' -it was, at the time this history commences, inhabited only by servants; -and the greater part of it was gone to decay. A few rooms only had been -occasionally repaired to accommodate the proprietor, when he found it -necessary to come thither to receive his rents, or to inspect the -condition of the estate; which however happened so seldom, that during -the twelve years he had been master of it, he had only once visited the -castle for a few days. The business that related to the property round -it (which was very considerable) was conducted by a steward grown grey -in the service of the family, and by an attorney from London, who came -to hold the courts. And an old housekeeper, a servant who waited on her, -the steward, and a labourer who was kept to look after his horse and -work in that part of the garden which yet bore the vestige of -cultivation, were now all its inhabitants; except a little girl, of whom -the housekeeper had the care, and who was believed to be the natural -daughter of that elder brother, by whose death Lord Montreville, the -present possessor, became entitled to the estate. - -This nobleman, while yet a younger son, was (by the partiality of his -mother, who had been an heiress, and that of some other female -relations) master of a property nearly equal to what he inherited by the -death of his brother, Mr. Mowbray. - -He had been originally designed for the law; but in consequence of being -entitled to the large estate which had been his mother's, and heir, by -will, to all her opulent family, he had quitted that profession, and at -the age of about four and twenty, had married Lady Eleonore Delamere, by -whom he had a son and two daughters. - -The illustrious family from which Lady Eleonore descended, became -extinct in the male line by the premature death of her two brothers; and -her Ladyship becoming sole heiress, her husband took the name of -Delamere; and obtaining one of the titles of the lady's father, was, at -his death, created Viscount Montreville. Mr. Mowbray died before he was -thirty, in Italy; and Lord Montreville, on taking possession of Mowbray -Castle, found there his infant daughter. - -Her mother had died soon after her birth; and she had been sent from -France, where she was born, and put under the care of Mrs. Carey, the -housekeeper, who was tenderly attached to her, having been the attendant -of Mr. Mowbray from his earliest infancy. - -Lord Montreville suffered her to remain in the situation in which he -found her, and to go by the name of Mowbray: he allowed for the trifling -charge of her board and necessary cloaths in the steward's account, the -examination of which was for some years the only circumstance that -reminded him of the existence of the unfortunate orphan. - -With no other notice from her father's family, Emmeline had attained her -twelfth year; an age at which she would have been left in the most -profound ignorance, if her uncommon understanding, and unwearied -application, had not supplied the deficiency of her instructors, and -conquered the disadvantages of her situation. - -Mrs. Carey could indeed read with tolerable fluency, and write an hand -hardly legible: and Mr. Williamson, the old steward, had been formerly a -good penman, and was still a proficient in accounts. Both were anxious -to give their little charge all the instruction they could: but without -the quickness and attention she shewed to whatever they attempted to -teach, such preceptors could have done little. - -Emmeline had a kind of intuitive knowledge; and comprehended every thing -with a facility that soon left her instructors behind her. The -precarious and neglected situation in which she lived, troubled not the -innocent Emmeline. Having never experienced any other, she felt no -uneasiness at her present lot; and on the future she was not yet old -enough to reflect. - -Mrs. Carey was to her in place of the mother she had never known; and -the old steward, she was accustomed to call father. The death of this -venerable servant was the first sorrow Emmeline ever felt: returning -late one evening, in the winter, from a neighbouring town, he attempted -to cross a ford, where the waters being extremely out, he was carried -down by the rapidity of the current. His horse was drowned; and tho' he -was himself rescued from the flood by some peasants who knew him, and -carried to the castle, he was so much bruised, and had suffered so much -from cold, that he was taken up speechless, and continued so for the few -hours he survived the accident. - -Mrs. Carey, who had lived in the same house with him near forty years, -felt the sincerest concern at his death; with which it was necessary for -her immediately to acquaint Lord Montreville. - -His Lordship directed his attorney in London to replace him with -another; to whom Mrs. Carey, with an aching heart, delivered the keys of -the steward's room and drawers. - -Her health, which was before declining, received a rude shock from the -melancholy death of Mr. Williamson; and she and her little ward had soon -the mortification of seeing he was forgotten by all but themselves. - -Frequent and severe attacks of the gout now made daily ravages in the -constitution of Mrs. Carey; and her illness recurred so often, that -Emmeline, now almost fourteen, began to reflect on what she should do, -if Mrs. Carey died: and these reflections occasionally gave her pain. -But she was not yet of an age to consider deeply, or to dwell long on -gloomy subjects. Her mind, however, gradually expanded, and her judgment -improved: for among the deserted rooms of this once noble edifice, was a -library, which had been well furnished with the books of those ages in -which they had been collected. Many of them were in black letter; and so -injured by time, that the most indefatigable antiquary could have made -nothing of them. - -From these, Emmeline turned in despair to some others of more modern -appearance; which, tho' they also had suffered from the dampness of the -room, and in some parts were almost effaced with mould, were yet -generally legible. Among them, were Spencer and Milton, two or three -volumes of the Spectator, an old edition of Shakespeare, and an odd -volume or two of Pope. - -These, together with some tracts of devotion, which she knew would be -very acceptable to Mrs. Carey, she cleaned by degrees from the dust with -which they were covered, and removed into the housekeeper's room; where -the village carpenter accommodated her with a shelf, on which, with -great pride of heart, she placed her new acquisitions. - -The dismantled windows, and broken floor of the library, prevented her -continuing there long together: but she frequently renewed her search, -and with infinite pains examined all the piles of books, some of which -lay tumbled in heaps on the floor, others promiscuously placed on the -shelves, where the swallow, the sparrow, and the daw, had found -habitations for many years: for as the present proprietor had determined -to lay out no more than was absolutely necessary to keep one end of the -castle habitable, the library, which was in the most deserted part of -it, was in a ruinous state, and had long been entirely forsaken. - -Emmeline, however, by her unwearied researches, nearly completed several -sets of books, in which instruction and amusement were happily blended. -From them she acquired a taste for poetry, and the more ornamental parts -of literature; as well as the grounds of that elegant and useful -knowledge, which, if it rendered not her life happier, enabled her to -support, with the dignity of conscious worth, those undeserved evils -with which many of her years were embittered. - -Mrs. Carey, now far advanced in life, found her infirmities daily -increase. She was often incapable of leaving her chamber for many weeks; -during which Emmeline attended her with the solicitude and affection of -a daughter; scorned not to perform the most humble offices that -contributed to her relief; and sat by her whole days, or watched her -whole nights, with the tenderest and most unwearied assiduity. - -On those evenings in summer, when her attendance could for a few hours -be dispensed with, she delighted to wander among the rocks that formed -the bold and magnificent boundary of the ocean, which spread its immense -expanse of water within half a mile of the castle. Simply dressed, and -with no other protection than Providence, she often rambled several -miles into the country, visiting the remote huts of the shepherds, among -the wildest mountains. - -During the life of Mrs. Mowbray, a small stipend had been annually -allowed for the use of the poor: this had not yet been withdrawn; and -it now passed thro' the hands of Mrs. Carey, whose enquiries into the -immediate necessities of the cottagers in the neighbourhood of the -castle, devolved to Emmeline, when she was herself unable to make them. - -The ignorant rustics, who had seen Emmeline grow up among them from her -earliest infancy, and who now beheld her with the compassion as well as -the beauty of an angel, administering to their necessities and -alleviating their misfortunes, looked upon her as a superior being, and -throughout the country she was almost adored. - -Perfectly unconscious of those attractions which now began to charm -every other eye, Emmeline had entered her sixteenth year; and the -progress of her understanding was equal to the improvement of her -person; which, tho' she was not perfectly handsome, could not be beheld -at first without pleasure, and which the more it was seen became more -interesting and engaging. - -Her figure was elegant and graceful; somewhat exceeding the middling -height. Her eyes were blue; and her hair brown. Her features not very -regular; yet there was a sweetness in her countenance, when she smiled, -more charming than the effect of the most regular features could have -given. Her countenance, open and ingenuous, expressed every emotion of -her mind: it had assumed rather a pensive cast; and tho' it occasionally -was lighted up by vivacity, had been lately frequently overclouded; when -the sufferings of her only friend called forth all the generous sympathy -of her nature. - -And now the first severe misfortune she had known was about to overtake -her. Early in the spring of that year, which was the sixteenth from her -birth, Mrs. Carey had felt an attack of the gout, which however was -short; and her health seemed for some time afterwards more settled than -it had been for many months. She was one evening preparing to go down to -the village, leaning on the arm of Emmeline, when she suddenly -complained of an acute pain in her head, and fell back into a chair. The -affrighted girl called for assistance, and endeavoured by every means in -her power to recover her, but it was impossible; the gout had seized her -head; and casting on Emmeline a look which seemed to express all she -felt at leaving her thus desolate and friendless, her venerable friend, -after a short struggle, breathed her last. - -What should Emmeline now do? In this distress (the first she had ever -known) how should she act? She saw, in the lifeless corpse before her, -the person on whom she had, from her first recollection, been accustomed -to rely; who had provided for all her wants, and prevented every care -for herself. And now she was left to perform for this dear friend the -last sad offices, and knew not what would hereafter be her own lot. - -In strong and excellent understandings there is, in every period of -life, a force which distress enables them to exert, and which prevents -their sinking under the pressure of those evils which overwhelm and -subdue minds more feeble and unequal. - -The spirits of Emmeline were yet unbroken by affliction, and her -understanding was of the first rank. She possessed this native firmness -in a degree very unusual to her age and sex. Instead therefore of giving -way to tears and exclamations, she considered how she should best -perform all she now could do for her deceased friend; and having seen -every proper care taken of her remains, and given orders for every thing -relative to them, with the solemn serenity of settled sorrow, she -retired to her room, where she began to reflect on her irreparable loss, -and the melancholy situation in which she was left; which she never had -courage to consider closely till it was actually before her. - -Painful indeed were the thoughts that now crouded on her mind; -encreasing the anguish of her spirit for her recent misfortune. She -considered herself as a being belonging to nobody; as having no right to -claim the protection of any one; no power to procure for herself the -necessaries of life. On the steward Maloney she had long looked with -disgust, from the assured and forward manner in which he thought proper -to treat her. The freedom of his behaviour, which she could with -difficulty repress while Mrs. Carey lived, might now, she feared, -approach to more insulting familiarity; to be exposed to which, entirely -in his power, and without any female companion, filled her with the most -alarming apprehensions: and the more her mind dwelt on that circumstance -the more she was terrified at the prospect before her; insomuch, that -she would immediately have quitted the house--But whither could she go? - -By abruptly leaving the asylum Lord Montreville had hitherto allowed -her, she feared she might forfeit all claim to his future protection: -and, unknown as she was to the principal inhabitants of the country, who -were few, and their houses at a great distance, she could hardly hope to -be received by any of them. - -She had therefore no choice left but to remain at the castle till she -heard from Lord Montreville: and she determined to acquaint his Lordship -of the death of Mrs. Carey, and desire to receive his commands as to -herself. - -Fatigued and oppressed, she retired to bed, but not to sleep. The image -of her expiring protectress was still before her eyes; and if exhausted -nature forced her to give way to a momentary forgetfulness, she soon -started from her imperfect slumber, and fancied she heard the voice of -Mrs. Carey, calling on her for help; and her last groan still vibrated -in her ears!--while the stillness of the night, interrupted only by the -cries of the owls which haunted the ruins, added to the gloomy and -mournful sensations of her mind. - -At length however the sun arose--the surrounding objects lost the horror -that darkness and silence had lent them--and Emmeline fell into a short -but refreshing repose. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -As soon as Emmeline arose the next morning, she addressed the following -letter to Lord Montreville. - - - 'My Lord, - - 'In the utmost affliction, I address myself to your - Lordship, to acquaint you with the death of Mrs. Carey, after an - illness of a very few moments: by which unhappy event I have lost a - friend who has indeed been a mother to me; and am now left at the - castle, ignorant of your Lordship's pleasure as to my future - residence. - - 'You will, my Lord, I doubt not, recollect that it is, at my time - of life, improper for me to reside here with Mr. Maloney; and if it - be your Lordship's intention for me to continue here, I hope you - will have the goodness to send down some proper person to fill the - place of the worthy woman I have lost. - - 'On your Lordship's humanity and consideration I depend for an - early answer: in which hope I have the honor to remain, - - your Lordship's - dutiful and most humble servant, - EMMELINE MOWBRAY.' - - _Mowbray Castle,_ - _21st May._ - - -The same post carried a letter from Mr. Maloney, informing Lord -Montreville of the housekeeper's death, and desiring directions about -_Miss_, as he elegantly termed Emmeline. - -To these letters no answers were returned for upwards of a fortnight: -during which melancholy interval, Emmeline followed to the grave the -remains of the friend of her infancy, and took a last farewel of the -only person who seemed interested for her welfare. Then returning with -streaming eyes to her own room, she threw herself on the bed, and gave -way to a torrent of tears; for her spirits were overcome by the mournful -scene to which she had just been a witness, and by the heavy forebodings -of future sorrow which oppressed her heart. - -The troublesome civilities of the steward Maloney, she soon found the -difficulty of evading. Fearful of offending him from whom she could not -escape; yet unable to keep up an intercourse of civility with a man who -would interpret it into an encouragement of his presumptuous attentions, -she was compelled to make use of an artifice; and to plead ill health as -an excuse for not dining as usual in the steward's room: and indeed her -uneasiness and grief were such as hardly made it a pretence. - -After many days of anxious expectation, the following letter arrived -from the house-steward of Lord Montreville; as on such an occasion his -Lordship did not think it necessary to write himself. - - - _Berkeley-Square_, _June_ 17, 17-- - - 'Miss, - 'My Lord orders me to acquaint you, that in consequence of your's - of the 21st ult. informing his Lordship of the old housekeeper's, - Mrs. Carey's, decease, he has directed Mrs. Grant, his Lordship's - town housekeeper, to look out for another; and Mrs. Grant has agreed - with a gentlewoman accordingly, who will be down at the castle - forthwith. My Lord is gone to Essex; but has directed me to let Mr. - Maloney know, that he is to furnish you with all things needful same - as before. By my Lord's command, from, Miss, - - your very humble servant, - RICHARD MADDOX.' - - -While Emmeline waited the expected arrival of the person to whose care -she was now to be consigned, the sister of Mrs. Carey, who was the only -relation she had, sent a nephew of her husband's to take possession of -what effects had belonged to her; in doing which, a will was found, in -which she bequeathed fifty pounds as a testimony of her tender affection -to 'Miss Emmeline Mowbray, the daughter of her late dear master;' -together with all the contents of a small chest of drawers, which stood -in her room. - -The rest of her property, which consisted of her cloaths and about two -hundred pounds, which she had saved in service, became her sister's, and -were delivered by Maloney to the young man commissioned to receive them. - -In the drawers given to her, Emmeline found some fine linen and laces, -which had belonged to her mother; and two little silk boxes covered with -nuns embroidery, which seemed not to have been opened for many years. - -Emmeline saw that they were filled with letters: some of them in a hand -which she had been shewn as her father's. But she left them uninspected, -and fastened up the caskets; her mind being yet too much affected with -her loss to be able to examine any thing which brought to her -recollection the fond solicitude of her departed friend. - -The cold and mechanical terms in which the steward's letter was written, -encreased all her uneasy fears as to her future prospects. - -Lord Montreville seemed to feel no kindness for her; nor to give any -consideration to her forlorn and comfortless situation. The officious -freedoms of Maloney encreased so much, that she was obliged to confine -herself almost entirely to her own room to avoid him; and she -determined, that if after the arrival of the companion she expected, he -continued to besiege her with so much impertinent familiarity, she would -quit the house, tho' compelled to accept the meanest service for a -subsistence. - -After a fortnight of expectation, notice was received at the castle, -that Mrs. Garnet, the housekeeper, was arrived at the market town. The -labourer, with an horse, was dispatched for her, and towards evening she -made her entry. - -To Emmeline, who had from her earliest remembrance been accustomed only -to the plainest dress, and the most simple and sober manners, the figure -and deportment of this woman appeared equally extraordinary. - -She wore a travelling dress of tawdry-coloured silk, trimmed with bright -green ribbands; and her head was covered with an immense black silk hat, -from which depended many yellow streamers; while the plumage, with -which it was plentifully adorned, hung dripping over her face, from the -effects of a thunder shower thro' which she had passed. Her hair, tho' -carefully curled and powdered on her leaving London, had been also -greatly deranged in her journey, and descended, in knotty tufts of a -dirty yellow, over her cheeks and forehead; adding to the vulgar -ferocity of a harsh countenance and a coarse complexion. Her figure was -uncommonly tall and boney; and her voice so discordant and shrill, as to -pierce the ear with the most unpleasant sensation, and compleat the -disagreeable idea her person impressed. - -Emmeline saw her enter, handed by the officious Maloney; and repressing -her astonishment, she arose, and attempted to speak to her: but the -contrast between the dirty, tawdry, and disgusting figure before her, -and the sober plainness and neat simplicity of her lost friend, struck -so forcibly on her imagination, that she burst into tears, and was -altogether unable to command her emotion. - -The steward having with great gallantry handed in the newly arrived -lady, she thus began: - -'Oh! Lord a marcy on me!--to be shore I be got here at last! But indeed -if I had a known whereabout I was a coming to, 'tis not a double the -wagers as should a hired me. Lord! why what a ramshakel ould place it -is!--and then such a monstrous long way from London! I suppose, Sir,' -(to Maloney) 'as you be the steward; and you Miss, I reckon, be the -young Miss as I be to have the care on. Why to be sure I did'nt much -expect to see a christian face in such an out of the way place. I don't -b'leve I shall stay; howsomdever do let me have some tea; and do you, -Miss, shew me whereabout I be to sleep.' - -Emmeline, struggling with her dislike, or at least desirous of -concealing it, did not venture to trust her voice with an answer; for -her heart was too full; but stepping to the door, she called to the -female servant, and ordered her to shew the lady her room. She had -herself been used to share that appropriated to Mrs. Carey; but she now -resolved to remove her bed into an apartment in one of the turrets of -the castle, which was the only unoccupied room not wholly exposed to the -weather. - -This little room had been sashed by Mrs. Mowbray on account of the -beautiful prospect it commanded between the hills, where suddenly -sinking to the South West, they made way through a long narrow valley, -fringed with copses, for a small but rapid river; which hurrying among -immense stones, and pieces of rock that seemed to have been torn from -the mountains by its violence, rushed into the sea at the distance of a -mile from the castle. - -This room, now for many years neglected, was much out of repair, but -still habitable; and tho' it was at a great distance from the rooms yet -occupied, Emmeline chose rather to take up her abode in it, than partake -of the apartment which was now to belong to Mrs. Garnet: and she found -reason to applaud herself for this determination when she heard the -exclamation Mrs. Garnet made on entering it-- - -'Lord! why 'tis but a shabbyish place; and here is two beds I see. But -that won't suit me I asshore you. I chuses to have a room to myself, if -it be ever so.' - -'Be not in any pain on that account, Madam,' said Emmeline, who had now -collected her thoughts; 'it is my intention to remove my bed, and I have -directed a person to do it immediately.' - -She then returned into the steward's room, where Maloney thus addressed -her-- - -'Sarvent again, pretty Miss! Pray how d'ye like our new housekeeper? A -smartish piece of goods upon my word for Pembrokeshire; quite a London -lady, eh, Miss?' - -'It is impossible for me, Sir, to judge of her yet.' - -'Why ay, Miss, as you justly observes, 'tis full early to know what -people be; but I hope we shall find her quite the thing; and if so be as -she's but good tempered, and agreeable, and the like, why I warrant we -shall pass this here summer as pleasant as any thing can be. And now my -dear Miss, perhaps, may'nt be so shy and distant, as she have got -another woman body to keep her company.' - -This eloquent harangue was interrupted by the return of Mrs. Garnet, -full of anxiety for her tea; and in the bustle created by the desire of -the maid and Maloney to accommodate her, Emmeline retired to her new -apartment, where she was obliged to attend to the removal of her bed and -other things; and excusing herself, under the pretence of fatigue, from -returning to the steward's room, she passed some time in melancholy -recollection and more melancholy anticipation, and then retired to rest. - -Some days passed in murmurs on the part of Mrs. Garnet, and in silence -on that of Emmeline; who, as soon as she had finished her short repasts, -always went to her own room. - -After a few weeks, she discovered that the lady grew every day more -reconciled to her situation; and from the pleasures she apparently took -in the gallantries of Maloney, and his constant assiduities to her, the -innocent Emmeline supposed there was really an attachment forming -between them, which would certainly deliver her from the displeasing -attentions of the steward. - -Occupied almost entirely by her books, of which she every day became -more enamoured, she never willingly broke in upon a tete a tete which -she fancied was equally agreeable to all parties; and she saw with -satisfaction that they regretted not her absence. - -But the motives of Maloney's attention were misunderstood. Insensible as -such a man must be supposed to the charms of the elegant and -self-cultivated mind of Emmeline, her personal beauty had made a deep -impression on his heart; and he had formed a design of marrying her, -before the death of Mrs. Carey, to whom he had once or twice mentioned -something like a hint of his wishes: but she had received all his -discourse on that topic with so much coldness, and ever so carefully -avoided any conversation that might again lead to it, that he had been -deterred from entirely explaining himself. Now, however, he thought the -time was arrived, when he might make a more successful application; for -he never doubted but that Mrs. Garnet would obtain, over the tender and -ingenuous mind of Emmeline, an influence as great as had been possessed -by Mrs. Carey. - -Nor did he apprehend that a friendless orphan, without fortune or -connections, would want much persuasion to marry a young man of handsome -figure (as he conceived himself to be,) who was established in a -profitable place, and had some dependance of his own. - -The distance which Emmeline had always obliged him to observe, he -imputed to the timidity of her nature; which he hoped would be lessened -by the free and familiar manners of her present companion, whose -conversation was very unlike what she had before been accustomed to hear -from Mrs. Carey. - -Impressed with these ideas, he paid his court most assiduously to the -housekeeper, who put down all his compliments to the account of her own -attractions; and was extremely pleased with her conquest; which she -exhausted all her eloquence and all her wardrobe to secure. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -In this situation were the inhabitants of Mowbray Castle; when, in the -beginning of July, orders were received from Lord Montreville to set -workmen immediately about repairing the whole end of the castle which -was yet habitable; as his son, Mr. Delamere, intended to come down early -in the Autumn, to shoot, for some weeks, in Wales. His Lordship added, -that it was possible he might himself be there also for a few weeks; and -therefore directed several bed-chambers to be repaired, for which he -would send down furniture from London. - -No time was lost in obeying these directions. Workmen were immediately -procured, and the utmost expedition used to put the place in a situation -to receive its master: while Emmeline, who foresaw that the arrival of -Lord Montreville would probably occasion some change in regard to -herself, and who thought that every change must be for the better, -beheld these preparations with pleasure. - -All had been ready some weeks, and the time fixed for Mr. Delamere's -journey elapsed, but he had yet given no notice of his arrival. - -At length, towards the middle of September, they were one evening -alarmed by the noise of horses on the ascent to the castle. - -Emmeline retired to her own room, fearful of she knew not what; while -Mrs. Garnet and Maloney flew eagerly to the door; where a French valet, -and an English groom with a led horse, presented themselves, and were -ushered into the old kitchen; the dimensions of which, blackened as it -was with the smoke of ages, and provided with the immense utensils of -ancient hospitality, failed not to amaze them both. - -The Frenchman expressed his wonder and dislike by several grimaces; and -then addressing himself to Mrs. Garnet, exclaimed--'Peste! Milor -croit'il qu'on peut subsister dans cette espece d'enfer? Montre moi les -apartements de Monsieur.' - -'Oh, your name is Mounseer, is it?' answered she--'Aye, I thought -so--What would you please to have, Mounseer?' - -'Diable!' cried the distressed valet; 'voici une femme aussi sauvage que -le lieu qu'elle habite. Com, com, you Jean Groom, speak littel to dis -voman pour moi.' - -With the help of John, who had been some time used to his mode of -explaining himself, Mrs. Garnet understood that Mounseer desired to be -shewn the apartments destined for his master, which he assiduously -assisted in preparing; and then seeing the women busied in following his -directions, he attempted to return to his companion; but by missing a -turning which should have carried him to the kitchen, he was bewildered -among the long galleries and obscure passages of the castle, and after -several efforts, could neither find his way back to the women, nor into -the kitchen; but continued to blunder about till the encreasing gloom, -which approaching night threw over the arched and obscure apartments, -through windows dim with painted glass, filled him with apprehension and -dismay, and he believed he should wander there the whole night; in which -fear he began to make a strange noise for assistance; to which nobody -attended, for indeed nobody for some time heard him. His terror -encreasing, he continued to traverse one of the passages, when a door at -the corner of it opened, and Emmeline came out. - -The man, whose imagination was by this time filled with ideas of -spectres, flew back at her sudden appearance, and added the contortions -of fear to his otherwise grotesque appearance, in a travelling jacket of -white cloth, laced, and his hair in papillotes. - -Emmeline, immediately comprehending that it was one of Mr. Delamere's -servants, enquired what he wanted; and the man, reassured by her voice -and figure, which there was yet light enough to discern, approached her, -and endeavoured to explain that he had lost himself; in a language, -which, though Emmeline did not understand, she knew to be French. - -She walked with him therefore to the gallery which opened to the great -staircase, from whence he could hardly mistake his way; where having -pointed it to him, she turned back towards her own room. - -But Millefleur, who had now had an opportunity to contemplate the person -of his conductress, was not disposed so easily to part with her. - -By the extreme simplicity of her dress, he believed her to be only some -fair villager, or an assistant to the housekeeper; and therefore without -ceremony he began in broken English to protest his admiration, and -seized her hand with an impertinent freedom extremely shocking to -Emmeline. - -She snatched it from him; and flying hastily back through those passages -which all his courage did not suffice to make him attempt exploring -again, she regained her turret, the door of which she instantly locked -and bolted; then breathless with fear and anger, she reflected on the -strange and unpleasant scene she had passed through, and felt greatly -humbled, to find that she was now likely to be exposed to the insolent -familiarity of servants, from which she knew not whether the presence of -the master would protect her. - -While she suffered the anguish these thoughts brought with them, -Millefleur travelled back to the kitchen; where he began an oration in -his own language on the beauty of the young woman he had met with. - -Neither Mrs. Garnet nor Maloney understood what he was saying; but John, -who had been in France, and knew a good deal of the language, told them -that he had seen a very pretty girl, in whose praise he was holding -forth. - -'Why, Lord,' exclaimed Mrs. Garnet, 'tis our Miss as Mounseer means; I -had a quite forgot the child; I'll go call her; but howsomdever Mounseer -won't be able to get a word out of her; if she's a beauty I asshore you -'tis a dumb beauty.' - -Maloney, by no means pleased with Millefleur's discovery, would -willingly have prevented the housekeeper's complaisance; but not knowing -how to do it, he was obliged to let her ascend to Emmeline, whose door -she found locked. - -'Miss! Miss!' cried she, rapping loudly, 'you must come down.' - -'Is my Lord or Mr. Delamere arrived?' enquired Emmeline. - -'No,' replied Mrs. Garnet, 'neither of em be'nt come yet; but here's my -Lord's waley de sham, and another sarvent, and you'll come down to tea -to be sure.' - -'No,' said Emmeline, 'you must excuse me, Mrs. Garnet. I am not very -well; and if I were, should decline appearing to these people, with -whom, perhaps, it may not be my Lord's design that I should associate.' - -'People!' exclaimed Mrs. Garnet; 'as to people, I do suppose that for -all one of them is a Frenchman, they be as good as other folks; and if I -am agreeable to let them drink tea in my room, sure you, Miss, mid'nt be -so squeamish. But do as you please; for my part I shan't court -beauties.' - -So saying, the angry housekeeper descended to her companions, to whom -she complained of the pride and ill manners of Miss; while Maloney -rejoiced at a reserve so favourable to the hopes he entertained. - -Emmeline determined to remain as much as possible in her own room, 'till -Lord Montreville or Mr. Delamere came, and then to solicit her removal. - -She therefore continued positively to refuse to appear to the party -below; and ordered the maid servant to bring her dinner into her own -room, which she never quitted 'till towards evening, to pursue her usual -walks. - -On the third afternoon subsequent to the arrival of Mr. Delamere's -avant-couriers, Emmeline went down to the sea side, and seating herself -on a fragment of rock, fixed her eyes insensibly on the restless waves -that broke at her feet. The low murmurs of the tide retiring on the -sands; the sighing of the wind among the rocks which hung over her head, -cloathed with long grass and marine plants; the noise of the sea fowl -going to their nests among the cliffs; threw her into a profound -reverie. - -She forgot awhile all her apprehended misfortunes, a sort of stupor took -possession of her senses, and she no longer remembered how the time had -passed there, which already exceeded two hours; though the moon, yet in -its encrease, was arisen, and threw a long line of radience on the -water. - -Thus lost in indistinct reflections, she was unconscious of the -surrounding objects, when the hasty tread of somebody on the pebbles -behind her, made her suddenly recollect herself; and though accustomed -to be so much alone, she started in some alarm in remembering the late -hour, and the solitary place where she was. - -A man approached her, in whom with satisfaction she recollected a young -peasant of the village, who was frequently employed in messages from the -castle. - -'Miss Emmy,' said the lad, 'you are wanted at home; for there is my Lord -his own self, and the young Lord, and more gentlefolks come; so Madam -Garnet sent me to look for you all about.' - -Emmeline, hurried by this intelligence, walked hastily away with the -young villager, and soon arrived at the castle. - -The wind had blown her beautiful hair about her face, and the glow of -her cheeks was heightened by exercise and apprehension. A more lovely -figure than she now appeared could hardly be imagined. She had no time -to reflect on the interview; but hastened immediately into the parlour -where Lord Montreville was sitting with his son; Mr. Fitz-Edward, who -was a young officer, his friend, distantly related to the family; and -Mr. Headly, a man celebrated for his knowledge of rural improvements, -whom Lord Montreville had brought down to have his opinion of the -possibility of rendering Mowbray Castle a residence fit for his family -for a few months in the year. - -Lord Montreville was about five and forty years old. His general -character was respectable. He had acquitted himself with honor in the -senate; and in private life had shewn great regularity and good conduct. -But he had basked perpetually in the sunshine of prosperity; and his -feelings, not naturally very acute, were blunted by having never -suffered in his own person any uneasiness which might have taught him -sensibility for that of others. - -To this cause it was probably owing, that he never reflected on the -impropriety of receiving his niece before strangers; and that he ordered -Emmeline to be introduced into the room where they were all sitting -together. - -Having once seen Emmeline a child of five or six years old; he still -formed an idea of her as a child; and adverted not to the change that -almost nine years had made in her person and manners; it was therefore -with some degree of surprize, that instead of the child he expected, he -saw a tall, elegant young woman, whose air, though timidity was the most -conspicuous in it, had yet much of dignity and grace, and in whose face -he saw the features of his brother, softened into feminine beauty. - -The apathy which prosperity had taught him, gave way for a moment to his -surprize at the enchanting figure of his niece. - -He arose, and approached her. 'Miss Mowbray! how amazingly you are -grown! I am glad to see you.' He took her hand; while Emmeline, -trembling and blushing, endeavoured to recollect herself, and said-- - -'I thank you, my Lord, and I am happy in having an opportunity of paying -my respects to your Lordship.' - -He led her to a seat, and again repeated his wonder to find her so much -grown. - -Delamere, who had been standing at the fire conversing with Fitz-Edward, -now advanced, and desired his father to introduce him; which ceremony -being passed, he drew a chair close to that in which Emmeline was -placed; and fixing his eyes on her face with a look of admiration and -enquiry that extremely abashed her, he seemed to be examining the -beauties of that lovely and interesting countenance which had so -immediately dazzled and surprized him. - -Fitz-Edward, a young soldier, related to the family of Lady Montreville, -was almost constantly the companion of Delamere, and had expectations -that the interest Lord Montreville possessed would be exerted to advance -him in his profession. His manner was very insinuating, and his person -uncommonly elegant. He affected to be a judge as well as an admirer of -beauty, and seemed to behold with approbation the fair inhabitant of the -castle; who, with heightened blushes, and averted looks, waited in -silence 'till Lord Montreville should again address her, which he at -length did. - -'I was sorry, Miss Mowbray, to hear of the death of old Carey.' - -The tears started into the eyes of Emmeline. - -'She was an excellent servant, and served the family faithfully many -years.' - -Poor Emmeline felt the tears fall on her bosom. - -'But however she was old; and had been, I suppose, long infirm. I hope -the person who now fills her place has supplied it to your -satisfaction?' - -'Ye--s, yes, my lord;' inarticulately sobbed Emmeline, quite overcome by -the mention of her old friend. - -'I dare say she does,' resumed his Lordship; 'for Grant, of whom Lady -Montreville has a very high opinion, assured her Ladyship she was well -recommended.' - -Emmeline now found her emotion very painful; she therefore rose to go, -and curtseying to Lord Montreville, tried to wish him good night. - -'A good night to you, Miss Mowbray,' said he, rising. Delamere started -from his chair; and taking her hand, desired to have the honor of -conducting her to her room. But this was a gallantry his father by no -means approved. 'No, Frederic,' said he, taking himself the hand he -held, 'you will give _me_ leave to see Miss Mowbray to the door.' He led -her thither, and then bowing, wished her again good night. - -Emmeline hurried to her room; where she endeavoured to recollect her -dissipated spirits, and to consider in what way it would be proper for -her to address Lord Montreville the next day, to urge her request of a -removal from the castle. - -Mrs. Carey had a sister who resided at Swansea in Glamorganshire; where -her husband had a little place in the excise, and where she had a small -house, part of which she had been accustomed to let to those who -frequented the place for the benefit of sea-bathing. - -She was old, and without any family of her own; and Emmeline, to whom -she was the more agreeable as being the sister of Mrs. Carey, thought -she might reside with her with propriety and comfort, if Lord -Montreville would allow her a small annual stipend for her cloaths and -board. - -While she was considering in what manner to address herself to his -Lordship the next day, the gentlemen were talking of the perfections of -the nymph of the castle; by which name Delamere toasted her at supper. - -Lord Montreville, who did not seem particularly delighted with the -praise his son so warmly bestowed, said-- - -'Why surely, Frederic, you are uncommonly eloquent on behalf of your -Welch cousin.' - -'Faith, my Lord,' answered Delamere, 'I like her so well that I think -it's a little unlucky I did not come alone. My Welch cousin is the very -thing for a tete a tete.' - -'Yes,' said Lord Montreville, carelessly, 'she is really grown a good -fine young woman. Don't you think so, George?' addressing himself to -Fitz-Edward. - -'I do indeed, my Lord,' answered he; 'and here's Mr. Headly, tho' an old -married man, absolutely petrified with admiration.' - -'Upon my soul, Headly,' continued Delamere, 'I already begin to see -great capabilities about this venerable mansion. I think I shall take to -it, as my father offers it me; especially as I suppose Miss Emmeline is -to be included in the inventory.' - -'Come, come, Frederic,' said Lord Montreville, gravely, 'no light -conversation on the subject of Miss Mowbray. She is under my care; and I -must have her treated with propriety.' - -His Lordship immediately changed the discourse, and soon after -complaining of being fatigued, retired to his chamber. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -Lord Montreville, whose first object was his son, had observed, with -some alarm, the immediate impression he seemed to have received from the -beauty of Emmeline. - -The next day, he made some farther remarks on his attention to her when -they met at dinner, which gave him still more uneasiness; and he accused -himself of great indiscretion in having thrown an object, whose -loveliness he could not help acknowledging, in the way of Delamere, -whose ardent and impetuous temper he knew so well. This gave his -behaviour to Emmeline an air of coldness, and even of displeasure, which -prevented her summoning courage to speak to him in the morning of the -day after his arrival: and the evening afforded her no opportunity; for -Lord Montreville, determined to keep her as much as possible out of the -sight of Delamere, did not send for her down to supper, and had -privately resolved to remove her as soon as possible to some other -residence. - -Thus his apprehensions lest his son should form an attachment -prejudicial to his ambitious views, produced in his Lordship's mind a -resolution in regard to placing more properly his orphan niece, which no -consideration, had it related merely to herself, would probably have -effected. - -At supper, Delamere enquired eagerly for his 'lovely cousin.' To which -Lord Montreville drily answered, 'that she did not, he believed, sup -below.' - -But the manner of this enquiry, and the anxious looks Delamere directed -towards the door, together with his repeated questions, increased all -Lord Montreville's fears. - -He went to bed out of humour rather with himself than his son; and -rising early the next morning, enquired for Miss Mowbray. - -Miss Mowbray was walked out, as was her custom, very early, no one knew -whither. - -He learned also that Mr. Delamere was gone out with his gun without -Fitz-Edward; who not being very fond of field sports, had agreed to join -him at a later hour. - -He immediately fancied that Delamere and Emmeline might meet; and the -pain such a suspicion brought with it, was by him, who had hardly ever -felt an hour's uneasiness, considered as so great an evil, that he -determined to put an end to it as soon as possible. - -After an hasty breakfast in his own room, he summoned Maloney to attend -him, and went over the accounts of the estates entrusted to him, with -the state of which his Lordship declared himself well contented. And not -knowing to whom else he could apply, to enquire for a situation for -Emmeline, he told Maloney, that as Miss Mowbray was now of an age to -require some alteration in her mode of life, he was desirous of finding -for her a reputable house in some town in Wales, where she might lodge -and board. - -Maloney, encouraged by being thus consulted by his Lord, ventured, with -many bows, blushes, and stammering apologies, to disclose to Lord -Montreville his partiality to Miss Mowbray. - -And this communication he so contrived to word, that his Lordship had no -doubt of Emmeline's having allowed him to make it. - -Lord Montreville listened therefore in silence, and without any marks of -disapprobation, to the account Maloney proceeded to give of his -prospects and property. - -While he was doing so, family pride made a faint struggle in his -Lordship's breast on behalf of his deserted ward. He felt some pain in -determining, that a creature boasting a portion of the Mowbray blood, -should sink into the wife of a man of such inferior birth as Maloney. - -But when the advantages of so easily providing for her were recollected; -when he considered that Maloney would be happy to take her with a few -hundred pounds, and that all apprehensions in regard to his son would by -that means for ever be at an end; avarice and ambition, two passions -which too much influenced Lord Montreville, joined to persuade him of -the propriety of the match; and became infinitely too powerful to let -him listen to his regard to the memory of his brother or his pity for -his deserted ward. - -He thought, that as the existence of Emmeline was hardly known beyond -the walls of the castle, he should incur no censure from the world if he -consigned her to that obscurity to which the disadvantages of her birth -seemed originally to have condemned her. - -These reflections arose while Maloney, charmed to find himself listened -to, was proceeding in his discourse. - -Lord Montreville, tho' too much used to the manners of politicians to be -able to give a direct answer, at length put an end to it, by telling him -he would consider of what he had said, and talk to him farther in a few -days. - -In the mean time his Lordship desired that no part of their conversation -might transpire. - -Maloney, transported at a reception which seemed to prognosticate the -completion of his wishes, retired elated with his prospects; and Lord -Montreville summoning Mr. Headly to attend him, mounted his horse to -survey the ground on which he meditated improvements round the castle. - -The cold and almost stern civility of Lord Montreville, for the little -time Emmeline had seen him, had created despondence and uneasiness in -her bosom. - -She fancied he disliked her, unoffending as she was, and would take the -first opportunity of shaking her off: an idea which, together with the -awe she could not help feeling in his presence, made her determine as -much as possible to avoid it, 'till he should give her a proper -opportunity to speak to him, or 'till she could acquire courage to seek -it. - -At seven in the morning, she arose, after an uneasy night, and having -taken an early breakfast, betook herself to her usual walk, carrying -with her a book. - -The sun was hot, and she went to a wood which partly cloathed an high -hill near the boundary of the estate, where, intent only on her own -sorrows, she could not beguile them by attending to the fictitious and -improbable calamities of the heroine of a novel, which Mrs. Garnet -(probably forgetting to restore it to the library of some former -mistress,) had brought down among her cloaths, and which had been seized -by Emmeline as something new, at least to her. - -But her mind, overwhelmed with its own anxiety, refused its attention: -and tired with her walk, she sat down on a tree that had been felled, -reflecting on what had passed since Lord Montreville's arrival, and -considering how she might most effectually interest him in her behalf. - -Delamere, attended by a servant, had gone upon the hills in pursuit of -his game; and having had great success for some hours, he came down -about eleven o'clock into the woods, to avoid the excessive heat, which -was uncommon for the season. - -The noise he made in brushing through the underwood with his gun, and -rustling among the fading leaves, alarmed her. - -He stepped over the timber, and seating himself by her, seized her -hands. - -'Oh! my charming cousin,' cried he, 'I think myself one of the most -fortunate fellows on earth, thus to meet you.' - -Emmeline would have risen. - -'Oh! no,' continued he, 'indeed you do not go, 'till we have had a -little conversation.' - -'I cannot stay, indeed Sir,' said Emmeline--. 'I must immediately go -home.' - -'By no means; I cannot part with you.--Come, come, sit down and hear -what I have to say.' - -It was to no purpose to resist. The impetuous vehemence of Delamere was -too much for the timid civility of Emmeline; and not believing that any -thing more than common conversation or a few unmeaning compliments would -pass, she sat down with as much composure as she could command. - -But Delamere, who was really captivated at the first, and who now -thought her more beautiful than he had done in their former interviews, -hesitated not to pour forth the most extravagant professions of -admiration, in a style so unequivocal, that Emmeline, believing he meant -to insult her, burst into a passion of tears, and besought him, in a -tremulous and broken voice, not to be so cruel as to affront her, but to -suffer her to return home. - -Delamere could not see her terror without being affected. He protested, -that so far from meaning to give her pain, he should think himself too -happy if she would allow him to dedicate his whole life to her service. - -Poor Emmeline, however, continued to weep, and to beseech him to let her -go; to which, as her distress arose almost to agony, he at length -consented: and taking her arm within his, he said he would walk home -with her himself. - -To this Emmeline in vain objected. To escape was impossible. To prevail -on him to leave her equally so. She was therefore compelled to follow -him. Which she did with reluctance; while he still continued to profess -to her the most violent and serious attachment. They proceeded in this -manner along the nearest path to the castle, which lay principally among -copses that fringed the banks of the river. They had just passed through -the last, and entered the meadows which lay immediately under the castle -walls, when Lord Montreville and Headly, on horseback, appeared from a -woody lane just before them. - -At the noise of horses so near them, Emmeline looked up, and seeing -Lord Montreville, again struggled, but without success, to disengage her -hand. - -Delamere continued to walk on, and his Lordship soon came up to them. He -checked his horse, and said, somewhat sternly, 'So, Sir, where have you -been?' - -Delamere, without the least hesitation, answered--'Shooting, my Lord, -the early part of the morning; and since that, making love to my cousin, -who was so good as to sit and wait for me under a tree.' - -'For mercy's sake, Mr. Delamere,' cried Emmeline, 'consider what you -say.' - -'Waiting for you under a tree!' cried Lord Montreville, in amazement. -'Do Miss Mowbray be so good as to return home.--And you, Frederic, will, -I suppose, be back by dinner time.' - -'Yes,' answered Delamere, 'when I have conducted my cousin home, I shall -go out again, perhaps, for an hour before dinner.' - -He was then walking on, without noticing the stern and displeased looks -of his father, or the terror of poor Emmeline, who saw too evidently -that Lord Montreville was extremely angry. - -His Lordship, after a moment's pause, dismounted, gave his horse to a -servant, and joined them, telling Delamere he had some business with -Miss Mowbray, and would therefore walk with her towards the castle -himself. - -Delamere kissed her hand gayly, and assuring his father that for the -first time in his life he felt an inclination to take his business off -his hands, he beckoned to his servant to follow with his dogs, and then -leaping over the hedge that separated the meadow from the hollow lane, -he disappeared. - -Emmeline, trembling with apprehension, walked with faultering steps by -the side of Lord Montreville, who for some time was silent. He at length -said--'Your having been brought up in retirement, Miss Mowbray, has, -perhaps, prevented your being acquainted with the decorums of the world, -and the reserve which a young woman should ever strictly maintain. You -have done a very improper thing in meeting my son; and I must desire -that while you are at the castle, no such appointments may take place in -future.' - -Tho' she saw, from the first moment of his meeting them, that he had -conceived this idea, and was confirmed in it by Delamere's speech; yet -she was so much shocked and hurt by the address, that as she attempted -to answer, her voice failed her. - -The tears however, which streamed from her eyes, having a little -relieved her, she endeavoured to assure his Lordship, that till she met -Mr. Delamere in the wood that morning, she did not know even of his -having left the castle. - -'And how happened you to be where he found you, Miss Mowbray?' - -'I went thither, my Lord, with a book which I was eager to finish.' - -'Oh! I remember that Maloney told me you was a great reader; and from -some other discourse he held relative to you, I own I was the more -surprised at your indiscretion in regard to my son.' - -They were by this time arrived at the castle, and Lord Montreville -desired Emmeline to follow him into the parlour, where they both sat -down. - -His Lordship renewed the discourse. - -'This morning Maloney has been talking to me about you; and from what he -said, I concluded you had formed with him engagements which should have -prevented you from listening to the boyish and improper conversation of -Mr. Delamere.' - -'Engagements with Mr. Maloney, my Lord? Surely he could never assert -that I have ever formed engagements with him?' - -'Why not absolutely so.--I think he did not say that. But I understood -that you was by no means averse to his informing me of his attachment, -and was willing, if my consent was obtained, to become his wife. Perhaps -he has no very great advantages; yet considering your situation, which -is, you know, entirely dependent, I really think you do perfectly right -in designing to accept of the establishment he offers you.' - -'To become the wife of Maloney!--to accept of the establishment _he_ -offers me! I am humbled, I am lost indeed! No, my Lord! unhappy as I am, -I can _claim_ nothing, it is true; but if the support of an unfortunate -orphan, thrown by Providence into your care, is too troublesome, suffer -me to be myself a servant; and believe I have a mind, which tho' it will -not recoil from any situation where I can earn my bread by honest -labour, is infinitely superior to any advantages such a man as Maloney -can offer me!' - -She wept too much to be able to proceed; and sat, overwhelmed with grief -and mortification, while Lord Montreville continued to speak. - -'Why distress yourself in this manner, Miss Mowbray? I cannot see any -thing which ought to offend you, if Maloney _has_ misrepresented the -matter, and if he has not, your extraordinary emotion must look like a -consciousness of having altered your mind. - -'Your motive for doing so cannot be mistaken; but let me speak to you -explicitly.--To Mr. Delamere, _my_ son, the heir to a title and estate -which makes him a desirable match for the daughters of the first houses -in the kingdom, _you_ can have no pretensions; therefore never do -yourself so much prejudice as to let your mind glance that way. - -'Maloney tells me he has some property, and still better expectations. -He is established here in an excellent place; and should he marry you, -it shall be still more advantageous. You are (I am sorry to be obliged -to repeat it) without any dependance, but on my favour. You will -therefore do wisely to embrace a situation in which that favour may be -most effectually exerted on your behalf. - -'As you have undoubtedly encouraged Maloney, the aversion you now -pretend towards him, is artifice or coquetry. Consider before you -decide, consider thoroughly what is your situation and what your -expectations; and recollect, that as my son now means to be very -frequently at Mowbray Castle, _you_ cannot remain with propriety but as -the wife of Maloney.' - -'Neither as the wife of Maloney, nor as Emmeline Mowbray, will I stay, -my Lord, another day!' answered she, assuming more spirit than she had -yet shewn. 'I wished for an interview to entreat your Lordship would -allow me to go to some place less improper for my abode than Mowbray -Castle has long been.' - -'And whither would you go, Miss Mowbray?' - -'On that, my Lord, I wished to consult you. But since it is perhaps a -matter unworthy your attention; since it seems to signify little what -becomes of me; I must determine to hazard going to Mrs. Watkins's, who -will probably give me an asylum at least 'till I can find some one who -will receive me, or some means of providing for myself the necessaries -of life.' - -'You then positively reject the overtures of Maloney?' - -'Positively, my Lord--and for ever! I beg it may not be mentioned to me -again!' - -'And who is Mrs. Watkins?' - -'The sister of Mrs. Carey, my Lord.' - -'Where does she live?' - -'At Swansea in Glamorganshire; where she is accustomed to take in -boarders. She would, I believe, receive me.' - -After a moment's consideration, Lord Montreville said, 'that perhaps may -do, since you absolutely refuse the other plan; I would have you -therefore prepare to go thither; but I must insist on no more morning -interviews with Mr. Delamere, and that whither you are going may be kept -unknown to him. But tell me,' continued he, 'what I am to say to poor -Maloney?' - -'That you are astonished at his insolence in daring to lift his eyes to -a person bearing the name of Mowbray; and shocked at his falsehood in -presuming to assert that I ever encouraged his impertinent pretensions!' - -This effort of spirit exhausted all the courage Emmeline had been able -to raise. She arose, and attempted to reach the door; but overcome by -the violence of her agitation, was obliged to sit down in a chair near -it. - -She could no longer restrain the tears which were extorted from her by -the mortifying scene she had passed through: and her deep sighs, which -seemed ready to burst her heart, excited the compassion of Lord -Montreville; who, where his ambition was not in question, was not void -of humanity. The violent and artless sorrow of a beautiful young woman, -whose fate seemed to be in his power, affected him. - -He took her hand with kindness, and told her 'he was sorry to have said -any thing that appeared harsh.' - -His Lordship added, 'that he would have her write to Mrs. Watkins; that -a servant should be sent with the letter; and that on condition of her -concealing her abode from Delamere, she should be supplied with an -annual income equal to all her wants.' - -Then hearing Delamere's gun, which he always discharged before he -entered the house, he hastened Emmeline away, desiring she would remain -in her own apartment; where every thing necessary should be sent to -her. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -Delamere and Fitz-Edward soon after entered the parlour where Lord -Montreville remained. He received his son with a coldness to which, tho' -little accustomed to it, Delamere paid no attention. - -Despotic as this beloved son had always been in the family, he felt not -the least apprehension that he had really offended his father; or -feeling it, knew that his displeasure would be so short liv'd that it -was not worth any concern. - -'Here, Fitz-Edward,' said he--'here is my father angry with me for -making love to my cousin Emmy. Faith, Sir,' (turning to Lord -Montreville,) 'I think I have the most reason to be angry at being -brought into such dangerous company; tho' your Lordship well knows how -devilishly susceptible I am, and that ever since I was ten years old I -have been dying for some nymph or other.' - -'I know that you are a strange inconsiderate boy,' answered Lord -Montreville, very gravely;--'but I must beg, Frederic, to hear no more -idle raillery on the subject of Miss Mowbray.' - -To this, Delamere gave some slight answer; and the discourse was led by -his Lordship to some other topic. - -Fitz-Edward, who was about five years older than Delamere, concealed, -under the appearance of candour and non-chalance, the libertinism of his -character. He had entered very young into the army; the younger son of -an Irish peer; and had contracted his loose morals by being thrown too -early into the world; for his heart was not originally bad. - -With a very handsome person, he had the most insinuating manners, and an -address so truly that of a man of fashion, as immediately prejudiced in -his favour those by whom he wished to be thought well of. Where he -desired to please, he seldom failed of pleasing extremely; and his -conversation was, in the general commerce of the world, elegant and -attractive. - -Delamere was very fond of his company; and Lord Montreville encouraged -the intimacy: for of whatever fashionable vices Fitz-Edward was guilty, -he contrived, by a sort of sentimental hypocrisy, to prevent their being -known to, or at least offensive to those, whose good opinion it was his -interest to cultivate. - -Delamere was of a character very opposite. Accustomed from his infancy -to the most boundless indulgences, he never formed a wish, the -gratification of which he expected to be denied: and if such a -disappointment happened, he gave way to an impetuosity of disposition -that he had never been taught to restrain, and which gave an appearance -of ferocity to a temper not otherwise bad. - -He was generous, candid, and humane; and possessed many other good -qualities, but the defects of his education had obscured them. - -Lady Montreville, who beheld in her only son the last male heir of a -very ancient and illustrious house, and who hoped to see all its glories -revive in him, could never be prevailed upon to part with him. He had -therefore a tutor in the house; and his parents themselves accompanied -him abroad. And the weakness of Lady Montreville in regard to her son, -encreased rather than diminished with his encreasing years. - -Her fondness was gratified in seeing the perfections of his person, -(which was a very fine one) while to the imperfections of his temper she -was entirely blind. - -His father was equally fond of him; and looked up to the accumulated -titles and united fortunes of his own and his wife's families, as the -point where all his ambitious views would attain their consummation. - -To watch over the conduct of this only son, seemed now to be the sole -business of his Lordship's life: and 'till now, he had no reason to fear -that his solicitude for his final establishment would be attended with -so little effect. Except a few youthful indiscretions, which were -overlooked or forgiven, Delamere had shewn no inclinations that seemed -inimical to his father's views; and Lord Montreville hoped that his -present passion for Emmeline would be forgotten as easily as many other -transient attachments which his youth, and warmth of temper, had led him -into. - -At dinner, Delamere enquired 'whether his charming cousin was always to -remain a prisoner in her own room?' - -To which Lord Montreville answered, 'that it had been her custom; and as -there was no lady with them, it was better she should continue it.' - -He then changed the discourse; and contrived to keep Delamere in sight -the whole afternoon; and by that means prevented any further enquiries -after Emmeline; who now, entirely confined to her turret, impatiently -awaited the return of the messenger who had been sent to Swansea. - -Delamere, in the mean time, had lingered frequently about the -housekeeper's room, in hopes of seeing Emmeline; but she never appeared. - -He applied to Mrs. Garnet for intelligence of her: but she had received -orders from Lord Montreville not to satisfy his enquiries. He employed -his servants therefore to discover where she was usually to be found, -and by their means was at length informed in what part of the castle her -apartment lay; and that there was a design actually on foot to send her -away, but whither he could not learn. - -The answer brought from Mrs. Watkins, by the man who had been sent to -Swansea, expressed her readiness to take the boarder offered her. - -This intelligence Lord Montreville communicated himself to Emmeline; who -received it with such artless satisfaction, that his Lordship, who had -before doubted whether some degree of coquetry was not concealed under -the apparent ingenuous innocence of his niece, now believed he had -judged too hastily. - -It remained to be considered how she could be conveyed from Mowbray -Castle without the knowledge of Delamere. She was herself ignorant of -every thing beyond its walls, and could therefore be of no use in the -consultation. His Lordship had, however, entrusted Fitz-Edward with his -uneasiness about Delamere; at which the former only laughed; and said he -by no means believed that any serious consequences were to be -apprehended: that it was mere badinage; of which he was sure Delamere -would think no more after they left Mowbray Castle; and that it was not -a matter which his Lordship should allow to make him uneasy. - -Lord Montreville however, who thought he could not too soon remedy his -own indiscretion in introducing Emmeline to his son, determined to -embrace the opportunity of putting an end to any future correspondence -between them: he therefore insisted on a promise of secresy from -Fitz-Edward; and had recourse to Headly, who from a frequent residence -among the great was the most accommodating and obsequious of their -servants. - -As he was about to leave the castle in a few days, he offered his -services to convey Miss Mowbray from thence, in a chaise of which he was -master. This proposal was eagerly accepted by Lord Montreville. And -enjoining Mr. Headly also to secresy, it was fixed that their journey -should begin the next morning save one. - -Emmeline had notice of this arrangement, which she received with the -liveliest joy. She immediately set about such preparations as were -necessary for her journey, in which she employed that and the remaining -day; which had been destined by Lord Montreville to visit another estate -that he possessed, at the distance of about twelve miles; whither -Delamere and the whole party accompanied him. - -Delamere had discovered, by his servants, that to remove Emmeline was in -agitation; and he determined to see her again in spite of his father's -precaution (which in fact only served to encrease his desire of -declaring his sentiments); but he had no idea that she was to depart so -soon, and therefore was content to go with his father, at his particular -request. - -It was late in the evening preceding that on which Emmeline was to leave -the castle, before they returned to it; and she was still busied in -providing for her journey; in doing which, she was obliged to open one -of the caskets left her by Mrs. Carey. It contained miniatures of her -father and her mother, which had been drawn at Paris before her birth; -and several letters written by Mrs. Mowbray, her grandmother, to her -mother, in consequence of the fatal step she had taken in quitting the -protection of that lady, who had brought her up, to accompany Mr. -Mowbray abroad. - -These, Emmeline had never yet seen; nor had she now courage entirely to -peruse them. The little she read, however, filled her heart with the -most painful sensations and her eyes with tears. - -While she was employed in her little arrangements, time passed -insensibly away. She heard the hollow sound of shutting the great doors -at the other end of the castle, as was usual before the servants retired -for the night: but attentive only to what was at present her greatest -concern, (making room for some favourite books in the box she meant to -take with her,) she heeded not the hour. - -A total silence had long reigned in the castle, and her almost -extinguished candle told her it was time to take some repose, when, as -she was preparing to do so, she thought she heard a rustling, and -indistinct footsteps in the passage near her room. - -She started--listened--but all was again profoundly silent; and she -supposed it had been only one of those unaccountable noises which she -had been used to hear along the dreary avenues of the castle. She began -anew to unpin her hair, when a second time the same noise in the passage -alarmed her. She listened again; and while she continued attentive, the -great clock struck two. - -Amazed to find it so late, her terror encreased; yet she endeavoured to -reason herself out of it, and to believe that it was the effect of -fancy: she heard it no more; and had almost determined to go out into -the passage to satisfy herself that her fears were groundless, when just -as she approached the door, the whispers were renewed; she saw the lock -move, and heard a violent push against it. - -The door, however, was locked. Which was no sooner perceived by the -assailant, than a violent effort with his foot forced the rusty decayed -work to give way, and Mr. Delamere burst into the room! - -Emmeline was infinitely too much terrified to speak: nor could her -trembling limbs support her. She sat down;--the colour forsook her -cheeks;--and she was not sensible that Delamere had thrown himself at -her feet, and was pouring forth the most vehement and incoherent -expressions that frantic passion could dictate. - -Recovering her recollection, she beheld Delamere kneeling before her, -holding her hands in his; and Millefleur standing behind him with a -candle. She attempted to speak; but the words died away on her lips: -while Delamere, shocked at the situation into which he had thrown her, -protested that he meant her not the smallest offence; but that having -learnt, by means of his valet, that she was to go the next morning, and -that his father intended to keep him ignorant of her future destiny, he -could not bear to reflect that he might lose her for ever; and had -therefore taken the only means in his power to speak to her, in hopes of -engaging her pity, for which he would hazard every thing. - -'Leave me, Sir! leave me!' said Emmeline, in a voice scarcely -articulate. 'Leave me instantly, or I will alarm the house!' - -'That is almost impossible!' replied Delamere; 'but I will not terrify -you more than I have done already. No, Emmeline, I wish not to alarm -you, and will quit you instantly if you will tell me that wheresoever -you are, you will permit me to see you; and will remember me with pity -and regard! My father shall not--cannot controul my conduct; nor shall -all the power on earth prevent my following you, if you will yourself -permit me. Tell me, Emmeline,--tell me you will not forget me!' - -'As what, Sir, should I remember you, but as my persecutor? as one who -has injured me beyond reparation by your wild and cruel conduct; and who -has now dared to insult me by a most unparallelled outrage.--Leave me, -Sir! I repeat to you that you must instantly quit the room!' - -She arose, and walked with tottering steps to the end of it. Delamere -followed her. She turned; and came towards the door, which was still -open, and then recollected, that as she knew the passages of the castle, -which she was convinced neither Delamere or his servant did, she might -possibly escape, and find Lord Montreville's room, which she knew to be -at the end of the East gallery. - -Delamere was a few steps behind her when she reached the door; which -hastily throwing quite open, she ran lightly thro' the passage, which -was very long and dark. - -He pursued her, imploring her to hear him but a moment; and the -Frenchman as hastily followed his master with the candle. But at the end -of the passage, a flight of broken steps led to a brick hall, which -opened to other stair-cases and galleries. - -A gust of wind blew out the candle; and Emmeline, gliding down the -steps, turned to the right, and opening a heavy nailed door, which led -by a narrow stairs to the East gallery, she let it fall after her. - -Delamere, now in total darkness, tried in vain to follow the sound. He -listened--but no longer heard the footsteps of the trembling fugitive; -and cursing his fate, and the stupidity of Millefleur, he endeavoured to -find his way back to Emmeline's room, where he thought a candle was -still burning. But his attempt was vain. He walked round the hall only -to puzzle himself; for the door by which he had entered it, he could not -regain. - -In the mean time Emmeline, breathless with fear, had reached the -gallery, and feeling her way 'till she came as she supposed to the door -of the room where Lord Montreville slept, she tapped lightly at it. - -A man's voice asked who it was? - -'It is I, my Lord,' cried Emmeline, hardly able to make herself -heard.--'Mr. Delamere pursues me.' - -Somebody opened the door.--But there was no light; and Emmeline retiring -a step from it, the person again asked who it was? - -'It is Emmeline,' replied she; who now first recollected that the voice -was not that of Lord Montreville.--She flew therefore towards the next -door, with exclamations of encreased terror; but Lord Montreville, who -was now awakened, appeared at it with a lamp in his hand; and Emmeline, -in answer to his question of what is the matter? endeavoured to say that -she was pursued by Mr. Delamere; but fear had so entirely overcome her, -that she could only sigh out his name; and gasping like a dying person, -sat down on a bench which was near the door. - -Fitz-Edward, who was the person she had first spoken to, had by this -time dressed himself, and came to her with a glass of water out of his -room; while Lord Montreville, hearing his son's name so inarticulately -pronounced, and seeing the speechless affright in which Emmeline sat -before him, conceived the most alarming apprehensions, and believed that -his son was either dead or dying. - -With great difficulty he summoned up courage enough, again to beg for -heaven's sake she would tell him what had occasioned her to leave her -room at such an hour? - -She again exclaimed, 'it is Mr. Delamere, my Lord!' - -'What of Mr. Delamere?--what of my son?' cried he, with infinite -agitation. - -'Save me from him my Lord!' answered Emmeline, a little recovered by the -water she had drank. - -'Where is he then?' said his Lordship. - -'I know not,' replied Emmeline; 'but he came to my room with his -servant, and I flew hither to implore your protection.' - -Fitz-Edward intreated Lord Montreville to be more calm, and to give Miss -Mowbray time to recollect herself. He offered to go in search of -Delamere; but his Lordship was in too much anxiety to be satisfied with -any enquiries but his own. - -He therefore said he would go down himself; but Emmeline catching his -hand, entreated him not to leave her. - -At this moment the voices of Delamere and his man were heard echoing -through the whole side of the castle; for wearied with their fruitless -attempts to escape, they both called for lights in no very gentle tone. - -Lord Montreville easily distinguished from whence the noise came; and -followed by Emmeline, whom Fitz-Edward supported, he descended into the -brick hall from whence Emmeline had effected her escape, where he found -Delamere trembling with passion, and Millefleur with fear. - -Lord Montreville could not conceal his anger and resentment.-- - -'How comes it, Sir,' cried he, addressing himself to his son, 'that you -dare thus to insult a person who is under my protection? What excess of -madness and folly has tempted you to violate the retirement of Miss -Mowbray?' - -'I mean not, my Lord,' answered Delamere, 'to attempt a concealment of -my sentiments. I love Miss Mowbray; passionately love her; and scorn to -dissimulate. I know you had a design to send her from hence; -clandestinely to send her; and I determined that she should not go 'till -I had declared my attachment to her, which I found you endeavoured -assiduously to prevent. You may certainly remove her from hence; but I -protest to you, that wherever she is, there I will endeavour to see her, -in spite of the universe.' - -Lord Montreville now felt all the force of the error he had committed in -that boundless indulgence to which he had accustomed his son. In the -first instance of any consequence in which their wishes differed, he saw -him ready to throw off the restraint of paternal authority, and daring -to avow his resolution to act as he pleased. - -This mortifying reflection arose in his mind, while, with a look of -mingled anger and amazement, he beheld Delamere, who having ordered -Millefleur to light his candle, snatched it from him, and hastily -retired. - -Emmeline, who had stood trembling the whole time behind Lord -Montreville, besought him to ring up the housekeeper, and direct her to -stay with her for the rest of the night; for she declared she would on -no account remain in her own room alone. - -His Lordship recommending her to the care of Fitz-Edward, went himself -in search of the housekeeper; and Emmeline refusing to seek a more -commodious apartment, sat down in one of the windows of the hall to wait -his return. - -Fitz-Edward, to whom she had yet hardly spoken, now entertained her with -a profusion of compliments, almost as warm as those she had heard from -Delamere; but her spirits, quite exhausted by the terror which had so -lately possessed them, could no longer support her; she was unable to -give an answer of common civility, and was very glad to see Lord -Montreville return with Mrs. Garnet; who, extremely discomposed at being -disturbed and obliged to appear in her night-cap, followed her, -grumbling, into her room; where, as Emmeline refused to go to it -herself, she took possession of her bed, and soon falling into a -profound sleep, left its melancholy owner to her sad reflections. - -She had not been many minutes indulging them, and wishing for the return -of light, before somebody was again at the door. Emmeline still -apprehending Delamere, stepped to it; and was astonished to see Lord -Montreville himself. - -He entered the room; and told her, that as his son knew of her journey -in the morning, he would probably try some means to prevent it, or at -least to trace out her abode; that it was therefore absolutely necessary -for her to be ready by day break or before, for which he had prepared -Mr. Headly; who was up, and getting ready to set out as soon as there -was light enough to make it safe. - -Emmeline, who thought she could not be gone too soon, now hastily -finished the remainder of her packing; and having dressed herself for -her journey, which notwithstanding her sleepless night she rejoiced to -find so near, she waited with impatience 'till Mr. Headly summoned her -to go. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -The sun no sooner appeared above the horizon, than her conductor was -ready with his one-horse chair: and Emmeline being seated in it, and her -little baggage adjusted, she left the door of the castle; where Maloney, -who saw his favourite hopes vanish as he feared for ever, stood with a -rueful countenance to behold her departure. - -However desirous she was of quitting a residence which had long been -uneasy to her, and which was now become so extremely improper, such is -the force of early habit, that she could not bid it adieu without being -greatly affected. - -There she had passed her earliest infancy, and had known, in that period -of unconscious happiness, many delightful hours which would return no -more. - -It was endeared to her by the memory of that good friend who had -supplied to her the place of a parent; from whom alone she had ever -heard the soothing voice of maternal solicitude. And as she passed by -the village church, which had been formerly the chapel of the monastery, -and joined the castle walls, she turned her eyes, filled with tears, -towards the spot where the remains of Mrs. Carey were deposited, and -sighed deeply; a thousand tender and painful recollections crouding on -her heart. - -As she left the village, several women and children, who had heard she -was going that day, were already waiting to bid her farewell; -considering her as the last of that family, by whom they had been -employed when in health, and relieved when in sickness; they lamented -her departure as their greatest misfortune. - -The present possessor of the castle bore not the name of Mowbray, and -was not at all interested for the peasantry, among whom he was a -stranger; they therefore, in losing Emmeline, seemed to lose the last of -the race of their ancient benefactors. - -Emmeline, affected by their simple expressions of regret, returned their -good wishes with tears; and as soon as the chaise drove out of the -village, again fixed her eyes on the habitation she had quitted. - -Its venerable towers rising above the wood in which it was almost -embosomed, made one of the most magnificent features of a landscape, -which now appeared in sight. - -The road lay along the side of what would in England be called a -mountain; at its feet rolled the rapid stream that washed the castle -walls, foaming over fragments of rock; and bounded by a wood of oak and -pine; among which the ruins of the monastery, once an appendage to the -castle, reared its broken arches; and marked by grey and mouldering -walls, and mounds covered with slight vegetation, it was traced to its -connection with the castle itself, still frowning in gothic -magnificence; and stretching over several acres of ground: the citadel, -which was totally in ruins and covered with ivy, crowning the whole. -Farther to the West, beyond a bold and rocky shore, appeared the sea; -and to the East, a chain of mountains which seemed to meet the clouds; -while on the other side, a rich and beautiful vale, now variegated with -the mellowed tints of the declining year, spread its enclosures, 'till -it was lost again among the blue and barren hills. - -Headly declaimed eloquently on the charms of the prospect, which -gradually unveiled itself as the autumnal mist disappeared. But -Emmeline, tho' ever alive to the beauties of nature, was too much -occupied by her own melancholy reflections to attend to the -animadversions of her companion. - -_She_ saw nothing but the castle, of which she believed she was now -taking an eternal adieu; and her looks were fixed on it, 'till the road -winding down the hill on the other side, concealed it from her sight. - -Headly imputed her sadness to a very different cause than that of an -early and long attachment to a particular spot. He supposed that regret -at being obliged to leave Delamere, to whose passion he could not -believe her insensible, occasioned the melancholy that overwhelmed her. -He spoke to her of him, and affected to lament the uneasiness which so -violent and ungovernable a temper in an only son, might occasion to his -family. He then talked of the two young ladies, his sisters, whom he -described as the finest young women in the country, and as highly -accomplished. Emmeline sighed at the comparison between _their_ -situation and her own. - -After some hours travelling through roads which made it very fatigueing, -they arrived at a little obscure house of entertainment, and after some -refreshment, continued their journey unmolested. - -Delamere arose early, and calling for Millefleur, enquired at what hour -Miss Mowbray was to go. On hearing that she had left the castle more -than an hour, his rage and vexation broke through all the respect he -owed his father; who being acquainted by his valet of his resolution -immediately to follow the chaise, entered the room. He remonstrated with -him at first with great warmth; but Delamere, irritated by -contradiction, obstinately adhered to his resolution of immediately -pursuing the travellers. - -Lord Montreville, finding that opposition rather encreased than remedied -the violence of his son's passionate sallies, determined to try what -persuasion would do; and Delamere, whose temper was insensible to the -threats of anger, yielded to remonstrance when softened by paternal -affection; and consented to forego his intention if Lord Montreville -would tell him where Emmeline was gone. - -His Lordship, who probably thought this one of those instances in which -falsehood is excuseable if not meritorious, told him, with affected -reluctance, that she was gone to board at Bridgenorth, with Mrs. -Watkins, the sister of old Carey. - -As this account was extremely probable, Delamere readily believed it; -and having with some difficulty been prevailed upon to pass his word -that he would not immediately take any steps to see her, tranquillity -was for the present restored to the castle. - -Emmeline in the mean time, after a long and weary journey, arrived at -Swansea. Mrs. Watkins, who expected her, received her in a little but -very neat habitation, which consisted of a small room by way of -parlour, not unlike the cabin of a packet boat, and a bed-chamber over -it of the same dimensions. Of these apartments, Emmeline took -possession. Her conductor took leave of her; and she now wished to be -able to form some opinion of her new hostess; whose countenance, which -extremely resembled that of Mrs. Carey, had immediately prejudiced her -in her favour. - -Being assured by Lord Montreville of every liberal payment for the board -and lodging of Miss Mowbray, she received her with a degree of civility -almost oppressive: but Emmeline, who soon found that she possessed none -of that warmth of heart and lively interest in the happiness of others -which so much endeared to her the memory of her former friend, was very -glad when after a few days the good woman returned with her usual -avidity to the regulation of her domestic matters, and suffered Emmeline -to enjoy that solitude which she knew so well how to employ. - -Delamere, still lingering at the castle, where he seemed to stay for no -other reason than because he had there seen Emmeline, was pensive, -restless, and absent; and Lord Montreville saw with great alarm that -this impression was less likely to be effaced by time and absence than -he had supposed. - -Fitz-Edward, obliged to go to Ireland to his regiment for some time, had -taken leave of them; and the impatience of Lord Montreville to return to -town was encreased by repeated letters from his wife. - -Delamere however still evaded it; hoping that his father would set out -without him, and that he should by that means have an opportunity of -going to Bridgenorth, where he determined to solicit Emmeline to consent -to a Scottish expedition, and persuaded himself he should not meet a -refusal. - -At length Lady Montreville, yet more alarmed at the delay, directed her -eldest daughter to write to his Lordship, and to give such an account of -her health as should immediately oblige the father and son to return. - -Delamere, after such a letter, could not refuse to depart; and -comforting himself that he might be able soon to escape from the -observation of his family, and put his project in execution, he -consented to begin his journey. He determined, however, to write to Miss -Mowbray, and to desire her to direct her answer under cover to a friend -in London. - -He did so; and addressed it to her at Mrs. Watkins's, at Bridgenorth: -but soon after his arrival in town, the letter was returned to the place -from which it was dated; having been opened at the office in consequence -of no such person as Miss Mowbray or Mrs. Watkins being to be found -there. - -Delamere saw he had been deceived; but to complain was fruitless: he had -therefore no hope of discovering where Emmeline was, but by lying in -wait for some accidental intelligence. - -The family usually passed the Christmas recess at their seat in Norfolk; -whither Delamere, who at first tried to avoid being of the party, at -length agreed to accompany them, on condition of his being allowed to -perform an engagement he had made with Mr. Percival for a fortnight. -Part of this time he determined to employ in seeing Headly, who did not -live above thirty miles from thence; hoping from him to obtain -intelligence of Emmeline's abode. And that no suspicion might remain on -the mind of his father, he affected to reassume his usual gaiety, and -was to all appearance as volatile and dissipated as ever. - -While the family were in Norfolk, their acquaintance was warmly renewed -with that of Sir Francis Devereux, who was lately returned from a -residence on the Continent, whither he had been to compleat the -education of his two daughters, heiresses to his fortune, on the -embellishment of whose persons and manners all the modern elegancies of -education had been lavished. - -They were rather pretty women; and of a family almost as ancient and -illustrious as that of Mr. Delamere. Their fortunes were to be immense; -and either of them would have been a wife for Delamere, the choice of -whom would greatly have gratified the families on both sides. - -Infinite pains were taken to bring the young people frequently together; -and both the ladies seemed to allow that Delamere was a conquest worthy -their ambition. - -As he never refused to entertain them with every appearance of gallantry -and vivacity, Lord Montreville flattered himself that at length Emmeline -was forgotten; and ventured to propose to his son, a marriage with -whichever of the Miss Devereux's he should prefer. - -To which, Delamere, who had long foreseen the proposal, answered coldly, -'that he was not inclined to marry at all; or if he did, it should not -be one of those over-educated puppets.' - -So far were their acquisitions from having made any impression on his -heart, that the frivolous turn of their minds, the studied ornaments of -their persons, and the affected refinement of their manners, made him -only recollect with more passionate admiration, that native elegance of -person and mind which he had seen only in the Orphan of Mowbray Castle. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - - -There was, in the person and manner of Emmeline, something so -interesting, that those who were little accustomed to attach themselves -to any one, were insensibly disposed to love her, and to become -solicitous for her welfare. - -Even the insensibility with which long and uninterrupted prosperity had -encased the heart of Lord Montreville, was not entirely proof against -her attractive powers; and when he no longer apprehended the effect of -her encreasing charms on his son, he suffered himself to feel a degree -of pity and even of affection for her. - -He therefore heard with pleasure that she was contented in her present -situation; and was convinced she had kept her word in not giving any -intelligence of her residence to Delamere. To shew his approbation of -her conduct, he directed a person in town to send her down a small -collection of books; some materials for drawing; and other trifles which -he thought would be acceptable. - -Emmeline, charmed with such acquisitions, felt the most lively gratitude -for her benefactor; and having fitted up her little cabin extremely to -her satisfaction; she found, in the occupation these presents afforded -her, all that she wished, to engage her attention; and gratify her -taste. - -Sensible of the defects of her education, she applied incessantly to her -books; for of every useful and ornamental feminine employment she had -long since made herself mistress without any instruction. - -She endeavoured to cultivate a genius for drawing, which she inherited -from her father; but for want of knowing a few general rules, what she -produced had more of elegance and neatness than correctness and -knowledge. - -She knew nothing of the science of music; but her voice was soft and -sweet, and her ear exquisite. The simple songs, therefore, she had -acquired by it, she sung with a pathos which made more impression on her -hearers than those studied graces learned by long application, which -excite wonder rather than pleasure. - -Time, thus occupied, passed lightly away; Spring arrived almost -imperceptibly, and brought again weather which enabled Emmeline to -reassume her walks along the shore or among the rocks, and to indulge -that contemplative turn of mind which she had acquired in the solitude -of Mowbray Castle. - -It was on a beautiful morning of the month of April, that, taking a book -with her as usual, she went down to the sea side, and sat reading for -some hours; when, just as she was about to return home, she saw a lovely -little boy, about five years old, wandering towards the place where she -was, picking up shells and sea weeds, and appearing to be so deeply -engaged in his infantine pursuit, that he did not see her 'till she -spoke to him. - -'Whose sweet little boy are you, my love?' said she. - -The child looked at her with surprise. - -'I am my mamma's boy,' said he, 'and so is Henry,' pointing towards -another who now approached, and who seemed hardly a year younger. - -The second running up to his brother, caught his hand, and they both -walked away together, looking behind at the strange lady with some -degree of alarm. - -Their dress convinced Emmeline that they belonged to a stranger; and as -they seemed to have nobody with them, she was under some apprehension -for their safety, and therefore arose to follow them, when on turning -round the point of a rock whose projection had concealed the shore to -the left, she saw a lady walking slowly before her, whom the two little -boys had now rejoined. In her hand she held a little girl, who seemed -only learning to walk; and she was followed by a nursery maid, who held -in her arms another, yet an infant at the breast. - -The stranger, near whom Emmeline was obliged to pass, curtsyed to her as -she went by. And if Emmeline was surprised at the early appearance of -company at a time when she knew it to be so unusual, the stranger was -much more so at the uncommon elegance of her form and manner: she was -almost tempted to believe the fable of the sea nymphs, and to fancy her -one of them. - -Emmeline, on regaining her apartment, heard from the hostess, whom she -found with another neighbour, that the lady she had seen arrived the -evening before, and had taken lodgings at the house of the latter, with -an intention of staying great part of the summer. - -The next day Emmeline again met the stranger; who accosting the fair -orphan with all that ease which characterises the address of those who -have lived much in good company, they soon entered into conversation, -and Emmeline almost as soon discovered that her new acquaintance -possessed an understanding as excellent as her person and address were -captivating. - -She appeared to be not more than five or six and twenty: but her person -seemed to have suffered from sorrow that diminution of its charms, which -time could not yet have effected. Her complexion was faded and wan; her -eyes had lost their lustre; and a pensive and languid expression sat on -her countenance. - -After the first conversation, the two ladies found they liked each other -so well, that they met by agreement every day. Emmeline generally went -early to the lodgings of Mrs. Stafford, and stayed the whole day with -her; charmed to have found in her new friend, one who could supply to -her all the deficiencies of her former instructors. - -To a very superior understanding, Mrs. Stafford added the advantages of -a polished education, and all that ease of manner, which the commerce of -fashion can supply. She had read a great deal; and her mind, originally -elegant and refined, was highly cultivated, and embellished with all the -knowledge that could be acquired from the best authors in the modern -languages. Her disposition seemed to have been naturally chearful; for a -ray of vivacity would frequently light up her countenance, and a lively -and agreeable conversation call forth all its animated gaiety. But it -seldom lasted long. Some settled uneasiness lay lurking in her heart; -and when it recurred forcibly to her, as it frequently did in the midst -of the most interesting discourse, a cloud of sorrow obscured the -brilliancy of her countenance and language, and she became pensive, -silent, and absent. - -Emmeline observed this with concern; but was not yet intimate enough -with her to enquire or discover the cause. - -Sometimes, when she was herself occupied in drawing, or some other -pursuit in which Mrs. Stafford delighted to instruct her, she saw that -her friend, believing herself unobserved, gave way to all the melancholy -that oppressed her heart; and as her children were playing round her, -she would gaze mournfully on them 'till the tears streamed down her -cheeks. - -By degrees the utmost confidence took place between them on every -subject but one: Mrs. Stafford never dwelt on the cause, whatever it -was, which occasioned her to be so frequently uneasy; nor did she ever -complain of being so: but she listened with the warmest interest to the -little tale Emmeline had to relate, and told her in return as much of -her own history as she thought it necessary for her to know. - -Emmeline found that she was not a widow, as she had at first supposed; -for she spoke sometimes of her husband, and said she expected him at -Swansea. She had been married at a very early age; and they now -generally resided at an house which Mr. Stafford's father, who was still -living, had purchased for them in Dorsetshire. - -'I came hither,' said she, 'thus early in the year, at Mr. Stafford's -request, who is fond of improvements and alterations, and who intends -this summer to add considerably to our house; which is already too -large, I think, for our present fortune. I was glad to get away from the -confusion of workmen, to which I have an aversion; and anxious to let -Charles and Henry, who had the measles in the Autumn and who have been -frequently ill since, have a long course of sea-bathing. I might indeed -have gone to Weymouth or some nearer place; but I wish to avoid general -company, which I could not have done where I am sure of meeting so many -of my acquaintance. I rejoice now at my preference of Swansea, since it -has been the means of my knowing you, my dear Emmeline.' - -'And I, Madam,' returned Emmeline, 'have reason to consider the -concurrence of circumstances that brought you here as the most fortunate -for me. Yet I own to you, that the charm of such society is accompanied -with great pain, in anticipating the hour when I must again return to -that solitude I have 'till now considered as my greatest enjoyment.' - -'Ah! my dear girl!' replied Mrs. Stafford, 'check in its first -appearance a propensity which I see you frequently betray, to anticipate -displeasing or unfortunate events. When you have lived a few years -longer, you will, I fear, learn, that every day has evils enough of its -own, and that it is well for us we know nothing of those which are yet -to come. I speak from experience; for I, when not older than you now -are, had a perpetual tendency to fancy future calamities, and embittered -by that means many of those hours which would otherwise have been really -happy. Yet has not my pre-sentiments, tho' most of them have been -unhappily verified, enabled me to avoid one of those thorns with which -my path has been thickly strewn.' - -Emmeline hoped now to hear what hand had strewn them. - -Mrs. Stafford, sighing deeply, fell into a reverie; and continuing long -silent, Emmeline could not resolve to renew a conversation so evidently -painful to her. - -It was now six weeks since she had first seen Mrs. Stafford, and the -hours had passed in a series of felicity of which she had 'till then -formed no idea. - -Mrs. Stafford, delighted with the lively attachment of her young friend, -was charmed to find herself capable of adorning her ingenuous and tender -mind with all that knowledge which books or the world had qualified her -to impart. - -They read together every day: Emmeline, under the tuition of her -charming preceptress, had made some progress in French and Italian; and -she was amazed at her own success in drawing since she had received from -Mrs. Stafford rules of which she was before ignorant. - -As the summer advanced, a few stragglers came in, and it was no longer -wonderful to see a stranger. But Mrs. Stafford and Miss Mowbray, -perfectly satisfied with each other, sought not to enlarge their -society. They sometimes held short conversations with the transient -visitants of the place, but more usually avoided those walks where it -was likely they should meet them. - -Early one morning, they were returning from the bathing place together, -muffled up in their morning dresses. They had seen at a distance two -gentlemen, whom they did not particularly notice; and Emmeline, leaning -on the arm of her friend, was again anticipating all she should suffer -when the hour came which would separate them, and recollecting the -different company and conversation to which she had been condemned from -the death of Mrs. Carey to her quitting Mowbray Castle-- - -'You have not only taught me, my dear Mrs. Stafford,' said she, 'to -dread more than ever being thrown back into such company; but you have -also made me fear that I shall never relish the general conversation of -the world. As I disliked the manners of an inferior description of -people when I first knew them, because they did not resemble those of -the dear good woman who brought me up; so I shall undoubtedly be -disappointed and dissatisfied with the generality of those acquaintance -I may meet with; for I am afraid there are as few Mrs. Staffords in your -rank of life as there were Mrs. Careys in hers. However, there is no -great likelihood, I believe, at present, of my being convinced how -little they resemble you; for it is not probable I shall be taken from -hence.' - -'Perhaps,' answered Mrs. Stafford, 'you might be permitted to stay some -months next winter with me. I shall pass the whole of it in the country; -the greatest part of it probably alone; and such a companion would -assist in charming away many of those hours, which now, tho' I have more -resources than most people, sometimes are heavy and melancholy. My -children are not yet old enough to be my companions; and I know not how -it is, but I have often more pain than pleasure in being with them. When -I remember, or when I feel, how little happiness there is in the world, -I tremble for their future destiny; and in the excess of affection, -regret having introduced them into a scene of so much pain as I have -hitherto found it. But tell me, Emmeline, do you think if I apply to -Lord Montreville he will allow you to pass some time with me?' - -'Dear Madam,' said Emmeline, eagerly, 'what happiness do you offer me! -Lord Montreville would certainly think me highly honoured by such an -invitation.' - -'Shall I answer for Lord Montreville,' said a voice behind them, 'as his -immediate representative?' - -Emmeline started; and turning quickly, beheld Mr. Delamere and -Fitz-Edward. - -Delamere caught her hands in his. - -'Have I then found you, my lovely cousin?' cried he.--'Oh! happiness -unexpected!' - -He was proceeding with even more than his usual vehemence; but -Fitz-Edward thought it necessary to stop him. - -'You promised, Frederic, before I consented to come with you, that you -would desist from these extravagant flights. Come, I beg Miss Mowbray -may be permitted to speak to her other acquaintance; and that she will -do us both the honour to introduce us to her friend.' - -Emmeline had lost all courage and recollection on the appearance of -Delamere. Mrs. Stafford saw her distress; and assuming a cold and -distant manner, she said--'Miss Mowbray, I apprehend from what this -gentleman has said, that he has a message to you from Lord Montreville.' - -'Has my Lord, Sir,' said Emmeline to Delamere,--'has my Lord Montreville -been so good as to honour me with any commands?' - -'Cruel girl!' answered he; 'you know too well that my father is not -acquainted with my being here.' - -'Then you certainly ought not to be here,' said Emmeline, coolly; 'and -you must excuse me, Sir, if I beg the favor of you not to detain me, nor -attempt to renew a conversation so very improper, indeed so cruelly -injurious to me.' - -Mrs. Stafford had Emmeline's arm within her own, from the commencement -of this conversation; and she now walked hastily on with her. - -Delamere followed them, intreating to be heard; and Fitz-Edward, -addressing himself on the other side to Mrs. Stafford, besought her in a -half whisper to allow his friend only a few moments to explain himself -to Miss Mowbray. - -'No, Sir, I must be excused,' answered she--'If Miss Mowbray does me the -honour to consult me, I shall certainly advise her against committing -such an indiscretion as listening to Mr. Delamere.' - -'Ah! Madam!' said the colonel, throwing into his eyes and manner all -that insinuation of which he was so perfect a master, 'is it possible, -that with a countenance where softness and compassion seem to invite the -unhappy to trust you with their sorrows, you have a cruel and unfeeling -heart? Lay by for a moment your barbarous prudence, in favour of my -unfortunate friend; upon my honour, nothing but the conviction that his -life was at stake, would have induced me to accompany him hither; and I -pledge myself for the propriety of his conduct. He only begs to be -forgiven by Miss Mowbray for his improper treatment of her at Mowbray -Castle; to be assured she is in health and safety; and to hear that she -does not hate him for all the uneasiness he has given her; and having -done so, he promises to return to his family. Upon my soul,' continued -he, laying his hand upon his breast, 'I know not what would have been -the consequence, had I not consented to assist him in deceiving his -family and coming hither: but I have reason to think he would have made -some wild attempt to secure to himself more frequent interviews with -Miss Mowbray; and that a total disappointment of the project he had -formed for seeing her, would have been attended with a violence of -passion arising even to phrenzy.--Madness or death would perhaps have -been the event.' - -Mrs. Stafford turned her eyes on Fitz-Edward, with a look sufficiently -expressive of incredulity--'Does a modern man of fashion pretend to talk -of madness and death? You certainly imagine, Sir, that you are speaking -to some romantic inhabitant of a Welch provincial town, whose ideas are -drawn from a circulating library, and confirmed by the conversation of -the captain in quarters.' - -'Ah, madam,' said he, 'I know not to whom I have the honour of -addressing myself,' (though he knew perfectly well;) 'but I feel too -certainly that madness and death would be preferable to the misery such -coldness and cruelty as your's would inflict on me, was it my misfortune -to love as violently as Delamere; and indeed I tremble, lest in -endeavouring to assist my friend I have endangered myself.' - -Of this speech, Mrs. Stafford, who believed he did not know her, took -very little notice; and turning towards Emmeline, who had in the mean -time been listening in trembling apprehension to the ardent declarations -of Delamere, said it was time to return home. - -Delamere, without attending to her hint, renewed his importunities for -her friendship and interest with Miss Mowbray; to which, as soon as he -would allow her to answer, she said very gravely--'Sir, as Miss Mowbray -seems so much alarmed at your pursuing her hither, and as you must be -yourself sensible of it's extreme impropriety, I hope you will not -lengthen an interview which can only produce uneasiness for you both.' - -'Let us go home, for heaven's sake!' whispered Emmeline. - -'They are determined, you see, to follow us,' replied her friend; 'we -will however go.' - -By this time they were near the door; and Mrs. Stafford wishing the two -gentlemen a good morning, was hurrying with Emmeline into the house; but -Fitz-Edward took hold of her arm. - -'One word, only, madam, and we will intrude upon you no farther at -present: say that you will suffer us to see you again to-morrow.' - -'Not if I can help it, be assured, Sir.' - -'Then, madam,' said Delamere, 'you must allow me to finish now what I -have to say to Miss Mowbray.' - -'Good heaven! Sir,' exclaimed Emmeline, 'why will you thus persist in -distressing me? You are perhaps known to Mrs. Watkins; your name will be -at least known to her; and intelligence of your being here will be -instantly sent to Lord Montreville.' - -Emmeline, by no means aware that this speech implied a desire of -concealment, the motives of which might appear highly flattering to -Delamere, was soon made sensible of it's import by his answer. - -'Enough, my adorable Emmeline!' cried he eagerly, 'if I am worthy of a -thought of that sort, I am less wretched than I believed myself. I will -not now insist on a longer audience; but to-morrow I must see you -again.--Your amiable friend here will intercede for me.--I must not be -refused; and will wish you a good day before you can form so cruel a -resolution.' - -So saying, he bowed to Mrs. Stafford, kissed Emmeline's hand, and -departed with Fitz-Edward from the door. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - - -The two fair friends no sooner entered the house, than Emmeline threw -herself into a chair, and burst into tears. - -'Ah! my dear madam,' said she, sobbing, 'what will now become of me? -Lord Montreville will believe I have corresponded with his son; he will -withdraw all favour and confidence from me; and I shall be undone!' - -'Do not thus distress yourself,' said Mrs. Stafford, tenderly taking her -hand--'I hope the rash and cruel conduct of this young man will not have -the consequences you apprehend. Lord Montreville, from your former -conduct, will easily credit your not having encouraged this visit.' - -'Ah! my dear Mrs. Stafford,' replied Emmeline, 'you do not know Lord -Montreville. He hastily formed a notion that I made an appointment with -Mr. Delamere at Mowbray Castle, when I had not even seen him above once; -and though, from my eagerness to leave it, I believe he afterwards -thought he had been too hasty, yet so strong was that first impression, -that the slightest circumstance would, I know, renew it as forcibly as -ever: for he has one of those tempers, which having once entertained an -idea of a person's conduct or character, never really alters it, though -they see the most convincing evidence of it's fallacy. Having once -supposed I favoured the addresses of Mr. Delamere, as you know he did, -at Mowbray Castle, the present visit will convince him he was right, and -that I am the most artful as well as the most ungrateful of beings.' - -Mrs. Stafford hesitated a moment, and then said, 'I see all the evil you -apprehend. To convince Lord Montreville of your ignorance of Delamere's -design, and your total rejection of his clandestine addresses, suppose I -were to write to him? He must be prejudiced and uncandid indeed, if -after such information he is not convinced of your innocence.' - -To this proposal, Emmeline consented, with assurances of the liveliest -gratitude; and Mrs. Stafford returning to her lodgings, wrote the -following letter to Lord Montreville: - - - _Swansea, June 20._ - - 'My Lord, - - 'A short abode at this place, has given me the pleasure of knowing - Miss Mowbray, to whose worth and prudence I am happy to bear - testimony. At the request of this amiable young woman, I am now to - address your Lordship with information that Mr. Delamere came hither - yesterday with Mr. Fitz-Edward, and has again renewed those - addresses to Miss Mowbray which she knows to be so disagreeable to - your Lordship, and which cannot but be extremely prejudicial to her. - Circumstanced as she is at this place, she cannot entirely avoid - him; but she hopes your Lordship will be convinced how truly she - laments the pain this improper conduct of Mr. Delamere will give - you, and she loses not a moment in beseeching you to write to him, - or otherwise to interfere, in prevailing on him to quit Swansea; and - to prevent his continuing to distress her by a pursuit so unwelcome - to you, and so injurious to her honour and repose. - - I have the honour to be, - my Lord, - your Lordship's - most obedient servant, - C. STAFFORD.' - - -This letter being extremely approved of by Emmeline, was put into the -next day's post; and the two ladies set out for their walk at a very -early hour, flattering themselves they should return before Delamere and -Fitz-Edward (who was lately raised to the rank of lieutenant-colonel) -were abroad. But in this they deceived themselves. They were again -overtaken by their importunate pursuers, who had now agreed to vary the -mode of their attack. Fitz-Edward, who knew the power of his insidious -eloquence over the female heart, undertook to plead for his friend to -Emmeline, while Delamere was to try to interest Mrs. Stafford, and -engage her good offices in his behalf. - -They no sooner joined the ladies, than Delamere said to the -latter--'After the discouraging reception of yesterday, nothing but -being persuaded that your heart will refuse to confirm the rigour you -think yourself obliged to adopt, could make me venture, Madam, to -solicit your favour with Miss Mowbray. I now warmly implore it; and -surely'---- - -'Can you believe, Sir,' said Mrs. Stafford, interrupting him, 'that _I_ -shall ever influence Miss Mowbray to listen to you; knowing, as I do, -the aversion of your family to your entertaining any honourable views? -and having reason to believe you have yourself formed those that are -very different?' - -'You have no reason to believe so, Madam,' interrupted Delamere in his -turn; 'and must wilfully mistake me, as an excuse for your cold and -unkind manner of treating me. By heaven! I love Emmeline with a passion -as pure as it is violent; and if she would but consent to it, will marry -her in opposition to all the world. Assist me then, dear and amiable -Mrs. Stafford! assist me to conquer the unreasonable prejudice she has -conceived against a secret marriage!' - -'Never, Sir, will I counsel Miss Mowbray to accept such a proposal! -never will I advise her to unite herself with one whose family disdain -to receive her! and by clandestinely stealing into it, either disturb -it's peace, or undergo the humiliation of living the wife of a man who -dares not own her!' - -'And who, Madam, has said that I dare not own her? Does not the same -blood run in our veins? Is she not worthy, from her personal merit, of a -throne if I had a throne to offer her? And do you suppose I mean to -sacrifice the happiness of my whole life to the narrow policy or selfish -ambition of my father?' - -'Wait then, Sir, 'till time shall produce some alteration in your -favour. Emmeline is yet very young, too young indeed to marry. Perhaps, -when Lord and Lady Montreville are convinced that she only can make you -happy, they may consent to your union.' - -'You little know, Madam, the hopelessness of such an expectation. Were -it possible that any arguments, any motives could engage my father to -forego all the projects of aggrandizing his family by splendid and rich -alliances, my mother will, I know, ever be inexorable. She will not hear -the name of Emmeline. Last winter she incessantly persecuted me with -proposals of marriage, and is now bent upon persuading me to engage my -hand to Miss Otley, a relation of her own, who possesses indeed an -immense fortune, and is of rank; but who of all women living would make -me the most miserable. The fatigueing arguments I have heard about this -match, and the fruitless and incessant solicitude of my mother, convince -me I cannot, for both our sakes, too soon put an end to it.' - -Mrs. Stafford, notwithstanding the vehement plausibility of Delamere, -still declined giving to Emmeline such advice as he wished to engage her -to offer; and tho' aware of all the advantages such a marriage would -procure her friend, she would not influence her to a determination her -heart could not approve. - -While Delamere therefore was pleading vainly to her, Fitz-Edward was -exhausting in his discourse with Emmeline, all that rhetoric on behalf -of his friend, which had already succeeded so frequently for himself. -Tho' he had given way to Delamere's eagerness, and had accompanied him -in pursuit of Miss Mowbray, after a few feeble arguments against it, he -never intended to encourage him in his resolution of marrying her; which -he thought a boyish and romantic plan, and one, of which he would -probably be weary before it could be executed. But as it was a military -maxim, that in love and war all stratagems are allowable, he failed not -to lay as much stress on the honourable intentions of Delamere, as if he -had really meant to assist in carrying them into effect. - -Emmeline heard him in silence: or when an answer of some kind seemed to -be extorted from her, she told him that she referred herself entirely to -Mrs. Stafford, and would not even speak upon the subject but before her, -and as she should dictate. - -In this way several meetings passed between Delamere, the colonel, and -the two ladies; for unless the latter had wholly confined themselves, -there was no possible way of avoiding the importunate assiduity of the -gentlemen. Fitz-Edward had a servant who was an adept in such -commissions, and who was kept constantly on the watch; so that they were -traced and followed, in spite of all their endeavours to avoid it. - -Mrs. Stafford, however, persuaded Emmeline to be less uneasy at it, as -she assured her she would never leave her; and that there could be no -misrepresentation of her conduct while they were together. - -Every day they expected some consequence from Mrs. Stafford's letter to -Lord Montreville; but for ten days, though they had heard nothing, they -satisfied themselves with conjectures. - -Ten days more insensibly passed by; and they began to think it very -extraordinary that his Lordship should give no attention to an affair, -which only a few months before seemed to have occasioned him so much -serious alarm. - -In this interval, Delamere saw Emmeline every day; and Fitz-Edward, on -behalf of his friend's views, attached himself to Mrs. Stafford with an -attention as marked and as warm as that of Delamere towards Miss -Mowbray. - -He was well aware of the power a woman of her understanding must have -over an heart like Emmeline's; so new to the world, so ingenuous, and so -much inclined to indulge all the delicious enthusiasm of early -friendship. - -He had had a slight acquaintance with Mrs. Stafford when she was first -married; and knew enough of her husband to be informed of the source of -that dejection, which, through all her endeavours to conceal it, -frequently appeared; and having lived always among those who consider -attachments to married women as allowable gallantries, and having had -but too much success among them, Fitz-Edward thought he could take -advantage of Mrs. Stafford's situation, to entangle her in a connection -which would make her more indulgent to the weakness of her friend for -Delamere. - -But such was the awful, yet simple dignity of her manner, and so sacred -the purity of unaffected virtue, that he dared not hazard offending her; -while aware of the tendency of his flattering and incessant assiduity, -she was always watchful to prevent any diminution of the respect she had -a right to exact; and without affecting to shun his society, which was -extremely agreeable, she never suffered him to assume, in his -conversation with her, those freedoms which often made him admired by -others; nor allowed him to avow that libertinism of principle which she -lamented that he possessed. - -Fitz-Edward, who had at first undertaken to entertain her merely with a -view of favouring Delamere's conversation with Emmeline, almost -imperceptibly found that it had charms on his own account. He could not -be insensible of the graces of a mind so highly cultivated; and he felt -his admiration mingled with a reverence and esteem of which he had never -before been sensible: but his vanity was piqued at the coldness with -which she received his studied and delicate adulation; and, for the -first time in his life, he was obliged to acknowledge to himself, that -there might be a woman whose mind was superior to it's influence. - -Not being disposed very tranquilly to submit to this mortifying -conviction, he became more anxious to secure that partiality from Mrs. -Stafford, which, since he found it so hard to acquire, became necessary -to his happiness; and, in the hope of obtaining it, he would probably -long have persisted, had not his attention been soon afterwards diverted -to another object. - -It wanted only a few days of a month since Mrs. Stafford's letter was -dispatched to Lord Montreville. But the carelessness of the servant who -was left in charge of the house in Berkley-square was the only reason of -his not noticing it. - -Immediately after the birth-day, his Lordship had quitted London on a -visit to a nobleman in Buckinghamshire, whither his son had attended -him, and where they parted. Delamere, under pretence of seeing his -friend Percival, really went into Berkshire; and Lord Montreville, -having insisted on Delamere's joining him at the house of Lady Mary -Otley, beyond Durham, where Lady Montreville and her two daughters were -already gone, set out himself for that place, where they intended to -pass the months of July and August. He had many friends to visit on the -road; and when his Lordship arrived there, he found all his letters had, -instead of following him as he had directed, been sent immediately -thither; and instead of finding his son, or an account of his intended -arrival, he had the mortification of reading Mrs. Stafford's -information. - -Delamere had, indeed, passed a few days with Mr. Percival, and had -written to his father from thence; but he had also seen Headly, from -whom he had extorted the secret of Emmeline's residence. - -Fitz-Edward, to whose sister Mr. Percival was lately married, had joined -Delamere at the house of his brother-in-law: and Delamere persisting in -his resolution of seeing Emmeline, had, without much difficulty, -prevailed on Fitz-Edward, (who had some weeks on his hands before he was -to join his regiment in Ireland, and who had no aversion to any plan -that looked like an intrigue) to accompany him. - -They contrived to gain Mr. Percival: and Delamere, by inclosing letters -to him, which were forwarded to his father as if he had been still -there, imagined that he had prevented all probability of discovery. -Could he have persuaded Emmeline to a Scottish marriage, (which he very -firmly believed he should) he intended as soon as they were married, to -have taken her to the house of Lady Mary Otley, and to have presented -her to his father, his mother, his sisters, and Lady Mary and her -daughter, who were also his relations, as his wife. - -Lord Montreville, on reading Mrs. Stafford's letter, shut himself up in -his own apartment to consider what was to be done. - -He knew Delamere too well to believe that writing, or the agency of any -other person, would have on him the least effect. - -He was convinced therefore he must go himself; yet to return -immediately, without giving Lady Montreville some very good reason, was -impossible; nor could he think of any that would content her, but the -truth. Though he would very willingly have concealed from her what had -happened, he was obliged to send for her, and communicate to her the -intelligence received from Mrs. Stafford. - -Her Ladyship, whose pride was, if possible, more than adequate to her -high blood, and whose passions were as strong as her reason was feeble, -received this information with all those expressions of rage and -contempt which Lord Montreville had foreseen. - -Though the conduct of Emmeline was such as all her prejudice could not -misunderstand, she loaded her with harsh and injurious appellations, and -blamed his Lordship for having fostered a little reptile, who was now -likely to disgrace and ruin the family to which she pretended to belong. -She protested, that if Delamere dared to harbour so degrading an idea as -that of marrying her, she would blot him for ever from her affection, -and if possible from her memory. - -Lord Montreville was obliged to wait 'till the violence of her first -emotion had subsided, before he ventured to propose going himself to -recall Delamere. To this proposal, however, her Ladyship agreed; and -when she became a little cooler, consented readily to conceal, if -possible, from Lady Mary Otley, the reason of Lord Montreville's abrupt -departure, which was fixed for the next day; for the knowledge of it -could not have any good effect on the sentiments of Lady Mary and her -daughter; the former of whom was at present as anxious as Lady -Montreville for an union of their families. - -After some farther reflection, Lord Montreville thought that as Delamere -was extremely fond of his youngest sister, her influence might be of -great use in detaching him from his pursuit. It was therefore settled -that she should accompany his Lordship; making the most plausible story -they could, to account for a departure so unexpected; and leaving Lady -Montreville and Miss Delamere as pledges of their intended return, Lord -Montreville and his daughter Augusta set out post for London, in their -way to Swansea. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - - -Emmeline had, for some days, complained of a slight indisposition; and -being somewhat better, had determined to walk out in the evening; but -having rather favoured and indulged her illness, as it gave her a -pretext for avoiding Delamere, whose long and vehement assiduities began -to give great uneasiness to both the ladies, she still answered to their -enquiries that she was too ill to leave her room, and in consequence of -this message, she and Mrs. Stafford, who came to sit with her, soon -afterwards saw the Colonel and Delamere ride by as if for their evening -airing. They kissed their hands as they passed; and as soon as the -ladies believed them quite out of sight, and had observed the way they -had gone, Emmeline, who had confined herself three days to her room, and -who languished for air, proposed a short walk the opposite way, to which -Mrs. Stafford consented; and as soon as the heat was a little abated, -they set out, and enjoyed a comfortable and quiet walk for near an hour; -from which they were returning, when they saw Delamere and Fitz-Edward -riding towards them. - -They dismounted, and giving their horses to their servants, joined them; -Delamere reproaching Emmeline for the artifice she had used, yet -congratulating himself on seeing her again. But his eyes eagerly running -over her person, betrayed his extreme anxiety and concern at observing -her pale and languid looks, and the lassitude of her whole frame. - -Fitz-Edward, in a whisper, made the same remarks on her appearance to -Mrs. Stafford; who answered, 'that if Mr. Delamere persisted in pursuing -her, she did not doubt but that it would end in her going into a -decline.' - -'Say rather,' answered Fitz-Edward artfully, 'that the interesting -languor on the charming countenance of your friend, arises from the -sensibility of her heart. She cannot surely see Delamere, dying for her -as he is, without feeling some disposition to answer a passion so ardent -and sincere: I know it is impossible she should. It is only your Stoic -prudence, your cold and unfeeling bosom, which can arm itself against -all the enthusiasm of love, all the tenderness of friendship. Miss -Mowbray's heart is made of softer materials; and were it not for the -inhuman reserve you have taught her, poor Delamere had long since met a -more suitable return to an attachment, of which, almost any other woman -would glory in being the object.' - -There was something in this speech particularly displeasing to Mrs. -Stafford; who answered, 'that he could not pay her a compliment more -gratifying, than when he told her she had been the means of saving Miss -Mowbray from indiscretion; though she was well convinced, that her own -excellent understanding, and purity of heart, made any monitor -unnecessary.' - -'However,' continued she, 'if you think that _my_ influence has -prevented her entering into all the wild projects of Mr. Delamere, -continue to believe, that while I am with her the same influence will -invariably be exerted to the same purpose.' - -Delamere and Emmeline, who were a few paces before them while this -dialogue was passing, were now met by Parkinson, the colonel's servant, -who addressing himself to Delamere, told him that Lord Montreville and -one of the young ladies were that moment alighted from their carriage at -the inn, and had sent to his lodgings to enquire for him. - -Mrs. Stafford advancing, heard the intelligence, and looked anxiously at -Emmeline, who turned paler than death at the thoughts of Lord -Montreville. - -Delamere was alternately red and pale. He hesitated, and tried to -flatter himself that Parkinson was mistaken; while Fitz-Edward, who -found he should be awkwardly situated between the father and son, -silently meditated his defence. - -Mrs. Stafford, who saw Emmeline ready to sink with the apprehension of -being seen walking with Delamere, intreated the gentlemen to leave them -and go to Lord Montreville; which she at length prevailed on them to do; -Delamere pressing Emmeline's hand to his lips, and protesting, with a -vehemence of manner particularly his own, that no power on earth should -oblige him to relinquish her. - -Mrs. Stafford got the trembling Emmeline home as well as she could; -where she endeavoured to strengthen her resolution and restore her -spirits, by representing to her the perfect rectitude with which she had -acted. - -But poor Delamere, who had no such consolatory reflections, felt very -uneasy, and would willingly have avoided the immediate explanation which -he saw must now take place with his father. - -He determined, however, to temporize no longer; but being absolutely -fixed in his resolution of marrying Emmeline, to tell his father so, and -to meet all the effects of his anger at once. - -In this disposition, he desired Fitz-Edward to leave him; and he entered -alone the parlour of the inn where Lord Montreville waited for him. His -countenance expressed a mixture of anger and confusion; while that of -his Lordship betrayed yet sterner symptoms of the state of his mind. - -Augusta Delamere, her eyes red with weeping, and her voice faultering -through agitation, arose, and met her brother half-way. - -'My dear brother!' said she, taking his hand. - -He kissed her cheek; and bowing to his father, sat down. - -'I have taken the trouble to come hither, Sir,' said Lord Montreville, -'in consequence of having received information of the wicked and -unworthy pursuit in which you have engaged. I command you, upon your -duty, instantly to return with me, and renounce for ever the scandalous -project of seducing an innocent young woman, whom _you_ ought rather to -respect and whom _I_ will protect.' - -'I intend ever to do both, Sir; and when she is my wife, you will be -released from the task of protecting her, and will only have to love her -as much as her merit deserves. Be assured, my Lord, I have no such -designs against the honour of Miss Mowbray as you impute to me. It is my -determined and unalterable intention to marry her. Would to God your -Lordship would conquer the unreasonable prejudice which you have -conceived against the only union which will secure the happiness of your -son, and endeavour to reconcile my mother to a marriage on which I am -resolved.' - -Having pronounced these words in a resolute tone, he arose from his -seat, bowed slightly to his father, and waving his hand to his sister, -as if to prevent her following him, he walked indignantly out of the -room. - -Lord Montreville made no effort to stop him. But the recollection of the -fatal indulgence with which he had been brought up recurred forcibly to -his Lordship's mind; and he felt his anger against his son half subdued -by the reproaches he had to make himself. The very sight of this darling -son, was so gratifying, that he almost forgot his errors when he beheld -him. - -After a moment's pause, Lord Montreville said to his daughter, 'You see, -Augusta, the disposition your brother is in. Violent measures will, I -fear, only make him desperate. We must try what can be done by Miss -Mowbray herself, who will undoubtedly consent to elude his pursuit, and -time may perhaps detach him from it entirely. For this purpose, I would -have _you_ see Emmeline to-morrow early; and having talked to her, we -can consider on what to determine. To night, try to recover your -fatigue.' - -'Let me go to night, Sir,' said his daughter.--'It is not yet more than -eight o'clock, and I am sensible of no fatigue that should prevent my -seeing the young lady immediately.' - -Lord Montreville assenting, Miss Delamere, attended by a servant, walked -to the house of Mrs. Watkins. - -The door was opened by the good woman herself; and on enquiry for Miss -Mowbray, she desired the lady to walk in, and sit down in her little -room, while she went up to let Miss know.--'For I can't tell,' said she, -(folding up a stocking she was knitting) 'whether she be well enough to -see a strange gentlewoman. She have been but poorly for this week; and -to night, after she came from walking, she was in such a taking, poor -thing, we thought she'd a had a fit; and so Madam Stafford, who is just -gone, bid her she should lie down a little and keep quiet.' - -This account, added to the disquiet of the fair mediatrix; who fancied -the heart of Emmeline could hardly fail of being of Delamere's party, -and that uneasiness at his father's arrival occasioned the agitation of -her spirits which Mrs. Watkins described. - -Mrs. Watkins returned immediately, saying that Miss Emmy would be down -in a moment. - -Emmeline instantly guessed who it was, by the description of the young -Lady and the livery of the servant who attended her: and now, with a -beating heart and uncertain step, she entered the room. - -Miss Delamere had been prepared to see a very beautiful person: but the -fair figure whom she now beheld, though less dazlingly handsome than she -expected, was yet more interesting and attractive than she would have -appeared in the highest bloom of luxuriant beauty. Her late illness had -robbed her cheeks of that tender bloom they usually boasted; timidity -and apprehension deprived her of much of the native dignity of her -manner; yet there was something in her face and deportment that -instantly prejudiced Miss Delamere in her favour, and made her -acknowledge that her brother's passion had at least personal charms for -it's excuse. - -A silent curtsey passed between the two ladies--and both being seated, -Miss Delamere began.-- - -'I believe, Miss Mowbray, you know that my father, Lord Montreville, in -consequence of a letter received from Mrs. Stafford, who is, he -understands, a friend of your's, arrived here this morning.' - -'The letter, madam, was written at my particular request; that my Lord -did not notice it sooner, has, believe me, given me great concern.' - -'I do sincerely believe it; and every body must applaud your conduct in -this affair. My father was, by accident, prevented receiving the letter -for some weeks: as soon as it reached him, we set out, and he has now -sent me to you, my dear cousin (for be assured I am delighted with the -relationship) to consult with you on what we ought to do.' - -Emmeline, consoled yet affected by this considerate speech, found -herself relieved by tears. - -'Though I am unable, madam,' said she, recovering herself, 'to advise, -be assured I am ready to do whatever you and Lord Montreville shall -dictate, to put an end to the projects your brother so perseveringly -attempts. Ah! Miss Delamere; my situation is singularly distressing. It -demands all your pity; all your father's protection!' - -'You have, you shall have both, my dear Emmeline! as well as our -admiration for your noble and heroic conduct; and I beg you will not, by -being thus uneasy, injure your health and depress your spirits.' - -This and many other consoling speeches, delivered in the persuasive -voice of friendly sympathy, almost restored Emmeline to her usual -composure; and after being together near an hour, Miss Delamere took her -leave, charmed with her new acquaintance, and convinced that she would -continue to act with the most exact obedience to the wishes of Lord -Montreville. - - - - -CHAPTER X - - -Lord Montreville, on hearing from his daughter what had passed between -her and Emmeline, was disposed to hope, that since she was so willing to -assist in terminating for ever the views of Delamere, they should be -able to prevail on him to relinquish them. - -While Miss Delamere was with Emmeline, his Lordship had himself waited -on Mrs. Stafford, to whom he thought himself obliged. - -He thanked her for the letter with which she had favoured him; and said, -'that having heard of the great regard with which she honoured Miss -Mowbray, he waited on her to beg her advice in the present difficult -circumstance. Since Mr. Delamere has pursued her hither,' said his -Lordship, 'she cannot remain here; but to find a situation that will be -proper for her, and concealed from him, I own appears so difficult, that -I know not on what to determine.' - -'My Lord,' answered Mrs. Stafford, 'I intended to have asked your -Lordship's permission to have been favoured with Miss Mowbray's company -for some months; and still hope to be indulged with it when I return -home. But could I go thither now, which I cannot, (my house not being in -a condition to receive me,) it would be impossible to prevent Mr. -Delamere's knowledge of her abode, if she was with me. But surely Mr. -Delamere will leave this place with you, and will not oblige Miss -Mowbray to quit her home to avoid him.' - -'Ah, madam!' answered Lord Montreville, 'you do not yet know my son. The -impetuosity of his temper, which has never been restrained, it is now -out of my power to check; whatever he determines on he will execute, and -I have too much reason to fear that opposition only serves to strengthen -his resolution. While Emmeline is here, it will be impossible to prevail -on him to quit the place: and though her behaviour has hitherto been -irreproachable and meritorious, how can I flatter myself that so young a -woman will continue steadily to refuse a marriage, which would not only -relieve her at once from the difficulties and dependance of her -situation, but raise her to an elevated rank, and a splendid fortune.' - -'To which,' said Mrs. Stafford, 'she would do honour. I do not, however, -presume to offer my opinion to your Lordship. You have, undoubtedly, -very strong reasons for your opposition to Mr. Delamere's wishes: and -his affluent fortune and future rank certainly give him a right to -expect both the one and the other in whoever he shall marry. But a more -lovely person, a better heart, a more pure and elegant mind, he will no -where meet with. Miss Mowbray will reflect as much credit as she can -borrow, on any family to which she may be allied.' - -'I acknowledge, madam, that Miss Mowbray is a very amiable young woman; -but she never can be the wife of my son; and you I am sure are too -considerate to give any encouragement to so impossible an idea.' - -After some farther conversation, Mrs. Stafford promised to endeavour to -recollect a proper situation for Miss Mowbray, where she might be -secured from the importunities of Delamere; and his Lordship took his -leave. - -By six o'clock the next morning, Delamere was at Mrs. Watkins's door; -and nobody being visible but the maid servant, he entered the parlour, -and told her he wanted to speak with Miss Mowbray; but would wait until -she arose. - -The maid told her mistress, who immediately descended; and Delamere, who -was known to her as a young Lord who was in love with Miss Emmy, was -courteously invited to her own parlour, and she offered to go up with -any message he should be pleased to send. - -He begged she would only say to Miss Mowbray that a gentleman desired to -speak to her on business of consequence. - -But the good woman, who thought she could do more justice to her -employer, told Emmeline, who was dressing herself, that 'the handsome -young Lord, as used to walk every night with her and Madam Stafford, was -below, and wanted to speak to her directly.' - -At this information, Emmeline was extremely alarmed. She considered -herself as particularly bound by what had passed the evening before -between her and Augusta Delamere, to avoid her brother; and such an -interview as he now demanded must have an appearance to Lord Montreville -of which she could not bear to think. She desired Mrs. Watkins, -therefore, to let the gentleman know that she was not well, and could -not see any body. - -'Why, Lord, Miss!' exclaimed the officious landlady, 'what can you mean -now by that? What! go for to refuse seeing such an handsome young man, -who is a Lord, and the like of that? I am sure it is so foolish, that I -shan't carry no such message.' - -'Send Betty with it then,' answered Emmeline coldly; 'let her inform the -gentleman I cannot be seen.' - -'Well,' said Mrs. Watkins, as she descended, 'it is strange nonsense, to -my fancy; but some folks never knows what they would be at.' - -She then returned to the parlour, and very reluctantly delivered the -answer to Mr. Delamere; who asked if Emmeline was really ill? - -'Ill,' said the complaisant hostess, 'I see nothing that ails her: last -night, indeed, she was in a desperate taking, and we had much ado to -hinder her from going into a fit; but to day I am sure she looks as if -she was as well as ever.' - -Delamere asked for a pen and ink, with which she immediately furnished -him; and as she officiously offered to get him some breakfast, he -accepted it to gain time. While it was preparing he sent up to Emmeline -the following note: - - - 'I came hither to entreat only one quarter of an hour's - conversation, which you cruelly deny me! You determine then, - Emmeline, to drive me to despair! - - 'You may certainly still refuse to see me; but you cannot oblige - me to quit this place, or to lose sight of your abode. My father - will, therefore, gain nothing by his ill-judged journey hither. - - 'But if you will allow me the interview I solicit, and after it - still continue to desire my absence, I will give you my promise to - go from hence to-morrow. - - F. DELAMERE.' - - -The maid was sent up with this billet to Emmeline; who, after a moment's -consideration, determined to send it to Miss Delamere, and to tell her, -in an envelope, how she was situated. - -Having enclosed it therefore, and desired the maid to go with it without -saying whither she was going, she bid her, as she went through the -house, deliver to Mr. Delamere another note, which was as follows: - - - 'Sir, - - 'Your request of an interview, I think myself obliged on every - account to refuse. I am extremely sorry you determine to persevere - in offering me proposals, to which, though they do me a very high - and undeserved honour, I never ought to listen; and excuse me if I - add, that I never will. - - EMMELINE MOWBRAY.' - - -Emmeline had not before so positively expressed her rejection of -Delamere's addresses. The peremptory stile, therefore, of this billet, -added to his extreme vexation at being overtaken by his father, and the -little hope that seemed to remain for him any way, operated altogether -on his rash and passionate disposition, and seemed to affect him with a -temporary phrenzy. He stamped about the room, dashed his head against -the wainscot, and seizing Mrs. Watkins by the arm, swore, with the most -frightful vehemence, that he would see Miss Mowbray though death were in -the way. - -The woman concluding he was mad, screamed out to her husband, who -descending from his chamber in astonishment, put himself between his -wife and the stranger, demanding his business? - -'Alack-a-day!' cried Mrs. Watkins, 'tis the young Lord. He is gone mad, -to be sure, for the love of Miss up stairs!' - -Emmeline, who in so small a house could not avoid hearing all that -passed, now thought it better to go down; for she knew enough of -Delamere to fear that the effects of his fit of passion might be very -serious; and was certain that nothing could be more improper than so -much confusion. - -She therefore descended the stairs, with trembling feet, and entered -Mrs. Watkins's parlour; where she saw Delamere, his eyes flashing fire -and his hands clenched, storming round the room, while Watkins followed -him, and bowing in his awkward way, 'begged his Honour would only please -to be pacified.' - -There was something so terrifying in the wild looks of the young man, -that Emmeline having only half opened the door, retreated again from it, -and was hastening away. But Delamere had seen her; and darting out after -her, caught her before she could escape out of the passage, and she was -compelled to return into the room with him; where, on condition of his -being more composed, she agreed to sit down and listen to him. - -Watkins and his wife having left the room, Delamere again renewed his -solicitations for a Scottish expedition. 'However averse,' said he, 'my -father and mother may at present be to our marriage, I know they will be -immediately reconciled when it is irrevocable. But if you continue to -harden your heart against me, of what advantage will it be to them? -Their ambition will still suffer; for I here swear by all that is -sacred, that then I never will marry at all; and by my dying without -posterity, their views will for ever be abortive, and their projects -disappointed.' - -To this, and every other argument Delamere used, Emmeline answered, -'that having determined never to accept of his hand, situated as she at -present was, nothing should induce her to break through a determination -which alone could secure her the approbation of her own heart.' - -He then asked her, 'whether, if the consent of Lord and Lady Montreville -could be obtained, she would continue averse to him?' - -This question she evaded, by saying, 'that it was to no purpose to -consider how she should act in an event so unlikely to happen.' - -He then again exerted all the eloquence which love rather than reason -lent him. But Emmeline combated his arguments with those of rectitude -and honour, by which she was resolutely bent to abide. - -This steadiness, originating from principles he could not controvert or -deny, seemed, while it shewed him all its hopelessness, to give new -force to his passion. He became again almost frantic, and was anew -acting the part of a madman, when Mrs. Stafford and Miss Delamere -entered the house, and enquiring for Miss Mowbray, were shewn into the -room where she was with Delamere; who, almost exhausted by the violence -of those emotions he had so boundlessly indulged, had now thrown himself -into a chair, with his head leaning against the wainscot; his hair was -dishevelled, his eyes swoln, and his countenance expressed so much -passionate sorrow, that Augusta Delamere, extremely shocked, feared to -speak to him; while Emmeline, on the opposite side of the room, sat with -her handkerchief to her eyes; and as soon as she saw Mrs. Stafford, she -threw herself into her arms and sobbed aloud. - -Delamere looked at Mrs. Stafford and his sister, but spoke to neither; -till Augusta approaching him, would have taken his hand; but he turned -from her. - -'Oh, Frederic!' cried she, 'I beseech you to consider the consequence of -all this.' - -'I consider nothing!' said he, starting up and going to the window. - -His sister followed him. - -'Go, go,' said he, turning angrily from her--'Go, leave me, leave me! -assist Lord Montreville to destroy his only son! go, and be a party in -the cruel policy that will make you and Fanny heiresses!' - -The poor girl, who really loved her brother better than any thing on -earth, was quite overwhelmed by this speech; and her tears now flowed as -fast as those of Emmeline, who continued to weep on the bosom of Mrs. -Stafford. - -Delamere looked at them both with a stern and angry countenance; then -suddenly catching his sister by the hand, which he eagerly grasped, he -said, in a low but resolute voice--'Tears, Augusta, are of no use. Do -not lament me, but try to help me. I am now going out for the whole day; -for I will not see my father only to repeat to him what I have already -said. Before I return, see what you can do towards persuading him to -consent to my marriage with Miss Mowbray; for be assured that if he does -not, the next meeting, in which I expect his answer, will be the last we -shall have.' - -He then snatched up his hat, and disengaging himself from his sister, -who attempted to detain him, he went hastily out of the house; leaving -Mrs. Stafford, Miss Mowbray, and his sister, under great uneasiness and -alarm. - -They thought it necessary immediately to inform Lord Montreville of the -whole conversation, and Miss Delamere dispatched a note to Fitz-Edward, -desiring him to attend to the motions of his friend. - -Fitz-Edward was at breakfast with Lord Montreville; who took the first -opportunity of their being alone, to reproach him with some severity for -what he had done. - -The Colonel heard him with great serenity; and then began to justify -himself, by assuring his Lordship that he had accompanied Delamere only -in hopes of being able to detach him from his pursuit, and because he -thought it preferable to his being left wholly to himself. He declared -that he meant to have given Lord Montreville information, if there had -appeared the least probability of Delamere's marriage; but that being -perfectly convinced, from the character of Emmeline, that there was -nothing to apprehend, he had every day hoped his friend would have -quitted a project in which there seemed not the least likelihood of -success, and would have returned to his family cured of his passion. - -Though this was not all strictly true, Fitz-Edward possessed a sort of -plausible and insinuating eloquence, which hardly ever failed of -removing every impression, however strong, against him; and Lord -Montreville was conversing with him with his usual confidence and -friendship, when the note from Miss Delamere was brought in. - -His Lordship, ever anxious for his son, gazed eagerly at it while -Fitz-Edward read it; and trembling, asked from whom it came? - -Fitz-Edward put it into his hand; and having ran it over in breathless -terror, his Lordship hurried out, directing all his servants to go -several ways in search of Delamere; while he entreated Fitz-Edward to -run to whatever place he was likely to be in; and went himself to Mrs. -Stafford's lodging, who was by this time returned home. - -What he heard from her of the scene of the morning, contributed to -encrease his alarm. The image of his son in all the wildness of -ungovernable passion, shook his nerves so much, that he seemed ready to -faint, yet unable to move to enquire where he was. As he could attend to -nothing else, Mrs. Stafford told him how anxiously she had thought of a -situation for Emmeline, and that she believed she had at length found -one that would do, 'if,' said she, 'your Lordship cannot prevail on him -to quit Swansea, which I think you had better attempt, though from the -scene of this morning I own I despair of it more than ever. - -'The person with whom I hope to be able to place Miss Mowbray is Mrs. -Ashwood, the sister of Mr. Stafford. She has been two years a widow, -with three children, and resides at a village near London. She has a -very good fortune; and would be happy to have with her such a companion -as Miss Mowbray, 'till I am so fortunate as to be enabled to take her -myself. As her connections and acquaintance lie in a different set of -people, and in a remote part of the country from those of Mr. Delamere, -it is improbable, that with the precaution we shall take, he will ever -discover her residence.' - -Lord Montreville expressed his sense of Mrs. Stafford's kindness in the -warmest terms. He assured her that he should never forget the friendly -part she had taken, and that if ever it was in his power to shew his -gratitude by being so happy as to have the ability to serve her or her -family, he should consider it as the most fortunate event of his life. - -Mrs. Stafford heard this as matter of course; and would have felt great -compassion for Lord Montreville, whose state of mind was truly -deplorable, but she reflected that he had really been the author of his -own misery: first, by bringing up his son in a manner that had given -such boundless scope to his passions; and now, by refusing to gratify -him in marrying a young woman, who was, in the eye of unprejudiced -reason, so perfectly unexceptionable. She advised him to try once more -to prevail on his son to leave Swansea with him; and he left her to -enquire whether Fitz-Edward had yet found Delamere, whose absence gave -him the most cruel uneasiness. - -Fitz-Edward, after a long search, had overtaken Delamere on an -unfrequented common, about a mile from the town, where he was walking -with a quick pace; and seeing Fitz-Edward, endeavoured to escape him. -But when he found he could not avoid him, he turned fiercely towards -him--'Why do you follow me, Sir? Is it not enough that you have broken -through the ties of honour and friendship in betraying me to my father? -must you still persecute me with your insidious friendship?' - -Fitz-Edward heard him with great coolness; and without much difficulty -convinced him that Miss Mowbray herself had given the information to -Lord Montreville by means of Mrs. Stafford. - -This conviction, while it added to the pain and mortification of -Delamere, greatly reconciled him to Fitz-Edward, whom he had before -suspected; and after a long conversation, which Fitz-Edward so managed -as to regain some degree of power over the passions of his impetuous -friend, he persuaded him to go and dine with Lord Montreville; having -first undertaken for his Lordship that nothing should be said on the -subject which occupied the thoughts of the father; on which condition -only the son consented to meet him. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - - -Notwithstanding the steadiness Emmeline had hitherto shewn in rejecting -the clandestine addresses of Delamere, he still hoped they would -succeed. A degree of vanity, pardonable in a young man possessing so -many advantages of person and fortune, made him trust to those -advantages, and to his unwearied assiduity, to conquer her reluctance. -He determined therefore to persevere; and did not imagine it was likely -he could again lose sight of her by a stratagem, against which he was -now on his guard. - -As he fancied Lord Montreville and his sister designed to carry her with -them when they went, he kept a constant eye on their motions, and set -his own servant, and Fitz-Edward's valet, to watch the servants of Lord -Montreville. - -Fitz-Edward, who had been so near losing the confidence of both the -father and son, found it expedient to observe a neutrality, which it -required all his address to support; being constantly appealed to by -them both. - -Lord Montreville, he advised to adhere to moderate measures and gentle -persuasions, and to trust to Emmeline's own strength of mind and good -conduct; while to Delamere he recommended dissimulation; and advised him -to quit Swansea at present, which would prevent Emmeline's being removed -from thence, and leave it in his power at any time to see her again. - -Lord Montreville, on cooler reflection, was by no means satisfied with -Fitz-Edward. To encourage his son's project, and even to accompany him -in it, in the vain hope of detaching him from Emmeline before an -irrevocable engagement could be formed, seemed to be at least very -blameable; and if he had seen the connection likely to take place on a -less honourable footing, his conduct was more immoral, if not so -impolitic. - -Either way, Lord Montreville felt it so displeasing, that he determined -not to trust Fitz-Edward in what he now meditated, which was, to remove -Emmeline from Swansea before he and his daughter quitted it, and to -place her with the sister of Mr. Stafford; who being now arrived, had -engaged to obtain his sister's concurrence with their plan. - -A female council therefore was held on the means of Emmeline's removal; -and it was settled that a post-chaise should, on the night fixed, be in -waiting at the distance of half a mile from the town; where Emmeline -should meet it; and that a servant of Mr. Stafford should accompany her -to London, who was from thence to return to his master's house in -Dorsetshire. - -This arrangement being made three days after the arrival of Lord -Montreville, and his faithful old valet being employed to procure the -chaise, the hour arrived when poor Emmeline was again to abandon her -little home, where she had passed many tranquil and some delightful -days; and where she was to bid adieu to her two beloved friends, -uncertain when she should see them again. - -Her friendship for Mrs. Stafford was enlivened by the warmest gratitude. -To her she owed the acquisition of much useful knowledge, as well as -instruction in those elegant accomplishments to which she was naturally -so much attached, but which she had no former opportunity of acquiring. -The charms of her conversation, the purity of her heart, and the -softness of her temper, made her altogether a character which could not -be known without being beloved; and Emmeline, whose heart was open to -all the enchanting impressions of early friendship, loved her with the -truest affection. The little she had seen of Augusta Delamere, had given -that young lady the second place in her heart. They were of the same -age, within a few weeks. Augusta Delamere extremely resembled the -Mowbray family: and there was, in figure and voice, a very striking -similitude between her and Emmeline Mowbray. - -Lady Montreville, passionately attached to her son, as the heir and -representative of her family, and partial to her eldest daughter for her -great resemblance to herself, seemed on them to have exhausted all her -maternal tenderness, and to have felt for Augusta but a very inferior -share of affection. - -Of the haughty and supercilious manners which made Lady Montreville -feared and disliked, she had communicated no portion to her younger -daughter; and if she had acquired something of the family pride, her -good sense, and the sweetness of her temper, had so much corrected it, -that it was by no means displeasing. - -Elegantly formed as she was, and with a face, which, tho' less fair than -that of Emmeline was almost as interesting, her mother had yet always -expressed a disapprobation of her person; and she had therefore herself -conceived an indifferent opinion of it; and being taught to consider -herself inferior in every thing to her elder sister, she never fancied -she was superior to others; nor, though highly accomplished, and -particularly skilled in music, did she ever obtrude her acquisitions on -her friends, or anxiously seek opportunities of displaying them. - -Her heart was benevolent and tender; and her affection for her brother, -the first of it's passions. She could never discover that he had a -fault; and the error in regard to Emmeline, which his father so much -dreaded, appeared to his sister a virtue. - -She was deeply read in novels, (almost the only reading that young women -of fashion are taught to engage in;) and having from them acquired many -of her ideas, she imagined that Delamere and Emmeline were born for each -other; though she dared not appear to encourage hopes so totally -opposite to those of her family, she found, after she had once seen and -conversed with Emmeline, that she never could warmly oppose an union -which she was convinced would make her brother happy. - -She fancied that Emmeline could not be insensible to Delamere's love; -she even believed she saw many symptoms of regard for him in her manner, -and that she made the most heroic sacrifice of her love to her duty, -when she resigned him: a sacrifice which heightened, almost to -enthusiasm, the pity and esteem felt for her by Augusta Delamere; and -though they had known each other only a few days, a sisterly affection -had taken place between them. - -But from these two friends, so tenderly and justly beloved, Emmeline was -now to depart, and to be thrown among strangers, where it was improbable -she would meet with any who would supply the loss of them. Her duty -however demanded this painful effort; and she determined to execute it -with courage and resolution. - -Delamere was so perpetually about his father, that it was judged -improper for him to hold any private conference with Emmeline, lest -something should be suspected. - -His Lordship therefore sent her by Mrs. Stafford a bank note of fifty -pounds; with his thanks for the propriety of her conduct, and an -assurance, that while she continued to merit his protection, he should -consider her as his daughter, and take care to supply her with money, -and every thing else she might wish for. He desired she would not write; -lest her hand should be known, and her abode traced; but said, that in a -few weeks he would see her himself, and wished her all possible health -and happiness. - -On the night of her departure, instead of retiring to rest at the usual -hour, Emmeline dressed herself in a travelling dress, and passed some -melancholy hours waiting for the signal of her departure. - -At half past two in the morning, every thing being profoundly quiet, she -saw, from her window, her two friends, who had declared they would not -leave her 'till they saw her in the chaise. - -She took with her only a small parcel of linen, Mrs. Stafford having -engaged to forward the rest to an address agreed upon; and softly -descending the stairs for fear of alarming Mrs. Watkins, she opened the -door; and each of her friends taking an arm, they passed over two -fields, into a lane where the chaise was waiting with the servant who -was to go with her. - -The tears had streamed from her eyes during the little walk, and she was -unable to speak. The servant now opened the chaise door and let down the -step; and Emmeline kissing the hand of Mrs. Stafford, and then that of -Augusta Delamere, went hastily into it--'God bless you both!' said she, -in a faint and inarticulate voice. The servant shut the door, mounted a -post horse, and the chaise was in an instant out of sight; while the two -ladies, who at any other time would have been alarmed at being obliged -to take so late a walk, thought not of themselves; but full of concern -for poor Emmeline, went back in tears; and Miss Delamere, who had agreed -to remain the rest of that night at the lodgings of Mrs. Stafford, -retired not to rest, but to weep for the departure of her friend and the -distress of her brother. - -Emmeline, thus separated from every body she loved, pursued her journey -melancholy and repining. - -The first hour, she wept bitterly, and accused her destiny of caprice -and cruelty. But tho' to the unfortunate passion of Delamere she owed -all the inconvenience she had lately experienced, she could not resolve -to hate him; but found a degree of pity and regard perpetually mingled -itself with his idea in her heart. Yet she was not in love; and had -rather the friendship of a sister for him than any wish to be his wife. - -Had there been no impediments to their union, she would have married -him, rather to make him happy than because she thought it would make -herself so; but she would have seen him married to another, and have -rejoiced at it, if he had found felicity. - -An attachment like his, which had resisted long absence, and was -undiminished by insuperable difficulties, could hardly fail of having -it's effect on the tender and susceptible mind of Emmeline. But whatever -affection she felt, it by no means arose to what a romantic girl would -have perhaps fancied it; and she was much more unhappy at quitting the -dear Augusta than at the uncertainty she was in whether she should ever -again see Delamere. - -The parting was extremely embittered by the prohibition she had received -in regard to writing to her. But painful as it was, she determined to -forbear; and steadily to adhere to that line of duty, however difficult -to practice, that only could secure the peace of her mind, by the -acquittal of her conscience; which, as she had learned from Mrs. -Stafford, as well as from her own experience, short as it was, could -alone support her in every trial to which she might be exposed. - -She reflected on her present situation, compared to what it would have -been had she been prevailed upon to become the wife of Delamere against -the consent of his family. - -Splendid as his fortune was, and high as his rank would raise her above -her present lot of life, she thought that neither would reconcile her to -the painful circumstance of carrying uneasiness and contention into his -family; of being thrown from them with contempt, as the disgrace of -their rank and the ruin of their hopes; and of living in perpetual -apprehension lest the subsiding fondness of her husband should render -her the object of his repentance and regret. - -The regard she was sensible of for Delamere did not make her blind to -his faults; and she saw, with pain, that the ungovernable violence of -his temper frequently obscured all his good qualities, and gave his -character an appearance of ferocity, which offered no very flattering -prospect to whosoever should be his wife. - -By thus reasoning with herself, she soon became more calm, and more -reconciled to that destiny which seemed not to design her for Delamere. - -She met with no remarkable occurrence in her journey; and on the evening -of the third day arrived in town; where the servant who attended her was -ordered to dismiss the chaise, and to procure her an hackney coach, in -which she proceeded to the house of Mrs. Ashwood. - -This residence, situated in a populous village three miles from London, -bore the appearance of wealth and prosperity. The iron gate, which gave -entrance into a large court, was opened by a servant in a laced livery, -to whom Emmeline delivered the letter she had brought from Mrs. -Stafford, and after a moment's waiting the lady herself came out to -receive her. - -Emmeline, by the splendour of her dress, concluded she had left a large -company: but being ushered into a parlour, found she had been drinking -tea alone; of which, or of any other refreshment, Miss Mowbray was -desired to partake. - -Her reception of her visitor was perfectly cordial; and Emmeline soon -recovering her easy and composed manner, Mrs. Ashwood seemed very much -pleased with her guest; for there was in her countenance a passport to -all hearts. - -Mrs. Ashwood, tho' not in the bloom of life, and tho' she never had been -handsome, was so unconscious of her personal disadvantages, that she -imagined herself the object of admiration of one sex and of the -imitation of the other. With the most perfect reliance on the graces of -a figure which never struck any other person as being at all remarkable, -she dressed with an exuberance of expence; and kept all the company her -neighbourhood afforded. - -Where her ruling passions, (the love of admiration and excessive vanity) -did not interfere, she was sometimes generous and sometimes friendly. -But her ideas of her own perfections, both of person and mind, far -exceeding the truth, she had often the mortification to find that others -by no means thought of them as she did; and then her good humour was far -from invincible. - -Though Emmeline soon found her conversation very inferior to what she -had of late been accustomed to, she thought herself fortunate in having -found an asylum, the mistress of which seemed desirous of making it -agreeable; and to which she was introduced by the kindness of her -beloved Mrs. Stafford. - -But while serenity was returning to the bosom of Emmeline, that of poor -Delamere was torn with the cruellest tempest. The morning after -Emmeline's departure, Delamere, who expected no such thing, arose at his -usual hour and rode out alone, as he had frequently done. As he passed -her window, he looked up to it, and seeing it open, concluded she was in -her room. - -On his return, his father met him, and asked him to breakfast; but he -designed to attend the tea-table of Mrs. Stafford, where he thought he -should meet Emmeline, and therefore excused himself; and Lord -Montreville, who wished the discovery to be delayed to as late an hour -of the day as possible, let him go thither, where he breakfasted; and -then proposed a walk to Mrs. Stafford, which he hoped would include a -visit to Emmeline, or at least that Mrs. Stafford would not walk without -her. She excused herself, however, on pretence of having letters to -write; and Delamere went in search of Fitz-Edward, whom he could not -find. - -It was now noon, and he grew impatient at not having had even a glimpse -of Emmeline the whole morning, when he met Fitz-Edward's man, and asked -him hastily where his master was? - -The man hesitated, and looked as if he had a secret which he contained -with some uneasiness. 'Sir,' said he, 'have you seen Miss Mowbray -to-day?' - -'No--why do you ask?' - -'Because, Sir,' said the fellow, 'I shrewdly suspect that she went away -from here last night. I can't tell your Honour why I thinks so; but you -may soon know the truth on't.' - -The ardent imagination of Delamere instantly caught fire. He took it for -granted that Fitz-Edward had carried her off: and without staying to -reflect a moment, he flew to the inn where his horses were, and ordered -them to be saddled; then rushing into the room where his father and -sister were sitting together, he exclaimed--'she is gone, Sir--Emmeline -is gone!--but I will soon overtake her; and the infamous villain who has -torn her from me!' - -Lord Montreville scorned to dissimulate. He answered, 'I know she is -gone, and it was by my directions she went. You cannot overtake her; nor -is it probable you will ever see her again. Endeavour therefore to -recollect yourself, and do not forget what you owe to your family and -yourself.' - -Delamere attended but little to this remonstrance; but still -prepossessed with the idea of Fitz-Edward's being gone with her, he -swore perpetual vengeance against him, and that he would pursue him -through the world. - -With this resolution on his lips, and fury in his eyes, he quitted his -father's apartment, and at the door met Fitz-Edward himself, coming to -enquire after him. - -He was somewhat ashamed of the hasty conclusion he had made, and was -therefore more disposed to hear what Fitz-Edward had to say, who -presently convinced him that he was entirely ignorant of the flight of -Emmeline. - -Delamere now insisted, that as a proof of his friendship he would -instantly set out with him in pursuit of her. - -Fitz-Edward knew not what to do; but however seemed to consent; and -saying he would order his servant to get his horse, left him, and went -to Lord Montreville, to whom he represented the impracticability of -stopping Delamere. - -His Lordship, almost certain that Emmeline was out of the possibility of -his overtaking her, as she had now been gone thirteen hours, thought it -better for Fitz-Edward, if he could not prevent his departure, to go -with him: but he desired him to make as many artificial delays as -possible. - -Delamere, in the mean time, had been to Mrs. Stafford, and tried to -force from her the secret of Emmeline's route. But she was inexorable; -and proof against his phrenzy as well as his persuasion. She held him, -however, as long as she could, in discourse. But when he found she only -tried to make him lose time, he left her, in an agony of passion, and -mounting his horse, while his trembling servants were ordered to follow -him on pain of instant dismission, he rode out of the town without -seeing his father, leaving a message for Fitz-Edward that he had taken -the London road, and expected he would come after him instantly. - -Lord Montreville intreated Fitz-Edward to lose not a moment; and bidding -an hasty adieu to his Lordship, he ordered his horses to the door of -Mrs. Stafford, where he took a formal leave of her and her husband, -entreating permission to renew his acquaintance hereafter. Then getting -on horseback, he made as much speed as possible after Delamere; whom -with difficulty he overtook some miles forward on the London road. - -This way Delamere had taken on conjecture only; but after proceeding -some time, he had met a waggoner, whom he questioned. The man told him -of a post chaise he had met at four o'clock in the morning; and -encouraged by that to proceed, he soon heard from others enough to make -him believe he was right. - -The horses, however, at the end of forty miles, were too much fatigued -to keep pace with Delamere's impatience. He was obliged to wait three -hours before post horses could be found for himself and Fitz-Edward. His -servants were obliged to remain yet longer; and the horses which were -at length procured, were so lame and inadequate to the journey, that it -was six hours before they reached the next stage; where the same -difficulty occurred; and Delamere, between the fatigue of his body and -anxiety of his mind, found himself compelled to take some rest. - -The next day he still traced Emmeline from stage to stage, and imagined -himself very near her: but the miserable horse on which he rode, being -unable to execute his wish as to speed, and urged beyond his strength, -fell with him in a stage about sixty miles from London; by which -accident he received a contusion on his breast, and was bruised so much -that Fitz-Edward insisted on his being blooded and put to bed; and then -went to the apothecary of the village near which the accident happened, -and procuring a phial of laudanum, infused it into the wine and water -which Delamere drank, and by that artifice obtained for him the repose -he otherwise would not have been prevailed on to take. - -After having slept several hours, he desired to pursue his journey in a -post chaise; but Fitz-Edward had taken care that none should be -immediately to be had. By these delays only it was that Emmeline reached -London some hours before him. - -However, when he renewed his journey, he still continued to trace her -from stage to stage, till the last postillion who drove her was found. - -He said, that he was ordered to stop at the first stand of coaches, into -one of which the lady went, and, with the servant behind, drove away; -but the lad neither knew the number of the coach, or recollected the -coachman, or did he remember whither the coach was ordered to go. - -Delamere passed two days, questioning all the coachmen on the stand; and -in consequence of information pretended to be given by some of them, he -got into two or three quarrels by going to houses they pointed out to -him. And after offering and giving rewards which only seemed to redouble -his difficulties, he appeared to be farther than ever from any -probability of finding the fair fugitive he so anxiously sought. - -Lord Montreville and his daughter staid only two days at Swansea after -his departure. They travelled in very indifferent spirits to London; -where they found Delamere ill at the lodgings of Fitz-Edward in -Hill-street. - -Lord Montreville found there was nothing alarming in his son's -indisposition; but could not persuade him to accompany him to Lady Mary -Otley's. - -His Lordship and Miss Augusta Delamere set out therefore for that place; -leaving Delamere to the care of Fitz-Edward, who promised not to quit -him 'till he had agreed either to go to the Norfolk estate or to Mr. -Percival's. - -Lord Montreville was tolerably satisfied that he could not discover -Emmeline; and Delamere having for above a fortnight attended at all -public places without seeing her, and having found every other effort to -meet her fruitless, reluctantly agreed to go to his father's estate in -Norfolk. - -It was now almost the end of August; and Fitz-Edward, after seeing him -part of the way, took his leave of him, and again went to attend his -duty in the North of Ireland. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - - -While Delamere, in the deepest despondence, which he could neither -conquer or conceal, made a vain effort to divert his mind with those -amusements for which he no longer had any relish, Emmeline, at her new -residence, attracted the attention of many of Mrs. Ashwood's visitors. - -A widow, in possession of an handsome jointure, and her children amply -provided for, Mrs. Ashwood was believed to entertain no aversion to a -second marriage: and her house being so near London, was frequented by a -great number of single men; many of whom came there because it was a -pleasant jaunt from the city, where most of them resided; and others, -with hopes of amending their fortunes by an alliance with the lady -herself. - -These latter, however, were chiefly the younger sons of merchants; and -though pleased with their flattery and assiduity, Mrs. Ashwood, who had -an almost equal share of vanity and ambition, had yet given no very -decided preference to any; for she imagined her personal attractions, of -which she had a very high idea, added to the advantages of a good -income, good expectations, and opulent connections, entitled her to -marry into an higher line of life than that in which her father had -first engaged her. - -Her acquaintance, however, was yet very limited among persons of -fashion; and it was not wholly without hopes of encreasing it that she -had consented to receive Miss Mowbray, whose relationship to Lord -Montreville would, she imagined, be the means of introducing her to his -Lordship's notice and to that of his family. - -Her civility and kindness to Emmeline were unbounded for some time. And -as she was not easily convinced of her own want of beauty, she never -apprehended that she ran some risk of becoming a foil, instead of the -first figure, as she expected generally to be. - -The extreme simplicity of Emmeline's appearance, who notwithstanding the -remonstrances of Mrs. Ashwood continued to dress nearly as she did in -Wales; and her perfect ignorance of fashionable life and fashionable -accomplishments, gave her, in the eyes of many of Mrs. Ashwood's -visitors, the air of a dependant; and those who visited with a view to -the fortune of the latter, carefully avoided every appearance of -preference to Emmeline, and kept her friend in good humour with herself. - -But there were, among those who frequented her house, some men of -business; who being rather in middle life, and immensely rich, had no -other views in going thither than to pass a few hours in the country, -when their mercantile engagements prevented their leaving London -entirely; and who loved pleasure better than any thing but money. - -With one or two of these, Mrs. Ashwood and her father had at different -times encouraged overtures of marriage. But they knew and enjoyed the -pleasure their fortune and single state afforded them too well to give -those indulgences up for the advantage of increasing their incomes, -unless the object had possessed greater attractions than fell to the -share of Mrs. Ashwood; and her father could not be prevailed upon to -give her (at least while he lived) a sum of money large enough to tempt -their avarice. These overtures therefore had ended in nothing more than -an intercourse of civility. - -But Emmeline no sooner appeared, than one of these gentlemen renewed his -visits with more than his original assiduity. - -The extreme beauty of her person, and the _naivete_ of her manners, gave -her, to him, the attractive charms of novelty; while the mystery there -seemed to be about her, piqued his curiosity. - -It was known that she was related to a noble family; but Mrs. Ashwood -had been so earnestly entreated to conceal as much as possible her real -history, lest Delamere should hear of and discover her, that she only -told it to a few friends, and it had not yet reached the knowledge of -Mr. Rochely, who had become the attendant of Mrs. Ashwood's tea table -from the first introduction of Emmeline. - -Mr. Rochely was nearer fifty than forty. His person, heavy and badly -proportioned, was not relieved by his countenance, which was dull and -ill-formed. His voice, monotonous and guttural, was fatiguing to the -ear; and the singularity of his manners, as well as the oddness of his -figure, often excited a degree of ridicule, which the respect his riches -demanded could not always stifle. - -With a person so ill calculated to inspire affection, he was very -desirous of being a favourite with the ladies; and extremely sensible of -their attractions. In the inferior ranks of life, his money had procured -him many conquests, tho' he was by no means lavish of it; and much of -the early part of his time had been passed in low amours; which did not, -however, impede his progress to the great wealth he possessed. He had -always intended to marry: but as he required many qualifications in a -wife which are hardly ever united, he had hesitated till he had long -been looked upon as an old bachelor. - -He was determined to chuse beauty, but expected also fortune. He desired -to marry a woman of family, yet feared the expensive turn of those -brought up in high life; and had a great veneration for wit and -accomplishments, but dreaded, lest in marrying a woman who possessed -them, he should be liable to be governed by superior abilities, or be -despised for the mediocrity of his own understanding. - -With such ideas, his relations saw him perpetually pursuing some -matrimonial project; but so easily frightened from his pursuit, that -they relied on his succession with the most perfect confidence. - -When first he beheld Emmeline, he was charmed with her person; her -conversation, at once innocent and lively, impressed him with the most -favourable ideas of her heart and understanding; and, brought up at a -great distance from London, she had acquired no taste for expences, no -rage for those amusements and dissipations which he so much apprehended -in a wife. - -When he came to Mrs. Ashwood's, (which was almost every afternoon) -Emmeline, who was generally at work, or drawing in the dressing-room, -never discomposed herself; but sat quietly to what she was doing; -listening with the most patient complaisance to the long and -uninteresting stories with which he endeavoured to entertain her; an -attention which greatly contributed to win the heart of Rochely; and he -was as much in love as so prudent a man could be, before he ventured to -ask himself what he intended? or what was the family and what the -fortune of the person who now occupied most of his time and a great -portion of his thoughts? - -Mrs. Ashwood, frequently engaged at the neighbouring card-tables, from -which Emmeline almost always excused herself, often left her and Mr. -Rochely to drink tea together; and when she was at home, would sometimes -make her party in another room, where the subject of laughter with her -own admirers, was the growing passion of the rich banker for the fair -stranger. - -Emmeline did not, when present, escape ridicule on this subject: but as -she had not the least idea that a man so much older than herself had any -intention of offering himself as an husband, she bore it with great -tranquillity, and continued to behave to Mr. Rochely with the attentive -civility dictated by natural good breeding; while she heard, without any -concern but on his account, the perpetual mirth and loud bursts of -laughter which followed his compliments and attentions to her. - -If he was absent a few days, the door of Mrs. Ashwood was crouded with -servants and porters with game from Mr. Rochely. And his assiduities -became at every visit more marked. - -As it was now late in the autumn, Mrs. Ashwood was desirous of shewing -Miss Mowbray some of those public places she had not yet seen; and -Emmeline (not apprehending there was any reason to fear meeting Mr. -Delamere at a season when she knew field sports kept him altogether in -the country) made no difficulty to accompany her. - -Mr. Rochely no sooner heard a party to the play proposed, than he -desired to join it; and Mrs. Ashwood, Miss Galton, (an intimate friend -of her's), with Miss Mowbray, Mr. Hanbury, (one of Mrs. Ashwood's -admirers), and Mr. Rochely, met at Drury-Lane Theatre; where Emmeline -was extremely well entertained. - -When the play was over, the box was filled with several of Mrs. -Ashwood's acquaintance, who talked to _her_, while their eyes were fixed -on her young friend; an observation that did not greatly lighten up her -countenance. - -The most conspicuous among these was a tall, thin, but extremely awkward -figure, which in a most fashionable undress, and with a glass held to -his eye, strided into the box, and bowing with a strange gesture to Mrs. -Ashwood, exclaimed--'Oh! my dear Mrs. A!--here I am!--returned from Spa -only last night; and already at your feet. So here you are? and not yet -enchained by that villainous fellow Hymen? You are a good soul, not to -give yourself away while I was at Spa. I was horridly afraid, my dear -widow! you would not have waited even to have given me a wedding -favour.' - -To this speech, as it required no answer, Mrs. Ashwood gave very little; -for besides that she was not pleased with the matter, the manner -delighted her still less. The speaker had, during the whole of it, -leaned almost across the person who was next to him, to bring his glass -nearly close to Emmeline's face. - -Emmeline, extremely discomposed, drew back; and Mr. Rochely, who sat -near her, putting away the glass softly with his hand, said very calmly -to the leaning beau--'Sir, is there any occasion to take an account of -this lady's features?' - -'Ah! my friend Rochely!' answered he familiarly, 'what are you the -lady's Cicisbeo? as we say in Italy. Here is indeed beauty enough to -draw you from the contemplation of three per cent. consols, India bonds, -omnium, scrip, and douceurs. But prithee, my old friend, is this young -lady your ward?' - -'My ward! no,' answered Rochely, 'how came you to think she was?' - -Mr. Elkerton, who fancied he had vastly the advantage in point of wit, -as well as of figure, over his antagonist, now desired to know, 'whether -the lady was his niece? though if I had not recollected' said he, 'that -you never was married, I should have taken her for your grand daughter.' - -This sarcasm had, on the features of Rochely, all the effect the -travelled man expected. But while he was preparing an answer, at which -he was never very prompt, the coach was announced to be ready, and -Emmeline, extremely weary of her situation, and disgusted even to -impatience with her new acquaintance, hastily arose to go. - -Elkerton offered to take her hand; which she drew from him without -attempting to conceal her dislike; and accepting the arm of Rochely, -followed Mrs. Ashwood; while Elkerton, determined not to lose sight of -her, seized the hand of Miss Galton, who being neither young, handsome, -or rich, had been left to go out alone: they followed the rest of the -party to the coach, where Mrs. Ashwood and Miss Mowbray were already -seated, with Mr. Hanbury; who, as he resided with his mother in the -village where Mrs. Ashwood lived, was to accompany them home. - -The coach being full, seemed to preclude all possibility of Elkerton's -admittance. But he was not so easily put off: and telling Mrs. Ashwood -he intended to go home to sup with her, he stepped immediately in, and -ordered his servant, who waited at the coach door with a flambeau, to -direct his vis-a-vis to follow. - -Rochely, who meant to have wished them a good night after seeing them to -their carriage, was too much hurt by this happy essay of assurance not -to resolve to counteract it's consequences. Elkerton, though not a -very young man, was near twenty years younger than Rochely; besides the -income of his business (for he was in trade) he had a large independent -fortune, of which he was extremely lavish; his equipages were splendid; -his house most magnificently furnished; and his cloaths the most -expensive that could be bought. - -Rochely, whose ideas of elegance, manners, or taste, were not very -refined, had no notion that the absurdity of Elkerton, or his -disagreeable person, would prevent his being a very formidable rival. He -therefore saw him with great pain accompany Emmeline home; and though he -had formed no positive designs himself, he could not bear to suppose -that another might form them with success. - -Directing therefore his chariot to follow the coach, he was set down at -the door a few minutes after Mrs. Ashwood and her party; where Emmeline, -still more displeased with Elkerton, and having been teized by his -impertinent admiration the whole way, looked as if she could have burst -into tears. - -Mrs. Ashwood, in a very ill humour, hardly attended to his flourishing -speeches with common civility; he had therefore recourse to Miss Galton, -to whom he was giving the history of his travels, which seemed to take -up much of his thoughts. - -Miss Galton, who by long dependance and repeated disappointments had -acquired the qualifications necessary for a patient hearer, acquiesced -in smiling silence to all his assertions; looked amazed in the right -place; and heard, with great complacency, his wonderful success at -cards, and the favour he was in with women of the first fashion at Spa. - -The entrance of Mr. Rochely gave no interruption to his discourse. He -bowed slightly to him without rising, and then went on, observing that -he had now seen every part of Europe worth seeing, and meant, at least -for some years, to remain in England; the ladies of which country he -preferred to every other, and therefore intended taking a wife among -them. Fortune was, he declared, to him no object; but he was determined -to marry the handsomest woman he could meet with, for whom he was now -looking out. - -As he said this, he turned his eyes towards Emmeline; who affecting not -to hear him, tho' he spoke in so loud a tone as to make it unavoidable, -was talking in a low voice to Mr. Rochely. - -Rochely placing himself close to her, had thrown his arm over the back -of her chair; and leaning forward, attended to her with an expression in -his countenance of something between apprehension and hope, that gave it -the most grotesque look imaginable. - -Mrs. Ashwood, who had been entertained apart by Mr. Hanbury, now hurried -over the supper; during which Elkerton, still full of himself, engrossed -almost all the conversation; gave a detail of the purchases he had made -abroad, and the trouble he had to land them; interspersed with _bon -mots_ of French Marquises and German Barons, and witty remarks of an -English Duke with whom he had crossed the water on his return. But -whatever story he told, himself was still forwardest in the picture; his -project of marrying an handsome wife was again repeated; and he told the -party how charming a house he had bought in Kent, and how he had -furnished his library. - -Rochely, who lay in wait to revenge himself for all the mortifications -he had suffered from him during the evening, took occasion to say, in -his grave, cold manner, 'to be sure a man of your taste and erudition, -Mr. Elkerton, cannot do without a library; but for my part, I think you -will find no books can say so much to the purpose as those kept by your -late father in Milk-street, Cheapside.' - -Elkerton turned pale at this sneer; but forcing a smile of contempt, -answered, 'You bankers have no ideas out of your compting-houses; and -rich as ye are, will never be any thing but _des bourgeois les plus -grossieres_! For my part I see no reason why--why a man's being in -business, should prevent his enjoying the _elegancies_ and _agrements_ -of life, especially if he can _afford_ it; as it is well known, I -believe, even to _you_, Sir, _that I can_.' - -'Oh! Sir,' replied Rochely, 'I know your late father was _reputed_ to -have died rich, and that no body has made a better _figure about town_ -than _you_ have, ever since.' - -'As to figure, Sir,' returned the other, 'it is true I like to have -every thing about me _comme il faut_. And though I don't make fifty per -cent. of money, as _some_ gentlemen do in _your_ way of business, I -assure you, Sir, I do nothing that I cannot very well afford.' - -Mrs. Ashwood, who thought it very likely a quarrel might ensue, here -endeavoured to put an end to such very unpleasant discourse; and -prevented Mr. Hanbury, who equally hated them both, from trying to -irritate them farther, to which he maliciously inclined. - -The hints, however, of fatigue, given by her and Miss Mowbray, obliged -Mr. Rochely to ring that his chariot might be called, which had waited -at the door; while Elkerton, who had a pair of beautiful pied horses in -his vis-a-vis, desired to have them sent for from a neighbouring -inn--'for _I_' said he, rising and strutting round the room, 'never -suffer _my_ people or _my_ horses to wait in the streets.' - -He then leant over Emmeline's chair, and began in a court tone to renew -his compliments. But she suddenly arose; and begging Mrs. Ashwood would -give her leave to retire, wished Mr. Rochely and ladies a good night; -and slightly curtseying to Elkerton, who was putting himself into the -attitude for a speech and a bow, she tripped away. - -Rochely, as soon as she was gone, hastened to his chariot; and Elkerton, -whose people were in no haste to leave the ale-house, begged to sit down -'till they came. - -Mrs. Ashwood had been the whole evening particularly out of humour, and -being no longer able to command it, answered peevishly, 'that her house -was much at his service, but that she was really so much fatigued she -must retire--however,' said she, 'Miss Galton, you will be so good as to -stay with Mr. Elkerton--good night to you, Sir!' - -He was no sooner alone with Miss Galton, than he desired her, after a -speech (which he endeavoured to season with as much flattery as it would -bear) to tell him who Emmeline was? - -'Upon my word, Sir,' answered she, 'it is more than I know. Her name is -Mowbray; and she is somehow connected with the family of Lord -Montreville; but _what_ relation,' (sneeringly answered she) 'I really -cannot pretend even to guess.' - -'A relation of Lord Montreville!' cried Elkerton; 'why I knew his -Lordship intimately when I was abroad three or four years ago. He was at -Naples with his son, his lady, and two daughters; and I was -domesticated, absolutely domesticated, among them. But pray what -relation to them can this Miss Mowbray be?' - -'Probably,' said Miss Galton, 'as you know his Lordship, you may know -what connections and family he has. I suppose she may be his cousin--or -his niece--or his----.' - -Here she hesitated and smiled; and Elkerton, whose carriage was now at -the door, and who had a clue which he thought would procure him all the -information he wanted, took leave of Miss Galton; desiring her to tell -Mrs. Ashwood that he should wait upon her again in a few days. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - - -Delamere continued in Norfolk only a few weeks after his father and the -family came thither. During that time, he appeared restless and -dissatisfied; his former vivacity was quite lost; he shunned society; -and passed almost all his time in the fields, under pretence of hunting -or shooting, tho' the greatest satisfaction those amusements now -afforded him was the opportunity they gave him of absenting himself from -home. He seldom returned thither 'till six or seven o'clock; dined alone -in his own apartment; and affected to be too much fatigued to be able to -meet the party who assembled to cards in the evening. - -Lady Mary Otley and her daughter, a widow lady of small fortune in the -neighbourhood, with Lord and Lady Montreville and their eldest daughter, -made up a party without him. Augusta Delamere had been left in their way -from the North, with a relation of his Lordship's who lived near -Scarborough, with whom she was to remain two months. - -The party at Audley-Hall was soon encreased by Sir Richard Crofts and -his eldest son, who came every autumn on a visit to Lord Montreville, -and who was his most intimate friend. - -Lord Montreville, during the short time he studied at the Temple, became -acquainted with Sir Richard, then clerk to an attorney in the city; who, -tho' there was a great difference in their rank, had contrived to gain -the regard and esteem of his Lordship (then Mr. Frederic Mowbray) and -was, when he came to his estate, entrusted with it's management; a trust -which he appeared to execute with such diligence and integrity, that he -soon obtained the entire confidence of his patron; and by possessing -great ductility and great activity, he was soon introduced into a higher -line of life, and saw himself the companion and friend of those, to -whom, at his setting out, he appeared only an humble retainer. - -Born in Scotland, he boasted of his ancestry, tho' his immediate -predecessors were known to be indigent and obscure; and tho' he had -neither eminent talents, nor any other education than what he had -acquired at a free-school in his native town, he had, by dint of a very -common understanding, steadily applied to the pursuit of one point; and -assisted by the friendship of Lord Montreville, acquired not only a -considerable fortune, but a seat in Parliament and a great deal of -political interest, together with the title of a Baronet. - -He had less understanding than cunning; less honesty than industry; and -tho' he knew how to talk warmly and plausibly of honour, justice, and -integrity, he was generally contented only to talk of them, seldom so -imprudent as to practice them when he could get place or profit by their -sacrifice. - -He had that sort of sagacity which enabled him to enter into the -characters of those with whom he conversed: he knew how to humour their -prejudices, and lay in wait for their foibles to turn them to his own -advantage. - -To his superiors, the cringing parasite; to those whom he thought his -inferiors, proud, supercilious, and insulting; and his heart hardening -as his prosperity encreased, he threw off, as much as he could, every -connection that reminded him of the transactions of his early life, and -affected to live only among the great, whose luxuries he could now -reach, and whose manners he tried to imitate. - -He had two sons by an early marriage with a woman of small fortune, who -was fortunately dead; for had she lived, she would probably have been -concealed, lest she should disgrace him. - -To his sons, however, he had given that sort of education which was -likely to fit them for places under government; and he had long secretly -intended the eldest for one of the Miss Delameres. - -Delamere, all warmth and openness himself, detested the narrow-minded -and selfish father; and had shewn so much coolness towards the sons, -that Sir Richard foresaw he would be a great impediment to his designs, -and had therefore the strongest motive for trying to persuade Lord -Montreville, that to send him on another tour to the Continent, would be -the best means of curing him of what this deep politician termed 'a -ridiculous and boyish whim, which his Lordship ought at all events to -put an end to before it grew of a more dangerous consequence.' - -Mr. Crofts, as he was no sportsman, passed his mornings in riding out -with Miss Delamere and Miss Otley, or attending on the elder ladies in -their airings: while Delamere, who wished equally to shun Miss Otley, -whom he determined never to marry, and Crofts, whom he despised and -hated, lived almost alone, notwithstanding the entreaties of his father -and the anger of his mother. - -Her Ladyship, who had never any command over her passions, harrassed -him, whenever they met, with sarcasms and reflections. Lady Mary, -scorning _to_ talk to a young man who was blind to the merits of her -daughter, talked _at_ him whenever she found an opportunity; and -exclaimed against the disobedience, dissipation, and ill-breeding of -modern young men: while Miss Otley affected a pretty disdain; and -flirted violently with Mr. Crofts, as if to shew him that she was -totally indifferent to his neglect. - -The temper of Delamere was eager and irritable; and he bore the -unpleasantness of this society, whenever he was forced to mix in it, -with a sort of impatient contempt. But as he hourly found it more -irksome, and the idea of Emmeline press every day more intensely on his -heart, he determined, at the end of the third week, to go to London. - -Not chusing to have any altercation with either Lord or Lady -Montreville, he one evening ordered his man to have his horses ready at -five o'clock the next day, saying he was to meet the foxhounds at some -distance from home; and having written a letter to his Lordship, in -which he told him he was going to London for a fortnight, (which letter -he left on the table in his dressing-room) he mounted his horse, and was -soon in town; but instead of going to the house of his father in -Berkley-square, he took lodgings in Pall-Mall. - -Every night he frequented those public places which were yet open, in -hopes of finding Emmeline; and his servant was constantly employed for -the same purpose; but as he had no trace of her, all his enquiries were -fruitless. - -On the night that Emmeline was at the play, he had been at Covent-garden -Theatre, and meant to have looked into the other house; but was detained -by meeting a young foreigner from whom he had received civilities at -Turin, 'till the house was empty. So narrowly did he miss finding her he -so anxiously sought. - -Elkerton, in looking about for the happy woman who was worthy the -exalted situation of being his wife, had yet seen none whom he thought -so likely to succeed to that honour as Miss Mowbray; and if she was, on -enquiry, found to be as she was represented, (related to Lord -Montreville) it would be so great an additional advantage, that he -determined in that case to lay himself and his pied horses, his house in -Kent, his library, and his fortune, all at her feet immediately. Nor did -he once suffer himself to suspect that there was a woman on earth who -could withstand such a torrent of good fortune. - -In pursuance therefore of this resolution, he determined to make enquiry -of Lord Montreville himself; of whom he had just known so much at Naples -as to receive cards of invitation to Lady Montreville's -_conversationes_. - -There, he mingled with the croud; and was slightly noticed as an -Englishman of fortune; smiled at for his affectation of company and -manners, which seemed foreign to his original line of life; and then -forgotten. - -But Elkerton conceived this to be more than introduction enough; and -dressing himself in what he thought _un disabille la plus imposante_, -and with his servants in their morning liveries, he stopped at the door -of Lord Montreville. - -'Lord Montreville was not at home.' - -'When was he expected?' - -'It was uncertain: his Lordship was at Audley-hall, and might be in town -in a fortnight; or might not come up till the meeting of Parliament.' - -'And are all the family there?' enquired Elkerton of the porter. - -'No, Sir; Mr. Delamere is in town.' - -'And when can I see Mr. Delamere?' - -The porter could not tell, as he did not live in Berkley-square. - -'Where, then, is he?' - -'At lodgings in Pall-Mall:' (for Delamere had left his direction with -his father's servants.) - -Elkerton therefore took the address with a pencil; and determined, -without farther reflection, to drive thither. - -It was about four o'clock, and in the middle of November, when Delamere -had just returned to his lodgings, to dress before he met his foreign -friend, and some other young men, to dine at a tavern in St. -James's-street, when a loud rap at the door announced a visitor. - -Millefleur having no orders to the contrary, and being dazzled with the -splendour of Elkerton's equipage, let him in; and he was humming an -Italian air out of tune, in Delamere's drawing-room, when the latter -came out in his dressing-gown and slippers to receive him. - -Delamere, on seeing the very odd figure and baboonish face of Elkerton, -instead of that of somebody he knew, stopped short and made a grave bow. - -Elkerton advancing towards him, bowed also profoundly, and said, 'I am -charmed, Sir, with being permitted the honour of paying you my devoirs.' - -Delamere concluded from his look and bow, as well as from a foreign -accent, (which Elkerton had affected 'till it was become habitual) that -the man was either a dancing master or a quack doctor, sent to him by -some of his companions, who frequently exercised on each other such -efforts of practical wit. He therefore being not without humour, bowed -again more profoundly than before; and answered, 'that the honour was -entirely his, tho' he did not know how he had deserved it.' - -'I was so fortunate, Sir,' resumed Elkerton, 'so fortunate as to--have -the honour--the happiness--of knowing Lord Montreville and Lady -Montreville a few years ago at Naples.' - -Delamere, still confirmed in his first idea, answered, 'very probably, -Sir.' - -'And, Sir,' continued Elkerton, 'I now waited upon _you_, as his -Lordship is not in town.' - -'Indeed, Sir, you are too obliging.' - -'To ask, Sir, a question, which I hope will not be deemed--be -deemed--' (a word did not immediately occur) 'be -deemed--improper--intrusive--impertinent--inquisitive--presuming----' - -'I dare say, Sir, nothing improper, intrusive, impertinent, inquisitive, -or presuming, is to be apprehended from a gentleman of your appearance.' - -Delamere expected something very ridiculous to follow this ridiculous -introduction, and with some difficulty forbore laughing. - -Elkerton went on---- - -'It relates, Sir, to a Lady.' - -'Pray, Sir, proceed. I am really impatient where a lady is concerned.' - -'You are acquainted, Sir, with a lady of the name of Ashwood, who lives -at Clapham?' - -'No, really Sir, I am not so happy.' - -'I fancy then, Sir, I have been misinformed, and beg pardon for the -trouble I have presumed to give: but I understood that the young lady -who lives with her was a relation of Lord Montreville.' - -A ray of fire seemed to flash across the imagination of Delamere, and to -inflame all his hopes. He blushed deeply, and his voice faultering with -anxiety, he cried-- - -'What?--who, Sir?--a young lady?--what young lady?' - -'Miss Mowbray, they tell me, is her name; and I understand, Sir--but I -dare say from mistake--that she is of your family.' - -Delamere could hardly breathe. He seemed as if he was in a dream, and -dared not speak for fear of awaking. - -Elkerton, led on by the questions Delamere at length summoned resolution -to ask, proceeded to inform him of all he knew; how, where, and how -often, he had seen Emmeline, and of his intentions to offer himself a -candidate for her favour--'for notwithstanding, Sir,' said he, 'that Mr. -Rochely seems to be _fort avant en ses bon graces_, I think--I hope--I -believe, that his fortune--(and yet his fortune does not perhaps so much -exceed mine as many suppose)--his fortune will hardly turn the balance -against _me_; especially if I have the sanction of Lord Montreville; to -whom I suppose (as you seem to acknowledge some affinity between Miss -Mowbray and his Lordship) it will be no harm if I apply.' - -Thro' the mind of Delamere, a thousand confused ideas rapidly passed. He -was divided between his joy at having found Emmeline, his vexation at -knowing she was surrounded by rivals, and his fear that his father -might, by the application of Elkerton to him, know that Emmeline's abode -was no longer a secret: and amidst these various sensations, he was able -only to express his dislike of Elkerton, whose presumption in thinking -of Emmeline appeared to cancel the casual obligation he owed to him for -discovering her. - -'Sir,' said he haughtily, as soon as he could a little recover his -recollection, 'I am very well assured that Lord Montreville will not -hear any proposals for Miss Mowbray. His Lordship has, in fact, no -authority over her; and besides he is at present about to leave his -house in Norfolk, and I know not when he will be in town; perhaps not -the whole winter; he is now going to visit some friends, and it will be -impossible you can have any access to him for some months. As to myself, -you will excuse me; I am engaged to dine out.' - -He rang the bell, and ordered the servant who entered to enquire for the -gentleman's carriage. Then bowing coolly to him, he went into his -dressing room, and left the mortified Elkerton to regret the little -success of an attempt which he doubted not would have excited, in the -hearts of all those related to Miss Mowbray, admiration at his -generosity, and joy for the good fortune of Emmeline: for he concluded, -by her being a companion to Mrs. Ashwood, that she had no fortune, or -any dependance but on the bounty of Lord Montreville. - -Delamere, whose ardent inclinations, whatever turn they took, were never -to be a moment restrained, rang for his servants; and dispatching one of -them with an excuse to his friends, he sent a second for an -hackney-coach. Then ordering up a cold dinner, which he hardly staid to -eat, he got into the coach, and directed it to be driven as fast as -possible to Clapham Common; where he asked for the house of Mrs. -Ashwood, and was presently at the door. - -The servant had that moment opened the iron gate, to let out a person -who had been to his mistress upon business. Delamere therefore enquiring -if Miss Mowbray was at home, entered without ringing, and telling the -servant that he had occasion to speak to Miss Mowbray only, the man -answered, 'that she was alone in the dressing room.' Thither therefore -he desired to be shewn; and without being announced, he entered the -room. - -Instead of finding her alone, he saw her sit at work by a little table, -on which were two wax candles; and by her side, with his arm, as usual, -over the back of her chair, and gazing earnestly on her face, sat Mr. -Rochely. - -Emmeline did not look up when he came in, supposing it was the servant -with tea. Delamere therefore was close to the table when she saw him. -The work dropped from her hands; she grew pale, and trembled; but not -being able to rise, she only clasped her hands together, and said -faintly, 'Oh! heaven!--Mr. Delamere!' - -'Yes, Emmeline, it is Mr. Delamere! and what is there so extraordinary -in that? I was told you were alone: may I beg the favour of a few -minutes conversation?' - -Emmeline knew not what to reply. She saw him dart an angry and -disdainful look at poor Rochely; who, alarmed by the entrance of a -stranger that appeared on such a footing of familiarity, and who -possessed the advantages of youth and a handsome person, had retreated -slowly towards the fire, and now surveyed Delamere with scrutinizing and -displeased looks; while Delamere said to Emmeline--'if you have no -particular business with this gentleman, will you go into some other -room, that I may speak to you on an affair of consequence?' - -'Sit down' said Emmeline, recovering her surprize; 'sit down, and I will -attend you presently. Tell me, how is your sister Augusta?' - -'I know not. She is in Yorkshire.' - -'And Lord Montreville?' - -'Well, I believe. But what is all this to the purpose? can I not speak -to you, but in the presence of a third person?' - -Unequivocal as this hint was, Rochely seemed determined not to go, and -Delamere as resolutely bent to affront him, if he did not. - -Emmeline therefore, who knew not what else to do, was going to comply -with his request of a private audience, when she was luckily relieved by -the entrance of Mrs. Ashwood and the tea table. - -Mrs. Ashwood, surprized at seeing a stranger, and a stranger whose -appearance had more fashion than the generality of her visitors, was -introduced to Mr. Delamere; a ceremony he would willingly have dispensed -with; and having made his bow, and muttered something about having taken -the liberty to call on his relation, he sat down by Emmeline, and in a -whisper told her he must and would speak to her alone before he went. - -Emmeline, to whose care the tea table was allotted when Miss Galton -happened not to be at Mrs. Ashwood's, now excused herself under pretence -of being obliged to make tea; and while it was passing, Mrs. Ashwood -made two or three attempts to introduce general conversation; but it -went no farther than a few insignificant sentences between her and Mr. -Rochely. - -Delamere, wholly engrossed by the tumultuous delight of having recovered -Emmeline, and by contriving how to speak to her alone, thought nothing -else worthy his attention; and sat looking at her with eyes so -expressive of his love, that Rochely, who anxiously watched him, was -convinced his solicitude was infinitely stronger than his relationship -only would have produced. - -He had at length learned, by constant attention to every hint and every -circumstance that related to Emmeline, who she was; and had even got -from Mrs. Ashwood a confused idea of Delamere's attachment to her, which -the present scene at once elucidated. - -Rochely saw in him not only a rival, but a rival so dangerous that all -his hopes seemed to vanish at once. Unconscious, 'till then, how very -indiscreetly he was in love, he was amazed at the pain he felt from this -discovery; and with a most rueful countenance, sat silent and -disconcerted. - -Mrs. Ashwood, used to be flattered and attended to, was in no good -humour with Mr. Delamere, who gave her so little of his notice: and -never perhaps were a party more uncomfortable, 'till they were enlivened -by the entrance of Miss Galton and Mr. Hanbury, with another gentleman. - -They were hardly placed, and had their tea sent round, before a loud -ring was heard, and the servant announced 'Mr. Elkerton.' - -Mr. Elkerton came dancing into the room; and having spoken to Mrs. -Ashwood and Emmeline, he slightly surveyed the company, and sat down. - -He was very near sighted, and affected to be still more so; and Delamere -having drawn his chair out of the circle, sat almost behind Emmeline; -while the portly citizen who had accompanied Mr. Hanbury sat forward, -near the table; Delamere was therefore hardly seen. - -Elkerton began to tell them how immoderately he was fatigued. 'I have -been over the whole town,' said he, 'to-day. In the morning I was -obliged to attend a boring appointment upon business relative to my -estate in Kent; and to meet my tenants, who disagreed with my steward; -and then, I went to call upon my old friend Delamere, Lord Montreville's -son, in Pall-Mall; we passed a very chearful hour discoursing of former -occurrences when we were together at Turin. Upon my word, he is a good -sensible young man. We have renewed our intimacy; and he has insisted -upon my going down with him to his father's house in Norfolk.' - -Emmeline suspended her tea making, and looked astonished. - -Mrs. Ashwood seemed surprized. - -But Delamere, who had at first felt inclined to be angry at the folly -and forwardness of Elkerton, was now so struck with the ridicule of the -circumstance, that he broke into a loud laugh. - -The eyes of the company were turned towards _him_, and Elkerton with -great indignation took his glass to survey who it was that had thus -violated the rules of good breeding; but great was his dismay and -astonishment, when he beheld the very Delamere, of whom he had spoken -with so much assurance, rise up, and advancing towards him, make a grave -bow.-- - -'Sir,' said Delamere, very solemnly, 'I cannot sufficiently express my -gratitude for your good opinion of me; nor my happiness to hear you -intend to honour me with a visit at Audley Hall. Upon my word you are -_too_ obliging, and I know not how I shall shew my gratitude!' - -The ironical tone in which this was delivered, and the discomposed looks -of the distressed Elkerton, explained the matter to the whole company; -and the laugh became general. - -Elkerton, tho' not easily disconcerted, could not stand it. After a sort -of apology to Delamere, he endeavoured to reassume his consequence. But -he had been too severely mortified; and in a few minutes arose, and -under pretence of being engaged to a rout in town, went away, nobody -attempting to stop him. - -Rochely, who hated Elkerton, could not forbear to triumph in this -discomfiture. He spoke very severely of him as a forward, impertinent, -silly fellow, who was dissipating his fortune. - -The old citizen heartily joined in exclaiming against such apostates -from the frugality of their ancestors. 'Sir,' said he to Rochely, 'we -all know that _you_ are a prudent man; and that cash at your house is, -as it were, in the Bank. Sir, you do honour to the city; but as to that -there Mr. Elkerton, one must be cautious; but for _my_ part, I wonder -how some people go on. To my certain knowledge his father didn't die so -rich as was supposed--no--not by a many thousands. Sir, I remember -him--(and I am not ashamed to say it, for every body knows _I_ have got -my money honestly, and that it's all of my own getting)--but, Sir, I -remember that man's father, and not a many years ago neither, carrying -out parcels, and sweeping the shop for old Jonathan Huggins. You knew -old Jonathan Huggins: he did not die, I think, 'till about the year -forty-one or two. You remember him, to be sure?' - -Rochely, ever tremblingly alive when his age was called in question, yet -fearing to deny a fact which he apprehended the other would enter into a -convincing detail to prove, answered that 'he slightly remembered him -when he was quite a boy.' - -But his evasion availed him nothing. The old citizen, Mr. Rugby, was now -got upon his own ground; and most inhumanly for the feelings of poor -Rochely, began to relate in whose mayoralty old Jonathan Huggins was -sheriff, and when he was mayor; who he married; who married his -daughters; and how he acquired an immense fortune, all by frugality at -setting out; and how one of his daughters, who had married a Lord -against the old man's will, had spent more in _one_ night than his -father did in a twelvemonth. - -Delamere, who sat execrating both Jonathan Huggins and his historian, at -length lost all patience; and said to Emmeline, in an half whisper, 'I -can bear this no longer: leave these tedious old fools, and let me speak -to you for two minutes only.' - -Emmeline knew not how to refuse, without hazarding some extravagance on -the part of Delamere. But as she did not like the appearance of leaving -the room abruptly, she desired Mrs. Ashwood would give her permission to -order candles in the parlour, as Mr. Delamere wished to speak with her -alone. - -As soon as the servant informed her they were ready, she went down: and -Delamere followed her, having first wished Mrs. Ashwood a good night; -who was too much displeased with the little attention he had shewn her, -to ask him to supper, tho' she was very desirous of having a man of his -fashion in the list of her acquaintance. - -Delamere and Emmeline were no sooner alone, than he began to renew, with -every argument he thought likely to move her, his entreaties for a -private marriage. He swore that he neither could or would live without -her, and that her refusal would drive him to some act of desperation. - -Emmeline feared her resolution would give way; for the comparison -between the people she had lately been among, and Delamere, was -infinitely favourable to him. Such unabated love, in a man who might -chuse among the fairest and most fortunate of women, was very seducing; -and the advantages of being his wife, instead of continuing in the -precarious situation she was now in, would have determined at once a -mind more attentive to pecuniary or selfish motives. - -But Emmeline, unshaken by such considerations, was liable to err only -from the softness of her heart. - -Delamere unhappy--Delamere wearing out in hopeless solicitude the bloom -of life, was the object she found it most difficult to contend with: and -feeble would have been her defence, had she not considered herself as -engaged in honour to Lord Montreville to refuse his son, and still more -engaged to respect the peace of the family of her dear Augusta. - -Strengthened by these reflections, she refused, tho' in the gentlest -manner, to listen to such proposals; reproached him, tho' with more -tenderness in her voice and manner than she had yet shewn, for having -left Audley Hall without the concurrence of Lord Montreville; and -entreated him to return, and try to forget her. - -'Let me perish if I do!' eagerly answered Delamere. 'No, Emmeline; if -you determine to push me to extremities, to you only will be the misery -imputable, when my mistaken parents, in vain repentance, hang over the -tomb of their only son, and see the last of his family in an early -grave. It is in your power only to save me--You refuse--farewel, then--I -wish no future regret may embitter your life, and that you may find -consolation in being the wife of some one of those persons who are, I -see, offering you all that riches can bestow. Farewel, lovely, inhuman -girl! be happy if you can--after having sacrificed to a mistaken point -of honour, the repose and the life of him who lived only to adore you.' - -So saying, he suddenly opened the door, and was leaving the room. But -Emmeline, who shuddered at the picture he had drawn of his despair, and -saw such traces of its reality on his countenance, caught his arm. - -'Stay! Mr. Delamere,' cried she, 'stay yet a moment!' - -'For what purpose?' answered he, 'since you refuse to hear me?' - -He turned back, however, into the room; and Emmeline, who fancied she -saw him the victim of his unfortunate love, could no longer command her -tears. - -Delamere threw himself at her feet, and embraced her knees. - -'Oh Emmeline!' cried he, weeping also, 'hear me for the last time. -Either consent to be mine, or let me take an eternal adieu!' - -'What would you have me do? good God! what is it you expect of me?' - -'To go with me to Scotland to-morrow--to night--directly!' - -'Oh, no! no!--Does not Lord Montreville depend upon my honour?--can I -betray a trust reposed in me?' - -'Chimeras all; founded in tyranny on his part, and weakness on yours. -_He_ had no right to exact such a promise; _you_ had no right to give -it. But however, send to him again to say I have seen you--summons him -hither to divide us--you may certainly do so if you please; but Lord -Montreville will no longer have a son; at least England, nor Europe, -will contain him no longer--I will go where my father shall hear no more -of me.' - -'Will it content you if I promise you _not_ to write to Lord -Montreville, nor to cause him to be written to; and to see you again?' - -'When?' - -'To-morrow--whenever you please.' - -Delamere, catching at this faint ray of hope, promised, if she would -allow him to come thither when he would, he would endeavour to be calm. -He made her solemnly protest that she would neither write to Lord -Montreville, or procure another to do it; and that she would not leave -Mrs. Ashwood without letting him know when and whither she went; and if -by any accident his father heard of his having found her, that she would -enter into no new engagements to conceal herself from him. - -Having procured from her these assurances, which he knew she would not -violate, and having obtained her consent to see him early the next -morning, he at her request agreed to take his leave; which he did with -less pain than he had ever before felt at quitting her; carrying with -him the delightful hope that he had made an impression on her heart, and -secure of seeing her the next day, he went home comparatively happy. - -Emmeline, who had wept excessively, was very unfit to return to the -company; but she thought her not appearing again among them would be yet -more singular. She therefore composed herself as well as she could; and -after staying a few minutes to recollect her scattered spirits, she -entered the room where they were at cards. - -Rochely, who was playing at whist with Mrs. Ashwood, Mr. Rugby, and Mr. -Hanbury, looked anxiously at her eyes; and presently losing all -attention to what he was about, and forgetting his game, he played so -extremely ill, that he lost the rubber. - -The old cit, who had three half crowns depending, and who was a -determined grumbler at cards, fell upon him without mercy; and said so -many rude things, that Rochely could not help retorting; and it was with -some difficulty Mrs. Ashwood prevented the grossest abuse being lavished -from the enraged Rugby on the enamoured banker; who desiring to give his -cards to Miss Galton, got up and ordered his carriage. - -Emmeline sat near the fire, with her handkerchief in her hand, which was -yet wet with tears. - -Rochely, with a privilege he had been used to, and which Emmeline, from -a man old enough to be her father, thought very inconsequential, took -her hand and the handkerchief it held. - -'So, Miss Mowbray,' said he, 'Mr. Delamere is your near relation?' - -'Yes, Sir.' - -'And he has brought you, I fear, some ill news of your family?' - -'No, Sir,' sighed Emmeline. - -'No death, I hope?' - -'No, Sir.' - -'Whence then, these tears?' - -Emmeline drew her hand away. - -'What a strange young man this is, to make you cry. What has he been -saying to you?' - -'Nothing, Sir.' - -'Ah! Miss Mowbray; such a lad as that is but an indifferent guardian; -pray where does his father live?' - -Miss Mowbray, not aware of the purpose of this enquiry, and glad of any -thing that looked like common conversation, answered 'at Audley Hall, in -Norfolk; and in Berkley-Square.' - -Some other questions, which seemed of no consequence, Rochely asked, and -Emmeline answered; 'till hearing his carriage was at the door, he went -away. - -'_I_ don't like your Mr. Delamere at all, Miss Mowbray,' said Mrs. -Ashwood, as soon as the game ended. 'I never saw a prouder, more -disagreeable young man in my life.' - -Emmeline smiled faintly, and said she was sorry he did not please her. - -'No, nor me neither,' said Miss Galton. 'Such haughtiness indeed!--yet I -was glad he mortified that puppy Elkerton.' - -Emmeline, who found the two friends disposed to indulge their good -nature at the expence of the company of the evening, complained of being -fatigued, and asked for a glass of wine and water: which having drank, -she retired to bed, leaving the lady of the house, who had invited Mr. -Hanbury and his friend to supper, to enjoy more stories of Jonathan -Huggins, and the pretty satyrical efforts of Miss Galton, who made her -court most effectually by ridiculing and villifying all their -acquaintance whenever it was in her power. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - - -When Rochely got home, he set about examining the state of his heart -exactly as he would have examined the check book of one of his -customers. - -He found himself most miserably in love. But avarice said, Miss Mowbray -had no fortune. - -By what had passed in his bosom that evening, he had discovered that he -should be wretched to see her married to another. - -But avarice enquired how he could offer to marry a woman without a -shilling? - -Love, represented that her modest, reserved, and unambitious turn, would -perhaps make her, in the end, a more profitable match than a woman -educated in expence, who might dissipate more than she brought. - -Avarice asked whether he could depend on modesty, reserve, and a retired -turn, in a girl not yet eighteen? - -After a long discussion, Love very unexpectedly put to flight the agent -of Plutus, who had, with very little interruption, reigned despoticly -over all his thoughts and actions for many years; and Rochely determined -to write to Lord Montreville, to lay his circumstances before him, and -make a formal proposal to marry Miss Mowbray. - -In pursuance of this resolution, he composed, with great pains, (for he -was remarkably slow in whatever he undertook) the following epistle.-- - - - 'My Lord, - - 'This serves to inform your Lordship, that I have seen Miss - Mowbray, and like her well enough to be willing to marry her, if - you, my Lord, have not any other views for her; and as to fortune, I - will just give your Lordship a memorandum of mine. - - 'I have sixty thousand pounds in the stocks; viz. eighteen in the - three per cent. consols. twenty in Bank stock: ten in East India - stock; and twelve in South Sea annuities. - - 'I have about forty thousand on different mortgages; all good, as - I will be ready at any time to shew you. I have houses worth about - five more. And after the death of my mother, who is near eighty, I - shall have an estate in Middlesex worth ten more. The income of my - business is near three thousand pounds a year; and my whole income - near ten thousand. - - 'My character, my Lord, is well known: and you will find, if we - agree, that I shall not limit Miss Mowbray's settlement to the - proportion of what your Lordship may please to give her, (for I - suppose you will give her something) but to what she ought to have - as my widow, if it should so happen that she survives me. - - 'I have reason to believe Miss Mowbray has no dislike to this - proposal; and hope to hear from your Lordship thereon by return of - post. - - I am, my Lord, - your Lordship's very humble servant, - HUMPHREY ROCHELY.' - - _Lombard-street, - Nov. 20th. 17--._ - - -This was going to the point at once. The letter arrived in due time at -Audley-Hall; and was received by Lord Montreville with surprise and -satisfaction. The hint of Miss Mowbray's approbation made him hope she -was yet concealed from Delamere; and as he determined to give the -earliest and strongest encouragement to this overture, from a man worth -above an hundred thousand pounds, he called a council with Sir Richard -Crofts, who knew Rochely, and who kept cash with him; and it was -determined that Lord Montreville should go to town, not only to close at -once with the opulent banker, but to get Delamere out of the way while -the marriage was in agitation, which it would otherwise be impossible to -conceal from him. To persuade him to another continental tour was what -Sir Richard advised: and agreed to go to town with his Lordship, in -order to assist in this arduous undertaking. - -Lord Montreville, however, failed not immediately to answer the letter -he had received from Mr. Rochely, in these terms-- - - - 'Sir, - - 'This day's post brought me the honour of your letter. - - 'If Miss Mowbray is as sensible as she ought to be, of so - flattering a distinction, be assured it will be one of the most - satisfactory events of my life to see her form a connection with a - gentleman truly worthy and respectable. - - 'To hasten the completion of an event so desirable, I fully intend - being in town in a very few days; when I will, with your permission, - wait on you in Lombard-street. - - 'I have the honour to be, with great esteem, - - Sir, - your most devoted, - and most obedient servant, - MONTREVILLE.' - - _Audley-Hall, Nov. 23._ - - -The haughty Peer, who derived his blood from the most antient of the -British Nobility, thus condescended to flatter opulence and to court the -alliance of riches. Nor did he think any advances he could make, beneath -him, when he hoped at once to marry his niece to advantage, and what was -yet more material, put an invincible bar between her and his son. - -While this correspondence, so inimical to Delamere's hopes, was passing -between his father and Mr. Rochely, he was every hour with Emmeline; -intoxicated with his passion, indulging the most delightful hopes, and -forgetting every thing else in the world. - -He had found it his interest to gain (by a little more attention, and -some fine speeches about elegance and grace,) the good opinion of Mrs. -Ashwood; who now declared she had been mistaken in her first idea of -him, and that he was not only quite a man of fashion, but possessed an -excellent understanding and very refined sentiments. - -The sudden death of her father had obliged her to leave home some days -before: but as soon as she was gone, Emmeline, who foresaw that Delamere -would be constantly with her, sent for Miss Galton. - -No remonstrance of her's could prevent his passing every day at the -house, from breakfast 'till a late hour in the evening. - -On the last of these days, he was there as usual; and it was past eight -at night, when Emmeline, who had learned to play on the harp, by being -present when Mrs. Ashwood received lessons on that instrument, was -singing to Delamere a little simple air of which he was particularly -fond, and into which she threw so much pathos, that lost in fond -admiration, he 'hung over her, enamoured,' when she was interrupted by -the entrance of a servant, who said that a Lord, but he forgot the name, -was below, and desired to speak with Miss Mowbray. - -If Emmeline was alarmed at the sight of Lord Montreville at Swansea, -when she had acted with the strictest attention to his wishes, she had -now much more reason to be so, when she felt herself conscious of having -given encouragement to Delamere, and had reason to fear her motives for -doing so would be misbelieved or misunderstood. - -Tho' the servant had forgotten his name, Emmeline doubted not but it was -Lord Montreville; and she had hardly time to think how she should -receive him, before his Lordship (who had impatiently followed the -servant up stairs) entered the room. - -Delamere, immovable behind Emmeline's chair, was the first object that -struck him. - -He had hoped that her residence was yet unknown to his son; and -surprise, vexation, and anger, were marked in his countenance and -attitude. - -'Miss Mowbray!' (advancing towards her) 'is it thus you fulfil the -promise you gave me? And you, Mr. Delamere--do you still obstinately -persist in this ridiculous, this unworthy attachment?' - -'I left you, my Lord,' answered Delamere, 'without deceiving you as to -my motives for doing so. I came in search of Miss Mowbray. By a -fortunate accident I found her. I have never dissimulated; nor ever mean -it in whatever relates to her. Nothing has prevented my making her -irrevocably mine, but her too scrupulous adherence to a promise _she_ -ought never to have given, and which your _Lordship_ ought never to have -extorted.' - -Emmeline, gentle as she was, had yet that proper spirit which conscious -worth seldom fails of inspiring: and knowing that she had already -sacrificed much to the respect she thought Lord Montreville entitled to, -she was hurt at finding, from his angry and contemptuous tone, as well -as words, that she was condemned unheard, and treated with harshness -where she deserved only kindness and gratitude. - -The courage of which her first surprise had deprived her, was restored -by these sensations; and she said, with great coolness, yet with less -timidity than usual, 'my Lord, I have yet done nothing in violation of -the promise I gave you. But the moment your Lordship doubts my adherence -to it, from that moment I consider it as dissolved.' - -Delamere, encouraged by an answer so flattering to his hopes, now -addressed himself to his father, who was by this time seated; and spoke -so forcibly of his invincible attachment, and his determined purpose -never to marry any other woman, that the resolution of Lord Montreville -was shaken, and would perhaps have given way, if the violent and -clamorous opposition of his wife on one hand, and the ambitious projects -and artful advice of Sir Richard Crofts on the other, had not occurred -to him. He commanded himself so far as not to irritate Delamere farther, -by reflections on the conduct of Emmeline, which he found would not be -endured; and trying to stifle his feelings under the dissimulation of -the courtier, he heard with patience all he had to urge. He even -answered him with temper; made an apology to Emmeline for any -expressions that might have given her offence; and at length threw into -his manner a composure that elated Delamere to a degree of hope hitherto -unfelt. He fancied that his father, weary of hopeless opposition, and -convinced of the merit of Emmeline, would consent to his marriage: and -his quick spirit seizing with avidity on an idea so flattering, -converted into a confirmation of it, all Lord Montreville's discourse -for the remainder of the visit: in which, by dissimulation on one part, -and favourable expectations on the other, they both seemed to return to -some degree of good humour. - -Delamere agreed to go home with his father; and Lord Montreville having -determined to return the next day to speak to Emmeline on the proposals -of Rochely, they parted; his Lordship meditating as he went home how to -prevent Delamere's interrupting the conference he wished to have on a -subject which was so near his heart. - -On his arrival at his own house, he found Sir Richard Crofts waiting for -him, whom he detained to supper. Delamere, as soon as it was over, went -to his lodgings; which Lord Montreville did not oppose, as he wished to -be alone with Sir Richard; but he desired, that after that evening -Delamere would return to his apartments in Berkley-square; which he -partly promised to do. - -Lord Montreville related to Sir Richard what had passed, and the -uneasiness he was under to find that Delamere, far from relaxing in his -determination, had openly renewed his addresses; and that Emmeline -seemed much less disposed to sacrifice his wishes to those of his -family, than he had yet found her. - -Sir Richard, himself wholly insensible to the feelings of a father, -discouraged in Lord Montreville every tendency to forgive or indulge -this indiscreet passion. And equally incapable of the generous -sentiments of a gentleman towards a woman, young, helpless, dependant, -and unfortunate, he tried to harden the heart of Lord Montreville -against his orphan niece, and advised him peremptorily to insist on her -marrying Rochely immediately, or, as the alternative, to declare to her -that from the moment of her refusal she must expect from him neither -support or countenance. - -This threat on one hand, and the affluence offered her by Rochely on the -other, must, he thought, oblige her to embrace his proposals. The -greatest difficulty seemed to be, to prevent Delamere's impetuosity from -snatching her at once out of the power of his father, by an elopement; -to which, if she preferred him to Rochely, it was very probable she -might be driven by harsh measures to consent; and that Delamere must -have in her heart a decided preference, there could be little doubt. - -Lord Montreville was apprehensive that Delamere, who had, he found, for -many days lived entirely at Mrs. Ashwood's, would be there before him in -the morning, and preclude all possibility of a private conversation with -Emmeline. - -Fitz-Edward, who could, and from the duplicity of his character would -perhaps have made a diversion in his favour, was not in town; and to -both the Mr. Crofts Delamere had an antipathy, which he took very little -pains to conceal; they therefore could not be employed to engage him. - -In this difficulty, Sir Richard offered to go himself to Miss Mowbray, -that Lord Montreville might be at liberty to detain his son; pretences -for which could not be wanting. - -His Lordship closed with this offer with pleasure; and felt himself -relieved from a painful task. His heart, though greatly changed by a -long course of good fortune, and by the habit of living among the great, -was yet not quite lost to the feelings of nature. - -His brother, than whom he was only a year younger, and whom he had loved -thro' childhood and youth with singular attachment, was not wholly -forgotten; and the softened likeness, in the countenance of Emmeline, to -one whom he had so long been used to look up to with tenderness, -frequently said as much for her to his affection, as her unprotected and -helpless state did to his honour and his compassion. Nor, whatever pains -he took to stifle his pity for his son, could he entirely reconcile to -his own heart the part he was acting. - -But of these feelings, meritorious as they were, he was ashamed, and -dared not avow them even to himself; while he was intimidated by the -supercilious spirit and unconquerable pride of Lady Montreville, and -tempted by the visions of encreasing splendour and accumulated riches -which Sir Richard perpetually presented to his imagination, and which -there was indeed but little doubt of realizing. - -The Mowbray family were known to possess abilities. Those of the -deceased Mr. Mowbray were remarkably great, tho' he had thrown away his -time and health in a course of dissipation which had made them useless. - -The talents of Lord Montreville, tho' less brilliant, were more solid. -And now in the meridian of life, with powerful connections and extensive -interest, he was courted to accept an eminent post in administration, -with a promise of a Marquisate being restored to him, which had long -lain dormant in his own family, and of the revival of which he was -extremely ambitious. - -To support such a dignity, his son's future fortune, ample as it must -be, would not, he thought, be adequate; and could only be made so by his -marrying Miss Otley or some woman of equal fortune. - -This, therefore, was the weight which entirely over-balanced all his -kindness for his niece, and confirmed his resolution to tear her from -Delamere at whatever price. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - - -It was much earlier than the usual hour for morning visits, when Sir -Richard Crofts was at the door of Mrs. Ashwood. - -Miss Mowbray had given no orders to be denied; and he was, on enquiring -for her, shewn into the parlour. - -As soon as the servant informed her a gentleman was below whom she found -was not Delamere, she concluded it was Lord Montreville; and with a -fearful and beating heart, went down. - -She saw, with some surprise, a middle-aged man, of no very pleasant -countenance and person, to whom she was an entire stranger; and -concluding his business was with Mrs. Ashwood, she was about to retreat, -when the gentleman advancing towards her, told her he waited on her, -commissioned by Lord Montreville. - -Emmeline sat down in silence, and Sir Richard began. - -'Miss Mowbray, I have the honour to be connected with Lord Montreville, -and entirely in his Lordship's confidence: you will please therefore to -consider what I shall say to you as coming immediately, directly, and -absolutely, from himself; and as his Lordship's decided, and -unalterable, and irrevocable intentions.' - -The abruptness of this speech shocked and distressed Emmeline. She grew -very pale; but bowing slightly to the speaker, he went on. - -'My Lord Montreville hopes and supposes, and is willing to believe, that -you have not, in direct violation of your promise solemnly given, -encouraged Mr. Delamere in the absurd, and impossible, and impracticable -project of marrying you. But however that may have been, as it is his -Lordship's firm resolution and determination never to suffer such a -connection, you have, I suppose, too much sense not to see the mischief -you must occasion, and bring on, and cause to yourself, by encouraging a -giddy, and infatuated, and ignorant, and rash young man, to resist -paternal authority.' - -Emmeline was still silent. - -'Now here is an opportunity of establishing yourself in affluence, and -reputation, and fortune, beyond what your most sanguine hopes could -offer you; and I am persuaded you will eagerly, and readily, and -immediately embrace it. Lord Montreville insists upon it; the world -expects it; and Mr. Delamere's family demand it of you.' - -'Sir!' said Emmeline, astonished at the peremptory tone and strange -purport of these words. - -'It is my custom,' resumed Sir Richard, 'when I am upon business, to -speak plainly, and straitly, and to the point. This then is what I have -to propose--You are acquainted with Mr. Rochely, the great banker?' - -'Yes, Sir.' - -'He offers to my Lord Montreville to marry you; and to make settlements -on you equal to what you might have claimed, had you a right to be -considered as a daughter of the house of Mowbray. His real fortune is -very great; his annual income superior to that of many of the nobility; -and there _can_ be no reason, indeed none will be allowed, or listened -to, or heard of, why you should not eagerly, and instantly, and joyfully -accept a proposal so infinitely superior to what you have any claim, or -right, or pretence to.' - -This was almost too much for poor Emmeline. Anger and disdain, which she -found fast rising in her bosom, restrained her tears: but her eyes -flashed indignantly on the unfeeling politician who thus so indelicately -addressed her. - -He would not give her time to speak; but seemed determined to overwhelm -her imagination at once with the contrast he placed before her. - -'If,' continued he, 'you will agree to become the wife of Mr. Rochely, -as soon as settlements can be prepared, my Lord Montreville, of whose -generosity, and greatness of mind, and liberality, too much cannot be -said, offers to consider you as being really his niece; as being really -a daughter of the Mowbray family; and, that being so considered, you may -not be taken by any man portionless, he will, on the day of marriage, -present, and settle on, and give you, three thousand pounds. - -'Now, Miss Mowbray, consider, and weigh, and reflect on this well: and -give me leave, in order that you may form a just judgment, to tell you -the consequence of your refusal. - -'My Lord Montreville, who is not obliged to give you the least -assistance, or support, or countenance, does by me declare, that if you -are so weak (to call it by no harsher name) as to refuse this -astonishing, and amazing, and singular good fortune, he shall consider -you as throwing off all duty, and regard, and attention to him; and as -one, with whose fate it will be no longer worth his while to embarrass, -perplex, and concern himself. From that moment, therefore, you must drop -the name of Mowbray, to which in fact you have no right, and take that -of your mother, whatever it be; and you must never expect from my Lord -Montreville, or the Mowbray-Delamere family, either countenance, or -support, or protection. - -'Now, Miss Mowbray, your answer. The proposition cannot admit of -deliberation, or doubt, or hesitation, and my Lord expects it by me.' - -The presence of mind which a very excellent understanding and a very -innocent heart gave to Emmeline, was never more requisite than on this -occasion. The rude and peremptory manner of the speaker; the dreadful -alternative of Rochely on one side, and indigence on the other, thus -suddenly and unexpectedly brought before her; was altogether so -overcoming, that she could not for a moment collect her spirits enough -to speak at all. She sighed; but her agitation was too great for tears; -and at length summoning all her courage, she replied-- - -'My Lord Montreville, Sir, would have been kinder, had he delivered -himself his wishes and commands. Such, however, as I now receive them, -they require no deliberation. _I will not_ marry Mr. Rochely, tho' -instead of the fortune you describe, he could offer me the world.--Lord -Montreville _may_ abandon me, but he _shall not_ make me wretched. Tell -him therefore, Sir,' (her spirit rose as she spoke) 'that the daughter -of his brother, unhappy as she is, yet boasts that nobleness of mind -which her father possessed, and disclaims the mercenary views of -becoming, from pecuniary motives, the wife of a man whom she cannot -either love or esteem. Tell him too, that if she had not inherited a -strong sense of honour, of which at least her birth does not deprive -her, she might now have been the wife of Mr. Delamere, and independant -of his Lordship's authority; and it is improbable, that one who has -sacrificed so much to integrity, should now be compelled by threats of -indigence to the basest of all actions, that of selling her person and -her happiness for a subsistence. I beg that _you, Sir_, who seem to have -delivered Lord Montreville's message, with such scrupulous exactness, -will take the trouble to be as precise in my answer; and that his -Lordship will consider it as final.' - -Having said this, with a firmness of voice and manner which resentment, -as well as a noble pride, supplied; she arose, curtseyed composedly to -Sir Richard, and went out of the room; leaving the unsuccessful -ambassador astonished at that strength of mind, and dignity of manner, -which he did not expect in so young a woman, and somewhat mortified, -that his masculine eloquence, on which he was accustomed to pride -himself, and which he thought generally unanswerable, had so entirely -fallen short of the effect he expected. - -Unwilling however to return to Lord Montreville without hopes of -success, he thought he might obtain at least some information from Mrs. -Ashwood of the likeliest means to move her untractable and high spirited -friend. He therefore rang the bell, and desired to speak with that lady. -But as she was not yet returned from the house of her father, where a -family meeting was held to inspect his will, Sir Richard failed of -attempting to secure her agency; and was obliged, however reluctantly, -to depart. - -Emmeline, whose command of herself was exerted with too much violence -not to shake her whole frame with it's effects, no sooner reached her -own chamber than she found all her courage gone, and a violent passion -of tears succeeded. - -Her deep convulsive sighs reached the ears of Miss Galton; who entered -the room, and began, in the common mode of consolation, first to enquire -why she wept? - -Emmeline answered only by weeping the more. - -Miss Galton enquired if that gentleman was Lord Montreville. - -Emmeline was unable to reply; and Miss Galton finding no gratification -to her curiosity, which, mingled with envious malignity, had long been -her ruling passion, was obliged to quit the unhappy Emmeline; which was -indeed the only favour she could do her. - -The whole morning had passed before Miss Mowbray was able to come down -stairs, and when she did, her languor and dejection were excessive. Miss -Galton only dined with her; if it might be called dining, for she eat -nothing; but just as the cloth was removed, a coach stopped, and Mrs. -Ashwood appeared, led by her brother, Mr. Stafford. - -Emmeline, who had not very lately heard from her beloved friend, now -eagerly enquired after her, and learned that the illness of one of her -children had, together with her being far advanced in her pregnancy, -prevented her coming to London with Mr. Stafford; who, tho' summoned -thither immediately on his father's death, had only arrived the evening -before; the messenger that went having missed him at his own house, and -having been obliged to follow him into another county. - -He delivered to Miss Mowbray a letter from Mrs. Stafford, with which -Emmeline, eager to read it, retired-- - - - 'Trust me, Emmeline, no abatement in my tender regard, has - occasioned my omitting to write to you: but anxiety of mind so - great, as to deprive me of all power to attend to any thing but - it's immediate object.--Your poor little friend Harry, who looked - so much recovered, and so full of health and spirits, when you left - him at Swansea, was three weeks ago seized again with one of those - fevers to which he has so repeatedly been liable, and for many days - his life appeared to be in the most immediate danger. You know how - far we are from a physician; and you know my anxiety for this first - darling of my heart; judge then, my Emmeline, of the miserable - hours I have known, between hope and fear, and the sleepless nights - I have passed at the bed side of my suffering cherub; and in my - present state I doubly feel all this anxiety and fatigue, and am - very much otherwise than well. Of myself, however, I think not, - since Harry is out of danger, and Dr. Farnaby thinks will soon be - entirely restored; but he is still so very weak, that I never quit - him even a moment. The rest of my children are well; and all who - are capable of recollection, remember and love you. - - 'And now, my dear Miss Mowbray, as the visitors who have been with - me ever since my return from Swansea, are happily departed and no - others expected, and as Mr. Stafford will be engaged in town almost - all the winter, in consequence of his father's death, will you not - come to me? _You_ only can alleviate and share a thousand anxieties - that prey on my spirits; _you_ only can sweeten the hour of my - confinement, which will happen in January; and before _you_ only I - can sigh at liberty and be forgiven. - - 'Ah! Emmeline--the death of Mr. Stafford's father, far from - producing satisfaction as increasing our fortune, brings to me only - regret and sorrow. He loved me with great affection; and I owe him a - thousand obligations. The family will have reason to regret his - loss; tho' the infirmities of the latter part of his life were not - much alleviated by their attendance or attention. - - 'Come to me, Emmeline, if possible; come, if you can, with Mr. - Stafford; or if he is detained long in town, come without him. I - will send my post-chaise to meet you at Basingstoke. Lord - Montreville cannot object to it; and Delamere, whom you have never - mentioned, has, I conclude, given way to the peremptory commands of - his father, and has determined to forget my Emmeline. - - 'Is it then probable any one can forget her? I know not of what - the volatile and thoughtless Delamere may be capable; but I know - that of all things it would be the most impossible to her truly - attached and affectionate, - - C. STAFFORD.' - - _Woodfield, Nov. 30._ - - -This letter gave great relief to the mind of the dejected Emmeline. That -her first and dearest friend, opened at this painful crisis her -consolatory bosom to receive and pity her; and that she should have the -power to share her fatigue, and lessen the weight of her anxiety during -the slow recovery of her child; seemed to be considerations which -softened all the anguish she had endured during the day. - -She was however too much disordered to go down to tea; and told Mrs. -Ashwood, who civilly came up to enquire after her, that she had a -violent pain in her head and would go to bed. - -Mrs. Ashwood, full of her increased fortune, and busied in studying to -make her deep mourning as becoming as possible, let her do as she would, -and thought no more about her. - -She had therefore time to meditate at leisure on her wayward fate: and -some surprise that Delamere had not appeared the whole day, mingled -itself with her reflections. - -Poor Delamere was not to blame. Lord Montreville had sent him very early -in the morning to desire to see him for five minutes on business of -consequence. - -Delamere, who from what had passed the evening before had indulged, -during the night, the fondest dreams of happiness, obeyed the summons -not without some hopes that he should hear all his favourable presages -confirmed. When he came, however, his father, waving all discourse that -related to Emmeline or himself, affected to consult him on a proposal he -had received for his eldest sister, which the family were disposed to -promote; and after detaining him as long as he could on this and on -other subjects, he desired him to send to his lodgings for Millefleur, -and to dress as expeditiously as possible, in order to accompany him to -dine at Lord Dornock's, a Scottish nobleman, with whom his Lordship was -deeply engaged in the depending negociation with Ministry; and who was -at his seat, about nine miles from London. - -Delamere reluctantly engaged in such a party. But however short his -father's discourse fell of what he hoped, he yet determined to get the -better of his repugnance and obey him; still flattering himself that -Lord Montreville would lead to the subject nearest his heart, or that in -the course of the day he should at least have an opportunity of -introducing it. - -They therefore set out together, on the most amicable terms, in Lord -Montreville's coach. But as they had taken up on their way a gentleman -who held a place under Lord Dornock, his presence prevented any -conversation but on general subjects, during their short journey. - -The dinner passed as such dinners generally do--too much in the secret -to touch on politics, all such discourse was carefully avoided at the -table of Lord Dornock. - -In literature they had no resource; and therefore the conversation -chiefly turned on the pleasure they were then enjoying--that of the -luxuries of the table. They determined on the merits of the venison of -the past season; settled what was the best way of preparing certain -dishes; and whose domain produced the most exquisite materials for -others. And on these topics a society of cooks could not have more -learnedly descanted. - -Delamere, not yet of an age to be initiated into the noble science of -eating, and among whose ideas of happiness the delights of gratifying -his palate had not yet been numbered, heard them with impatience and -disgust. - -He was obliged, however, to stay while the wines were criticised as -eloquently as the meats had been; and to endure a long harangue from the -master of the house, on _cote roti_ and _lacryma Christi_; and after the -elder part of the company had adjusted their various merits and -swallowed a sufficient quantity, the two noblemen retired to a private -conference; and Delamere, obliged to move into a circle of insipid -women, took refuge in cards, which he detested almost as much as the -entertainment he had just quitted. - -The hours, however slowly, wore away, and his patience was almost -exhausted: soon after ten o'clock he ventured to send to his father, to -know whether he was ready to return to town? but he received a message -in reply, 'that he had determined to stay all night where he was.' - -Vexed and angry, Delamere began to suspect that his father had some -design in thus detaining him at a distance from Emmeline; and fired by -indignation at this idea, equally scorning to submit to restraint or to -be detained by finesse, he disengaged himself from the card table, -fetched his hat, and without speaking to any body, walked to the next -village, where he got into a post-chaise and was presently in London; -but as it was almost twelve o'clock, he forbore to visit Emmeline that -night. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - - -As soon as there was any probability of Emmeline's being visible the -next morning, Delamere was at Clapham. - -The servant of whom he enquired for her, told him, that Miss Mowbray had -not yet rung her bell, and that as it was later than her usual hour, she -was afraid it was owing to her being ill. - -Alarmed at this intelligence, Delamere eagerly questioned her further; -and learned that the preceding morning, a gentleman who had never been -there before, had been to see Miss Mowbray, and had staid with her about -three quarters of an hour, during which he had talked very loud; and -that after he was gone, she had hastened to her own room, crying sadly, -and had seemed very much vexed the whole day afterwards. That when she -went to bed, which was early in the evening, she had sighed bitterly, -and said she was not well. The servants, won by the sweetness and -humanity with which Emmeline treated them, all seemed to consider her -health and happiness as their own concern; and the girl who delivered -this intelligence to Delamere, had been very much about her, and knowing -her better, loved her more than the others. - -Delamere could not doubt the truth of this account; yet he could not -conjecture who the stranger could be, in whose power it was thus to -distress Emmeline. But dreading lest some scheme was in agitation to -take her from him, he sat in insupportable anxiety 'till she should -summons the maid. - -Her music book lay open on a _piano forte_ in the breakfast parlour. A -song which he had a few days before desired her to learn, as being one -which particularly charmed him, seemed to have been just copied into it, -and he fancied the notes and the writing were executed with more than -her usual elegance. Under it was a little _porte feuille_ of red -morocco. Delamere took it up. It was untied; and two or three small -tinted drawings fell out. He saw the likeness of Mrs. Stafford, done -from memory; one yet more striking of his sister Augusta; and two or -three unfinished resemblances of persons he did not know, touched with -less spirit than the other two. A piece of silver paper doubled together -enclosed another; he opened it--it was a drawing of himself, done with a -pencil, and slightly tinged with a crayon; strikingly like; but it -seemed unfinished, and somewhat effaced. - -Though among so many other portraits, this could not be considered as a -very flattering distinction, Delamere, on seeing it, was not master of -his transports. He now believed Emmeline (whom he could never induce to -own that her partiality for him exceeded the bounds of friendship) yet -cherished in her heart a passion she would not avow. - -While he was indulging these sanguine and delicious hopes, he heard a -bell ring, and flew to enquire if it was that of Emmeline? - -The maid, who crossed the hall to attend it's summons, told him it was. -He stepped softly up stairs behind the servant, and waited at the door -of the chamber while she went in. - -To the question, from the maid, 'how she did?' Emmeline answered, 'much -better.' - -'Mr. Delamere is here, Madam, and begs to know whether he may see you?' - -Emmeline had expected him all the day before, and was not at all -surprised at his coming now. But she knew not what she should say to -him. To dissimulate was to her almost impossible; yet to tell him what -had passed between her and Sir Richard Crofts was to create dissentions -of the most alarming nature between him and his father; for she knew -Delamere would immediately and warmly resent the harshness of Lord -Montreville. - -She could not however determine to avoid seeing Delamere; and she -thought his Lordship was not entitled to much consideration, after the -indelicate and needless shock he had given her, by employing the -peremptory, insolent, and unfeeling Sir Richard Crofts. - -After a moment's hesitation, she told Nanny to let Mr. Delamere know -that as soon as she was dressed she would be with him in the parlour. - -Delamere, who heard the message, stepped softly down stairs, replaced -the drawings, and waited the entrance of Emmeline; who neither requiring -or accustoming herself to borrow any advantage from art or ornament, was -soon dressed in her usual simple undress. - -But to give some appearance of truth to what she intended to alledge, a -cold, in excuse for her swollen eyes and languid looks, she wrapt a -gauze hood over her head, and tied a black ribband round her throat; for -tho' she could not wholly conceal the truth from Delamere, she wished to -prevent his seeing how much it had affected her. - -When she entered the room, Delamere, who was at the door to meet her, -was astonished at the alteration he saw in her countenance. - -'You are ill, Emmeline?' said he, taking her hand. - -'I am not quite well--I have a violent cold coming.' - -'A cold?' eagerly answered Delamere, 'you have been crying--who was the -person who called on you yesterday?' - -It was now in vain to attempt concealment if she had intended it. - -'He did not tell me his name, for our conversation was very short; but -his servants told those of Mrs. Ashwood that his name is Sir Richard -Crofts.' - -'And what business could Sir Richard Crofts possibly have with you?' - -Emmeline related the conversation with great fidelity and without -comment. - -Delamere had hardly patience to hear her out. He protested he would -immediately go to Sir Richard Crofts, and not only force him to -apologize for what had passed, but promise never again to interfere -between Lord Montreville and his family. - -From executing this violent measure, Emmeline by earnest entreaty -diverted him. She had not yet recovered the shock given her by the -unwelcome interview of the preceding day; and though she had a very -excellent constitution, her sensibility of mind was so great, that when -she suffered any poignant uneasiness, it immediately affected her frame. -In the present state of her spirits, she could not hear Delamere's -vehement and passionate exclamations without tears; and when he saw how -much she was hurt, he commanded himself; spoke more calmly; and by a -rapid transition from rage to tenderness, he wept also, and bathed her -hands with his tears. - -He was not without hopes that this last effort of Lord Montreville would -effect a change in his favour; and he pleaded again for an elopement -with the warmest eloquence of love. - -But Emmeline, though she felt all the force of his arguments, had still -the courage to resist them; and all he could obtain from her was a -renewal of her former promise, neither to leave Mrs. Ashwood unknown to -him or to conceal the place of her residence; to consent to see him -wherever she should be, and positively to reject Mr. Rochely's offer. - -In return, she expected from Delamere some concessions which nothing but -the sight of her uneasiness would have induced him to grant. At length -she persuaded him to promise that he would not insult Sir Richard -Crofts, or commit any other rashness which might irritate Lord -Montreville. - -Nothing was a stronger proof of the deep root which his passion had -taken in his heart, than the influence Emmeline had obtained over his -ungovernable and violent spirit, hitherto unused to controul, and -accustomed from his infancy to exert over his own family the most -boundless despotism. - -Emmeline, tranquillized and consoled by his promises, then entreated him -to go; as the state of Mrs. Ashwood's family made visitors improper. In -this, too, he obeyed her. And as soon as he was gone, Emmeline sat down -to write to Mrs. Stafford, related briefly what had lately happened, and -told her, that as soon as Lord Montreville could be induced to settle -some yearly sum for her support, (which notwithstanding his threats she -still thought he would do, on condition of her engaging never, without -his consent, to marry Delamere,) she would set out for Woodfield. - -Lord Montreville, absorbed in politics and in a negociation with -ministry, had, on the evening when he and his son were at Lord -Dornock's, forgotten the impatient temper and particular situation of -Delamere. His non appearance at supper occasioned an enquiry, and it was -found he had left the house. It was too late for Lord Montreville to -follow him that night, and would, indeed, have been useless; but early -the next morning he was in Berkley-square, where he heard nothing of his -son. - -He received a letter from Sir Richard Crofts, relating the ill success -of his embassy; but adding, that he would bring Rochely to his Lordship -the next day, to consider together what was next to be done. A letter -also soon after arrived from Lady Montreville, to let his Lordship know -that herself and her daughter, with Lady Mary and Miss Otley, were -coming to town the next evening. - -Delamere, the tumult of whose spirits was too great immediately to -subside, took, for the first time in his life, some pains to conquer -their violence, in consideration of Emmeline. - -He sent his servants to Berkley-square, to enquire among the domestics -what had passed. He thence learned that his father had returned in the -morning from Lord Dornock's in very ill humour, and that his mother was -expected in town. An interview with either, would, he was conscious, -only be the occasion of that dissention he had promised Emmeline to -avoid. His mother, he knew, came to town determined to keep no terms -with him; and that she would incessantly harrass him with reproaches or -teize him with entreaties. He therefore determined to avoid entirely all -conversation with both; and after a short reflection on the best means -to do so, he ordered Millefleur to discharge the lodgings; told him and -his other two servants that he was going out of town, and should not -take either them or his horses; therefore would have them go to -Berkley-square, and wait there his return. He bade his valet tell Lord -Montreville that he should be absent ten days or a fortnight. Then -ordering an hackney coach, he directed it to drive to Westminster -Bridge, as if he meant there to take post: instead of which he dismissed -it at the end of Bridge-street; and walking over to the Surry side, he -presently provided himself with lodgings under the name of Mr. Oswald, a -gentleman just come from Ireland; and all traces of Mr. Delamere were -lost. - - - END OF THE FIRST VOLUME - - - - -VOLUME II - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -Sir Richard Crofts brought Mr. Rochely to Lord Montreville at the time -appointed; and in consequence of the conversation then held, his -Lordship was confirmed in his resolution of persisting in the plan Sir -Richard had laid down, to force Emmeline to accept the good fortune -offered her. Lord Montreville had sent as soon as he got to town to -Delamere's lodgings, whose servants said that he had slept there, but -was then gone out. His Lordship concluded he was gone to Clapham; but as -he could not remedy his uneasiness on that head, he was obliged to -endure it. About twelve o'clock Delamere had arranged matters for his -concealment; and about three, as Lord Montreville was dressing to go -out, Millefleur, together with Delamere's footman and groom, came as -they had been ordered to Berkley-square. This circumstance was no sooner -related to Lord Montreville by his valet de chambre, than he ordered -Millefleur to be sent up. The Frenchman related to his Lordship, that -his master was certainly gone to Mr. Percival's; but Lord Montreville -concluded he was gone to Scotland, and, in a tempest of anger and -vexation, cursed the hour when he had listened to the advice of Sir -Richard Crofts, the harshness of whose proceedings had, he imagined, -precipitated the event he had so long dreaded. He was so entirely -persuaded that this conjecture was the truth, that he first gave orders -for a post-chaise and four to be ready directly; then recollecting that -if he overtook his son he had no power to force him back, he thought it -better to take with him some one who could influence Emmeline. His -youngest daughter was still in Yorkshire; Mrs. Stafford he knew not -where to find; but he supposed that Mrs. Ashwood, with whom she had -lived some months, might have power to persuade her; and not knowing -what else to do, indeed hardly knowing what he expected from the visit, -he ordered his coachman to be as expeditious as possible in conveying -him to the house of that lady. - -Mrs. Ashwood, her brother, and four or five other persons related to the -family, were at dinner. Lord Montreville entered the room; spoke to -those he knew with as much civility as he could; but not seeing Emmeline -among them, his apprehensions were confirmed. He desired they would not -disturb themselves; and declined sharing their repast; but being unable -to conceal his emotion till it was over, he said to Mrs. Ashwood--'I am -sorry, Madam, to trouble you on this unhappy business. I did hope you -would have had the goodness at least to inform me of it. What can I do?' -exclaimed he, breaking suddenly from his discourse and rising--'Good -God, what can I do?' - -The company were silent, and amazed. - -Mrs. Ashwood, however, said, 'I am sorry that any thing, my Lord, has -disturbed your Lordship. I am sure I should have been happy, my Lord, -could I have been of any service to your Lordship in whatever it is.' - -'Disturbed!' cried he, striking his forehead with his hand, 'I am -distracted! When did she go? How long has she been gone?' - -'Who, my Lord?' - -'Miss Mowbray--Emmeline--Oh! it will be impossible to overtake them!' - -'Gone! my Lord?' - -'Gone with Delamere!--Gone to Scotland!' - -'Miss Mowbray was however in the house not an hour ago,' said Miss -Galton; 'I saw her myself go up the garden just as we sat down to -dinner.' - -'Then she went to meet him!--then they went together!'--exclaimed Lord -Montreville, walking round the room. - -An assertion so positive staggered every one. They rose from table in -confusion. - -'Let us go up,' said Mrs. Ashwood; 'I can hardly think it possible, my -Lord, that Miss Mowbray is gone, unless your Lordship absolutely saw -them.' - -Yet Mrs. Ashwood remembered that Delamere had been there in the morning, -and that Emmeline had dined early alone, and had remained by herself all -the rest of the day, under pretence of sickness; and she began to -believe that all this was done to give her time to elope with Delamere. - -She went up stairs; and Lord Montreville, without knowing what he did, -followed her. The stairs were carpetted; any one ascending was hardly -heard; and Mrs. Ashwood suddenly throwing open the door of her chamber, -Lord Montreville saw her, with her handkerchief held to her face, -hanging over a packet of papers which lay on the table before her. - -Emmeline did not immediately look up--an exclamation from Lord -Montreville made her take her handkerchief from her eyes. - -She arose; tried to conceal the sorrow visible in her countenance yet -wet with tears, and assuming as much as she could her native ease and -sweetness, she advanced towards his Lordship, who still stood at the -door, amazed, and asked him if he would pardon her for desiring him to -sit down in a bed-chamber; if not, she would wait on him below. She then -went back to the table; threw the papers into the casket that was on it; -and placing a chair between that and the fire, again asked him if he -would do her the honour to sit down. - -Lord Montreville did so, but said nothing. He was ashamed of his -precipitancy; yet as Emmeline did not know it, he would not mention it; -and was yet too full of the idea to speak of any thing else. - -Mrs. Ashwood had left them--Emmeline continued silent. - -Lord Montreville, after a long pause, at length said, with a stern and -displeased countenance, 'I understand, Miss Mowbray, that my son was -here this morning.' - -'Yes, my Lord.' - -'Pray, do you know where he now is?' - -'I do not, indeed. Is he not at your Lordship's house?' - -'No; I am told by his servants that he is gone to Mr. Percival's--But -_you_--'(continued he, laying a strong emphasis on the word) '_you_, -Miss Mowbray, are I dare say better informed of his intentions than any -one else.' - -'Upon my word, my Lord,' answered Emmeline, astonished, 'I do _not_ -know. He said nothing to me of an intention to go any where; on the -contrary, he told me he should be here again to-morrow.' - -'And is it possible you are ignorant of his having left London this -morning, immediately after he returned from visiting you?' - -'My Lord, I have never yet stooped to the meanness of a falsehood. Why -should your Lordship now suppose me guilty of it? I repeat--and I hope -you will do me the justice to believe me--upon my honour I do _not_ -know whither Mr. Delamere is gone--nor do I know that he has left -London.' - -Lord Montreville could not but believe her. But while his fears were -relieved as to the elopement, they were awakened anew by the uncertainty -of what was become of his son, and what his motive could be for this -sudden disappearance. - -He thought however the present opportunity of speaking to Emmeline of -his resolution was not to be neglected. - -'However ignorant you may be, Miss Mowbray,' said he, 'of the reason of -his having quitted his lodgings, you are not to learn that his motive -for estranging himself from his family, and becoming a stranger to his -father's house, originates in his inconsiderate attachment to you. -Contrary to the assurances you gave me at Swansea, you have encouraged -this attachment; and, as I understand from Sir Richard Crofts, you -peremptorily and even rudely refuse the opportunity now offered you of -establishing yourself in rank and affluence, which no other young woman -would a moment hesitate to accept. Such a refusal cannot be owing to -mere caprice; nor could it possibly happen had you not determined, in -despite of every objection, and of bringing discord into my family, to -listen to that infatuated and rash young man.' - -'Your Lordship does not treat me with your usual candour. I have -promised you, voluntarily promised you, not to marry Mr. Delamere -without your Lordship's consent. To prevent his coming here was out of -my power; but if I really aspired to the honour of which your Lordship -thinks me ambitious, _what_ has prevented me from engaging at once with -Mr. Delamere? who has, I own to you, pressed me repeatedly to elope. My -Lord, while I am treated with kindness and confidence, I can rely upon -my own resolution to deserve it; _but_ when your Lordship, on suspicion -or misrepresentation, is induced to withdraw that kindness and -confidence--why should _I_ make a point of honour, where _you_ no longer -seem to expect it?' - -The truth of this answer, as well as it's spirit, at once hurt and -irritated Lord Montreville. - -Determined to separate Emmeline from his son, he was mortified to be -forced to acknowledge in his own breast that she merited all his -affection, and angry that she should be in the right when he wished to -have found something to blame in her conduct. Pride and self-love seemed -to resent that a little weak girl should pretend to a sense of -rectitude, and a force of understanding greater than his own. - -'Miss Mowbray,' said his Lordship sharply, 'I will be very explicit with -you--either consent to marry Mr. Rochely, whose affection does you so -much honour, or expect from me no farther kindness.' - -'Your Lordship knows,' answered Emmeline, 'that I have no friend on whom -I have the least claim but you. If you abandon me--but, my Lord, ought -you to do it?----I am indeed most friendless!' - -She could no longer command her tears--sobs obliged her to cease -speaking. - -Lord Montreville thought her resolution would give way; and trying to -divest himself of all feeling, with an effort truly political, he -determined to press his point. - -'It is in your power,' resumed he, 'not only to place yourself above all -fear of such desertion, but to engage my affection and that of my whole -family. You will be in a situation of life which I should hardly refuse -for one of the Miss Delameres. You will possess the most unbounded -affluence, and a husband who adores you. A man unexceptionable in -character; of a mature age; and whose immense fortune is every day -encreasing. You will be considered by me, and by Lady Montreville, as a -daughter of the house of Mowbray. The blemish of your birth will be -wiped off and forgotten.' - -Emmeline wept more than before. - -And his Lordship continued, 'If you absurdly refuse an offer so -infinitely above your expectations, I shall consider myself as having -more than done my duty in putting it in your way; and that your folly -and imprudence dissolve all obligation on my part. You must no longer -call yourself Mowbray; and you must forget that you ever were allowed to -be numbered among the relations of my family. Nor shall I think myself -obliged in any manner to provide for a person, who in scorn of -gratitude, prudence and reputation, throws from her an opportunity of -providing for herself.' - -Emmeline regained some degree of resolution. She looked up, her eyes -streaming with tears, and said, 'Well, my Lord! to the lowest indigence -I must then submit; for to marry Mr. Rochely is not in my power.' - -'We will suppose for a moment,' resumed Lord Montreville, 'that you -could realize the visionary hopes you have presumed to indulge of -uniting yourself to Mr. Delamere. Dear as he is to me and his mother, we -are determined from that moment to renounce him--never shall the -rebellious son who has dared to disobey us, be again admitted to our -presence!--never will we acknowledge as his wife, a person forced upon -us and introduced into our family in despite of our commands, and in -violation of duty, honour, and affection. _You_ will be the occasion of -his being loaded with the curses of both his parents, and of introducing -misery and discord into his family. Can you yourself be happy under such -circumstances? In point of fortune too you will find yourself -deceived--while _we_ live, Mr. Delamere can have but a very slender -income; and of every thing in our power we shall certainly deprive him, -both while we live, and at our decease. Consider well what I have said; -and make use of your reason. Begin by giving up to me the ridiculous -witnesses of a ridiculous and boyish passion, which must be no longer -indulged; to keep a picture of Delamere is discreditable and -indelicate--you will not refuse to relinquish it?' - -He reached over the table, and took from among two or three loose -papers, which yet lay before Emmeline, a little blue enamelled case, -which he concluded contained a miniature of Delamere, of whom several -had been drawn. Emmeline, absorbed in tears, did not oppose it. The -spring of the case was defective. It opened in his hand; and presented -to his view, not a portrait of his son, but of his brother, drawn when -he was about twenty, and at a period when he was more than a -brother--when he was the dearest friend Lord Montreville had on earth. A -likeness so striking, which he had not seen for many years, had an -immediate effect upon him. - -His brother seemed to look at him mournfully. A melancholy cast about -the eye-brows diminished the vivacity of the countenance, and the faded -colour (for the picture had been painted seven and twenty years) gave it -a look of languor and ill health; such perhaps as the original wore -before his death, when a ruined constitution threatened him for some -months, tho' his life terminated by a malignant fever in a few hours. - -The poor distrest Emmeline was the only memorial left of him; and Lord -Montreville felt her tears a reproach for his cruelty in thus -threatening to abandon to her fate, the unhappy daughter of this once -loved brother. - -Sir Richard Crofts and Lady Montreville were not by, to intercept these -sentiments of returning humanity. He found the tears fill his eyes as he -gazed on the picture. - -Emmeline, insensible of every thing, saw it not; and not conscious that -he had taken it, the purport of his last words she believed to relate to -a sketch she had herself made of Delamere. She was therefore surprized, -when Lord Montreville arising, took her hand, and in a voice that -witnessed the emotion of his soul, said--'Come, my dear Emmeline, pardon -me for thus distressing you, you shall _not_ be compelled to marry Mr. -Rochely if you have so great a dislike to him. You shall still have an -adequate support; and I trust I shall have nothing to fear from your -indiscretion in regard to Delamere.' - -'Your Lordship,' answered Emmeline, without taking her handkerchief from -her eyes, 'has never yet found me capable of falsehood: I will repeat, -if you desire it, the promise I gave you--I will even take the most -solemn oath you shall dictate, never to be the wife of Mr. Delamere, -unless your Lordship and Lady Montreville consent.' - -'I take your promise,' answered his Lordship, 'and shall rely firmly -upon it. But Emmeline, you must go from hence for your own sake; your -peace and reputation require it; Delamere must not frequent the house -where you are: you must conceal from him the place of your abode.' - -'My Lord, I will be ingenuous with you. To go from hence is what I -intend, and with your Lordship's permission I will set out immediately -for Mrs. Stafford's. But to conceal from Mr. Delamere where I am, is not -in my power; for I have given him a solemn promise to see him if he -desires it, wherever I shall be: and as I hope you depend on my honour, -it must be equally sacred whether given to him or you. You will -therefore not insist on my breaking this engagement, and I promise you -again never to violate the other.' - -With this compromise, Lord Montreville was obliged to be content. He -entreated Emmeline to see Rochely again, and hear his offers. But she -absolutely refused; assuring Lord Montreville, that were his fortune -infinitely greater, she would not marry him, tho' servitude should be -the alternative. - -His Lordship therefore forbore to press her farther. He desired, that if -Delamere wrote to her, or saw her, she would let him know, which she -readily agreed to; and he told her, that so long as she was single, and -did nothing to disoblige him, he would pay her an hundred guineas a year -in quarterly payments. He gave her a bank note of fifty pounds; and -recommending it to her to go as soon as possible to Mrs. Stafford's, he -kissed her cheek with an appearance of affection greater than he had yet -shewn, and then went home to prepare for the reception of Lady -Montreville, whose arrival he did not greatly wish for; dreading lest -her violence and ill-temper should drive his son into some new -extravagance. But as her will was not to be disputed, he submitted -without remonstrance to the alteration of the plan he had proposed; -which was, that his family should pass their Christmas in Norfolk, -whither he intended to have returned. - -The next day Delamere was again at Clapham, very early. - -Emmeline, the additional agitation of whose mind had prevented her -sleeping during the night, appeared more indisposed than she had done -the day before. - -Delamere, very much alarmed at her altered looks, anxiously enquired the -cause? And without hesitation she told him simply all that had passed; -the promise she had given to his father, to which she intended strictly -to adhere, and the arrangement she had agreed to on condition of being -persecuted no more on the score of Mr. Rochely. - -It is impossible to describe the grief and indignation of Delamere, at -hearing this relation. He saw all the hopes frustrated which he had been -so long indulging; he saw between him and all he loved, a barrier which -time only could remove; he dared not hope that Emmeline would ever be -induced to break an engagement which she considered as binding; he dared -not flatter himself with the most distant prospect of procuring the -consent of Lord and Lady Montreville, and therefore by their deaths only -could he obtain her; which if he had been unnatural enough to wish, was -yet in all probability very distant; as Lord Montreville was not more -than seven and forty, and of an excellent constitution; and Lady -Montreville three years younger. - -Passion and resentment for some moments stifled every other sentiment in -the heart of Delamere. But the impediments that thus arose to his wishes -were very far from diminishing their violence. - -The more impossible his union with Emmeline seemed to be, the more -ardently he desired it. The difficulties that might have checked, or -conquered an inferior degree of passion, served only to strengthen his, -and to render it insurmountable-- - -It was some moments before Emmeline could prevail upon him to listen to -her. She then enquired why he had concealed himself from his father, and -where he had been? - -He answered, that he had avoided Lord Montreville, because, had he met -him, he found himself incapable of commanding his temper and of -forbearing to resent his sending Sir Richard Crofts to her, which he had -promised her not to do. That therefore he had taken other lodgings in -another part of the town, where he intended to remain. - -Emmeline exhorted and implored him to return to Berkley-square. He -positively refused. He refused also to tell her where he lodged. And -complaining loudly of her cruelty and coldness, yet tenderly entreating -her to take care of her health, he left her; having first procured -permission to see her the next day, and every day till she set out for -Woodfield. - -When he was gone, Miss Mowbray wrote to Lord Montreville-- - - - 'My Lord, - - 'In pursuance of the word I passed to your Lordship, I have the - honour to acquaint you that Mr. Delamere has just left me. I - endeavoured to prevail on him to inform me where he lodges; but he - refuses to give me the least information. If it be your Lordship's - wish to see him, you will probably have an opportunity of doing it - here, as he proposed being here to-morrow; but refused to name the - hour, apprehending perhaps that you might meet him, as I did not - conceal from him that I should acquaint you with my having seen him. - - I have the honour to be, - my Lord, - your Lordship's - most obedient servant, - EMMELINE MOWBRAY.' - _Clapham, Dec. 3._ - - -Lord Montreville received this letter in her Ladyship's dressing-room. -The servant who brought it in, said it came from Clapham; and Lady -Montreville insisted on seeing its contents. She had been before -acquainted with what had passed; and bestowed on her son the severest -invectives for his obstinacy and folly. Poor Emmeline however, who was -the cause of it, was the principal object of her resentment and disdain. -Even this last instance of her rectitude, could not diminish the -prejudice which embittered the mind of Lady Montreville against her. She -lamented, whenever she deigned to speak of her, that the laws of this -country, unlike those of better regulated kingdoms, did not give people -of fashion power to remove effectually those who interfered with their -happiness, or were inimical to their views. 'If this little wretch,' -said she, 'was in France, it would not be difficult to put an end to the -trouble she has dared to give us. A _letter de cachet_ would cure the -creature of her presumption, and place her where her art and affectation -should not disturb the peace of families of high rank.' - -Lord Montreville heard these invectives without reply, but not without -pain. - -Augusta Delamere, who arrived in Berkley-square the same morning that -Lady Montreville did, felt still more hurt by her mother's determined -hatred to Emmeline, whom she languished to see, and had never ceased to -love. - -Miss Delamere inheriting all the pride of her mother, and adding to it a -sufficient share of vanity and affectation of her own, had taken a -dislike to the persecuted Emmeline, if possible more inveterate than -that of Lady Montreville. Tho' she had never seen her, she detested her; -and exerted all her influence on her mother to prevent her being -received into the family as her father's relation. Fitz-Edward had -praised her as the most interesting woman he had ever seen. Miss -Delamere had no aversion to Fitz-Edward; and tho' he had never seemed -sensible of the honour she did him, she could not divest herself wholly -of that partiality towards him, which made her heartily abhor any woman -he seemed to admire. When to this cause of dislike was added, what she -called the insolent presumption of the animal in daring to attempt -inveigling _her_ brother into the folly of marrying, she thought she -might indulge all the rancour, envy, and malignity of her heart. - -When Lady Montreville had read the letter, she threw it down on the -table contemptuously. - -'It requires no answer,' said she to the servant who waited. - -The man left the room. - -'Well, my Lord,' continued she, addressing herself to her husband, 'what -do you intend to do about this unhappy, infatuated boy?' - -'I really know not,' answered his Lordship. - -'I will tell you then,' resumed she--'Go to this girl, and let her know -that you will abandon her pennyless; force her to accept the honour Mr. -Rochely offers her; and, by shewing a little strength of mind and -resolution, break these unworthy chains with which your own want of -prudence has fettered your son.' - -'It has already been tried, Madam, without success. Consider that if I -am bound by no obligations to support this young person, I am also -without any power over her. To force her to marry Mr. Rochely is -impossible. I have however her promise that she will not enter into any -clandestine engagement with Delamere.' - -'Her promise!' exclaimed Lady Montreville.--'And are you weak enough, my -Lord, to trust to the promise of an artful, designing creature, who -seems to me to have already won over your Lordship to her party? What -want of common sense is this! If you will not again speak to her, and -that most decisively, I will do it myself! Send her to me! I will force -her not only to tell me where Delamere has had the meanness to conceal -himself, but also oblige her to relinquish the hopes she has the -insolence to indulge.' - -Miss Delamere, who wanted to see the wonderful creature that had turned -her brother's head, and who was charmed to think she should see her -humbled and mortified, promoted this plan as much as possible. Augusta, -dreading her brother's violence, dared not, and Lord Montreville would -not oppose it, as he believed her Ladyship's overwhelming rhetoric, to -which he was himself frequently accustomed to give way, might produce on -Emmeline the effect he had vainly attempted. He therefore asked Lady -Montreville, whether she really wished to see Miss Mowbray, and when? - -'I am engaged to-morrow,' answered she, 'all day. But however, as she is -a sort of person whom it will be improper to admit at any other time, -let her be here at ten o'clock in the morning. She may come up, before I -breakfast, into my dressing-room.' - -'Shall I send one of the carriages for her?' enquired his Lordship. - -'By no means,' replied the Lady. 'They will be all wanted. Let her -borrow a coach of the people she lives with. I suppose all city people -now keep coaches. Or if she cannot do that, a hack may be had.' Then -turning to her woman, who had just brought her her snuff-box, -'Brackley,' said she, 'don't forget to order the porter to admit a -young woman who will be here to-morrow, at ten o'clock; tho' she may -perhaps come in a hack.' - -Lord Montreville, who grew every hour more uneasy at Delamere's absence, -now set out in search of him himself. He called at Fitz-Edward's -lodgings; but he was not yet come to town, tho' hourly expected. His -Lordship then went to Clapham, where he hoped to meet his son; but -instead of doing so, Emmeline put into his hands the following letter-- - - - 'I intended to have seen you again to-day; but the pain I felt - after our interview yesterday, has so much disordered me, that it - is better not to repeat it. Cruel Emmeline!--to gratify my father - you throw me from you without remorse, without pity. I shall be the - victim of his ambition, and of your false and mistaken ideas of - honour. - - 'Ah! Emmeline! will the satisfaction that you fancy will arise - from this chimerical honour make you amends for the loss of such an - heart as mine! Yet think not I can withdraw it from you, cold and - cruel as you are. Alas! it is no longer in my power. But my - passions, the violence of which I cannot mitigate, prey on my frame, - and will conduct to the grave, this unhappy son, who is to be - sacrificed to the cursed politics of his family. - - 'I cannot see you, Emmeline, without a renewal of all those - sensations which tear me to pieces, and which I know affect you, - though you try to conceal it. For a day or two I will go into the - country. _Remember your promise_ not to remove any where but to Mrs. - Stafford's; and to let me know the day and hour when you set out. - You plead to me, that your promise to my father is _sacred_. I - expect that those you have passed to me shall be at least equally - so. Farewel! till we meet again. You know that seeing you, and being - permitted to love you, is all that renders supportable the existence - of your unhappy - - F. D.' - - -'This letter, my Lord,' said Emmeline, was delivered by a porter. I -spoke to the man, and asked him from whence he brought it? He said from -a coffee-house at Charing-cross.' - -'Did you answer it?' - -'No, my Lord,' said Emmeline, blushing; 'I think it required no -answer.' - -He then told her that Lady Montreville expected to see her the next day; -and named the hour. - -Emmeline, terrified as she was at the idea of such an interview, was -forced to assure him she would be punctual to it; and his Lordship took -an hasty leave, still hoping he might meet his son. He was hardly gone, -before another porter brought to Emmeline a second letter: it was from -Augusta Delamere. - - - 'At length, my dear Emmeline, I am near you, and can tell you I - still love you; tho' even that satisfaction I am forced to snatch - unknown to my mother. Oh, Emmeline! I tremble for your situation - to-morrow. The dislike that both my mother and sister have taken to - you, is inconceivable; and I am afraid that you will have a great - deal of rudeness and unkindness to encounter. I write this to - prepare you for it; and hope that your conscious innocence, and the - generosity with which you have acted, will support you. I have been - taken to task most severely by my mother for my partiality to you; - and my sister, in her contemptuous way, calls you my sweet - sentimental friend. To be sure my brother's absence is a dreadful - thing; and great allowances are to be made for my mother's - vexation; tho' I own I do not see why it should prevent her being - just. I will try to be in the room to-morrow, tho' perhaps I shall - not be permitted. Don't say you have heard from me, for the world; - but be assured I shall always love you as you deserve, and be most - truly - - your affectionate and faithful, - A. DELAMERE.' - - _Berkley-square, Dec. 5._ - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -Emmeline had the convenience of Mrs. Ashwood's carriage, who agreed to -set her down in Berkley-square. She was herself sitting for her picture; -and told Miss Mowbray she would send the chariot back for her when she -got to the house of the painter. - -Exactly at ten o'clock they arrived at the door of Lord Montreville; and -Emmeline, who had been arguing herself into some degree of resolution as -she went along, yet found her courage much less than she thought she -should have occasion for; and with faultering steps and trembling nerves -she went up stairs. The man who conducted her, told her that his Lady -was not yet up, and desired her to wait in an anti-room, which was -superbly furnished and covered with glasses, in which Emmeline had -leisure to contemplate her pale and affrighted countenance. - -The longer the interview was delayed the more dreadful it appeared. She -dared not ask for Miss Augusta; yet, at every noise she heard, hoped -that amiable girl was coming to console and befriend her. But no Augusta -appeared. A servant came in, mended the fire, and went down again; then -Miss Delamere's maid, under pretence of fetching something, took a -survey of her in order to make a report to her mistress; and Emmeline -found that she was an object of curiosity to the domesticks, who had -heard from Millefleur, and from the other servants who had been at -Swansea, that this was the young woman Mr. Delamere was dying for. - -An hour and a half was now elapsed; and poor Emmeline, whose imagination -had been busied the whole time in representing every form of insult and -contempt with which she expected to be received, began to hope that Lady -Montreville had altered her intention of seeing her. - -At length, however, Mrs. Brackley, her Ladyship's woman, was heard -speaking aloud to a footman--Walter, tell that young woman she may be -admitted to see my Lady, and shew her up. - -Walter delivered his message; and the trembling Emmeline with some -difficulty followed him. - -She entered the dressing-room. Her Ladyship, in a morning dress, sat at -a table, on which was a salver with coffee. Her back was to the door, -where stood Mrs. Brackley; who, as Emmeline, hesitating, seemed ready to -shrink back, said, with a sort of condescending nod, 'There, you may go -in, Miss.' - -Emmeline entered; but did not advance. - -Lady Montreville, without rising or speaking, turned her head, and -looked at her with a scowling and disdainful countenance. - -'Humph!' said she, looking at her eldest daughter, who sat by the fire -with a newspaper in her hand--'humph!' as much as to say, I see no such -great beauty in this creature. - -Miss Delamere, whose countenance wore a sort of disdainful sneer, -smiled in answer to her mother's humph! and said, 'Would you have her -sit down, Madam?' - -'Aye,' said Lady Montreville, turning again her head towards -Emmeline--'You may sit down.' - -There was a sofa near the door. Emmeline, hardly able to stand, went to -it. - -A silence ensued. Lady Montreville sipped her coffee; and Miss Delamere -seemed intent upon the newspaper. - -'So!' cried her Ladyship, 'my son has absented himself! Upon my word, -Miss What-d'ye-call-it, (for Mowbray I don't allow that your name is) -you have a great deal to answer for. Pray what amends can you ever hope -to make to my Lord, and me, for the trouble you have been the cause of?' - -'I sincerely lament it, Madam,' answered Emmeline, forcing herself to -speak; 'and do assure you it has been on my part involuntary.' - -'Oh, no doubt on't. Your wonderful beauty is the fatal cause. You have -used no art, I dare say; no pretty finesse, learned from novels, to -inveigle a silly boy to his undoing.' - -'If I had been disposed, Madam, to take advantage of Mr. Delamere's -unhappy partiality for me--' - -'Oh dear! What you was coy? You knew your subject, no doubt, and now -make a merit of what was merely a piece of art. I detest such demure -hypocrites! Tell me,--why, if you are _not_ disposed to take advantage -of Mr. Delamere's folly, you do not accept the noble offer made you by -this banker, or whatever he is, that my Lord says is worth above an -hundred thousand pounds? The reason is evident. A little obscure -creature, bred on the Welch mountains, and who was born nobody knows -how, does not so easily refuse a man of fortune unless she has some -other views. You would like a handsome young man with a title! Yes! you -would like to hide your own obscurity in the brilliant pedigree of one -of the first families in Europe. But know, presumptuous girl, that the -whole house shall perish ere it shall thus be contaminated--know'---- -She grew inarticulate with passion; pride and malignity seemed to choak -her; and she stopped, as if to recover breath to give vent to her rage. - -Miss Delamere took the opportunity to speak-- - -'Indeed, child,' said she, 'it is hurting yourself extremely; and I am -really sorry you should be so deceived. _My_ brother can never marry -_you_; and as Lord Montreville has brought you up, under the notion of -your belonging to a part of his family, we are really interested, my -mother and I, in your not going into a bad course of life. If you do not -marry this rich city-man, what do you think is to become of you?' - -'My Lord Montreville has been so good as to assure me,' said -Emmeline--her words were so faint, that they died away upon her lips. - -'What does she say, Fanny?' asked Lady Montreville. - -'Something of my father's having assured her, Madam.' - -'Don't flatter yourself, girl,' resumed her Ladyship, 'don't deceive -yourself. If you refuse to marry this man who offers to take you, not -one shilling shall you ever receive from this family; determine -therefore at once; send to the person in question; let him come here, -and let an agreement for a settlement be directly signed between Lord -Montreville and him. Lord Montreville will in that case give you a -fortune. I will hear no objection! I _will_ have the affair closed this -morning! I _will_ have it so!' - -Lady Montreville, accustomed to undisputed power in her own family, -expected from every body an acquiescence as blind as she found from her -tradesmen and servants, who endured her ill-humour and gave way to her -caprices. But she forgot that Emmeline was equally unaccustomed to her -commands, and free from the necessity of obeying them. The gentlest and -mildest temper will revolt against insolence and oppression: and the -cruelty and unfeminine insults she had received, concluded by this -peremptory way of forcing her into a marriage from which her whole soul -recoiled, at length restored to her some portion of that proper spirit -and presence of mind which had been frightened from her. Conscious that -she deserved none of these ungenerous insults, and feeling herself -superior to her who could cruelly and wantonly inflict them, she -regained her courage. - -'If your Ladyship has nothing more to say,' said she, rising, 'I shall -have the honour to wish you a good morning; for I believe Mrs. Ashwood -has been waiting for me some time.' - -'Don't tell me of Mrs. Ashwood--but tell me where is my son? Where is -Delamere?' - -'I know not,' answered Emmeline. 'I have already told my Lord -Montreville that I am entirely ignorant.' - -'Nobody believes it!' said Miss Delamere. - -'I am sorry for it,' replied Emmeline, coolly. 'If, however, I did know, -it is not such treatment, Madam, that should compel me to give any -information.' She then opened the door and walked down stairs. A footman -met her, whom she desired to enquire for Mrs. Ashwood's carriage. Before -the man could descend to obey her, a violent ringing was heard. The -footman said it was his Lady's bell, and ran up to answer it; while -Emmeline still descending, heard somebody softly calling her. She looked -up, and saw Augusta Delamere leaning over the bannisters; she put up her -finger as if to prevent Emmeline's speaking, threw her a letter, and -immediately disappeared. - -The spirits of Emmeline were again greatly hurried by this transient -view of her friend. She put the letter hastily into her pocket, and was -got down into the hall, where she spoke to another footman to see for -her carriage; but the man whom she had met on the stairs, now came to -say his Lady must see her again. Emmeline answered that she had already -made her friend wait, and must beg to be excused returning to her -Ladyship this morning. The man however said, that he dared not disobey -his Lady, nor call up the chariot. - -Emmeline, alarmed at the idea of being detained, advanced towards the -door, told the porter (who had not heard this dialogue,) to open it, and -walked resolutely into the street. - -The two footmen followed her to the door; but contented themselves with -looking after her, without attempting to stop her. - -'She is pretty enough, however,' said one to the other, 'to excuse our -young Lord.' - -'The devil's in't if she is not,' answered the other. - -Emmeline heard this; and between vexation at their impertinence, and -fear of their following her, she found her whole strength again forsake -her. - -She walked on however towards Charles-street, looking round for Mrs. -Ashwood's carriage, but could not see it. She was totally unacquainted -with the streets, where she had never been on foot before; but -recollected that she might get an hackney-coach, which was the more -necessary, as snow was falling fast, and her muslin cloaths were already -wet almost through. - -She was picking her way, still in some hopes of seeing the carriage, -when an hackney-coach passed empty. Emmeline looked wishfully towards -it. The man stopped, and asked if she wanted a coach? She answered yes, -as eagerly as if she had been afraid of a disappointment; and hurrying -into it, told the man to drive to Clapham. - -Just as he was mounting the box, another hack passed, and a young -officer who was in it looked earnestly into that where Emmeline sat; -then calling to his driver to stop, he leaped out, and Emmeline saw -Fitz-Edward at the door of her coach. - -'Miss Mowbray!' said he--'Is it possible! alone and in this equipage, in -Berkley-square! Where is Delamere?' - -Before Emmeline had time to answer him he had opened the coach door. - -'It snows too much,' said he, 'for a comfortable conference, unless you -will give me leave to sit by you; where are you going to?' - -'To Clapham,' answered Emmeline. - -'Oh! take me with you,' said he. 'I have a thousand things to say to -you.' - -He gave her no time to refuse: but flinging half a crown to the man who -had driven him, he got into the coach which she was in, and ordered the -man to shut the door and go where he had been directed. - -Emmeline was vexed at this incident, as she was too uneasy to wish for -the presence of any one, and impatient to open the letter in her pocket. -But Fitz-Edward was not easily discouraged; and possessed, together with -perfect good breeding, a fortunate sort of assurance with which nobody -was ever long displeased. - -He enquired after Mrs. Stafford with a degree of interest for which -Emmeline felt inclined to love him. She related all she knew of her; and -her eyes reassumed their lustre, while she told him how soon she was -likely to see her. He then renewed his questions about Delamere. - -Emmeline could not dissemble; and indeed saw in this case no reason why -she should. She therefore told him ingenuously all that had happened -since they met at Swansea; most of which he already knew from Delamere. -He watched her looks however while she was speaking; and by her blushes, -her manner, and the softness of her eyes, he thought he saw evidently -enough that Delamere was no longer indifferent to her. Her indignation -at the treatment she had just received from his mother and sister, dyed -her cheeks with crimson while she related it; but when she returned to -speak of Delamere, she forgot her anger, and seemed to feel only pity -and tenderness. - -Fitz-Edward, a most perfect judge of female hearts, made his -observations on all this, with which he knew he should most effectually -gratify his friend; and in his insinuating way, he said all he could -think of to encrease her compassion for her lover, and inflame her -resentment against those who impeded a union, which he was pretty sure -Emmeline now wished for, as well as Delamere. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -When they arrived at Clapham, Emmeline found Mrs. Ashwood was not yet -returned. Fitz-Edward entreated her to sing to him; and either was, or -pretended to be, in raptures at her improvement since they had met in -the summer. - -About half an hour after four, Mrs. Ashwood came in; and throwing open -the parlour door, asked Emmeline, in no very sweet accent, 'Why she had -given her the trouble to go in her carriage to Berkley-square, if she -intended going home by any other conveyance?' - -Mrs. Ashwood was subject to causeless fits of ill-humour, to which -Emmeline was a good deal accustomed; and concluding she was now seized -with some sudden discomposure of temper, mildly answered, 'That she -supposed there had been a mistake; for that the chariot did not come for -her at the appointed time.' - -'Mistake!' replied the other lady, sharply; 'I don't know as to mistake; -but if you had chosen it, you might have staid dinner with Lady -Montreville.' - -Emmeline, without seeming to attend to the asperity of the address, -desired to introduce Colonel Fitz-Edward. - -As this short dialogue had passed without Mrs. Ashwood's having entered -the room, she had not seen the stranger, who now advanced towards her. - -The title of Colonel, added to his military air and handsome figure, -seemed to gain at once her favourable opinion; and her countenance -losing the unpleasing expression of ill-temper, immediately put on its -best smile, and an affectation of softness and complacency with which -she frequently adorned it. - -She seemed to consider the handsome young soldier as a conquest worthy -all her ambition; and finding he was the most intimate friend of -Delamere, had no apprehension that his admiration would be diverted by -the youth and attractions of Emmeline. - -Fitz-Edward presently understood her character; and with admirable -adroitness acted the part of a man afraid of being too much charmed. He -cast an arch look at Emmeline; then made to the Lady of the house some -compliments so extravagant, that only the weakest vanity could prevent -her seeing its ridicule. But Fitz-Edward, who found in a moment that -nothing was too gross to be believed, fearlessly repeated the dose; and -before dinner came in, she was in the best humour imaginable, and -pressed him so earnestly to partake of it, that, after an apology for -sitting down in his morning dishabille, he consented. - -The same unlimited flattery was continued during dinner by Fitz-Edward, -and received by the lady with the same avidity; and Emmeline, tho' -half-angry with him for the pleasure he seemed to take in making Mrs. -Ashwood absurd, could not help being amused with the scene. - -Before their repast ended, she was so much charmed with her new -acquaintance, and so much longed to shew him to her female friends, and -her other admirers, that she could not forbear pressing him to stay to a -card party, which she was to have in the evening. - -He loved the ridiculous; and, influenced by a vanity as silly as that he -delighted to expose, he took pleasure in shewing how extremely absurd he -could make women appear, who were not on other occasions void of -understanding. Tho' he had really business with Lord Montreville, who -had left several messages at his lodgings desiring to see him, and was -going thither when Emmeline met him, yet he accepted Mrs. Ashwood's -invitation, on condition of being allowed to go home to dress. - -He was no sooner gone than she flew to her toilet, and Emmeline to a -second perusal of the letter she had received from Augusta Delamere. - - - 'I am forbidden to see you, my dearest Emmeline; and perhaps may - not have an opportunity of giving you this. My heart bleeds for - you, my sweet friend. I fear my father will be prevailed upon - wholly to abandon you. They are all inventing schemes to force you - into a marriage with that odd-looking old Rochely. He has been here - once or twice, and closetted with my father; and part - of the scheme of to-day is, to persuade you to dine here with - him. But I am almost sure you will not stay; for unless my mother - can command herself more before you than she does when she is - talking about you, I think you will be frightened away. I am - certain, my dear Emmeline, from what I have heard, tho' they say - but little before me, that no endeavours will be omitted to drive - you to marry Rochely; and that they will persecute you every way, - both by persuasions, and by distressing you. But be assured, that - while Augusta Delamere has any thing, you shall share it. Indeed I - love you, not only as if you were my sister, but, I think, better. - Ah! why are there such unhappy impediments to your being really so? - At present I foresee nothing but perplexity; and have no dependance - but on you. I know you will act as you ought to do; and that you - will at last prevail with Delamere to act right too. Whoever loves - you, cannot long persist in doing ill; and surely it is very ill - done, and very cruel, for Delamere to make us all so unhappy. I - need not tell you to arm yourself with fortitude against the - attacks that will be made upon you. You have more fortitude and - resolution than I have. Situated as you have been, I know not what - _I_ should have done; but I fear it would not have been so worthy - of praise as the noble and disinterested part you have acted; - which, tho' unaccompanied with the thousand amiable qualities of - heart and understanding you possess, would ever command the esteem - and admiration of your faithful and affectionate - - AUGUSTA DELAMERE.' - - 'Do not write to me till you hear from me again; as I should incur - great displeasure if known to correspond with you. - - A. D.' - - -Charmed as Emmeline was by the tender solicitude and affectionate -simplicity of her beloved friend, the pleasure this letter gave her was -very much abated by learning that the domestic infelicity of Lord -Montreville's family fell particularly heavy on her. She now recollected -what Mrs. Ashwood had said on her first entrance into the room, when she -returned home; and concluded from thence that she had seen Lady -Montreville, tho' her whole attention was so immediately engrossed by -the Colonel, that she had no more named it. She therefore grew anxious -to hear what had been said; and her own toilet being very soon over, she -sent to desire admittance to that of Mrs. Ashwood; on receiving which, -she attended her, and begged to know whether she had seen Lady -Montreville, and what had passed? - -Mrs. Ashwood was in so happy a disposition, that she hesitated not to -oblige her; and while she finished the important business of -accommodating a pile of black feathers, jet and crape, upon her head, -'the mockery of woe' which she did not even affect to feel, she gave -Emmeline the following account, interlarded with directions to her -woman. - -'Why, my dear, you must know that when I got to Gainsborough's [_more to -the left_] he had unluckily a frightful old judge, or a bishop, or some -tedious old man with him, and I was forced to wait: I cannot tell what -possessed me, but I entirely forgot that I was to send the chariot back -for you. So the chariot [_put it a little forwarder_] staid. I thought -the tiresome man, whoever he was, would never have gone; however he went -at last [_raise the lower curl_] and then I _sot_. You cannot think how -much the likeness is improved! So when I had done [_give me the scraper; -here is some powder on my eye-brow_] I went away, thinking to call on -you; but as I went by Butler's, I remembered that I wanted some -pearl-coloured twist to finish the purse I am doing for Hanbury. I was -almost an hour matching it. Well, then I thought as I was so near -Frivolite's door, I might as well call and see whether she had put the -trimming on the white bombazeen, as you know we agreed would be most the -thing. There were a thousand people in the house; you know there is -never any possibility of getting out of that creature's room under an -hour.' [Oh! heaven! thought Emmeline, nor is there any end to the -importance you affix to trifles which interest nobody else.] 'So, -however, at last I got to Berkley-square, and stopped at the door. The -man at the door said you was gone. I thought that very odd, and desired -another servant go up and see, for I concluded it was some mistake. -After a moment or two, the footman came down again, and said if I was -the Lady Miss Mowbray lived with, his Lady desired I would walk up. Upon -my word it is a noble house! When I got into the room, there was Lady -Montreville and her daughters. Her Ladyship was extremely polite, -indeed; and after some discourse, "Mrs. Ashwood," said she, "you know -Miss Mowbray's situation: I assure you I sent for her to-day with no -other view in the world but for her own good, and you know, [_dear me! -here is a pimple on my chin that is quite hideous; give me a patch._] -you know that for her to refuse Mr. Rochely is being absolutely blind to -her own interest; because you must suppose, Mrs. Ashwood, that she is -only deceiving herself when she entertains any thoughts of my son; for -that is a thing that never can happen, nor ever shall happen; and -besides, to give my Lord and me all this trouble, is a very ungrateful -return to us for having brought her up, and many other obligations she -has received at our hands; and will be the ruin of herself; and the -greatest perverseness in the world. You, Mrs. Ashwood, are, I hear, a -very sensible woman [_where is the rouge box?_] and I dare say, now you -know how agreeable it would be to me and my Lord to have Miss Emmeline -come to her senses about Mr. Rochely, you will do your endeavours to -persuade her to act reasonably; and then, tho' she has behaved very -disrespectful and very ill, which is only to be forgiven on account of -her knowing no better, I shall countenance her, and so will my Lord." -This was, as near as I remember, Emmeline, what my Lady said to me. You -know [_the milk of roses is almost out_] you know I could not refuse to -tell her I would certainly talk to you. I was surprised to find her -Ladyship so obliging and affable, as you had told me she is reckoned so -very proud. She ordered her gentleman to give me a ticket for a rout and -a supper her Ladyship gives on Tuesday three weeks; and she said, that -as she did not doubt but that you would discover your own interest by -that time, I should take one for you. Look you, here it is.' - -'I shall be in Dorsetshire, I hope, long before Tuesday se'nnight,' said -Emmeline, laying the card coolly on the toilet. She found Mrs. Ashwood -had nothing more material to say; and being apprehensive that she -impeded the last finish which her dress and person required, she thanked -her, and went back into her own room. - -The eagerness and resolution with which Lady Montreville opposed her -son's marriage, appeared from nothing more evidently, than from her thus -endeavouring to solicit the assistance of Mrs. Ashwood, and humbling -herself to use flattery and insinuation towards a person to whom it is -probable nothing else could have induced her to speak. With persons in -trade, or their connections, or even with gentlemen, unless of very -ancient and honourable families, she seldom deigned to hold any -communication; and if she had occasion to speak to them individually, it -was generally under the appellation of 'Mr. or Mrs. I forget the name;' -for to remember the particular distinctions of such inferior beings, was -a task too heavy for Right Honourable intellects. When she spoke of such -collectively, it was under the denomination of 'the people, or the -folks.' - -With that sort of condescension that seems to say, 'I will humble myself -to your level,' and which is in fact more insolent than the most -offensive haughtiness, her Ladyship had behaved to Mrs. Ashwood; who -took it for extreme politeness, and was charmed on any terms to obtain -admission to the house of a woman of such high fashion, and who was -known to be so very nice in the choice of her company. - -In return for so much favour, she had been lavish of her assurances that -she would influence Miss Mowbray; and came home, fully determined to -talk to her sharply; believing too, that to make her feel the present -dependance and uncertainty of her situation by forcing her to bear a fit -of ill-humour, might help to determine her to embrace the affluent -fortune that would set her above it. This it was that occasioned her -harsh address to Emmeline; which would have been followed by acrimonious -reflections and rude remonstrances, under the denomination of 'necessary -truths and friendly advice,' had not the presence of Fitz-Edward, and -his subsequent enchanting conversation, driven all that Lady Montreville -had said out of her mind, and left it open only to the delightful -prospect which his compliments and praises afforded her. - -The company assembled to cards at the usual hour. Rochely was among -them; who had not seen Emmeline since the rejection of his proposal, -with which Sir Richard Crofts was obliged to acquaint him, tho' he had -softened the peremptory terms in which it had been given. He had this -evening adorned himself in a superb suit of cut velvet of many colours, -lined with sables; which tho' not in the very newest mode, had been -reckoned very magnificent at several city assemblies; and he had put it -on as well in honour of Lord Montreville, with whom he had dined, as in -hopes of moving the perverse beauty for whom he languished. But so far -was this display of clumsy affluence from having any effect on the hard -heart of Emmeline, that it rather excited her mirth. And when with a -grave and solemn aspect he advanced towards her, she felt herself so -much disposed to laugh at his figure, that she was forced to avoid him, -and took refuge at the table, round which the younger part of the -company assembled to play. - -Mrs. Ashwood had fixed Fitz-Edward to that where she herself presided; -and where she sat triumphantly enjoying his high-seasoned flattery; -while her female competitors, hearing he was the son of an Irish Earl, -and within three of being a Peer himself, contemplated her supposed -conquest with envy and vexation, which they could not conceal, and which -greatly added to her satisfaction. - -Several persons were invited to stay supper; among whom were Fitz-Edward -and Rochely. About half an hour before the card-tables broke up, a -servant brought a note to Emmeline, and told her that it required an -answer. The hand was Delamere's. - - - 'For two days I have forborne to see you, Emmeline, and have - endeavoured to argue myself into a calmer state of mind; but it - avails nothing; hopeless when with you, yet wretched without you, I - see no end to my sufferings. I have been about the door all the - evening; but find, by the carriages, that you are surrounded by - fools and coxcombs. Ah! Emmeline! that time you owe only to me; - those smiles to which only I have a right, are lavished on them; - and I am left to darkness and despair. - - 'There is a door from the garden into the stable-yard, which opens - into the fields. As I cannot come to the house (where I find there - are people who would inform Lord Montreville that I am still about - London,) for pity's sake come down to that door and speak to me. I - ask only _one_ moment; surely you will not deny me so small a - favour, and add to the anguish which consumes me. I write this from - the neighbouring public-house, and wait your answer. - - F. DELAMERE.' - - -Emmeline shuddered at this note. It was more incoherent than usual, and -seemed to be written with a trembling and uncertain hand. She had left -the card-table to read it, and was alone in the anti-room; where, while -she hesitated over it, Rochely, whose eyes were ever in search of her, -followed her. She saw him not: but wholly occupied by the purport of the -note, he approached close to her unheeded. - -'Are you determined, Miss Mowbray,' said he, 'to give me no other answer -than you sent somewhat hastily to Lord Montreville, by my friend Sir -Richard Crofts? May I ask, are you quite determined?' - -'Quite, Sir!' replied she, starting, without considering and hardly -knowing what she said; but feeling he was at that moment more odious to -her than ever, she snatched away the hand he attempted to take, and flew -out of the room like a lapwing. - -The dismayed lover shook his head, surveyed his cut velvet in the glass, -and stroaked his point ruffles, while he was trying to recollect his -scattered ideas. - -Emmeline, who had taken refuge in her bed-chamber, sat there in -breathless uncertainty, and unable to determine what to do about -Delamere. At length, she concluded on desiring Fitz-Edward to go down to -him; but knew not how to speak to the colonel on such a subject before -so many witnesses, nor did she like to send for him out of the room. She -rung for a candle, and wrote on a slip of paper. - -'Delamere is waiting at a door which opens into the fields, and insists -upon speaking to me. Pray go down to him, and endeavour to prevail on -him to return to his father. I can think of no other expedient to -prevent his engaging in some rash and improper attempt; therefore I -beseech you to go down.' - -When she had written this, she knew not how to deliver it; and for the -first time in her life had recourse to an expedient which bore the -appearance of art and dissimulation. She did not chuse to send it to -Fitz-Edward by a servant; but went down with it herself; and approaching -the table where he was settling his winnings-- - -'Here, colonel,' said she, 'is the _charade_ you desired me to write out -for you.' - -'Oh! read it colonel; pray read it;' cried Mrs. Ashwood, 'I doat upon a -_charade_ of all things in nature.' - -He answered, that 'he would reserve it for a _bon bouche_ after supper.' -Then looking significantly at Emmeline, to say he understood and would -oblige her, he strolled into the anti-room; Emmeline saying to him, as -he passed her, that she would wait his return in the parlour below. - -Fitz-Edward disappeared; and Emmeline, in hopes of escaping observation, -joined the party of some young ladies who were playing at a large table, -and affected to enter into their conversation. But she really knew -nothing that was passing; and as soon as they rose on finishing their -game, she escaped in the bustle, and ran down into the parlour, where in -five or six minutes Fitz-Edward found her. - -He wore a look of great concern; and laid down his hat as he came in, -without seeming to know what he did. - -'Have you seen Mr. Delamere, Sir?' said Emmeline. - -'Seen him!' answered he; 'I have seen him; but to no manner of purpose; -his intellects are certainly deranged; he raves like a madman, and -absolutely refuses to leave the place till he has spoken to you.' - -'Why will he not come in, then?' said Emmeline. - -'Because,' said Fitz-Edward, 'Rochely is here, who will relate it to -that meddling fellow, Sir Richard Crofts, and by that means it will get -to his father. I said every thing likely to prevail on him to be more -calm; but he will hear nothing. I know not what to do,' continued he, -rising, and walking about the room. 'I am convinced he has something in -his head of fatal consequence to himself. He protests he will stay all -night where he is. In short, he is in an absolute frenzy with the idea -of Rochely's success and his own despair.' - -'You frighten me to death,' said Emmeline. 'Tell me, colonel, what ought -I to do?' - -'Go to him,' returned Fitz-Edward; 'speak to him only a moment, and I am -persuaded he will be calm. I will go with you; and then there can be -nothing wrong in it.' - -'I _will_ go, then,' said she, rising and giving Fitz-Edward her hand, -which trembled extremely. - -'But it is very cold,' remarked he: 'had not you better take a cloak?' - -'There is my long _pelisse_ in the back parlour,' answered she. - -Fitz-Edward fetched it, wrapt her in it, and led her down stairs; and by -a garden door, they reached a sort of back stable-yard, where rubbish -and stable-litter was usually thrown, and which opened into a bye-lane, -where the garden-wall formed a sudden angle. Delamere received her with -transport, which he tried to check; and reproached her for refusing to -come down to him. - -Seizing the opportunity, as soon as he would give her leave to speak, -she very forcibly represented to him the distress of his family at his -absence, and the particular uneasiness it inflicted on his sister -Augusta. - -'I knew not,' said Delamere, 'that she was come home.' - -Emmeline told him she was, and related the purport of her letter, and -again besought him to put an end to the uncertainty and anxiety of his -family. - -Delamere heard her with some impatience; and holding her hands in his, -vehemently answered--'It is to no purpose that my father either -threatens or persuades me. He has long known my resolution; and the -unhappiness which you so warmly describe arises solely from his and my -mother's own unreasonable and capricious prejudice--prejudice founded in -pride and avarice. I do not think myself accountable for distress to -which they may so easily put an end. But as to Augusta, who really loves -me, I will write to her to make her easy. Now Emmeline, since I have -listened to you, and answered all you have to urge, hear my final -determination--_If you_ still continue firm in your chimerical and -romantic obstinacy, which you call honour, _I_ go from hence this -evening, never to return--you condemn me to perpetual exile--you give me -up to despair!' - -He called aloud, and a post-chaise and four, which had been concealed by -the projection of the wall, attended by two servants, drove round. -'There,' continued Delamere, 'there is the vehicle which I have prepared -to carry me from hence. You know whether I easily relinquish a -resolution once formed. If then you wish to save my father and mother -from the anguish of repentance when there will be no remedy--if you -desire to save from the frenzy of desperation the brother of your -Augusta, and to snatch from the extremity of wretchedness the man who -lives but to adore you, go with me--go with me to Scotland!' - -Astonished and terrified at the impetuosity with which he pressed this -unexpected proposal, Emmeline would have replied, but words were a -moment wanting. Fitz-Edward taking advantage of her silence, used every -argument which Delamere had omitted, to determine her. - -'No! no!' cried she--'never! never! I have passed my honour to Lord -Montreville. It is sacred--I cannot, I will not forfeit it!' - -'The time will come,' said Fitz-Edward, 'believe me it will, when Lord -Montreville will not only be reconciled to you, but'---- - -'And what shall reconcile me to myself? Let me go back to the house, Mr. -Delamere; or from this moment I shall consider you as having taken -advantage of my unprotected state, and even of my indiscreet confidence, -to offer me the grossest outrage. Let me go, Sir!' (struggling to get -her hand from Fitz-Edward) 'Let me go! Mr. Delamere.' - -'What! to be driven into the arms of Rochely? No, never, Emmeline! -never! I _know_ I am _not_ indifferent to you. I feel that I cannot live -without you; nay, by heaven I will not! But if I suffer this opportunity -to escape, I deserve indeed to lose you.' - -They all this while approached the chaise. Delamere had hired servants, -whom he had instructed what to do. They were ready at the door of the -carriage. Emmeline attempted in vain to retreat. Delamere threw his arms -around her; and assisted by Fitz-Edward, lifted her into it with a sort -of gentle violence. He leaped in after her, and the chaise was driven -away instantly. - -Fitz-Edward, to whom this scene was wholly unexpected, returned to the -company he had left with Mrs. Ashwood. He had not any notion of -Delamere's design when he went to him, but heartily concurred in its -execution; and tho' he did not believe Delamere intended to marry -Emmeline, yet his morals were such, that he congratulated himself on the -share he had had in putting her into his power, and went back with the -air of a man vastly satisfied with the success of his exploit. - -'Goodness! colonel,' exclaimed Mrs. Ashwood, 'supper has been waiting -for you this half hour. Upon my word we began to suspect that you and -Miss Mowbray were gone together. But pray where is she?' - -'Miss Mowbray, Madam! I really have not been so happy as to be of her -party.' - -'Why, where in the world can she be?' continued Mrs. Ashwood. 'However, -as the colonel is come we will go to supper. [_The company were standing -round the table._] I suppose Miss Mowbray will come presently; she has a -pretty romantic notion of contemplation by moonlight.' - -Supper, however, was almost over, and Miss Mowbray did not appear. Mrs. -Ashwood, engaged wholly by the gallant colonel, thought not of her; but -Rochely remarked that her absence was somewhat singular. - -'So it is I declare,' said Miss Galton; 'do Mrs. Ashwood send and -enquire for her again.' - -The chambers, the drawing-room, dressing-room, closets, and garden were -again searched. Miss Mowbray was not to be found! Mrs. Ashwood was -alarmed--Rochely in dismay--and the whole company confusedly broke up; -each retiring with their several conjectures on the sudden disappearance -of the fair Emmeline. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -For some moments after Emmeline found herself in the chaise, -astonishment and terror deprived her of speech and even of recollection. -While Delamere, no longer able to command his transports at having at -length as he hoped secured her, gave way to the wildest joy, and -congratulated himself that he had thus forced her to break a promise -which only injustice he said could have extorted, and only timidity and -ill-grounded prejudice have induced her to keep. - -'Do you then hope, Sir,' said Emmeline, 'that I shall patiently become -the victim of your rashness? Is this the respect you have sworn ever to -observe towards me? Is this the protection you have so often told me I -should find from you? And is it thus you intend to atone for all the -insults of your family which you have so repeatedly protested you would -never forgive? by inflicting a far greater insult; by ruining my -character; by degrading me in my own eyes; and forcing me either to -violate my word solemnly given to your father, or be looked upon as a -lost and abandoned creature, undone by your inhuman art. I must now, -indeed, seem to _deserve_ your mother's anger, and the scorn of your -sister; and must be supposed every way wretched and contemptible.' - -A shower of tears fell from her eyes, and her heart seemed bursting with -the pain these cruel reflections gave her. - -Delamere, by all the soothing tenderness of persuasion, by all the -rhetoric of ardent passion, tried to subdue her anger, and silence her -scruples; but the more her mind dwelt on the circumstances of her -situation, the more it recoiled from the necessity of entering under -such compulsion into an indissoluble engagement. The rash violence of -the measure which had put her in Delamere's power, while it convinced -her of his passion, yet told her, that a man who would hazard every -thing for his own gratification now, would hardly hereafter submit to -any restraint; and that the bonds in which he was so eager to engage, -would with equal violence be broken, when any new face should make a -new impression, or when time had diminished the influence of those -attractions that now enchanted him. - -Formed of the softer elements, and with a mind calculated for select -friendship and domestic felicity, rather than for the tumult of -fashionable life and the parade of titled magnificence, Emmeline coveted -not his rank, nor valued his riches. No woman perhaps can help having -some regard for a man, who she knows ardently and sincerely loves her; -and Emmeline had felt all that sort of weakness for Delamere; who in the -bloom of life, with fortune, title, person and talents that might have -commanded the loveliest and most affluent daughter of prosperity, had -forsaken every thing for her, and even secluded himself from the -companions of his former pleasures, and the indulgences his fortune and -rank afforded him, to pass his youth in unsuccessful endeavours to -obtain her. - -The partiality this consideration gave her towards him, and the -favourable comparison she was perpetually making between him and the men -she had seen since her residence near London, had created in her bosom a -sentiment warmer perhaps than friendship; yet it was not that violent -love, which carrying every thing before it, leaves the mind no longer at -liberty to see any fault in the beloved object, or any impropriety in -whatever can secure it's success, and which, scorning future -consequences, risks every thing for it's present indulgence. - -Still artless and ingenuous as when she first left the remote castle -where she had been brought up, Emmeline had not been able to conceal -this affection from Delamere. Her eyes, her manner, the circumstance of -the picture, and a thousand nameless inadvertences, had told it him -repeatedly; but now, when he seemed to have taken an ungenerous -advantage of that regard, it lost much of it's force, and resentment and -disdain succeeded. - -Delamere tried to appease her by protestations of inviolable respect, of -eternal esteem, and unalterable love. But there was something of triumph -even in his humblest entreaties, that served but to encrease the anger -Emmeline felt; and she told him that the only way to convince her he had -for her those sentiments he pretended, was to carry her back immediately -to Mrs. Ashwood's, or rather to Lord Montreville, there to acknowledge -the attempt he had made, and that it's failure had been solely owing to -her determined adherence to her word. - -Delamere, presuming on his ascendancy over her, attempted to interest -her passions rather than tranquillize her reason. He represented to her -how great would be her triumph when he presented her as his wife to the -imperious Lady Montreville, who had treated her with so much unmerited -scorn, and set her above the haughty Fanny Delamere, who had insulted -her with fancied superiority. - -But Emmeline had in her breast none of those passions that find their -gratification in humbling an enemy. Too generous for revenge; too gentle -for premeditated resentment; she saw these circumstances in a very -different light, and felt that she should be rather mortified than -elated by being forced into a family who wished to reject her. - -Sir Richard Crofts, the object of Delamere's hatred and detestation, was -the subject of those acrimonious reflections that his respect for his -father and mother prevented his throwing on them. The influence of this -man had, he said, made Lord Montreville deaf to the voice of nature, and -forgetful of his own honour; while he was plunged into the dark and -discreditable labyrinth of political intrigue, and acquired an habit of -subterfuge and duplicity unworthy a nobleman, a gentleman, or a man. - -Emmeline cared nothing about Sir Richard Crofts, and could not enter -into the bitterness of his resentment towards him. Nothing he had yet -been able to urge had shaken her resolution not to become his wife, even -tho' he should oblige her to go with him into Scotland. - -The ruder passions of anger and resentment had no influence over her -mind. While he argued with warmth, or ran into reproaches, Emmeline -found she had nothing to fear. But tho' he could not rouse her pride, or -awaken her dislike against his family, but rather found them recoil on -himself; he hoped in that sensibility of temper and that softness of -heart to which he owed all the attention she had ever shewn him, he -should find a sure resource. In her pity, an advocate for his fault--in -her love, an inducement not only to forgive but to reward him. - -And when he pleaded for compassion and forgiveness, the heart of -Emmeline felt itself no longer invulnerable. But against this dangerous -attack she endeavoured to fortify that sensible heart, by considering -the probable event of her yielding to it. - -'If I marry Delamere contrary to the consent of his family, who shall -assure me that his violent and haughty spirit will bear without anguish -and regret, that inferior and confined fortune to which his father's -displeasure will condemn him? His love, too ardent perhaps to last, will -decline; while the inconveniences of a narrow fortune will encrease; and -I, who shall be the cause of these inconveniences, shall also be the -victim. He will lament the infatuation which has estranged him from his -family, and thrown him, for some years at least, out of the rank in -which he has been used to appear; and recovered from the delirium of -love, will behold with coldness, perhaps with hatred, her to whom he -will impute his distresses. To whom can I then appeal? Not to my _own_ -heart, for it will condemn me for suffering myself to be precipitated -into a measure against my judgment; nor to _his_ family, who may answer, -"thy folly be upon thine own head;" and _I_ have _no_ father, _no_ -brother to console and receive me, if he should drive me from him as -impetuously as now he would force me to be his. I shall be deprived even -of the melancholy consolation of knowing I have not _deserved_ the -neglect which I fear I shall never be able to _bear_. But if my steady -refusal now, induces him to return, it is possible that Lord -Montreville, convinced at once of my adherence to the promise given him, -and of the improbability of Delamere's desisting, may consent to receive -me into his family; or if the inveterate prejudice of his wife still -prevents his doing so, I shall surely regain his confidence and esteem. -He will not refuse to consider me as his brother's daughter, and as -such, he will enable me to pass my days in easy competence with Mrs. -Stafford; a prospect infinitely preferable in my eyes to the splendid -visions offered me by Delamere, if they cannot be realized but at the -expence of truth and integrity.' - -Confirmed in her determination by reflections like these, Emmeline was -able to hear, without betraying any symptoms of the emotion she felt, -the animated and passionate protestations of her lover. She assumed all -the coldness and reserve which his headlong and inconsiderate attempt -deserved. She told him that his want of respect and consideration had -forfeited all the claim he might otherwise have had to her regard and -esteem; that she certainly would quit him the moment she was able; and -that tho' she might not be fortunate enough to do so before they reached -Scotland, yet it would not be in his power to compel her to be his wife. - -Delamere for some time imputed this language to sudden resentment; and -again by the humblest submissions sought to obtain her forgiveness and -to excite her pity. But having nearly exhausted her spirits by what she -had already said, she gave very little reply to his entreaties. Her -silence was however more expressive than her words. She took from him -her hand, as often as he attempted to hold it, and would not suffer him -to wipe away the tears that fell from her eyes; while to his arguments -and persuasions she coldly answered, when she answered at all, '_that -she was determined_:' and they arrived at Barnet before he had obtained -the smallest concession in his favour. - -Delamere had undertaken this enterprize rather in despair, than from any -hope of it's success, since he did not believe Emmeline would come out -to him when he requested it; and had she been either alone, or only with -Mrs. Ashwood, she certainly had not done it. Chance had befriended him -in collecting a room full of company, and still more in sending Rochely -among them. His abrupt approach while she read Delamere's note, had -hurried her out of her usual presence of mind; and Fitz-Edward, whom -mere accident had brought to Mrs. Ashwood's house, and whom she had -taken with her in hopes of his influencing Delamere to return to his -father, had contributed to her involuntary error. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -Delamere had taken no precaution to secure horses on the road; and it -was not till after waiting some hours that he procured four from Barnet. -When they arrived there, it was past one o'clock; and Emmeline, who had -gone thro' a very fatigueing day, and was now overcome with the terror -and alarm of being thus hastily snatched away, could hardly sit up. She -was without an hat; and having no change of cloaths, urged the -inconvenience she must endure by being forced to go a long journey so -situated. She wished to have stopped at the first stage; but Delamere -thought, that in her present temper to hesitate was to lose her. He -consented however to go for a moment into the house, where, while he -gave a servant orders to go on to Hatfield to bespeak four horses, she -drank a glass of water; and then Delamere intreating her to return to -the chaise, she complied, for there was nobody visible at the inn but -the maid and ostler; and she saw no likelihood of any assistance, had -she applied for it. - -They hastened with great expedition to Stevenage; but before they -reached that place, Emmeline, who had ceased either to remonstrate or -complain, was so entirely overwhelmed and exhausted, that she could no -longer support herself. - -His fears for her health now exceeded his fears for losing her, and he -determined to stop for some hours; but when she made an effort to leave -the chaise she was unable, and he was obliged to lift her out of it. He -then ordered the female servants to be called up, recommended her to -their care, and entreated her to go to bed for some hours. - -Long darkness and excessive weeping had almost deprived her of sight; -her whole frame was sinking under the fatigue she had undergone both of -body and mind; and unable to struggle longer against it, she lay down in -her cloaths, desiring one of the maids to sit by her. - -Delamere came to the door of the room to enquire how she did. The woman -told him what she had requested; and desiring they would obey her in -every thing, and keep her as quiet as possible, he went not to repose -himself, but to write to Fitz-Edward. - - - 'Dear George, - - 'While my angelic Emmeline sleeps, I, who am too happy to sleep - myself, write to desire you will go to Berkley-square and keep the - good folks there from exposing themselves, or making a great bustle - about what has happened, which they will soon know. As my Lord has - long been prepossessed with the idea of a Scottish jaunt, it is very - likely he may attempt to pursue us. Say what you will to put such - plans out of his head. I shall be in London again, in a very short - time. Farewell, dear George. - - Your's, ever, - F. D.' - - -Emmeline in the mean time fell into a sleep, but it was broken and -interrupted. Her spirits had been so thoroughly discomposed, that rest -was driven from her. She dozed a moment; then suddenly started up, -forgot where she was, and looked wildly round the room. An half-formed -recollection of the events of the preceding day then seemed to recur, -and she besought the maid who sat by her to go to Mr. Delamere and tell -him she must be directly carried to Mrs. Stafford's; and having said -this, and sighed deeply, she sunk again into short insensibility. - -Thus past the remainder of the night; and before seven in the morning -Delamere was at the door, impatient to know how she had rested. - -The maid admitted him, and told him, in a low voice, that the Lady was -in a quieter sleep than she had been the whole night. He softly -approached the bed, and started in terror when he saw how ill she -looked. Her cheek, robbed of it's bloom, rested on her arm, which -appeared more bloodless than her cheek; her hair, which had been dressed -without powder, had escaped from the form in which it had been adjusted, -and half concealed her face in disordered luxuriance; her lips were -pale, and her respiration short and laborious. He stood gazing on her a -moment, and then, shocked at these symptoms of indisposition, his rapid -imagination immediately magnified them all. He concluded she was dying; -and in an agony of fear, which deprived him of every other idea, he took -up in breathless apprehension her other hand, which lay on the quilt. It -was hot, and dry; and her pulse seemed rather to flutter, than to beat -against his pressure. - -His moving her hand awakened her. She opened her eyes; but they had lost -their lustre, and were turned mournfully towards him. - -'Delamere,' said she, in a low and tremulous voice, 'Delamere, why is -all this? I believe you have destroyed me; my head is so extremely -painful. Oh! Delamere--this is cruel!--very cruel!' - -'Let me go for advice,' cried he, eagerly. 'Wretch that I am, what will -now become of me!' - -He ran down stairs; and Emmeline making an effort to recover her -recollection, tried to sit up; but her head was so giddy and confused -that it was not till after several attempts she left the bed, even with -the assistance of the servant. She then drank a glass of water; and -desiring to have more air, would have gone to the window, but could only -reach a chair near it, where she sat down, and throwing her arm on a -table, rested her head upon it. - -In a few moments Delamere returned up stairs. His wild looks, and quick, -half-formed questions, explained what passed in his mind. - -She told him faintly she was better. - -'Shall I bring up a gentleman to see you who I am assured is able in his -profession? I fear you are very ill.' - -She answered, 'no!' - -'Pray suffer him to come; he will give you something to relieve your -head.' - -'No!' - -'Do not, Emmeline--do not, I conjure you, refuse me this favour?' - -He took her hand; but when he found how feverish she was, he started -away, crying--'Oh! let him, let him come!' - -He ran down stairs to fetch him, and returned instantly with the -apothecary; a sensible, well-behaved man, of fifty, whose appearance -indicated feeling and judgement. He approached Emmeline, who still sat -with her head reclined on the table, and felt her pulse. - -'Here is too much fever indeed, Sir,' said he; 'the young lady has been -greatly hurried.' - -'But what--what is to be done, Sir?' said Delamere, eagerly interrupting -him. - -'Quiet seems absolutely necessary. Pardon me, Sir; but unless I know -your situation in regard to her, I cannot possibly advise.' - -'Sir,' said Emmeline, who had been silent rather from inability to -contend than from unconsciousness of what was passing round her--'if you -could prevail with Mr. Delamere to restore me to my friends'-- - -'Come with me, Sir,' cried Delamere; 'let me speak to you in another -room.' - -When they were alone, he conjured Mr. Lawson to tell him what he thought -of the lady? - -'Upon my word, Sir, she is in a very high fever, and it seems to be -occasioned by extreme perturbation of spirits and great fatigue. -Forgive, Sir, if I ask what particular circumstance has been the cause -of the uneasiness under which she appears to labour? If it is any little -love quarrel you cannot too soon adjust it.' - -Delamere stopped his conjectures, by telling him who he was; and gave -him in a few words the history of their expedition. - -Mr. Lawson protested to him that if she was hurried on in her present -state, it would be surprising if she survived the journey. - -'She shall stay here then,' replied Delamere, 'till she recovers her -fatigue.' - -'But, Sir,' enquired Mr. Lawson, 'after what you have told me of your -father, have you no apprehension of a pursuit?' - -His terror at Emmeline's immediate danger had obliterated for a moment -every other fear. It now recurred with redoubled violence. He remembered -that Rochely was at Mrs. Ashwood's on the evening of Emmeline's -departure; and he knew that from him Sir Richard Crofts, and -consequently Lord Montreville, would have immediate intelligence. - -He struck his hands together, exclaiming, 'She will be every way -lost!--lost irretrievably! If my father overtakes us, she will return -with him, and I shall see her no more!' - -He now gave way to such unbounded passion, walking about the room, and -striking his forehead, that Lawson began to believe his intellects were -as much deranged as the frame of the fair sufferer he had left. For some -moments he attended to nothing; but Mr. Lawson, accustomed to make -allowances for the diseases of the mind as well as those of the body, -did not lose his patience; and at length persuaded him to be calmer, by -representing that he wasted in fruitless exclamation the time which -might be employed in providing against the apprehended evil. - -'Good God! Sir,' cried he at length, 'what would you have me do?' - -'What I would earnestly recommend, Sir, is, that you quiet the young -lady's mind by telling her you will carry her whither she desires to go; -and at present desist from this journey, which I really believe you -cannot prosecute but at the hazard of her life; at present, farther -agitation may, and probably will be fatal.' - -'And so you advise me to let her stay till my father comes to tear her -from me for ever! or carry her back by the same road, where it is -probable he will meet me? Impossible! impossible!--but is she really so -very ill?' - -'Upon my life she is at this moment in a high fever. Why should I -deceive you? Trust me, it would in my opinion be the height of -inhumanity to carry her into Scotland in such a situation, _if_ you love -her'---- - -'_If_ I love her, Sir!' cried Delamere, half frantic--'talk not of _if_ -I love her! Merciful heaven!--you have no idea, Mr. Lawson, of what I -suffer at this moment!' - -'I have a perfect idea of your distress, Sir; and wish I knew how to -relieve it. Give me a moment's time to consider; if indeed the young -lady could'-- - -'What, Sir? speak!--think of something!' - -'Why I was thinking, that if she is better in a few hours, it might be -possible for you to take her to Hertford, where she may remain a day or -two, till she is able to go farther. There you would be no longer in -danger of pursuit; and if she should grow worse, which when her mind is -easier I hope will not happen, you will have excellent advice. Perhaps, -when the hurry of her spirits subsides, she may, since this _has_ -happened, consent to pursue the journey to the North; or if not, you can -from thence carry her to the friends she is so desirous of being with, -and avoid the risk of meeting on the road those you are so anxious to -shun.' - -Tho' Delamere could not think, without extreme reluctance, of -relinquishing a scheme in which he had thought himself secure of -success; yet, as there was no alternative but what would be so hazardous -to the health of Emmeline, he was compelled to accede to any which had a -probability of restoring it without putting her into the hands of his -father. - -Mr. Lawson told him it was only fifteen miles from Stevenage to -Hertford--'But how,' said he, 'will you, Sir, prevent your father's -following you thither, if he should learn at this place that you are -gone there?' - -Delamere was wholly at a loss. But Mr. Lawson, who seemed to be sent by -his good genius, said--'We must get you from hence immediately, if Miss -Mowbray is able to go. You shall pass here as my visitors. You shall -directly go to my house, and there be supplied with horses from another -inn. This will at least make it more difficult to trace your route; and -if any enquiry should be made of me, I shall know what to say.' - -Delamere, catching at any thing that promised to secure Emmeline from -the pursuit of Lord Montreville, went to her to enquire whether she was -well enough to walk to Mr. Lawson's house. - -He found her trying to adjust her hair; but her hands trembled so much, -it was with difficulty she could do it. He desired her to dismiss the -maid who was in the room; then throwing himself on his knees before her, -and taking her burning hands in his, he said--'Arbitress of my -destiny--my Emmeline! thou for whom only I exist! be tranquil--I beseech -you be tranquil! Since you determine to abide by your cruel resolution, -I will not, I dare not persist in asking you to break it. No, Emmeline! -I come only to entreat that you would quiet your too delicate mind; and -dispose of _me_ as you please. Since you cannot resolve to be mine now, -I will learn to submit--I will try to bear any thing but the seeing you -unhappy, or losing you entirely! Tell me only that you pardon what is -past, and you shall go to Mrs. Stafford's, or whithersoever you will.' - -Emmeline beheld and heard him with astonishment. But at length -comprehending that he repented of his wild attempt, and would go back, -she said hastily, as she arose from her chair--'Let us go, then, -Delamere; let us instantly go. Thank God, your heart is changed! but -every hour I continue with you, is an additional wound to my character -and my peace.' - -She attempted to reach her cloak, but could not; her strength forsook -her; her head became more giddy; she staggered, and would have fallen, -had not Delamere caught her in his arms, and supported her to the chair -she had left. - -'Hurry not yourself thus, my Emmeline,' cried he; 'in mercy to me try to -compose yourself, and spare me the sight of all this terror, for which -believe me you have no reason.' - -He sat down by her; and drawing her gently towards him, her languid head -reposed on his shoulder, and he contemplated, in silent anguish, the -ravage which only a few hours severe anxiety had made on that beauteous -and expressive countenance. - -He called to the maid, who waited in the next room, and desired her to -send up Mr. Lawson; before whose entrance a shower of tears, the first -she had shed for some hours, a little relieved the full heart of -Emmeline. - -Mr. Lawson desired Delamere would not check her tears; and in a friendly -and consolatory manner told her what Delamere proposed to do. Emmeline, -after this explanation, was still more anxious to depart; but Mr. Lawson -greatly doubted whether she was able. - -'I can walk, indeed I can,' said she, 'if you will each lend me an arm.' - -Mr. Lawson then gave her a few drops in a glass of water, which seemed -to revive her; and Delamere wrapping her carefully in her cloak, they -led her between them to a neat brick house in the town, where Mrs. -Lawson, a matron-like and well-behaved woman, and her daughter, a -genteel girl of twenty, who had been apprized of Emmeline's situation, -received her with great kindness and respect. - -Breakfast was prepared for her, but she could eat nothing. The heaviness -of her eyes, her pallid countenance, and the tenseness across her -temples, seemed to threaten the most alarming consequences. Mrs. Lawson -endeavoured to persuade her to go to bed; but her eagerness to be gone -from thence was so great, that she evidently encreased the difficulty by -endeavouring to surmount it. She had indeed considered, that if Lord -Montreville overtook them, which was not only possible but probable, all -the merit of her conduct would be lost.--She would appear to be carried -back, not by her strict adherence to her promise, but by the authority -of his Lordship; and instead of the pride and credit of a laudable and -virtuous action, would be liable to bear all the imputation of -intentional guilt. This reflection, added to the sense she could not -fail to have of her improper situation in being so long alone with -Delamere under the appearance of having voluntarily gone off with him, -made her so impatient to be gone, that she declined any repose however -necessary; and Mr. Lawson thought there was less to be feared from -indulging than from opposing her. - -Lawson therefore went himself to hasten the horses; and while he was -absent, Emmeline, who remained with his wife, expressed so much fear -that Delamere might alter his intentions of returning, and so much -uneasiness at the thoughts of being seen at another inn, in the -disordered dress she now wore, with a young man of Delamere's -appearance, that Mrs. Lawson was truly concerned for her, and -communicated to Delamere the source of the extreme anxiety she appeared -to suffer. - -He came to her; and she gently reproached him for all the inconvenience -and uneasiness he had brought upon her. Her soft complaints, and the -distress pictured on her speaking face, he felt with a degree of anguish -and self-reproach that made him happy to agree to a plan proposed by -Mrs. Lawson, which was, that she should be accommodated with cloaths of -Miss Lawson's, and that Miss Lawson herself should accompany her to -Hertford. - -This latter offer, Emmeline eagerly accepted; and Delamere, who saw how -much it soothed and relieved her, did not object to it. She was -therefore immediately equipped with a morning dress, and her agitation -of mind seemed to subside; but changing her cloaths, trifling as the -exertion was, fatigued her so much, that Mr. Lawson on his return looked -very grave; and Delamere, who watched his looks as if his existence -depended upon his opinion, was wild with apprehension. The chaises (for -Delamere had ordered one for himself, that the ladies might suffer no -inconvenience by being crouded) were ready, and Lawson recollecting that -Emmeline would require a more quiet situation than an inn could afford, -told her that he had a sister at Hertford who would receive her with -pleasure, and accommodate her at her house as long as she would -stay--'And remember,' added he, 'that Lissy is to continue with you till -you leave Hertford.' - -Emmeline, extremely sensible of all she owed to this excellent man, -could only sigh her thanks; and to shorten them, Mr. Lawson put her and -his daughter into the travelling chaise which Delamere had bought for -this expedition. Delamere followed in another; and between one and two -o'clock they arrived at Hertford, and were set down at the door of an -elegant house; where Mrs. Champness, the wife of a man of fortune, -received her niece with great affection; and having heard in another -room the history of the young lady she had with her, immediately gave -orders to have a bed-chamber prepared, and shewed the utmost solicitude -for her accommodation. - -Delamere, seeing her so well situated for the night, and happy to find -she bore her short journey with less increase of fatigue than he -apprehended, consented at her request to leave her, and went to the inn, -where he dined, and soon afterwards returned to enquire after her. - -Miss Lawson came down to him, and told him Miss Mowbray was in bed, and -had taken a medicine Mr. Lawson had sent to compose her; but that it was -yet impossible to say much of her situation. She told him he must by no -means attempt to see her for the remaining part of the day, and begged -he would himself try to take some repose: to which salutary advice -Delamere at length consented; his haggard looks and exhausted spirits -sufficiently testifying how much he wanted it. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -The evening on which Emmeline had been so suddenly missing from the -house of Mrs. Ashwood, Rochely had left it in as much anguish as his -nature was capable of feeling. - -He had not for many years so seriously thought of matrimony as since he -had seen Miss Mowbray. Her beauty first attracted him: the natural -civility of her manner was by him, who had frequently met only contempt -and derision from the young and beautiful, construed into encouragement; -and though his hopes had been greatly damped by his knowledge of -Delamere's attachment to her, yet they were almost as quickly revived by -the great encouragement to persevere, which he had received from Lord -Montreville. He fancied that the barriers between her and Delamere being -insurmountable, she could not fail of being dazzled by so splendid a -fortune as he could himself offer her. That evening, she looked more -than usually lovely, and he determined with new ardour to pursue her. -But her disappearance put an end to all his brilliant visions; and -convinced him that his wealth, on which he had so long been accustomed -to value himself, had failed of procuring him the favour of the only -woman with whom he was disposed to share it. He was too well convinced -that Delamere had carried her off: and though deprived of all hope for -himself, he was too angry at the good fortune of his rival to forbear an -attempt to disturb him in it's possession. He drove therefore from -Clapham to the house of Sir Richard Crofts, where he had the -mortification of hearing that Sir Richard was gone with Lord Montreville -to the country house of Lord Dornock, and was not expected to return -'till the next day. - -Rochely, aware that the only possible chance of preventing Delamere's -marriage was by an immediate pursuit, was greatly chagrined at this -unavoidable delay. He sat down, however, and with his usual laboured -precision wrote to Sir Richard Crofts, informing him of what had -happened. This was the operation of near an hour; and he then sent off a -man on horseback with it, who arriving at Lord Dornock's about three in -the morning, roused the family with some difficulty, and delivered to -Sir Richard the intelligence, which was immediately conveyed to Lord -Montreville; who having read Mr. Rochely's letter, could not flatter -himself with any hope that this alarm might be as groundless as one he -had before had on the same subject. - -The disobedience of his son; the broken faith of Emmeline; and the rage, -complaints, and reproaches of Lady Montreville, all arose together in -his imagination; and anger, vexation, and regret, took possession of his -heart. - -He had recourse in this, as in all other emergences, to Sir Richard -Crofts, who advised him immediately to pursue them. - -As soon therefore as the sleeping servants could be collected, and the -carriage prepared, his Lordship and Sir Richard set out for London -together.--Lord Montreville determining to follow the fugitives as -expeditiously as possible, though he hoped but little success from the -pursuit. - -Such was his apprehension of the clamours and passions of his wife, that -he could not determine to see her 'till he had at least done all that -was possible to recover her son. He therefore wrote to her a short -letter, stating briefly what had happened, and giving her hopes that he -should be able to overtake the parties before they were married. This he -ordered to be delivered to her in the morning; and directed his servant -to hasten to him with his travelling chaise and four post horses. - -The man, however, who had the care of the carriages, believing his Lord -would stay out all night, had gone out also, and taken with him the -keys. - -By this delay, and the blunders of the affrighted servants, who in their -haste only impeded each other, it was near nine o'clock before his -Lordship and Sir Richard left London. At Barnet, they heard of the -fugitives, and easily traced them from thence to Hatfield; after which -believing all farther enquiries useless, they passed through Stevenage -(having sent on before for horses,) without asking any questions which -might have led them to discover that Delamere and Emmeline had gone from -thence towards Hertford only an hour and an half before their arrival. - -This was fortunate for the pursued; for an enquiry would probably have -led to questions which Mr. Lawson would have found it very difficult to -evade. - -Lord Montreville, however, and Sir Richard, hurried on to Buckden; where -being obliged to get out for some refreshment for themselves and their -servants, his Lordship renewed the question--'At what time did a young -gentleman and lady' (describing Delamere and Emmeline) 'pass by?' - -The people told him they remembered no such persons about the time he -named. - -Lord Montreville then applied at the other houses, and made several -other enquiries; but received only a general assertion that no such -persons had been that way within the last four and twenty hours, or even -within a week. - -Sir Richard Crofts, who piqued himself upon his sagacity, told his -Lordship that stupidity, the love of falsehood, or Delamere's bribes, -might occasion this failure of intelligence; but there could be no doubt -of their being gratified with better information when they got to -Stilton. To Stilton therefore they went, but heard exactly the same -answers as they had done at the last stage. - -Sir Richard was now again to seek for some plausible conjecture that -might quiet the apprehensive anxiety of Lord Montreville, who guessed -and dreaded he knew not what. - -He now said, that as there could be no doubt of the young people's -having gone _towards_ Scotland, from the information they had obtained -at Barnet and Hatfield, it was most likely that in the apprehension of a -pursuit they had afterwards quitted the high road, and were advancing to -the borders of Scotland across the country, which must considerably -lengthen and impede their journey; therefore if they themselves -proceeded directly to the town where these marriages are usually -celebrated, the probability was that they should arrive before Delamere -and Miss Mowbray; and by such a circumstance the connection would be as -effectually prevented as it could be by their overtaking them on the -road. - -Lord Montreville, despairing of being able by any means to obstruct a -marriage on which his son seemed to be so determined, and harrassed in -mind as much as he was fatigued in body, suffered himself to be carried -forward merely through inability to determine what he could do better; -and though quite hopeless of it's success, pursued his journey. - -The innocent cause of all this trouble and anxiety remained in the mean -time at the hospitable house of Mrs. Champness; where Miss Lawson -attended her with all possible kindness and solicitude. It was indeed -impossible to be with her without loving her; unless to an heart -insensible, like that of Mrs. Ashwood, to all but her own ideal -perfections; or steeled by pride, like that of Lady Montreville. - -A night passed in quiet sleep had greatly restored her; and her fever, -though not gone, was considerably abated. Every noise, however trifling, -still made her start; her nerves were by no means restored to their -tone, and her spirits continued to be greatly affected. The idea which -seemed to press most painfully on her mind, was the blemish which the -purity of her character must sustain by her being so long absent with -Delamere--a blemish which she knew could hardly ever be removed but by -her returning as his wife. - -But to break her promise to Lord Montreville; a promise so solemnly -given; and to be compelled into a marriage which, however advantageous -and fortunate it would appear under other circumstances, would now bring -with it a severe alloy of mortification in the displeasure of his -family; was a measure which she could not determine to pursue. - -Her resentment towards Delamere for what was passed was not yet enough -subdued by his reluctant repentance, to reconcile her to the thoughts of -putting herself again into his power. Yet she could not suppose he would -suffer her to return to London alone, if she had courage to attempt it; -or was she sure that when there, Mrs. Ashwood would receive her. - -These reflections made her so restless and uneasy that she could not -conceal their source from Miss Lawson; who, tho' possessed of a very -good understanding, was too young and too little acquainted with the -world to be able to advise her. - -The handsome person and high rank of Delamere, and his violent love and -concern for Emmeline, made her suppose it impossible that she could help -returning it, or be long able to resist his importunity. She concluded -therefore that finally it would be a match; and was impressed with a -sentiment that amounted almost to veneration for Miss Mowbray, whom she -considered as a prodigy of female virtue and resolution. - -Delamere had been several times to speak to Miss Lawson; and he had -pleaded the violence of his passion with so much effect, that the -soft-hearted girl became his warm advocate with Emmeline, and -represented his tenderness and his contrition, 'till she consented (as -she was now able to sit up) to admit him. - -On his entrance, he said something, he hardly knew what, to Emmeline. -She held out her hand to him in token of forgiveness. He seized it -eagerly, and pressed it to his heart, while he gazed on her face as if -to enquire there what passed in hers. - -'Remember, Delamere,' said she, 'remember I am content to forgive your -late rash and absurd attempt, only on condition of your giving me the -most positive assurance that you will carry me directly to Mrs. -Stafford's, and there leave me.' - -Hard as these terms appeared, after the hopes he had entertained on -undertaking the journey, he was forced to submit; but it was evidently -with reluctance. - -'I do promise then,' said he, 'to take you to Mrs. Stafford's; but'---- - -'But what?' asked Emmeline. - -'Do you not mean, when you are there, to exclude me for ever?--Mrs. -Stafford is no friend of mine.' - -'I have already told you, Mr. Delamere, that I will see you wherever I -am, under certain restrictions: and tho' your late conduct might, and -indeed ought to induce me to withdraw that promise, yet I now repeat it. -But do not believe that I will therefore be persecuted as I have been; -recollect that I have already been driven from Mowbray Castle, from -Swansea, and from Mrs. Ashwood's, wholly on your account.' - -'Your remedy, my Emmeline, is, to consent to inhabit a house of your -own, and suffer me to be the first of your servants.' - -The varying colour of her complexion, to which the emotions of her mind -restored for a moment the faint tints of returning health, made Delamere -hope that her resolution was shaken; and seizing with his usual -vehemence on an idea so flattering, he was instantly on his knees before -her imploring her consent to prosecute their journey, and intreating -Miss Lawson's assistance, to move her inexorable friend. - -Emmeline was too weak to bear an address of this sort. The feebleness of -her frame ill seconded the resolution of her mind; which, -notwithstanding the struggles of pity and regard for Delamere, which she -could not entirely silence, was immoveably determined. Rallying -therefore her spirits, and summoning her fortitude to answer him, she -said--'How _can_ you, Sir, solicit a woman, whom you wish to make your -wife, to break a promise so solemn as that I have given to your father? -Could you hereafter have any dependance on one, who holds her integrity -so lightly? and should you not with great reason suspect that with her, -falsehood and deception might become habitual?' - -'Not at all,' answered Delamere. 'Your promise to my father is nugatory; -for it ought never to have been given. He took an unfair advantage of -your candour and your timidity; and all that you said ought not to bind -_you_; since it was extorted from you by _him_ who had no right to make -such conditions.' - -'What! has a father no right to decide to whom he will entrust the -happiness of his son, and the honour of his posterity? Alas! Delamere, -you argue against yourself; you only convince me that I ought not to put -the whole happiness of my life into the hands of a man, who will so -readily break thro' his first duties. The same impatient, pardon me, if -I say the same selfish spirit, which now urges you to set paternal -authority at defiance, will perhaps hereafter impel you, with as little -difficulty, to quit a wife of whom you may be weary, for any other -person whom caprice or novelty may dress in the perfections you now -fancy I possess. Ah! Delamere! shall I have a right to expect tenderness -and faith from a man whom I have assisted in making his parents unhappy; -and who has by my means embittered the evening of their lives to whom he -owes his own? Do you think that a rebellious and unfeeling son is likely -to make a good husband, a good father?' - -'Death and madness!' cried Delamere, relapsing into all the violence of -his nature--'what do you mean by all this! Selfish! rebellious! -unfeeling!--am I then _so_ worthless, _so_ detestable in your eyes?' - -His extravagant expressions of passion always terrified Emmeline; but -the paroxysm to which he now yielded, alarmed her less than it did Miss -Lawson, who never having seen such frantic behaviour before, thought him -really mad. She tremblingly besought him to sit down and be calm; while -the pale countenance of Emmeline which she shewed him, convinced him he -must subdue the violence of his transports, or hazard seeing her relapse -into that alarming state which had forced him to relinquish his project. -This observation restored his senses for a moment.--He besought her -pardon, with tears; then again cursed his own folly, and seemed on the -point of renouncing the contrition he had just assured her he felt. The -scene lasted till Emmeline, quite overcome with it, grew so faint that -she said she must go to bed; and then Delamere, again terrified at an -idea which he had forgot but the moment before, consented to retire if -she would again repeat her forgiveness. - -She gave him her hand languidly, and in silence. He kissed it; and half -in resentment, half in sorrow, left her, and returned to the inn, in a -humour which equally unfitted him for society or solitude. Obliged, -however, to remain in the latter, he brooded gloomily over his -disappointment; and believing Emmeline's life no longer in danger, he -fancied that his fears had magnified her illness. He again deprecated -his folly for having consented to relinquish the prosecution of his -journey, and for having agreed to carry her where he feared access to -her would be rendered rare and difficult, by the inflexible prudence and -watchful friendship of Mrs. Stafford. Sometimes he formed vague projects -to deceive her, and carry her again towards Scotland; then relinquished -them and formed others. He passed the night however nearly without -sleep, and the morning found him still irresolute. - -At eight o'clock, he went to the house of Mrs. Champness; and Miss -Lawson came down to him, but with a countenance in which uneasiness was -so visible, that Delamere was almost afraid of asking how Miss Mowbray -did. - -She told him that she had passed a restless and uncomfortable night, and -that the conversation he had held the evening before had been the cause -of an access of fever quite as high as the first attack; and, that tho' -she tried to conquer her weakness, and affected ability to prosecute a -journey for which she hourly grew more eager, it was easy to see that -she was as unfit for it as ever. Miss Lawson added, that if in a few -hours she was not better, she should send to Mr. Lawson to come from -Stevenage to see her. This account renewed with extreme violence all the -former terrors of Delamere, which a few hours before he had been trying -to persuade himself were groundless. - -He now reproached himself for his thoughtless cruelty; and Miss Lawson -seized this opportunity to exhort him to be more cautious for the -future, which he readily and warmly protested he would be. He promised -never again to give way to such extravagant transports, and pressed to -be admitted to see Emmeline; but Miss Lawson would by no means suffer -him to see her 'till she was more recovered from the effects of his -frenzy. - -In the afternoon, he was allowed to drink tea in Emmeline's room, and -expressed his sincere concern for his indiscretion of the evening -before. He tried, by shewing a disposition to comply with all her -wishes, to obliterate the memory of his former indiscretion. Emmeline -was willing to forget the offence, and pardon the offender, on his -renewing his promise to take her the next day towards London, on her -route into Dorsetshire; if she should be well enough to undertake the -journey. - -The spirit and fortitude of Emmeline, fatal as they were to his hopes, -commanded the respect, esteem, and almost the adoration of Delamere; -while her gentleness and kindness oppressed his heart with fondness so -extreme, that he was equally undone by the one and the other, and felt -that it every hour became more and more impossible for him to live -without her. - -It was agreed, that as it would be impossible to reach Woodfield from -Hertford, without stopping one night on the road, they would proceed -thro' London to Staines the first day, and from thence go on early the -next to the house of Mrs. Stafford. - -After lingering with her as long as he could, Delamere took his leave -for the evening, determined to observe the promises he had made her, and -never again to attempt to obtain her but by her own consent. When he -made these resolves, he really intended to adhere to them; and was -confirmed in his good resolutions when he the next morning found her -ready to trust herself with him, calm, chearful, full of confidence in -his promises, and of gentleness and kindness towards him. - -Emmeline took an affectionate leave of her amiable acquaintance, Miss -Lawson, whose uncommon kindness, on so short a knowledge of her, filled -her heart with gratitude. She promised to write to her as soon as she -got to Woodfield, and to return the cloaths she had borrowed, to which -she secretly purposed adding some present, to testify her sense of the -civilities she had received. - -Delamere enclosed, in a letter which he sent by Miss Lawson to her -father, a bank note, as an acknowledgment of his extraordinary kindness. - -They quickly arrived in London; and as Emmeline still remained in the -resolution of avoiding a return to Mrs. Ashwood, they changed horses in -Piccadilly to go on. - -Tho' by going to her former residence she might have escaped a longer -continuation, and farther journey, with Delamere, of the impropriety of -which she was very sensible; yet she declined it, because she knew that -as her adventure might be explained several ways, Mrs. Ashwood and Miss -Galton were very likely to put on it the construction least in her -favour; and she was very unwilling to be exposed to their questions and -comments, till she could, in concert with Mrs. Stafford, and with her -advice, give such an account of the affair as would put it out of their -power to indulge that malignity of remark at her expence of which she -knew they were capable. - -She therefore dispatched a servant to Mrs. Ashwood with a note for her -cloaths, whom Delamere directed to rejoin them at Staines. - -At that place they arrived early in the evening; and Emmeline, to whom -Delamere had behaved with the utmost tenderness and respect, bore her -journey without suffering any other inconvenience than some remaining -languor, which was now more visible in her looks than in her spirits. -Charmed with the thoughts of so soon seeing Mrs. Stafford, and feeling -all that delight which a consciousness of rectitude inspires, she was -more than usually chearful, and conversed with Delamere with all that -enchanting frankness and sweetness which made her general conversation -so desireable. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - - -As they had an hour or two on their hands, which Emmeline wished to -employ in something that might prevent Delamere from entertaining her on -the only subject he was ever willing to talk of when they were together, -she desired him to enquire for a book. He went out, and returned with -some volumes of novels, which he had borrowed of the landlord's -daughter; of which Emmeline read in some a page, and in others a -chapter, but found nothing in any, that tempted her to go regularly -through the whole. - -While she was reading, Delamere, equally unable to occupy himself with -any other object whether she was absent or present, sat looking at her -over the table which was between them. After some time passed in this -manner, their supper was brought in, and common conversation took place -while it was passing. When it was removed, Emmeline returned again to -the books, and took up one she had not before opened.--It was the -second volume of the Sorrows of Werter. She laid it down again with a -smile, saying--'That will not do for me to-night.' - -'What is it?' cried Delamere, taking it from her.--'O, I have read -it--and if _you_ have, Emmeline, you might have learned the danger of -trifling with violent and incurable passions. Tell me--could you ever be -reconciled to yourself if you should be the cause of a catastrophe -equally fatal?' - -Still meaning to turn the conversation, she answered gaily--'O, I fancy -there is very little danger of that--you know the value of your -existence too well to throw it inconsiderately away.' - -'Do not be too certain of that, Emmeline. Without you, my life is no -longer valuable--if indeed it be supportable; and should I ever be in -the situation this melancholy tale describes, how do I know that my -reason would be strong enough to preserve me from equal rashness. -Beware, Miss Mowbray--beware of the consequence of finding an Albert at -Woodfield.' - -'It is very unlikely I should find any lover there. I assure you I -desire none; nor have I any other wish than to pass the remainder of the -winter tranquilly with my friend.' - -'If then you really never wish to encourage another, and if you have any -sensibility for the pain I feel from uncertainty, why will you not -solemnly engage yourself to me, by a promise which cannot be broken but -by mutual consent?' - -'Because we are both too young to form such an engagement.--You are not -yet quite one and twenty; a time of life in which it is impossible you -can be a competent judge of what will make you really happy. I am more -than two years younger: but short as has been my knowledge of the world, -I have already seen two or three instances of marriages made in -consequence of early engagements, which have proved so little fortunate -that they have determined me never to try the experiment. Should you -bind yourself by this promise, which you now think would make you easy, -and should you hereafter repent it, which I know to be far from -improbable, pride, obstinacy, the shame of retracting your opinion, -would perhaps concur to prevent your withdrawing it; and I should -receive your hand while your heart might be attached to another. The -chains which you had yourself put on, in opposition to the wishes of -your family, you would, rather than own your error, rivet, tho' your -inclination prompted you to break them; and we should then be both -miserable.--No, Delamere--let us remain at liberty, and perhaps----' - -'It is impossible, Madam!' cried Delamere, suddenly and vehemently -interrupting her--'It is absolutely impossible you could argue thus -calmly, if you had any regard for me--Cold--cruel--insensible--unfeeling -girl! Oh! fool, fool that I am, to persist in loving a woman without an -heart, and to be unable to tear from my soul a passion that serves only -to make me perpetually wretched. Cursed be the hour I first indulged it, -and cursed the weakness of mind that cannot conquer it!' - -This new instance of ungovernable temper, so contrary to the promises he -had given her at Hertford, extremely provoked Emmeline, who answered -very gravely-- - -'If you desire, Sir, to divest yourself of this unfortunate passion, the -task is already half accomplished. Resolve, then, to conquer it wholly: -restore me to that tranquillity you have destroyed--vindicate my injured -reputation, which your headlong ardour has blemished--give me back to -the kindness and protection of your father--and determine to see me no -more.' - -This spirited and severe answer, immediately convinced Delamere he had -gone too far. He had never before seen Emmeline so much piqued, and he -hastened to appease her. - -'Pardon me!--forgive me, Emmeline! I am not master of myself when I -think of losing you! But you, who feel not any portion of the flame that -devours me, can coolly argue, while my heart is torn in pieces; and -deign not even to make any allowance for the unguarded sallies of -unconquerable passion!--the phrenzy of almost hopeless love! Sometimes, -when I think your coldness arises from determined and insurmountable -indifference--perhaps from dislike--despair and fury possess me. Would -you but say that you will live only for me--would you only promise that -no future Rochely, none of the people you have seen or may see, shall -influence you to forget me--I should, I think, be easier!' - -'You have a better opinion of yourself, Mr. Delamere,' answered -Emmeline, calmly, 'than to believe it probable. But be that as it may, I -have told you that I will neither make or receive any promises of the -nature you require. I have already suffered too much from your -extravagant passion to put it farther in your power to distress me. But -I shall be better able to reassume this conversation to-morrow--to-night -I am fatigued; and it is time for us to separate.' - -'And will you leave me, then, Emmeline?--leave me too in anger?' - -'I am not angry, Mr. Delamere--here is my hand.' - -'This hand,' exclaimed he, eagerly grasping it, 'which ought to have -been mine!--Now, even now, that you are about to tear yourself from me, -it should have been mine for ever! But I have relinquished my prize at -the moment I might have secured it; and if I lose it entirely my own -folly only will be the cause.' - -'These violent transports may terrify me, but shall not alter my -determination. Quit my hand, Mr. Delamere,' continued she, struggling to -disengage it--'I will not be detained.' - -She rang the bell; and the waiter almost instantly entering, she took a -candle and went to the apartment prepared for her: while Delamere, vexed -to have commanded himself so little, and to be so unable to adhere to -the good resolutions he had made, dared not attempt to prevent her. - -He had now again to make his peace, but would not venture to take any -steps towards it that night; and he retired to his own room, considering -how he might remain near her after she got into Dorsetshire, and -dreading the hour of even a temporary separation. - -The next morning Emmeline, impatient to be gone, dressed herself early; -and just as she was about to go down to hasten their breakfast and -departure, she saw, from a window that looked into the yard of the inn, -a phaeton and four enter it, remarkable for the profusion of expensive -and ill-fancied ornaments with which both the carriage and harness were -covered. In it were two gentlemen wrapped in great coats, as the weather -was very severe; on whom Emmeline casting a transient glance, discovered -that one of them was Elkerton. - -She was a good deal alarmed at his arrival: for she had reason to fear, -that this man, to whom she had a decided aversion, would see her, and -know that she was travelling alone with Delamere. She saw him get out, -and give directions for putting up his horses, telling the people who -came out to attend him that he should breakfast and stay there some -hours. - -Since his unfortunate _rencontre_ with Delamere at Mrs. Ashwood's, he -had almost entirely relinquished the pursuit of Emmeline. He had never -been able to shake off the ridicule his vanity had brought upon him, and -therefore had forborne to enter the circle where it had happened. He -had, however, seen Miss Mowbray once or twice in public, and she had -been too generally admired not to interest his pride in keeping up the -acquaintance, tho' she treated him always with coldness, and found it -difficult to be barely civil. She knew that he was severely mortified by -her indifference, and that in matters of scandal and gossiping no old -woman could be a greater adept. When therefore personal pique was added -to his natural love of anecdote, Emmeline apprehended so much from him, -that she determined, if possible, to escape his sight. - -To do this, however, was very difficult. She saw him and his companion -take possession of a room that had windows looking into the yard through -which she must of necessity pass, and where, when the post-chaise drew -up, they must see whoever got into it. She wrapped herself up in her -cloak, pulled her hat over her eyes, and holding up her handkerchief as -if to guard her face from the cold, she passed unobserved to the room -where Delamere was waiting breakfast. - -The remembrance of his last night's behaviour was in some measure -obliterated by the alarm she had felt at the sight of Elkerton. Delamere -looked melancholy and dejected. Emmeline speaking to him with her usual -sweetness, seemed to have forgotten the offence he had given her, and -tried to restore his good humour as if she had been the aggressor: but -he continued gloomy and pensive. - -They began their breakfast, and conversed on different subjects. - -'Did you observe,' said Emmeline, 'the phaeton which drove in just now?' - -'No--what was there remarkable about it?' - -'Nothing, but that one of the persons it contained was Elkerton, the -poor man you made so absurd at Mrs. Ashwood's, when he boasted of -knowing you. I hope I shall get away without his seeing me--I should -extremely dislike meeting him.' - -'Stupid dog!--why should you care whether you meet him or no?' - -'Because he must think it so strange that I am here with you.' - -'Let him--Of what consequence is it to us what such a puppy thinks? I -cannot possibly care about it.' - -'But _I_ do, Mr. Delamere,' said Emmeline, somewhat gravely.--'You will -recollect that I may be very much injured by the scandal such a man may -circulate.' - -'Well, well, my dear Emmeline--we will set out directly, and you will -not meet him.--I will order the chaise.' - -He went out for that purpose as soon as their breakfast ended; but a few -paces from the door was accosted by Elkerton, who feeling himself in -point of figure equal to speak to any man, addressed him with all the -confident familiarity of an old acquaintance. - -'Sir, your most obedient humble servant.' - -'Your servant, Sir;' replied Delamere, brushing by him. - -'Sir, I hope you, and my Lord and Lady Montreville, have been well since -I had last the honour of seeing you?' - -'Since you oblige me, Sir, to acknowledge the acquaintance, I must -remind you that our last meeting was attended with some circumstances -which should make you not very desirous of recollecting it.' - -'Oh, dear! very far from not wishing to remember it, I am always pleased -with such agreeable badinage from my friends, and some how or other -contrive to be even with them. Prithee, dear boy, whither are you -going?--perhaps we are travelling the same road?' - -'I hope not,' said Delamere, turning from him, and advancing towards the -bar. - -Elkerton, unabashed, followed him. - -'If we are,' continued he, 'I think you shall take me into your -post-chaise. I am going to pass a month with a friend in Hampshire; and -Jackman, who loves driving, tho' he knows nothing of the matter, -persuaded me to use an open carriage; but it is so cold, that I believe -I shall let him enjoy it alone the rest of the way. Suppose we go -together, if your destination is the Winchester road?' - -Delamere was so provoked at this forwardness, that he found he should be -unable to give a moderate answer.--He therefore turned away without -giving any. - -'Pray, Sir,' said the bar maid to Elkerton, 'who is that young -gentleman?' - -'Lord Montreville's son,' replied he; 'and one of the strangest fellows -in the world.--Sometimes we are as intimate as brothers; and now you see -he'll hardly speak to me.' - -'Perhaps, Mr. Elkerton,' said the woman, smiling, 'the young gentleman -may have very good reasons for not taking another companion in his -post-chaise.' - -Elkerton pressed her to explain herself. - -'Why you must know,' said she, 'that there's a young lady with him; one -of the prettiest young women I ever see. Last night, after they comed -here, his walet was pretty near tipsey; so he come and sot down here, -and told me how his master had hired him to go along with 'em to -Scotland; but that before they got near half way, somehow or other 'twas -settled for 'em to come back again. But don't say as I told you, Mr. -Elkerton, for that would be as much as my place is worth.' - -This intelligence awakened all the curiosity of Elkerton, together with -some hopes of being able to revenge himself on Delamere for his contempt -and rudeness. - -'Egad!' cried he, 'I'll have a peep at this beauty, however.' - -So saying, he strutted across the yard, and placed himself under a -little piazza which made a covered communication between the rooms of -the inn which were built round the yard, and along which they were -obliged to pass to get into the chaise. - -The room door opened--Delamere and Emmeline appeared at it. - -'Draw up, postillions, as close as you can,' cried the waiter. - -Delamere, holding Emmeline's hand, advanced; but on seeing Elkerton, she -stepped back into the room. - -'Come, come,' said Delamere--'never concern yourself about that -impertinent fellow.' - -Elkerton, tho' he did not distinctly hear this speech, had caught a view -of the person to whom it was addressed; and tho' her face was concealed, -her height and air convinced him it was Miss Mowbray. - -'How do you, Madam?' exclaimed he, bowing and advancing--'Miss Mowbray, -I hope I have the happiness of seeing you well.' - -'We are in haste, Sir,' said Delamere, leading Emmeline towards the -chaise. - -'Nay, my good friend,' returned Elkerton, 'allow me I beg to pay my -respects to this lady, with whom I have the honour of being -acquainted--Miss Mowbray, permit me----' - -He would have taken the hand which was disengaged; but Emmeline shrunk -from him, and stepped quickly into the chaise. - -Elkerton still advanced, and leaning almost into it, he said--'Your long -journey, I hope, has not too much fatigued you.' - -'By heaven!' exclaimed Delamere, 'this is too much! Sir, you are the -most troublesome, insolent fool, I ever met with!' - -So saying, he seized Elkerton by the collar, and twisting him suddenly -round, threw him with great violence against one of the pillars of the -piazza. - -He then got into the chaise; and taking out of his pocket two or three -cards, on which his address was written, he tossed them out of the -window; saying, with a voice that struck terror into the overthrown -knight on the ground--'You know where to hear of me if you have any -thing to say.' - -The chaise now drove quickly away; while Delamere tried to reassure -Emmeline, who was so much terrified by the suddenness of this scuffle, -that she had hardly breath to reproach him for his impetuosity. He -answered, that he had kept his temper too long with the meddling ideot, -and that to have overlooked such impertinence without resentment was not -in his nature. He tried to laugh off her apprehensions; and flattered by -the anxiety she felt for his safety, all his gaiety and good humour -seemed to return. - -But Emmeline, extremely hurt to find that Elkerton was informed of the -journey she had taken, and vexed that Delamere had engaged in a quarrel, -the event of which, if not personally dangerous to him, could not fail -of being prejudicial to her, continued very low and uneasy the rest of -their journey, reflecting on nothing with pleasure but on her -approaching interview with Mrs. Stafford. - -But this hoped-for happiness was soon converted into the most poignant -uneasiness. On their arrival at Woodfield, Emmeline had the pain of -hearing that Mrs. Stafford, who had two days before been delivered of a -daughter, had continued dangerously ill ever since. The physicians who -attended her had that day given them hopes that her illness might end -favourably; but she was still in a situation so precarious that her -attendants were in great alarm. - -As she had anxiously expected Emmeline, and expressed much astonishment -at not having heard from her the week before, which was that on which -she had purposed to be with her, and as she still continued earnestly to -enquire for news of Miss Mowbray, Mr. Stafford insisted on informing her -she was arrived; and this intelligence seemed to give her pleasure. She -desired Emmeline might come to her bed-side: but she was so weak, that -she could only in a faint voice express her pleasure at the sight of -her; and pressing her hand, begged she would not leave her. - -It was impossible Emmeline could speak to her on the subject of -Delamere, as the least emotion might have been of the most fatal -consequence; and tho' she earnestly wished he might not have been -invited to stay, she was obliged to let it take it's course. She left -her friend's room no more that evening; and gave her whole thoughts and -attention to keeping her quiet and administering her medicines, which -Mrs. Stafford seemed pleased to receive from her hands. - -Mr. Stafford was one of those unfortunate characters, who having neither -perseverance and regularity to fit them for business, or taste and -genius for more refined pursuits, seek, in every casual occurrence or -childish amusement, relief against the tedium of life. Tho' married very -early, and tho' father of a numerous family, he had thrown away the time -and money, which should have provided for them, in collecting baubles, -which he had repeatedly possessed and discarded, 'till having exhausted -every source that that species of idle folly offered, he had been -driven, by the same inability to pursue proper objects, into vices yet -more fatal to the repose of his wife, and schemes yet more destructive -to the fortune of his family. Married to a woman who was the delight of -her friends and the admiration of her acquaintance, surrounded by a -lovely and encreasing family, and possessed of every reasonable means of -happiness, he dissipated that property, which ought to have secured it's -continuance, in vague and absurd projects which he neither loved or -understood; and his temper growing more irritable in proportion as his -difficulties encreased, he sometimes treated his wife with great -harshness; and did not seem to think it necessary, even by apparent -kindness and attention, to excuse or soften to her his general ill -conduct, or his 'battening on the moor' of low and degrading debauchery. - -Mrs. Stafford, who had been married to him at fifteen, had long been -unconscious of his weakness: and when time and her own excellent -understanding pressed the fatal conviction too forcibly upon her, she -still, but fruitlessly, attempted to hide from others what she saw too -evidently herself. - -Fear for the future fate of her children, and regret to find that she -had no influence over her husband, together with the knowledge of -connections to which she had till a few months before been a stranger, -had given to Mrs. Stafford, whose temper was naturally extremely -chearful, that air of despondence, and melancholy cast of mind, which -Emmeline had remarked with so much concern on their first acquaintance. - -To such a man as Mr. Stafford, the arrival of Delamere afforded novelty, -and consequently some degree of satisfaction. He took it into his head -to be extremely civil to him, and pressed him to continue some time at -his house; but Delamere well knew that Emmeline would be made unhappy by -his remaining more than one night; as Mr. Stafford entered however so -warmly into his interest, he begged of him to recollect whether there -was not any house to be let within a few miles of Woodfield. - -Mr. Stafford instantly named a hunting seat of Sir Philip Carnaby's, -which he said would exactly suit him. It's possessor, whom some -disarrangement in his affairs had obliged to go abroad for a few years, -had ordered it to be let ready furnished, from year to year. - -Delamere went the next morning to the attorney who let it; and making an -agreement for it, ordered in all the requisites for his immediate -residence; and, till it was ready, accepted Mr. Stafford's invitation to -remain at Woodfield. - -Emmeline, who confined herself wholly to her friend's apartment, knew -nothing of this arrangement 'till it was concluded: and when she heard -it, remonstrance and objection were vain. - -The illness of Mrs. Stafford, tho' it did not gain ground, was still -very alarming, and called forth, to a painful excess, that lively -sympathy which Emmeline felt for those she loved. She continued to -attend her with the tenderest assiduity; and after five days painful -suspence, had the happiness to find her out of danger, and well enough -to hear the relation Emmeline had to make of the involuntary elopement. - -Mrs. Stafford advised her immediately to write to Lord Montreville; -which her extreme anxiety only had occasioned her so long to delay. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - - -Lord Montreville and Sir Richard Crofts, after exhausting every mode of -enquiry at the end of their journey, without having discovered any -traces of the fugitives, returned to London. The uncertainty of what was -become of his son, and concern for the fate of Emmeline, made his -Lordship more unhappy than he had yet been: and the reception he met -with on his return home did not contribute to relieve him; he found that -no intelligence had been received of Delamere; and Lady Montreville -beset him with complaints and reproaches. The violence of her passions -had, for some months, subjected her to fits; and the evasion of her son, -and her total ignorance of what was become of him, had kept her in -perpetual agony during Lord Montreville's absence. His return after so -successless a journey encreased her sufferings, and she was of a temper -not to suffer alone, but to inflict on others some part of the pain she -felt herself. - -Lord Montreville attempted in vain to appease and console her. Nothing -but some satisfactory account of Delamere had the least chance of -succeeding; and his Lordship, who now supposed that Delamere and -Emmeline were concealed in the neighbourhood of London, determined to -persevere in every means of discovering them. - -For this purpose he had again recourse to the Crofts'; and Sir Richard -and both his sons readily undertook to assist him in his search, and -particularly the elder undertook it with the warmest zeal. - -This young man inherited all the cunning of his father, together with a -coolness of temper which supplied the place of solid understanding and -quick parts; since it always gave him time to see where his interest -lay, and steadiness to pursue it. By incessant assiduity he had acquired -the confidence of Lady Montreville, to whom his attention and attendance -were become almost necessary. - -Her Ladyship never dreamed that a man of his rank could lift his eyes to -either of her daughters, and therefore encouraged his constant -attendance on them both; while Crofts was too sensible of the value of -such an alliance not to take advantage of the opportunities that were -incessantly afforded him. - -Lady Montreville had repeatedly declared, that if Delamere married -Emmeline all that part of the fortune which she had a right to give away -should be the property of her eldest daughter. This was upwards of six -thousand pounds a year; and whether this ever happened or not, Crofts -knew that what was settled on younger children, which must at all events -be divided between the two young ladies, would make either of them a -fortune worth all attempts, independent of the connection he would form -by it with Lord Montreville, who now began to make a very considerable -figure in the political world. - -With these views, Crofts had for near two years incessantly applied -himself to conciliate the good opinion of the whole family, with so much -art that nobody suspected his designs. The slight and contemptuous -treatment he had always received from Delamere, he had affected to pass -by with the calm magnanimity of a veteran statesman; and emulating the -decided conduct and steady indifference of age, rather than yielding to -the warmth of temper natural to five and twenty, he was considered as a -very rising and promising young man by the grave politicians with whom -he associated, and by those of his own age a supercilious and solemn -coxcomb. - -He had studied the characters of the two Miss Delameres, and found that -of the eldest the fittest for his purpose; tho' the person of the -youngest, and the pride which encased the heart of the other, would have -made a less able politician decide for Augusta. But he saw that the very -pride which seemed an impediment to his hopes, might, under proper -management, contribute to their success. He saw that she really loved -nobody but herself; that her personal vanity was greater than the pride -of her rank; and that her heart was certainly on that side assailable. -He therefore, by distant hints and sighs, affected concealment; and -artful speeches gave her to understand that all his prudence had not -been able to defend him from the indiscretion of a hopeless passion. - -While he was contented to call it hopeless, Miss Delamere, tho' long -partial to Fitz-Edward, could not refuse herself the indulgence of -hearing it; and at length grew so accustomed to allow him to talk to her -of his unbounded and despairing love, that she found it very -disagreeable to be without him. - -He saw, that unless a title and great estate crossed his path, his -success, tho' it might be slow, was almost certain. But he was obliged -to proceed with caution; notwithstanding he would have been very glad -to have secured his prize before the return of Delamere to his family -threw an obstacle in his way which was the most formidable he had to -contend with. - -He affected, however, the utmost anxiety to discover him; and recited to -Lord Montreville an exhortation he intended to pronounce to him, if he -should be fortunate enough to do so. - -Nothing could be a greater proof of his Lordship's opinion of Crofts -than his entrusting him with a commission, which, if successful, could -hardly fail of irritating the fiery and ungovernable temper of Delamere, -and driving him into excesses which it would require all the philosophic -steadiness of Crofts to support without resentment. - -While Sir Richard and his two sons therefore set about the difficult -task of finding Delamere, Lord Montreville went himself to Fitz-Edward; -but heard that for many days he had not been at his apartments, that he -had taken no servants with him, and that they knew not whither he was -gone, or when he would return. - -Lord Montreville, who had depended more on the information of -Fitz-Edward than any other he hoped to obtain, left a note at his -lodgings desiring to see him as soon as he came to town, and went back -in encreased uneasiness to his own house. But among the numberless -letters which lay on his library table, the directions of which he -hastily read in a faint hope of news of Delamere, he saw one directed by -the hand of Emmeline. He tore it eagerly open--it contained an account -of all that had happened, written with such clearness and simplicity as -immediately impressed it's truth; and it is difficult to say whether -Lord Montreville's pleasure at finding his son still unmarried, or his -admiration at the greatness of his niece's mind, were the predominant -emotion. - -When the former sentiment a little subsided, and he had time to reflect -on all the heroism of her conduct, he was almost ashamed of the long -opposition he had given to his son's passion; and would, if he had not -known his wife's prejudices invincible, have acknowledged, that neither -the possession of birth or fortune could make any amends to him, who saw -and knew how to value the beauty of such a mind as that of Emmeline. The -inveterate aversion and insurmountable pride of Lady Montreville, he had -no hope of conquering; and she had too much in her power, to suffer his -Lordship to think of Delamere's losing such a large portion of his -inheritance by disobeying her. For these reasons he checked the -inclination he felt rising in his own heart to reward and receive his -niece, and thought only of taking advantage of her integrity to separate -his son from her for ever. - -He went with the letter in his hand to Lady Montreville's apartment, -where he found Mr. Crofts and the two young ladies. - -He read it to them; and when he had finished it, expressed in the -warmest terms his approbation of Miss Mowbray's conduct. Lady -Montreville testified nothing but satisfaction at what she called 'the -foolish boy's escape from ruin,' without having the generosity to -applaud _her_, whose integrity was so much the object of admiration. - -Possessing neither candour nor generosity herself, she was incapable of -loving those qualities in another; and in answer to Lord Montreville's -praises of Emmeline, which she heard with reluctance, she was not -ashamed to say, that perhaps were the whole truth known, his Lordship -would find but little reason to set up his relation's character higher -than that of his own children--to which her eldest daughter added--'Why, -to be sure, Madam, there is, as my father says, something very -extraordinary in Miss Mowbray's refusing _such a match_--that is, _if_ -she has no other attachment.' - -Augusta Delamere heard all that her father said in commendation of her -beloved Emmeline, with eyes suffused with tears, which drew on her the -anger of her mother and the malignant sneers of her sister. - -The two young ladies however were sent away, while a council was held -between Lord and Lady Montreville and Crofts, on what steps it was -immediately necessary to take. - -Several ideas were started, but none which his Lordship approved. He -determined therefore to write to his son; with whose residence at -Tylehurst, the house of Sir Philip Carnaby, Emmeline's letter acquainted -him; and wait his answer before he proceeded farther. - -With this resolution, Lady Montreville was extremely discontented; and -proposed, as the only plan on which they could depend, that his -Lordship, under pretence of placing her properly, should send Emmeline -to France, and there confine her till Delamere, hopeless of regaining -her, should consent to marry Miss Otley. - -Her Ladyship urged--'That it could not possibly do the girl any harm; -and that very worthy people had not scrupled to commit much more -violent actions where their motive was right, tho' less strong, than -that which would in this case actuate Lord Montreville, which was,' she -said, 'to save the sole remaining heir of a noble house from a degrading -and beggarly alliance.' - -'Hold! Madam,' cried Lord Montreville, who was extremely displeased at -the proposal, and with the speech with which it closed--'Remember, I beg -of you, that when you speak of the Mowbray family, you speak of one very -little if at all inferior to your own; nor should you, Lady Montreville, -forget, in the heat of your resentment, that you are a woman--a woman -too, whose birth should at least give you a liberal mind, and put you -above thinking of an action as unfeminine as inhuman. Surely, as a -mother who have daughters of your own, you should have some feeling for -this young woman; not at all their inferior, but in being born under -circumstances for which she is not to blame, and which mark with -sufficient unhappiness a life that might otherwise have done as much -honour to my family as I hope your daughters will do to your's.' - -The slightest contradiction was what Lady Montreville had never been -accustomed to bear patiently. The asperity therefore of this speech, and -the total rejection of her project, threw her into an agony of passion -which ended in an hysteric fit. - -Lord Montreville, less moved than usual, committed her to the care of -her daughters and women, and continued to talk coolly to Crofts on the -subject they were before discussing. - -After considering it in every point of view, he determined to leave -Delamere at present to his own reflections; only writing to him a calm -and expostulatory letter; such as, together with Emmeline's steadiness, -on which he now relied with the utmost confidence, might, he thought, -effect more than violent measures. His Lordship wrote also to Emmeline, -strongly expressing his admiration and regard, and his confidence and -esteem encreased her desire to deserve them. - -Mrs. Stafford was now nearly recovered; and Delamere settled at his new -house, where he always returned at night, tho' he passed almost every -day at Woodfield. - -His mornings were often occupied in those amusements of which he had -been so fond before his passion for Emmeline became the only business of -his life; and secure of seeing her continually, and of telling how he -loved her, he became more reasonable than he had hitherto been. - -The letters, however, which now arrived from Lord Montreville, a little -disturbed his felicity. They gave Emmeline an opportunity to exhort him -to return to London--to make his peace with his father, and quiet the -uneasiness of Lady Montreville, which his Lordship represented as -excessive, and as fatal to _her_ health as to the peace of the whole -family. - -Emmeline urged him by every tie of duty and affection to relieve the -anxiety of his family, and particularly to attend to the effect his -absence and disobedience had on the constitution of his mother, which -had long been extremely shaken. But to all her remonstrances, he -answered--'That he would not return, till Lady Montreville would promise -never to renew those reflections and reproaches which had driven him -from Audley-Hall; and to which he apprehended he should now be more than -ever exposed.' - -As Emmeline could not pretend to procure such an engagement from her -Ladyship, all she could do was to inform Lord Montreville of his -objection, and to leave it to him to make terms between Delamere and his -mother. - -Near a month had now elapsed since Emmeline's arrival at Woodfield; and -the returning serenity of her mind had restored to her countenance all -it's bloom and brilliancy. She had indeed no other uneasiness than what -arose from her anxiety to procure quiet to her Uncle's family, and from -her observations on the encreasing melancholy of Mrs. Stafford, for -which she knew too well how to account. - -Even this, however, often appeared alleviated by her presence, and -forgotten in her conversation; and she rejoiced in the power of -affording a temporary relief to the sorrows of one whom she so truly -loved. - -This calm was interrupted by Elkerton, by whom the affront he had -received at Staines, from Delamere, had not been forgotten, tho' he by -no means relished the thoughts of resenting it in the way his friend -Jackman, and all who heard of it, proposed. - -To risk his life and all his finery, seemed a most cruel condition; but -Jackman protested there was no other by which he could retrieve his -honour. And his friend at whose house he was, on the borders of -Hampshire, who had been an officer in the military service of the East -India Company, and had acquired a princely fortune, felt himself -inspired with all the punctilios of a soldier, and declared to Elkerton -that if he put up with this affront no man of honour could hereafter -speak to him. - -Poor Elkerton, who in the article of fighting, as well as many others, -extremely resembled '_le Bourgeois Gentilhomme_,' made all the evasions -in his power; while his _soi disant_ friends, who enjoyed his distress, -persisted in pushing him on to demand satisfaction of Delamere; but -after long debates, he determined first to ask him for an apology. There -was, he thought, some hope of obtaining it; if not, he could only in the -last extremity have recourse to the desperate expedient of a challenge. -He wrote therefore a letter to Delamere, requesting, in the civilest and -mildest terms, an apology for his behaviour at Staines; and sent it by a -servant; as it was not more than twenty miles from the house where he -was, to that Mr. Delamere had taken. - -Delamere returned a contemptuous refusal; but neither mentioned the -letter to Emmeline, nor thought again about it's writer. - -The unfortunate Elkerton, who reproached incessantly his evil stars for -having thrown this hot-headed boy in his way, could not conceal from his -friends the unaccommodating answer he had received to his pacific -overture; and it was agreed that Elkerton must either determine to fight -him, or be excluded from good company for ever. The challenge, -therefore, penned by the Asiatic hero, was copied with a trembling hand -by Elkerton; and Jackman, who had offered to be his second, set out with -him for the town near Tylehurst. - -On their arrival, Jackman took a post-chaise to carry the billet to -Delamere, leaving the terrified Elkerton to settle all his affairs, both -temporal and spiritual, against the next morning, when Delamere was -appointed to meet him on a heath near the town, at seven o'clock. - -Jackman found Delamere with Fitz-Edward, who had arrived there that day. -He delivered his letter, and Delamere immediately answered it by saying -he would not fail to attend the appointment, with his friend Colonel -Fitz-Edward. - -During Jackman's absence, Elkerton tried to argue himself into a state -of mind fit for the undertaking of the next day. But he found no -arguments gave him any sort of satisfaction, save two; one was, that as -most disputes ended with firing a brace of pistols in the air, the -probability was, that he should be as fortunate as others--the second, -that if the worst should happen, he should at least make a paragraph -worth some hazard: and that whether he killed Delamere, or fell himself, -an affair of honour with a young man of his rank would extremely -contribute to his fame. - -Neither of these reflections however had force enough to prevent his -heartily wishing there was no necessity to employ them; and he contrived -to make such a bustle with his servant about his pistols, and sent forth -so many enquiries for an able surgeon, that it was known immediately at -the inn where he was, that the gentleman was come to fight young Squire -Delamere. - -In a country town, such intelligence soon gained ground; and before -Jackman's return, every shop in it had settled the place and manner of -the combat. - -One of Mr. Stafford's servants was at the inn, which was also the post -house; where the landlady failed not to tell him what a bloody-minded -man was in the next room. The servant, who like all people of his -station delighted in the wonderful and the terrible, collected all the -particulars; which he retailed on his arrival at home, with every -exaggeration his invention would lend him. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - - -The maid who waited on Emmeline had no sooner heard these particulars, -than conceiving her to be more interested in the fate of Delamere than -any other person, she ran up to tell her of it; and tho' she had not -retained the name of Elkerton perfectly, Emmeline, who instantly -recollected the adventure at Staines, saw the truth at once; and was -terrified at the impending event to a degree that made her for a moment -incapable of reflection. - -To be, however remotely, or however innocently, the cause of any man's -hazarding his life, was shocking to all her feelings. But to suppose -that Lord Montreville might be made by her means the most wretched of -human beings, by the loss of an only and beloved son, was an idea which -froze her blood. - -Her regard for Delamere, which was the affection of a sister somewhat -heightened perhaps by his persevering preference of herself, her -friendship for Augusta, and her anxiety for the peace of his whole -family, added to her general tenderness of heart, all co-operated to -distress her on this occasion. As soon as she could recollect what was -best to be done, she sought Mr. Stafford, to whom she related what she -had heard, which the servant who had brought the intelligence repeated -before him. - -Mr. Stafford, at Emmeline's earnest request, set out for the house of -Delamere, who had not that day been at Woodfield because he expected -Fitz-Edward. Mr. Stafford delivered to him a pressing entreaty from -Emmeline that he would forbear to meet Elkerton, or at least delay it -'till she could speak to him; but Delamere shewing Stafford the letter -he had received, desired him to go back and make Emmeline easy as well -as he could, since to comply with her request was entirely out of his -power. To the necessity of his meeting Elkerton, Stafford assented; and -returned home to relate the little success of his embassy, while the -terror and alarm of Emmeline were only encreased by his visit. - -Such was her anxiety, that she would have gone herself to Tylehurst, if -Mrs. Stafford had not represented to her that it would be certainly -improper, and probably ineffectual. - -She passed a sleepless night, tormenting herself with a thousand -imaginary modes of misery which might arise from the meeting of the next -day. But while she continued to form and reject projects for preventing -it, seven o'clock passed, and the _rencontre_ ended without bloodshed; -the cautious valour of Elkerton having been so loud, that a magistrate -who lived in the town, and who was well known to Lord Montreville, had -heard of it, and, with a party of constables, had followed Elkerton at -some distance. They concealed themselves, by the justice's order, in a -gravel-pit near the place of combat, and there saw the ground already -possessed by Delamere and Fitz-Edward. - -The trembling challenger, with a face as pale as if Delamere's pistol -had already done it's worst, followed by Jackman, on whose undaunted -countenance he cast a rueful and imploring look, then rode slowly up, -punctual to the time. - -The usual ceremonies passed, Elkerton's blood seemed to be all gone to -his heart, to encourage it to be stout; and his knees, which trembled -most piteously, appeared to resent the desertion. He cast round the -heath a hopeless look--no succour approached! The ground was measured; -each took their post; and his trembling encreased so violently, that -Delamere apprehended very little from a pistol in so unsteady a hand. -But had he apprehended more, he was of a temper to receive it, -unshrinkingly. The moment to fire now arrived; and Elkerton, while -cocking his pistol, saw the _posse_ rise out of the gravel-pit; but he -was too far gone to be sensible of the seasonable relief; therefore, -without knowing what he was about, he fired his pistol before they could -seize his arm, and then stood like a statue, nearly insensible of the -happiness of his deliverance. - -The justice advancing himself on horseback, now put both the gentlemen -under arrest: and Elkerton seeing himself at length safe for the -present, thought he might venture to insist on standing Mr. Delamere's -fire. The more the worthy justice opposed it, the more vehement he grew: -but Delamere, who despised him too much to be really angry with him, -went off the field, telling Elkerton that any other time, when there -were fewer witnesses, he would give him what further satisfaction he -might require. He gave his honour to the justice that he would trouble -himself no farther about the affair; and Elkerton having given Jackman's -bail for his present pacific intentions, was suffered to go also. - -He returned to the house of his East Indian friend, exulting secretly in -his escape, and openly in his valour, to which latter Jackman did not -bear testimony so warmly as he thought friendship required. Determined, -however, to lose no part of the glory which he thought he had dearly -purchased by being frightened out of his wits, he wrote, in the form of -a letter, a most tremendous account of the duel to the daily papers, in -which he described all it's imaginary horrors, and ended with asserting -very roundly, that 'Mr. Elkerton had the misfortune dangerously to wound -the Hon. Frederic Delamere; and, when this account came away, there were -no hopes of his recovery.' - -Having secured himself a fame, at least, for two or three days, he set -out for London to enjoy it; never reflecting on any other consequences -than those most flattering to his ridiculous vanity. He knew he should -be talked of; and by representing what had _not_ happened, have a fair -opportunity of telling what _had_, in his own way. - -When Emmeline, who had never ceased walking about and listening, saw -Delamere and Fitz-Edward riding quietly across the lawn which led to the -house, she ran eagerly down to meet them: but the idea that Elkerton -might possibly be killed checked her joy; and when they came up to her, -breathless agitation prevented her asking what she wanted to know. -Delamere, who saw her so pale and terrified, threw himself instantly -off his horse and caught her in his arms. - -'Has no harm happened, Mr. Delamere?' - -'None in the world, my Emmeline. Nobody is hurt so much as you are; tho' -poor Elkerton was almost as much frightened. Come, pray compose -yourself--you have not yet the glory to boast of having a life lost -about you.' - -'Heaven forbid that I ever should!' answered she--'I am grateful that -there has been no mischief!--Oh! if I could describe what I have -suffered, surely you would never terrify me so again.' - -She could not restrain her tears. Delamere led her into the house; -where, while Mrs. Stafford gave her hartshorn and water, Delamere, at -her request, related exactly what had happened: and having given -Emmeline his honour that he would think no more of the affair if -Elkerton did not, the tranquillity of the house seemed to be restored, -and Delamere and Fitz-Edward were invited to dinner; where great -alteration in the looks of the latter, was remarked by both the ladies. -Nor was it in looks only that Fitz-Edward was extremely changed.--His -chearfulness was quite gone; he appeared to be ineffectually struggling -with some unconquerable uneasiness; and tho' his soft and insinuating -manners were the same, he no longer sought, by a thousand agreeable -sallies and lively anecdotes, to entertain; or whatever attempt he made -was so evidently forced, that it lost it's success. Remarkable for his -temperance at table, for which he had often endured the ridicule of his -companions, he now seemed to fly to the bottle, against his inclination, -as if in hopes to procure himself a temporary supply of spirits. - -Every day after that on which Emmeline and Mrs. Stafford made this -remark, it's justice was more evident. - -While Delamere was in the fields, Fitz-Edward would sit whole mornings -with Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline, leaning on their work-table, or looking -over Emmeline, busied with her pencil. Had his marked attention to Mrs. -Stafford continued, she would have seen his behaviour with great alarm; -but he no longer paid her those oblique yet expressive compliments of -which he used to be so lavish. It seemed, as if occupied by some other -object, he still admired and revered her, and wished to make her the -confidant of the sorrow that oppressed him. If they were accidentally -alone, he appeared on the point of telling her; then suddenly checking -himself, he changed the discourse, or abruptly left her; and as he was a -man whom it was impossible to know without receiving some impressions in -his favour, she felt, as well as Emmeline, a pity for him, which they -wished to be justified in feeling, by hearing that whatever was the -cause of his unhappiness, he had not brought it on himself by any crime -that would make their regard for him blameable.--For Emmeline, tho' she -knew that it was with no good design he had contributed to Delamere's -getting her off, yet could not persuade herself to hate him for it, when -he not only humbly solicited her forgiveness, but protested that he was -truly rejoiced, as well as astonished at her steadiness and good -conduct; and would be so far from encouraging any such attempt for the -future, that he would be the first to call Delamere to an account, could -he suppose he harboured intentions which he now considered as ungenerous -and criminal. - -These declarations had made his peace both with Emmeline and her friend; -and his languid and sentimental conversation, tho' it made him less -entertaining, did not make him less interesting to either of them. - -Mr. Stafford, ever in pursuit of some wild scheme, was now gone for a -few days into another county, to make himself acquainted with the -process of manuring land with old wigs--a mode of agriculture on which -Mr. Headly had lately written a treatise so convincing, that Mr. -Stafford was determined to adopt it on his own farm as soon as a -sufficient number of wigs could be procured for the purpose. - -During this absence, and on the fourth day after Elkerton's exploit, a -stormy morning had driven Delamere from the fields; who went into Mrs. -Stafford's dressing-room, where he found Fitz-Edward reading Cecilia to -Mrs. Stafford and Miss Mowbray while they sat at work. - -Mrs. Stafford had her two little boys at her feet; and when Delamere -appeared, she desired him to take a chair quietly, and not disturb so -sober a party. But he had not been seated five minutes, before the -children, who were extremely fond of him, crept to him, and he began to -play with them and to make such a noise, that Mrs. Stafford laughingly -threatened to send all the riotous boys into the nursery together--when -at that moment Millefleur, who had some time before come down to attend -his master, entered the room with a letter which he said came express -from Berkley-square. - -Delamere saw that his father's hand had almost illegibly directed it. He -opened it in fearful haste, and read these words-- - - - 'Before this meets you, your mother will probably be no more. A - paragraph in the newspaper, in which you are said to have been - killed in a duel, threw her into convulsions. I satisfied myself of - your safety by seeing the man with whom you fought, but your mother - is incapable of hearing it. Unhappy boy! if you would see her - alive, come away instantly. - - MONTREVILLE.' - - _Berkley-square, Feb. 29._ - - -It is impossible to say whether the consternation of Emmeline or that of -Delamere was the greatest. By the dreadful idea of having occasioned his -mother's death, every other was for a moment absorbed. He flew without -speaking down stairs, and into the stable where he had left his horse; -but the groom had carried the horse to his own stables, supposing his -master would stay 'till night. Without recollecting that he might take -one of Mr. Stafford's, he ran back into the room where Emmeline was -weeping in the arms of her friend, and clasping her wildly to his bosom, -he exclaimed--'Farewell, Emmeline! Farewell, perhaps, for ever! If I -lose my mother I shall never forgive _myself_; and shall be a wretch -unworthy of _you_. Dearest Mrs. Stafford! take care I beseech you of -her, whatever becomes of me.' - -Having said this, he ran away again without his hat, and darted across -the lawn towards his own house, meaning to go thither on foot; but -Fitz-Edward, with more presence of mind, was directing two of Mr. -Stafford's horses to be saddled, with which he soon overtook Delamere; -and proceeding together to the town, they got into a post-chaise, and -went as expeditiously as four horses could take them, towards London. - -Equally impetuous in all his feelings, his grief at the supposed -misfortune was as violent as it could have been had he been sure that -the worst had already happened. He now remembered, with infinite -self-reproach, how much uneasiness and distress he had occasioned to -Lady Montreville since he left her in November at Audley-Hall without -taking leave--and recollecting all her tenderness and affection for him -from the earliest dawn of his memory; her solicitude in his sickness, -when she had attended him herself and given up her rest and health to -contribute to his; her partial fondness, which saw merit even in his -errors; her perpetual and ardent anxiety for what she believed would -secure his happiness--he set in opposition to it his own neglect, -impatience, and disobedience; and called himself an unnatural and -ungrateful monster. - -Fitz-Edward could hardly restrain his extravagant ravings during the -journey; which having performed as expeditiously as possible, they -arrived in Berkley-square; where, when the porter opened the door to -them, Delamere had not courage to ask how his mother did; but on -Fitz-Edward's enquiry, the porter told them she was alive, and not -worse. - -Relieved by this account, Delamere sent to his father to know if he -might wait upon him. - -His Lordship answered--"That he would only see Colonel Fitz-Edward; but -that Delamere might come in, to wait 'till his mother's physicians -arrived." - -Lord Montreville was indeed so irritated against Delamere by all the -trouble and anxiety he had suffered on his account, that he determined -to shew his resentment; and in this resolution he was encouraged by Sir -Richard Crofts, who represented to him that his mother's danger, and his -father's displeasure, might together work upon his mind, and induce him -to renounce an attachment which occasioned to them both so much -unhappiness. - -It was in this hope that his Lordship refused to see his son; and while -Fitz-Edward went to him, Delamere was shewn into another room, where his -youngest sister immediately came to him. - -She received him with rapture mingled with tears; and related to him the -nature of his mother's illness, which had seized her two days before, on -her unfortunately taking up a newspaper from the breakfast-table, where -it was very confidently said that he was mortally wounded in a duel with -a person named Elkerton, of Portland-Place. That Lord Montreville had -luckily had a letter from Fitz-Edward the day before, (whom he had -forgiven the part he took in regard to Emmeline on no other condition -than that he should go down to him, and give his Lordship an account of -his conduct) and that therefore he was less alarmed, tho' very much -hurried by the paragraph. - -He had, however, gone to Elkerton's house, where he found him very -composedly receiving the enquiries of his friends, and where he insisted -on hearing exactly what had happened. - -His Lordship immediately returned to his wife; but the convulsions had -arisen to so alarming an height, that she was no longer capable of -hearing him; and she had ever since continued to have, at very short -intervals, such dreadful fits, as had entirely contracted her left side, -and left very little hope of her recovery. - -Delamere was extremely shocked at this account; and after waiting some -time, Fitz-Edward came to him, and told him that his father was -extremely angry, and absolutely refused to see him or hear his apology, -unless he would first give his honour that if Lady Montreville should -survive the illness his indiscreet rashness had brought upon her, he -would, as soon as she was out of danger, go abroad, and remain there -till he should obtain forgiveness for his past errors and leave to -return. - -The heart of Delamere was accessible only by the avenues of affection -and kindness; compulsion and threats only made him more resolutely -persist in any favourite project. Sir Richard Crofts therefore, who had -advised this measure, shewed but little knowledge of his temper, and -never was more mistaken in his politics. - -Delamere no sooner heard the message, than he knew with whom it -originated; and full of indignation at finding his father governed by a -man for whom he felt only aversion and contempt, he answered, with great -asperity--'That he came thither not to solicit any favour, but to see -his mother. That he would not be dictated to by the Crofts; but would -remain in town 'till he knew whether his mother desired to see him; and -be ready to wait on his father when he would vouchsafe to treat him as -his son.' - -He then shook hands with Fitz-Edward, kissed his sister, and walked out -of the house, in spite of their united endeavours to detain him. All -they could obtain of him was his consent to go to Fitz-Edward's -lodgings, as he had none of his own ready; from whence he sent -constantly every hour to enquire after Lady Montreville. - - - - -CHAPTER X - - -Emmeline, in the mean time, remained in great uneasiness at Woodfield. -Delamere, on his first arrival in town, wrote a short and confused note; -by which she only learned that Lady Montreville was alive. After some -days she received the following letter from Augusta Delamere. - - - 'I will now try, my dearest Emmeline, to give you an account of - what has passed here since my brother's arrival. - - 'My mother is happily better; knows every body, and speaks more - distinctly; her fits return less frequently; and upon the whole, the - physicians give us hopes of her recovery, but very little that she - will ever be restored to the use of the arm which is contracted. - - 'On Friday, in an interval of her fits, Sir Hugh Cathcart and Dr. - Gardner, her physicians, proposed that she should see my brother, of - whose being living nothing we could any of us say could convince - her. She repeated to Dr. Gardner, who staid with her after the other - went, that she was deceived. - - 'He assured her that she was deceived in nothing but in her sudden - and unhappy prepossession; for that Mr. Delamere had never been in - the least danger, and was actually in perfect health. - - '"He is alive!" cried my mother, mournfully--"I thank God he is - alive; but he knows my illness, and I do not see him--Ah! it is too - certain I have lost my son!" - - '"You have not been able to see him, my dear madam; but he came up - as soon as he heard of your situation, and now waits your commands - at Colonel Fitz-Edward's lodgings.--Do you wish to see him?" - - '"I do! I do wish to see him! Oh! let him come!" - - 'The agitation of her mind, however, brought on almost instantly a - return of the disorder; and before my brother's arrival, she was - insensible. - - 'Her distorted features; her hands contracted, her eyes glazed and - fixed, her livid complexion, and the agonizing expression of her - countenance, were at their height when Delamere was desired to go - into the room: my father believed that the sight of his mother in - such a situation could not but affect the feelings of her son. - - 'It did indeed affect him! He stood a moment looking at her in - silent terror; then, as if suddenly recollecting that he had been - the cause of this dreadful alteration, he turned away, clasped his - hands together, and burst into tears. - - 'My mother neither saw him or heard his loud sobs. My sister - looked at him reproachfully; and apparently to escape from her, he - came to me, and taking my hand, kissed it, and asked how long this - melancholy scene would last? - - 'The physician, who heard the question, said the fit was going - off. It did so in a few minutes. She sighed deeply; and seeing the - doctor still sitting by her, she asked if he would still perform his - promise, and let her see her son? - - 'At these words, Delamere stepped forward, and threw himself on - his knees by the bed side. He wept aloud; and eagerly kissed his - mother's hands, which he bathed in tears. - - 'She looked at him with an expression to which no description can - do justice; but unable to speak, she seemed struggling to explain - herself; and the physician, fearful of such agitation, said--"There, - madam, is Mr. Delamere; not only alive, but willing, I am persuaded, - to give you, in regard to his future conduct, any assurances that - you require to tranquillise your mind." - - '"No!" said she, sighing--"that Delamere is living, I thank - heaven!--but for the rest--I have no hopes." - - '"For the rest," resumed the doctor, "he will promise any thing if - you will only make yourself easy." - - 'At this moment my Lord entered--"You see, Sir," said he sternly - to Delamere, whom he had not seen since his arrival in London--"you - see to what extremity your madness has reduced your mother." - - 'Delamere, still on his knees, looked sorrowfully up, as if to - enquire what reparation he could make? - - 'My father, appearing to understand the question, said--"If you - would not be indeed a parricide, shew Lady Montreville that you have - a sense of your errors, and will give her no farther uneasiness." - - '"Do, Frederic," cried my sister. - - '"In what way, Sir?" said my brother, very mournfully. - - '"Tell her you will consent to fulfil all her wishes." - - '"Sir," said Delamere firmly, "if to sacrifice my own life would - restore my mother's, I would not hesitate; but if what your Lordship - means relates to Miss Otley, it is absolutely out of my power." - - '"He is already married, I doubt not," sighed my mother. - - '"Upon my soul I am not." - - '"Come, come," cried Dr. Gardner, "this is going a great deal too - far; your Ladyship is but just convinced your son is living, and my - Lord here is already talking of other matters. Tell me, madam--what - do you wish Mr. Delamere to say?" - - '"That he will not marry," eagerly interrupted my father, "but - with his mother's consent and mine." - - '"I will not, my Lord," said Delamere, sighing. - - '"That as soon as Lady Montreville is well enough to allow you to - leave her, you will go abroad for a twelvemonth or longer if I shall - judge it expedient." - - '"I will promise _that_, if your Lordship makes a point of it--if - my mother insists upon it. But, my Lord, if at the end of that time - Emmeline Mowbray is still single----my Lord, you do not expect - unconditional submission--I shall then in my turn hope that you and - my mother will make no farther opposition to my wishes." - - 'My father, who expected no concession from Delamere, had at first - asked of him more than he intended to insist on, and now appeared - eager to close with the first terms he could obtain. Accepting - therefore a delay, instead of a renunciation, he said--"Well, - Delamere, if at the end of a twelvemonth you still insist on - marrying Miss Mowbray, I will not oppose it. Lady Montreville, you - hear what your son engages for; do you agree to the terms?" - - 'My mother said, very faintly--"Yes." - - 'The promise was repeated on both sides before the physician and - Fitz-Edward, who came in at the latter part of this scene. My mother - seemed reluctantly to accede; complained of extreme faintness; and - the scene beginning to grow fatiguing to her, my brother offered to - retire. She gave him her hand, which he kissed, and at her desire - consented to return to the apartments here which he used to occupy. - My mother had that evening another attack; tho' it was much less - severe. But as the contraction does not give way to any remedies yet - used, the physicians propose sending her to Bath as soon as she is - able to bear the journey. - - 'Thus, my dearest Emmeline, I have punctually related all you - appear so anxious to know, on which I leave you to reflect. My - mother now sees my brother every day; but he has desired that - nothing may be said of the past; and their conversations are short - - and melancholy. Fitz-Edward has left London; and Frederic told - me, last night, that as soon as the physicians pronounce my mother - entirely out of danger, he shall go down to you. Ah! my lovely - friend! what a trial will his be! But I know _you_ will encourage - and support him in the task, however painful, of fulfilling the - promise he has given; and my father, who praises you incessantly, - says he is _sure_ of it. - - Adieu! my dear Miss Mowbray! - your affectionate and attached, - AUGUSTA DELAMERE.' - - _Berkley-square, March 3._ - - -A few days after the receipt of this letter, Delamere went down to -Tylehurst. Dejection was visibly marked in his air and countenance; and -all that Emmeline could say to strengthen his resolution, served only to -make him feel greater reluctance. To quit her for twelve months, to -leave her exposed to the solicitation of rivals who would not fail to -surround her, and to hazard losing her for ever, seemed so terrible to -his imagination, that the nearer the period of his promised departure -grew, the more impossible he thought it to depart. - -His ardent imagination seemed to be employed only in figuring the -variety of circumstances which might in that interval arise to separate -them for ever; and he magnified these possibilities, till he persuaded -himself that nothing but a private marriage could secure her. As he saw -how anxious she was that he should strictly adhere to the promises he -had given his father, he thought that he might induce her to consent to -this expedient, as the only one by which he could reconcile his duty and -his love. He therefore took an opportunity, when he had by the -bitterness of his complaints softened her into tears, to entreat, to -implore her to consent to marry him before he went. He urged, that as -Lord and Lady Montreville had both consented to their union at the end -of the year, if he remained in the same mind, it made in fact no -difference to _them_; because he was very sure that his inclinations -would not change, and no doubt _could_ arise but from herself. If -therefore she determined then to be his, she might as well consent to -become so immediately as to hazard the difficulties which might arise to -their marriage hereafter. - -Emmeline, tho' extremely affected by his sorrow, had still resolution -enough to treat this argument as feeble sophistry, unworthy of him and -of herself; and positively to refuse her consent to an engagement which -militated against all her assurances to Lord Montreville. - -This decisive rejection of a plan, to which, from the tender pity she -testified, he believed he should persuade her to assent, threw him into -one of those transports of agonizing passion which he could neither -conceal or contend with. He wept; he raved like a madman. He swore he -would return to his father and revoke his promise; and the endeavours of -Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline to calm his mind seemed only to encrease the -emotions with which it was torn. - -After having exhausted every mode of persuasion in vain, he was obliged -to relinquish the hope of a secret marriage, and to attempt to obtain -another concession, in which he at length succeeded. He told Emmeline, -that if she had no wish to quit him entirely, but really meant to reward -his long and ardent affection, she could not object to bind herself to -become his wife immediately on his return to England. - -Emmeline made every objection she could to this request. But she only -objected; for she saw him so hurt, that she had not the resolution to -wound him anew by a positive refusal. Mrs. Stafford too, moved by his -grief and despair, no longer supported her in her reserve; and as -_their_ steadiness seemed to give way _his_ eagerness and importunity -encreased, till they allowed him to draw up a promise in these -words--'At the end of the term prescribed by Lord Montreville, Emmeline -Mowbray hereby promises to become the wife of Frederic Delamere.' - -This, Emmeline signed with a reluctant and trembling hand; for tho' she -had an habitual friendship and affection for Delamere, and preferred him -to all the men she had yet seen, she thought this not strictly right; -and felt a pain and repugnance to it's performance, which made her more -unhappy the longer she reflected on it. - -On Delamere, however, it had a contrary effect. Tho' he still continued -greatly depressed at the thoughts of their approaching separation, he -yet assumed some degree of courage to bear it: and when the day arrived, -he bid her adieu without relapsing into those agonies he had suffered -before at the mere idea of it. - -He carried with him a miniature picture of her, and entreated her to -answer his letters; which, on the footing they now were, she could not -refuse to promise. He then tore himself from her, and went to take leave -of his mother, who still continued ill at Bath; and from thence to -London, to bid farewel to his father; after which, Fitz-Edward -accompanied him as far as Harwich, where he embarked for Holland. - -As he had before been the usual tour of France and Italy, he purposed -passing the summer in visiting Germany, and the winter at Vienna; and -early in the spring to set out thro' France on his way home, where he -purposed being on the 20th of March, when the year which he had promised -his father to pass abroad would expire. - -Lord Montreville, by obtaining this delay thought there was every -probability that his attachment to Emmeline would be conquered. And his -Lordship, as well as Lady Montreville, determined to try in the interval -to procure for Emmeline some unexceptionable marriage which it would not -be possible for her to refuse. They imagined, therefore, that their -uneasiness on this head was over: and Lady Montreville, whose mind was -greatly relieved by the persuasion, was long since out of all danger -from the fits which had so severely attacked her; but the contraction of -her joints which they had occasioned, was still so painful and -obstinate, that the physicians seemed to apprehend it might be necessary -to send her Ladyship to the waters of Barege. - -In the mean time, Lord Montreville had obtained a post in administration -which encreased his income and his power. Sir Richard Crofts possessed a -lucrative employment in the same department; and his eldest son was -become extremely necessary, from his assiduity and attention to -business, and more than ever a favourite with all Lord Montreville's -family, with whom he almost entirely lived. - -A lurking _penchant_ for Fitz-Edward, which had grown up from her -earliest recollection almost insensibly in the bosom of Miss Delamere, -had been long chilled by his evident neglect and indifference: she now -fancied she hated him, and really preferred Crofts, every way inferior -as he was. - -While the want of high birth and a title, which she had been taught to -consider as absolutely requisite to happiness, made her repress every -tendency to a serious engagement, she was extremely gratified by his -flattery; and when among other young women (from whom he affected not to -be able to stifle his unhappy passion,) she was frequently told how -much he was in love with her, she was accustomed to answer--'Ah! poor -fellow; so he is, and I heartily pity him.' - -But while Lord and Lady Montreville thought Crofts's attendance on their -daughters quite without consequence, he and his father insinuated an -intended connection between him and one of them, with so much art, that -tho' it never reached the ears of the family it was universally believed -in the world. - -A young nobleman who had passed the greater part of his life in the -army, where he had lately signalized himself by his bravery and conduct, -now returned to England on being promoted to a regiment; and having some -business to transact with Lord Montreville in his official capacity, he -was invited to the house, and greatly admired both the Miss Delameres, -whose parties he now joined at Bath. - -Crofts soon afterwards obtaining a short respite from his political -engagement, went thither also; and tho' Miss Delamere really thought -Lord Westhaven quite unexceptionable, she had been so habituated to -behave particularly to Crofts, that she could not now alter it, or -perhaps was not conscious of the familiar footing on which she allowed -him to be with her. - -Lord Westhaven, who had at first hesitated between the sprightly dignity -of the elder sister, and the soft and more bewitching graces of the -younger, no sooner saw the conduct of Miss Delamere towards Crofts, than -his doubts were at an end. Her faults of temper had been hitherto -concealed from him, and he believed her heart as good as her sister's; -indeed, according to the sentimental turn her discourse frequently took, -he might have supposed it more refined and sublime. But when he observed -her behaviour to Crofts, he thought that she must either be secretly -engaged to him, or be a decided coquet. Turning therefore all his -attention to Augusta, he soon found that her temper was as truly good as -her person was interesting, and that the too great timidity of her -manner was solely owing to her being continually checked by her mother's -partiality to her sister. - -A very short study of her character convinced him she was exactly the -woman calculated to make him happy. He told her so; and found her by no -means averse to his making the same declaration to her father and -mother. - -Lord Montreville received it with pleasure; and preliminaries were soon -settled. In about six weeks, Lord Westhaven and Miss Augusta Delamere -were married at Bath, to the infinite satisfaction of all parties except -Miss Delamere; who could not be very well pleased with the preference -shewn her younger sister by a man whose morals, person, and fortune, -were all superior to what even her own high spirit had taught her to -expect in a husband. - -Crofts, tho' he saw all apprehensions of having Lord Westhaven for a -rival were at an end, could not help fearing that so advantageous a -match for the younger, might make the elder more unwilling to accept a -simple commoner with a fortune greatly inferior. - -The removal, however, of Lady Westhaven gave him more frequent -opportunities to urge his passion. Lady Montreville was now going to -Barege, Bath having been found less serviceable than was at first hoped -for; and Delamere was written to to meet her Ladyship and her eldest -daughter at Paris, in order to accompany them thither. - -Peace having been in the interim established, Lord Westhaven found he -should return no more to his regiment, and purposed with his wife to -attend Lady Montreville part of the way, and then to go into -Switzerland, where his mother's family resided, who had been of that -country. - -Lady Westhaven was extremely gratified by this scheme; not only because -she was delighted to wait on her mother, but because she hoped it would -help to dissipate a lurking uneasiness which hung over the spirits of -her Lord, and which he told her was owing to the uncertain and -distressing situation of a beloved sister. But whenever the subject was -mentioned, he expressed so much unhappiness, that his wife had not yet -had resolution to enquire into the nature of her misfortunes, and only -knew in general that she was unfortunately married. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - - -Emmeline had now lost her lover, at least for some time; and one of her -friends too was gone where she could seldom hear of her. These -deprivations attached her more closely than ever to Mrs. Stafford. Mr. -Stafford was gone to town; and except now and then a short and -melancholy visit from Fitz-Edward, to whom Delamere had lent his house -at Tylehurst, they saw nobody; for all the neighbouring families were in -London. They found not only society but happiness together enough to -compensate for almost every other; and passed their time in a way -particularly adapted to the taste of both. - -Adjoining to the estate where Mrs. Stafford resided, a tract of forest -land, formerly a chase and now the property of a collegiate body, deeply -indents the arable ground beyond it, and fringes the feet of the green -downs which rise above it. This part of the country is called Woodbury -Forest; and the deep shade of the beech trees with which it is covered, -is broken by wild and uncultured glens; where, among the broom, hawthorn -and birch of the waste, a few scattered cottages have been built upon -sufferance by the poor for the convenience of fewel, so amply afforded -by the surrounding woods. These humble and obscure cabbins are known -only to the sportsman and the woodcutter; for no road whatever leads -through the forest: and only such romantic wanderers as Mrs. Stafford -and Emmeline, were conscious of the beautiful walks which might be found -among these natural shrubberies and solitary shades. The two friends -were enjoying the softness of a beautiful April morning in these woods, -when, in passing near one of the cottages, they saw, at a low casement -half obscured by the pendant trees, a person sitting, whose dress and -air seemed very unlike those of the usual inhabitants of such a place. -She was intent on a paper, over which she leaned in a melancholy -posture; but on seeing the two ladies approach, she started up and -immediately disappeared. - -Tho' the distance at which they saw her, and the obscurity of the -window, prevented their distinguishing the features of the stranger, -they saw that she was young, and they fancied she was beautiful. The -same idea instantly occurred to Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline; that it was -some unfortunate young woman, whom Mr. Stafford had met with and had -concealed there. Something of the same sort had happened once before, -and Mrs. Stafford's anxiety and curiosity were both awakened by this -incident. Tho' the latter was a passion she never indulged where it's -object was the business of others, she could not repress it where it was -excited by suspicion of a circumstance which so nearly concerned -herself. - -Nor could she conceal from Emmeline her fears on this occasion; and -Emmeline, tho' unwilling to encrease them, yet knew enough of her -husband's conduct to believe they were too well founded. - -Mrs. Stafford had been accustomed to buy poultry of the woman who lived -at this cottage, and therefore went in, in hopes of finding some vestige -of the person they had seen, which might lead to an enquiry. But they -found nothing but the usual humble furniture and few conveniences of -such an house; and Mrs. Stafford forbore to enquire, lest the person she -had seen might be alarmed and take more effectual means of concealment. -But unable to rest, and growing every moment more desirous to know the -truth, and to know it before her husband, whom she expected in a few -days, returned, she arose very early the next morning, and, accompanied -by Emmeline, went to the cottage in the forest. - -The man who inhabited it was already gone out to his work, and the woman -to a neighbouring town to buy necessaries for her family. The door was -open; and the ladies received this intelligence from three little -children who were playing before it. - -They entered the low, smoky room, usually inhabited by the family. And -Mrs. Stafford, with a beating heart, determining to be satisfied, opened -a door which led from it, into that, at the window of which she knew the -stranger had appeared; and which the people of the house dignified with -the appellation of their parlour. - -In this room, on the brick floor, and surrounded by bare walls, stood a -bed, which seemed to have been brought thither for the accommodation of -some person who had not been accustomed to such an apartment. - -Mrs. Stafford saw, sleeping in it, a very young woman, pale, but -extremely beautiful; and her hand, of uncommon delicacy, lay on the -white quilt--A sight, which gave her pain for herself, and pity for the -unfortunate person before her, affected her so much, that having stood a -moment in astonishment, she stepped back to the place where Emmeline -sat, and burst into tears. - -The noise, however trifling, brought from above stairs a person -evidently a lady's maid, of very creditable appearance, who came down -hastily into the room where Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline were, saying, as -she descended the stairs--'I am coming immediately, my Lady.' But at the -sight of two strangers, she stopped in great confusion; and at the same -moment her mistress called to her. - -She hastened, without speaking, to attend the summons; and shut the door -after her. After remaining a few moments, she came out again, and asked -Mrs. Stafford if she wanted the woman of the house? - -To which Mrs. Stafford, determined whatever it cost her to know the -truth, said--'No--my business is with your lady.' - -The woman now appeared more confused than before; and said, -hesitatingly--'I--I--my lady--I fancy you are mistaken, madam.' - -'Go in, however, and let your mistress know that Mrs. Stafford desires -to speak to her.' - -The maid reluctantly and hesitatingly went in, and after staying some -time, came back. - -'My mistress, Madam, says she has not the pleasure of knowing you; and -being ill, and in bed, she hopes you will excuse her if she desires you -will acquaint her with your business by me.' - -'No,' replied Mrs. Stafford, 'I must see her myself. Tell her my -business is of consequence to us both, and that I will wait till it is -convenient to her to speak to me.' - -With this message the maid went back, with looks of great consternation, -to her mistress. They fancied they heard somebody sigh and weep -extremely. The maid came out once or twice and carried back water and -hartshorn. - -At length, after waiting near half an hour, the door opened, and the -stranger appeared, leaning on the arm of her woman. She wore a long, -white muslin morning gown, and a large muslin cap almost concealed her -face; her dark hair seemed to escape from under it, to form a decided -contrast to the extreme whiteness of her skin; and her long eye lashes -hid her eyes, which were cast down, and which bore the marks of recent -tears. If it were possible to personify languor and dejection, it could -not be done more expressively than by representing her form, her air, -her complexion, and the mournful cast of her very beautiful countenance. - -She slowly approached Mrs. Stafford, lifted up her melancholy eyes to -Emmeline, and attempted to speak. - -'I am at a loss to know, ladies,' said she, 'what can be your'----But -unable to finish the sentence, she sat down, and seemed ready to faint. -The maid held her smelling bottle to her. - -'I waited on you, Madam,' said Mrs. Stafford, 'supposing you were -acquainted--too well acquainted--with my name and business.' - -'No, upon my honour,' said the young person, 'I cannot even guess.' - -'You are very young,' said Mrs. Stafford, 'and, I fear, very -unfortunate. Be assured I wish not either to reproach or insult you; but -only to try if you cannot be prevailed upon to quit a manner of life, -which surely, to a person of your appearance, must be dreadful.' - -'It is indeed dreadful!' sighed the young woman--'nor is it the least -dreadful part of it that I am exposed to this.' - -She now fell into an agony of tears; which affected both Mrs. Stafford -and Emmeline so much, that forgetting their fears and suspicions, they -both endeavoured tenderly to console her. Having in some measure -succeeded, and Mrs. Stafford having summoned resolution to tell her what -were her apprehensions, the stranger saw that to give her a simple -detail of her real situation was the only method she had to satisfy her -doubts, and to secure her compassion and secresy; for which reason she -determined to do it; and Mrs. Stafford, whose countenance was all -ingenuousness as well as her heart, assured her she should never repent -her confidence; while Emmeline, whose looks and voice were equally -soothing and engaging to the unhappy, expressed the tenderest interest -in the fate of a young creature who seemed but little older than -herself, and to have been thrown from a very different sphere into her -present obscure and uncomfortable manner of life. - -The stranger would have attempted to relate her history to them -immediately; but her maid, a steady woman of three or four and thirty, -told her that she was certainly unable then, and begged the ladies not -to insist upon it till the evening, or the next day; adding--'My Lady -has been very poorly indeed all this week, and is continually fainting -away; and you see, ladies, how much she has been frightened this -morning, and I am sure she will not be able to go through it.' - -To the probability of this observation, the two friends assented; and -the young lady naming the next morning to gratify their curiosity, they -left her, Mrs. Stafford first offering her any thing her house afforded. -To which she replied, that at present she was tolerably well supplied, -and only conjured them to observe the strictest secresy, without which, -she said, she was undone. - -At the appointed time they returned; equally eager to hear, and, if -possible, to relieve, the sorrows of this young person, for whom they -could not help being interested, tho' they yet knew not how far she -deserved their pity. - -She had prepared her own little room as well as it would admit of to -receive them, and sat waiting their arrival with some degree of -composure. They contemplated with concern the ruins of eminent beauty -even in early youth, and saw an expression of helpless sorrow and -incurable unhappiness, which had greatly injured the original lustre and -beauty of her eyes and countenance. A heavy languor hung on her whole -frame. She tried to smile; but it was a smile of anguish; and their -looks seemed to distress and pain her. Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline, to -relieve her, took out their work; and when they were seated at it, she -hesitated--then sighed and hesitated again--and at length seemed to -enter on her story with desperate and painful resolution, as if to get -quickly and at once thro' a task which, however necessary, was extremely -distressing. She began in a low and plaintive voice; and frequently -stopped to summon courage to continue, while she wiped away the tears -that slowly fell from her eyes. - - * * * * * - -'I cannot believe I shall ever repent the confidence I am about to place -in you. My heart assures me I shall not. Perhaps I may find that pity I -dare no longer solicit from my own family; perhaps--but I must hasten to -tell you my melancholy story, before its recollection again overwhelms -me. Yet my fate has nothing in it very singular; numbers have been -victims of the same calamity, but some have been more easily forgiven -than I shall be.--Some are better able to bear infamy, and be reconciled -to disgrace. - -'My father, the late Earl of Westhaven, during the life of my -grandfather, married, while he was making the tour of Europe, a very -beautiful and amiable woman, the daughter of a man of rank in -Switzerland; who having lost his life in the French service, had left a -family without any provision, except for the eldest son. My grandfather, -extremely disobliged by this marriage, made a will by which he gave to -his only daughter every part of his extensive property, except what was -entailed, and which went with the title; with this reserve, that his -grandson should claim and inherit the whole, whenever he became Lord -Westhaven. By this will, he disinherited my father for his life; and -tho' he survived my father's marriage five years, and knew he had three -children, the two younger of whom must be inevitably impoverished by -such a disposition, he obstinately refused to alter the will he made -under the first impulse of resentment, and died before his son could -prevail upon him, by means of their general friends, to withdraw the -maledictions with which he had loaded him. - -'His death, not only hurt my father in his feelings, but irreparably in -his fortune. His sister, who was married to a Scottish nobleman, took -possession of estates to the amount of fifteen thousand a year; and all -that remained to my father, to support his rank and his encreasing -family, was little more than three thousand; and even that income he had -considerably diminished, by taking up money, which he was obliged to do -while my grandfather lived, for the actual maintenance of his family. - -'These unhappy circumstances, while they injured the health and spirits -of my father, diminished not his tenderness for his wife, whom he loved -with unabated passion. - -'To retrench as much as possible, he retired with her and his three -children to an estate, which being attached to the title, belonged to -him in Cumberland; in hopes of being able to live on the income he had -left, and to clear off the burden with which he had been compelled to -load his paternal estates. But a slow fever, the effect of sorrow, had -seized on my mother, then far advanced in her pregnancy with me; my -father, solicitous to save her in whom all his happiness was centered, -sent to London for the best advice to attend her. But their assistance -was vain; the fever encreased upon her, and she died three weeks after -my birth, leaving my father deprived of every thing that could make life -valuable in his estimation. He gave himself up to a despair equal to the -violence of his love, and would probably have fallen a victim to it, had -not the servants sent to Mr. Thirston, who had been his tutor, and for -whom he had the greatest friendship and respect. This excellent man -represented to him that it was his duty to live for the children of his -deplored Adelina; and he consented to try to live. - -'It was long before he could bear to see any of us; particularly me, -whom he beheld with a mixture of tenderness and regret. The gloomy -solitude in which he lived, where every object reminded him of her whose -smiles had rendered it a paradise, was ill calculated to meliorate his -affliction; but he could not be persuaded, for some months, to leave it, -or could he be diverted from going every evening to visit the spot where -lay the relicts of his Adelina. - -'At length Mr. Thirston prevailed on him to go abroad. But he could not -determine to leave my elder brother, then about five years old, of whom -he was passionately fond. They embarked for Naples; and he remained -abroad five years; while my sister, my brother William, and myself, were -left at Kensington, under the care of a female relation, and received -such instruction as our ages admitted. - -'My father returned to England only to place his eldest son at Eton. -Finding no relief from the sorrow which perpetually preyed on him, but -in continual change of place, he soon afterwards went again abroad, and -wandered over Europe for almost seven years longer, returning once or -twice to England in that interval to satisfy himself of our health and -the progress of our education. - -'When he last returned, my elder brother, then near eighteen, desired to -be allowed to go into the army. My father reluctantly consented; and the -regiment into which he purchased was soon after ordered abroad. The -grief the departure of his son gave him, was somewhat relieved by seeing -his elder daughter advantageously disposed of in marriage to the eldest -son of an Irish peer. The beauty of Lady Camilla was so conspicuous, and -her manners so charming, that though entirely without fortune, the -family of her husband could not object to the marriage. She went to -Ireland with her Lord; and it was long before I saw her again. - -'My brother William, who had always been designed for the navy, left me -also for a three years station in the Mediterranean; and I was now -always alone with my governess and my old relation, whose temper, soured -by disappointment and not naturally chearful, made her a very unpleasant -companion for a girl of fourteen. I learned, from masters who attended -me from London, all the usual accomplishments; but of the world I knew -nothing, and impatiently waited for the time when I should be sixteen; -for then the Dutchess of B----, who had kindly undertaken to introduce -my sister into company, had promised that she would afford me also her -countenance. I remember she smiled, and told me that as I was not less -pretty than Lady Camilla, I might probably have as good fortune, if I -was but as accomplished. To be accomplished, therefore, I endeavoured -with all my power; but the time seemed insupportably long, before this -essay was to be made. It was relieved, tho' mournfully, by frequent -visits from my father; who was accustomed to sit whole hours looking at -me, while his tears bore witness to the great resemblance I had to my -mother. My voice too, particularly when we conversed in French, -frequently made him start, as if he again heard that which he had never -ceased to remember and to regret. He would then fondly press me to his -heart, and call me his poor orphan girl, the image of his lost Adelina! - -'Tho' my mother had been now dead above fifteen years, his passion for -her memory seemed not at all abated. He had, by a long residence abroad, -paid off the debts with which he had incumbered his income, but could do -no more; and the expences necessary for young men of my brothers' rank -pressed hardly upon him. Ever since his return to England, his friends -had entreated him to attempt, by marrying a woman of fortune, to repair -the deficiency of his own; representing to him, that to provide for the -children of his Adelina, would be a better proof of his affection to her -memory than indulging a vain and useless regret. - -'He had however long escaped from their importunity by objecting, on -some pretence or other, to all the great fortunes which were pointed out -to him--his heart rejected with abhorrence every idea of a second -marriage. But my brothers every day required a larger supply of money to -support them as their birth demanded; and to their interest my father at -length determined to sacrifice the remainder of a life, which had on his -own account no longer any value. The heiress of a rich grocer in the -city was soon discovered by his assiduous friends, who was reputed to be -possessed of two hundred thousand pounds. On closer enquiry, the sum was -found to be very little if at all exaggerated by fame. Miss Jobson, with -a tall, meagre person, a countenance bordering on the horrible, and -armed with two round black eyes which she fancied beautiful, had seen -her fortieth year pass, while she attended on her papa, in -Leadenhall-street, or was dragged by two sleek coach horses to and from -Hornsey. Rich as her father was, he would not part with any thing while -he lived; and, by the assistance of two maiden sisters, had so guarded -his daughter from the dangerous attacks of Irishmen and younger -brothers, that she had reached that mature period without hearing the -soothing voice of flattery, to which she was extremely disposed to -listen. My father, yet in middle age, and with a person remarkably fine, -would have been greatly to her taste if he could have gratified, with a -better grace, her love of admiration. But his friends undertook to -court her for him; and his title still more successfully pleaded in his -favour. She made some objection to his having a family; but as I alone -remained at home, she at length agreed to undertake to be at once a -mother-in-law and a Countess. While this treaty was going on, and -settlements and jewels preparing, I was taken several times to wait on -Miss Jobson: but it was easy to see I had not the good fortune to please -her. - -'I was but just turned of fifteen, was full of gaiety and vivacity, and -possessed those personal advantages, which, if _she_ ever had any share -of them, were long since faded. She seemed conscious that the splendour -of her first appearance would be eclipsed by the unadorned simplicity of -mine; and she hated me because it was not in my power to be old and -ugly. Giddy as I then was, nothing but respect for my father prevented -my repaying with ridicule, the supercilious style in which she usually -treated me. Her vulgar manners, and awkward attempts to imitate those of -people of fashion, excited my perpetual mirth; and as her dislike of me -daily encreased, I am afraid I did not always conceal the contempt I -felt in return. Miss Jobson chose to pass some time at Tunbridge -previous to her marriage. Thither my father followed her; and I went -with him, eager to make my first appearance in public, and to see -whether the prophecies of the Duchess would be fulfilled. - -'This experiment was made in a party from Tunbridge to Lewes Races, -where I had the delight of dancing for the first time in public, and of -seeing the high and old fashioned little head of Miss Jobson, who -affected to do something which she thought was dancing also, almost at -the end of the set, while I, as an Earl's daughter, was nearly at the -top. Had I been ever accustomed to appear in public, these distinctions -would have been too familiar to have given me any pleasure; but now they -were enchanting; and, added to the universal admiration I excited, -intoxicated me with vanity. My partner, who had been introduced to me by -a man of high rank the moment I entered the room, was a gentleman from -the West of England, who was just of age, and entered into the -possession of a fortune of eight thousand a year. - -'Mr. Trelawny (for that was his name) followed us to Tunbridge, and -frequently danced with me afterwards. Educated in obscurity, and without -any prospect of the fortune to which he succeeded by a series of -improbable events, this young man had suddenly emerged into life. He -was tolerably handsome; but had a heavy, unmeaning countenance, and was -quite unformed. Several men of fashion, however, were kind enough to -undertake to initiate him into a good style of living; and for every -thing that bore the name of fashion and ton, he seemed to have a violent -attachment. To that, I owed his unfortunate prepossession in my -favour.--I was admired and followed by men whom he had been taught to -consider as the arbiters of elegance, and supreme judges of beauty and -fashion; but they could only admire--they could not afford to marry an -indigent woman of quality; and they told Trelawny that they envied him -the power of pleasing himself.--So Trelawny was talked to about me, till -he believed he was in love. In this persuasion he procured a statement -of his fortune to be shewn to my father, by one of his friends, and made -an offer to lay it at my feet; an offer which, tho' my father would have -been extremely glad to have me accept, he answered by referring Mr. -Trelawny to me. - -'I suspected no such thing; but with the thoughtless inattention of -sixteen, remembered little of the fine things which were said to me by -Trelawny at the last ball. While I was busied in inventing a new -_chapeau_ for the next, at which I intended to do more than usual -execution, my father introduced Mr. Trelawny, and left the room. I -concluded he was come to engage me for the evening, and felt disposed to -refuse him out of pure coquetry; when, with an infinite number of -blushes, and after several efforts, he made me in due form an offer of -his heart and fortune. I had never thought of any thing so serious as -matrimony; and indeed was but just out of the nursery, where I had never -been told it was necessary to think at all. I did not very well know -what to say to my admirer; and after the first speech, which I believe -he had learned by heart, he knew almost as little what to say to me; and -he was not sorry when I, in a great fright, referred him to my father, -merely because I knew not myself what answer to give him. Our -conversation ended, and he went to find my father, while I, for the -first time in my life, began to reflect on my prospects, and to consider -whether I preferred marrying Mr. Trelawny to living with Miss Jobson. To -Miss Jobson, I had a decided aversion; for Mr. Trelawny, I felt neither -love or hatred. My mind was not made up on the subject, when my father -came to me: he had seen Trelawny, and expressed himself greatly pleased -with the prudence and propriety of my answer. - -'"My Adelina knows," continued he, "that the happiness of my children is -the only wish I have on earth; and I may tell her, too, that my -solicitude for her exceeds all my other cares--solicitude, which will be -at an end if I can see her in the protection of a man of honour and -fortune. If therefore, my love, you really do not disapprove this young -man, whose fortune is splendid, and of whose character I have received -the most favourable accounts, I shall have a weight removed from my -mind, and enjoy all the tranquillity I can hope for on this side the -grave. - -'"You know how soon I am to marry Miss Jobson. A mother-in-law is seldom -beloved. I may die, and leave you unprovided for; for you know, Adelina, -the circumstances into which your grandfather's will has thrown me. Our -dear Charles, whenever he inherits my title, will repossess the fortune -of my ancestors, and will, I am sure, act generously by you and William; -but such a dependance, if not precarious, is painful; and by accepting -the proposal of Mr. Trelawny, all my apprehensions will be at an end, -and my Adelina secure of that affluence to which her merit as well as -her birth entitles her. But powerful as these considerations are, let -them not influence you if you feel any reluctance to the match. Were -they infinitely stronger, I will never again name them, if in doing so I -hazard persuading my daughter to a step which may render her for every -unhappy." - -'Tho' I was very far from feeling for Mr. Trelawny that decided -preference which would in other circumstances have induced me to accept -his hand, yet I found my father so desirous of my being settled, that as -I had no aversion to the man, I could not resolve to disappoint him. -Perhaps the prospect of escaping from the power of my mother-in-law, and -of being mistress of an affluent fortune instead of living in mortifying -dependance on her, might have too much influence on my heart. My father, -however, obtained without any difficulty my consent to close with Mr. -Trelawny's proposals. We all went to London, where Lord Westhaven -married Miss Jobson, and the settlements were preparing by which Mr. -Trelawny secured to me a jointure as great as I could have expected if -my fortune had been equal to my rank. - -'As the new Lady Westhaven was so soon to be relieved from the presence -of a daughter she did not love, she behaved to me with tolerable -civility. Occupied with her rank, she seemed to have infinite delight in -displaying it to her city acquaintance. Her Ladyship thought a coronet -so delightful an ornament, that the meanest utensils in her house were -adorned with it; and she wore it woven or worked on all her cloaths, in -the vain hope perhaps of counteracting the repelling effect of an -hideous countenance, a discordant voice, and a manner more vulgar than -either. I saw with concern that my father was not consoled by the -possession of her great fortune, for the mortification of having given -the name and place of his adored Adelina to a woman so unlike her in -mind and person. He was seldom well; seldomer at home; and seemed to -have no other delight than in hearing from his two sons and from his -eldest daughter; and when we were alone, he told me that to see me -married would also give him pleasure; but he appeared, I thought, less -anxious for the match than when it was first proposed. The preparations, -however, went on, and in six weeks were compleated. - -'In that interval, I had seen Trelawny almost every day. He always -seemed very good humoured, and was certainly very thoughtless. He loved -me, or fancied he loved me, extremely; but I sometimes suspected that it -was rather in compliance with the taste of others than his own; and that -a favourite hunter or a famous pointer were very likely to rival me. My -father sometimes laughed at his boyish fondness for such things, and the -importance he annexed to them; and sometimes I thought he looked grave -and hurt at observing it. - -'For my own part, I saw his follies; but none that I did not equally -perceive in the conduct of other young men. Tho' I had no absolute -partiality to him, I was totally indifferent to every other man. I -married him, therefore; and gave away my person before I knew I had an -heart. - -'We went immediately into Cornwall, to an old fashioned but magnificent -family seat; where I was received by Mr. Trelawny's sister, a woman some -years older than he was, and who had brought him up. The coarse -conversation of this woman, which consisted entirely in details of -family oeconomy; and the stupidity of her husband and a booby son of -fourteen, were but ill calculated to render my retirement pleasing. -Having laughed and wondered once at the uncouth figures and obsolete -notions of Mr. Trelawny's Cornish cousins, who hastened, in their best -cloaths, to congratulate him, from places whose barbarous names I could -not pronounce--and having twice entertained the voters of two boroughs -which belonged to the family; I had exhausted all the delights of -Cornwall, and prevailed on him to return to a country where I could see -a few beings like myself. - -'When I came back into the world, I was surrounded by a croud of idle -people, whose admiration flattered the vanity of Trelawny more than it -did mine; for I became accustomed to adulation, and it lost it's charms -with it's novelty. Trelawny was continually with young men of fashion, -who called themselves his friends; and who besides doing him the -kindness to advise and instruct him in the disposal of his fortune, -would have relieved him from the affections of his wife, if he had ever -possessed them. They made love to _me_, with as little scruple as they -borrowed money of _him_; and told me that neglect on the part of my -husband, well deserved to be repaid with infidelity on mine: but I felt -for these shallow libertines only disgust and contempt; and received -their professions with so much coldness, that they left me, in search of -some other giddy creature, who might not, by ill-timed prudery, belie -the promise of early coquetry. It was yet however very much the fashion -to admire me; and my husband seemed still to take some delight in -hearing and reading in the daily papers that Lady Adelina Trelawny was -the most elegant figure at Court, or that every beauty at the Opera was -eclipsed on _her_ entrance. The eagerness and avidity with which I had -entered, from the confinement of the nursery, to a life of continual -dissipation, was now considerably abated. I continued it from habit, and -because I knew not how to employ my time otherwise; but I felt a dreary -vacuity in my heart; and amid splendor and admiration was unhappy. - -'The return of my elder brother from his first campaign in America, was -the only real pleasure I had long felt. He is perhaps one of the most -elegant and accomplished young men of his time; but to be elegant and -accomplished is his least praise--His solid understanding, and his -excellent heart, are an honour to his country and to human nature. That -quick sense of honour, and that strictness of principle, which now make -my greatest terror, give a peculiar lustre and dignity to his character. -My father received him with that delight a father only can feel; and saw -and gloried with all a father's pride, in a successor worthy of his -ancestors. - -'My brother, who had always loved me extremely, tho' we had been very -little together, took up his abode at my house while he staid in -England. Trelawny seemed to feel a sort of awe before him, which made -him endeavour to hide his vices if not his weakness, while he remained -with us. He was more attentive to me than he had long been. My brother -hoped I was happy; and tho' Trelawny was a man whose conversation -afforded him no pleasure, he behaved to him with every appearance of -friendship and regard. He was soon however to return to his regiment; -and my father, who had been in a declining state of health ever since -his second marriage, appeared to grow worse as the period of separation -approached. He seemed to have waited only for this beloved son to close -his eyes; for a few days before he was again to take leave, my father -found his end very rapidly approaching. - -'Perfectly conscious of it, he settled all his affairs; and made a -provision for me and my brother William out of the money of the present -Lady Westhaven, which the marriage articles gave him a right to dispose -of after her Ladyship's death if he left no children by her; and -recommended us both to his eldest son. - -'"You will act nobly by our dear William," said he; "I have no doubt of -it; but above all, remember my poor Adelina. Camilla is happily married. -Tell her I die blessing her, and her children! But Adelina--my -unfortunate Adelina is herself but a child, and her husband is very -young and thoughtless. Watch over her honour and her repose, for the -sake of your father and that dear woman she so much resembles, your -sainted mother." - -'I was in the room, in an agony of sorrow. He called me to him. "My -daughter," said he, in a feeble voice, "remember that the honour of your -family--of your brothers--is in your hands--and remember it is -sacred.--Endeavour to deserve the happiness of being sister to such -brothers, and daughter to such a mother as yours was!" - -'I was unable to answer. I could only kiss his convulsed hands; which I -eagerly did, as if to tell him that I promised all he expected of me. My -own heart, which then made the vow, now perpetually reproaches me with -having kept it so ill! - -'A few hours afterwards, my father died. My brother, unable to announce -to me the melancholy tidings, took my hand in silence, and led me out of -the house, which was now Lady Westhaven's. He had only a few days to -stay in England, which he employed in paying the last mournful duties to -his father; and then embarked again for America, leaving his affairs to -be settled by my sister's husband, Lord Clancarryl, to whom he wrote to -come over from Ireland; for my brother William was now stationed in the -West Indies, where he obtained the command of a man of war; and my -brother Westhaven knew, that to leave any material business to Trelawny, -was to leave it to ignorance and imbecility. - -'In my husband, I had neither a friend or a companion--I had not even a -protector; for except when he was under the restraint of my brother's -presence, he was hardly ever at home. Sometimes he was gone on tours to -distant counties to attend races or hunts, to which he belonged; and -sometimes to France, where he was embarked in gaming associations with -Englishmen who lived only to disgrace their name. Left to pass my life -as the wife of such a man as Trelawny, I felt my brother's departure as -the deprivation of all I loved. But the arrival of my sister and her -husband relieved me. I had not seen them for some years; and was -delighted to meet my sister happy with a man so worthy and respectable -as Lord Clancarryl. - -'He took possession on behalf of my brother of the estate my aunt was -now obliged to resign; and as my sister was impatient to return to -Ireland, where she had left her children, they pressed me extremely to -go thither with them. Trelawny was gone out on one of his rambles; but I -wrote to him and obtained his consent--indeed he long since ceased to -trouble himself about me. - -'I attended my sister therefore to Lough Carryl; on the beautiful banks -of which her Lord had built an house, which possessing as much -magnificence as was proper to their rank, was yet contrived with an -attention to all the comforts of domestic retirement. Here Lady -Clancarryl chose to reside the whole year; and my Lord never left it but -to attend the business of Parliament at Dublin. - -'His tender attention to his wife; his ardent, yet regulated fondness -for his children; the peace and order which reigned in his house; the -delightful and easy society he sometimes collected in it, and the -chearful confidence we enjoyed in quiet family parties when without -company; made me feel with bitterness and regret the difference between -my sister's lot and mine. _Her_ husband made it the whole business of -his life to fulfill every duty of his rank, _mine_ seemed only -solicitous to degrade himself below his. One was improving his fortune -by well regulated oeconomy; the other dissipating his among gamesters -and pick-pockets. The conversation of Lord Clancarryl was sensible, -refined, and improving; Trelawny's consisted either in tiresome details -of adventures among jockies, pedigrees of horses, or scandalous and -silly anecdotes about persons of whom nobody wished to hear; or he sunk -into sullen silence, yawned, and shewed how very little relish he had -for any other discourse. - -'When I married him, I knew not to what I had condemned myself. As his -character gradually discovered itself, my reason also encreased; and -now, when I had an opportunity of comparing him to such a man as Lord -Clancarryl, I felt all the horrors of my destiny! and beheld, with a -dread from which my feeble heart recoiled, a long, long prospect of life -before me--without attachment, without friendship, without love. - -'I remained two months in Ireland; and heard nothing of Trelawny, 'till -a match having been made on the Curragh of Kildare, on which he had a -large bet depending, he came over to be present at it; and I heard with -regret that I was to return with him. While he remained in Ireland, his -disgusting manners, and continual intoxication, extremely displeased -Lord Clancarryl; and I lived in perpetual uneasiness. A few days before -we were to embark for England, George Fitz-Edward, his Lordship's -younger brother, came from the north of Ireland, where he had been with -his regiment, to Lough Carryl; but it was only a passing visit to his -family--he was going to England, and we were to sail in the same -pacquet.' - - * * * * * - -At the mention of George Fitz-Edward, Lady Adelina grew more distressed -than she had yet been in the course of her narrative. Mrs. Stafford and -Emmeline testified signs of surprize. She observed it; and asked if they -knew him? Mrs. Stafford answered, they had some acquaintance with him; -and Emmeline remarked that she either never heard or had forgotten that -his father's second title was Clancarryl. - -His very name seemed to affect Lady Adelina so much, and she appeared so -exhausted by having spoken so long, that tho' she told them she had but -little to add to her mournful story, they insisted upon her permitting -them to release her till the evening, when they would attend her again. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - - -They found Lady Adelina in better spirits in the evening than they had -hoped for--She seemed to have been arguing herself into the composure -necessary to go on with her story. - - * * * * * - -'As you have some acquaintance with George Fitz-Edward, I need not -describe his person or his manner; nor how decided a contrast they must -form with those of such a man as him to whom I was unhappily united. -This contrast, in spite of all my endeavours, was perpetually before my -eyes--I thought Fitz-Edward, who was agreeable as his brother, had a -heart as good; and _my_ heart involuntarily made the comparison between -what I was, and what I might have been, if my fate had reserved me for -Fitz-Edward. - -'We embarked--It was about the autumnal equinox; and before we had -sailed two leagues, the wind suddenly changing, blew from the opposite -quarter, and then from every quarter by turns. As I was always subject -to sickness in the cabin, I had lain down on the deck, on a piece of -sail-cloth, and wrapped in my _pelisse_; and Fitz-Edward sat by me. But -when the wind grew so violent that it was necessary every moment to -shift the sails, I, who was totally insensible, was in the way of the -sailors. Fitz-Edward carried me down in his arms; and having often heard -me express an abhorrence to the close beds in the cabin, by the help of -my own maid he accommodated me with one on the floor; where he continued -to watch over me, without attending to his own danger, tho' he heard the -master of the pacquet express his apprehensions that we should be driven -back on the bar, and beat to pieces. - -'Trelawny, in whom self-preservation was generally alive, whatever -became of his other feelings, had passed so jovial an evening before he -departed, that he was perfectly unconscious of his own danger. After -struggling some hours to return into the bay, it was with difficulty -accomplished about five in the morning. Fitz-Edward, with the tenderest -solicitude, saw me safe on shore, whither Trelawny was also brought. But -far from being rejoiced at our narrow escape, he cursed his ill luck, -which he said had raised this confounded storm only to prevent his -returning in time to see Clytemnestra got into proper order for the -October meeting. - -'I was so ill the next day, thro' the fear and fatigue I had undergone, -that I was absolutely unable to go on board. But nothing that related to -me could detain Trelawny, who embarked again as soon as the pacquet was -refitted, and after some grumbling at my being too ill to go, left me to -follow him by the next conveyance, and recommended me with great -coolness to the care of Fitz-Edward. - -'We staid only two days after him. Fitz-Edward, as well during the -passage as on our journey to London, behaved to me with the tenderness -of a brother; and I fancied my partiality concealed from him, because I -tried to conceal it. If he saw it, he shewed no disposition to take -advantage of it, and I therefore thought I might fearlessly indulge it. - -'When I arrived at my house in town, I found that Trelawny was absent, -and had left a letter for me desiring me to go down to a house he had -not long before purchased in Hampshire, as a hunting seat. Without -enquiring his reasons, I obeyed him. I took a melancholy leave of -Fitz-Edward, and went into Hampshire; where, as Trelawny was not there, -I betook myself to my books, and I fear to thinking too much of -Fitz-Edward. - -'After I had been there about a fortnight, I was surprized by a visit -from the object of my indiscreet contemplations. He looked distressed -and unhappy; and his first conversation seemed to be preparing me for -some ill news. I was dreadfully alarmed, and enquired eagerly for my -sister?--her husband?--her children?-- - -'"I hope, and believe they are well," answered he. "I have letters of a -very late date from my brother." - -'"Oh God!" cried I, in an agony (for his countenance still assured me -something very bad had happened) "Lord Westhaven--my brother, my dear -brother!"-- - -'"Is well too, I hope--at least I assure you I know nothing to the -contrary." - -'"Is it news from Jamaica then? Has there been an engagement. There has, -I know, and my brother William is killed." - -'"No, upon my honour," replied Fitz-Edward, "had Godolphin been killed, -I, who love him better than any man breathing, could not have brought -the intelligence--But my dear Lady Adelina, are there then no other -misfortunes but those which arise from the death of friends?" - -'"None," answered I, "but what I could very well bear. Tell me, -therefore, I conjure you tell me, and keep me no longer in suspence--I -can hear any thing since I have nothing to apprehend for the lives of -those I love." - -'"Well then," answered he, "I will tell you.--I fear things are very bad -with Mr. Trelawny. It is said that all the estate not entailed, is -already gone; and that he has even sold his life interest in the rest. -All his effects at the town house are seized; and I am afraid the same -thing will in a few hours happen here. I came therefore, lovely Lady -Adelina, to intreat you to put yourself under my protection, and to quit -this house, where it will soon be so improper for you to remain." - -'I enquired after the unhappy Trelawny? He told me he had left him -intoxicated at a gaming house in St. James's street; that he had told -him he was coming down to me, to which he had consented, tho' -Fitz-Edward said he much doubted whether he knew what he was saying. - -'Fitz-Edward then advised me to pack up every thing I wished to -preserve, and immediately to depart; for he feared that persons were -already on the road to seize the furniture and effects in execution. - -'"Gracious heaven!" cried I, "what can I do?--Whither can I go!" - -'"Trust yourself with me," cried Fitz-Edward--"dear, injured Lady -Adelina." - -'"Let me rather," answered I, "go down to Trelawny Park." - -'"Alas!" said he, "the same ruin will there overtake you. Be assured Mr. -Trelawny's creditors will equally attach his property there. You know -too, that by the sale of his boroughs he has lost his seat in -parliament, and that therefore his person will not be safe. He must -himself go abroad." - -'Doubting, and uncertain what I ought to do, I could determine on -nothing. Fitz-Edward proposed my going to Mr. Percival's, who had -married one of his sisters. They are at Bath, said he; but the house and -servants are at my disposal, and it is only five and twenty miles from -hence. Hardly knowing what I did, I consented to this proposal; and -taking my jewels and some valuable plate with me, I set out in a post -chaise with Fitz-Edward, leaving my maid to follow me the next day, and -give me an account whether our fears were verified. - -'They were but too well founded. Four hours after I had left the house, -the sheriff's officers entered it--Information which encreased my -uneasiness for the fate of the unfortunate Trelawny; in hopes of -alleviating whose miseries I would myself have gone to London, but -Fitz-Edward would not suffer me. He said it was more than probable that -my husband was already in France; that if he was yet in England, he had -no house in which to receive me, and would feel more embarrassed than -relieved by my presence. But as I continued to express great uneasiness -to know what was become of him, he offered to go to London and bring me -some certain intelligence. - -'At the end of a week, which appeared insupportably long, he returned, -and told me that with some difficulty he had discovered my unhappy -husband at the house of one of his friends, where he was concealed, and -where he had lost at picquet more than half the ready money he could -command. That with some difficulty he had convinced him of the danger as -well as folly of remaining in such a place; and had accompanied him to -Dover, whence he had seen him sail for France. - -'I told Fitz-Edward that I would instantly give up as much of my -settlement as would enable Trelawny to live in affluence, till his -affairs could be arranged; but he protested that he would not suffer me -to take any measure of that sort, till I had the advice of _his_ -brother: or, till one of my own returned to England. - -'"Do you know," said he, at the end of this conversation--"Do you know, -Lady Adelina, that I envy Trelawny his misfortunes, since they excite -such generous pity.--Good God! of what tenderness, of what affection -would not such a heart be capable, if"---- - -'Fitz-Edward had seldom hazarded an observation of this sort, tho' his -eyes had told me a thousand times that he internally made them. He could -convey into half a sentence more than others could express by the most -elaborate speeches. Alas! I listened to him with too much pleasure; for -my treacherous heart had already said more than his insidious eloquence. - -'I wrote to Lord Clancarryl, entreating him to come over. He assured me -he would do so, the moment he could leave my sister, who was very near -her time; but that in the interim his brother George would obey all my -commands, and render me every service he could himself do if present. - -'Thrown, therefore, wholly into the power of Fitz-Edward; loving him but -too well; and seeing him every hour busied in serving me--I will not -accuse him of art; I had myself too little to hide from him the fatal -secret of my heart; I could not summon resolution to fly from him, till -my error was irretrievable--till I found myself made compleatly -miserable by the consciousness of guilt. - -'After remaining there about a fortnight, I left the house of Mr. -Percival, and took a small lodging in the neighbourhood of -Cavendish-square. Fitz-Edward saw me every day.--I met him indeed with -tears and confusion; but if any accident prevented his coming, or if he -even absented himself at my own request, the anguish I felt till I again -saw him convinced me that it was no longer in my power to live without -him. - -'Trelawny had given me no directions for my conduct; nor had he even -written to me, 'till he had occasion for money. He then desired me to -send him five hundred guineas--a sum I had no immediate means of -raising, but by selling some of my jewels. This I would immediately have -done; but Fitz-Edward, who would not hear of it, brought me the money in -a few hours, and undertook to remit it, together with a letter from me, -to the unfortunate man for whom it was designed. - -'He tried too--ah, how vainly!--to persuade me, that in acting thus I -had done more than my duty to such an husband. His sophistry, aided by -my own wishes to believe him, could not quiet the incessant reproaches -with which my conscience pursued me--I remembered my father's dying -injunctions, I remembered the inflexible notions of honour inherited by -both my brothers, and I trembled at the severe account to which I might -be called. I could now no longer flatter myself that my error would be -concealed, since of its consequences I could not doubt; and while I -suffered all the terrors of remorse and apprehension, Lord Clancarryl -came over. - -'In order to take measures towards settling Trelawny's affairs, it was -necessary to send for his sister, who had a bond for five thousand -pounds, which claim was prior to every other. This woman, whom it was -extremely disagreeable to me to meet, lamented with vulgar clamour her -brother's misfortunes; which she said could never have happened if he -had not been so unlucky as to get quality notions into his head. I know -not what at first raised her suspicions; but I saw that she very -narrowly observed Fitz-Edward; and sneeringly said that it was _very -lucky_ indeed for me to have such a friend, and _quite kind_ in the -colonel to take so much trouble. She made herself thoroughly acquainted -with all that related to her brother, from the time of our parting in -Ireland; and I found that she had attempted to bribe my servant to give -her an account of my conduct; in which tho' she had failed of success, -she had found that Fitz-Edward had been constantly with me. His -attendance was indeed less remarkable when Lord Clancarryl, his brother, -was also present; but Mrs. Bancraft, determined to believe ill of me, -suffered not this circumstance to have any weight, and hinted her -suspicions of our attachment in terms so little guarded, that it was -with the utmost difficulty I could prevail on Fitz-Edward not to resent -her impertinence. - -'Lord Clancarryl despised this vulgar and disgusting woman too much to -attend to the inuendos he heard; and far from suspecting my unhappy -weakness, he continued to lay me under new obligations to Fitz-Edward by -employing him almost incessantly in the arrangement of Trelawny's -affairs. - -'On looking over the will of that relation, who had bequeathed to Mr. -Trelawny the great fortune he had possessed, I discovered the reason of -Mrs. Bancraft's attentive curiosity in regard to me--if he died without -heirs, above six thousand a year was to descend to her son, who was to -take the name. He had been now married above two years, and his bloated -and unhealthy appearance (the effect of excessive drinking) indicated -short life; and had made her for some time look forward to the -succession of the entailed estate as an event almost certain for her -son. This sufficiently explained her conduct, and encreased all my -apprehensions; for I found that avarice would stimulate malice into that -continued watchfulness which I could not now undergo without the loss of -my fame and my peace. - -'All things being settled by Lord Clancarryl in the best manner he could -dispose them for Mr. Trelawny, his Lordship pressed me to go with him to -Ireland; but conscious that I should carry only disgrace and sorrow into -the happy and respectable family of my sister, I refused, under pretence -of waiting to hear again from Trelawny before I took any resolution as -to my future residence. - -'His Lordship therefore left me, having obtained my promise to go over -to Lough Carryl in the spring. Fitz-Edward continued to see me almost -every day, attempting by the tenderest assiduity to soothe and -tranquillize my mind. But time, which alleviates all other evils, only -encreased mine; and they were now become almost insupportable. After -long deliberation, I saw no way to escape the disgrace which was about -to overwhelm me, but hiding myself from my own family and from all the -world. I determined to keep my retreat secret, even from Fitz-Edward -himself; and to punish myself for my fatal attachment by tearing myself -for ever from it's object. Could I have supported the contempt of the -world, to which it was evidently the interest of Mrs. Bancraft to expose -me, I could not bear the most distant idea of the danger to which the -life of Fitz-Edward would be liable from the resentment of my brothers. -That he might perish by the hand of Lord Westhaven or Captain Godolphin, -or that one of those dear brothers might fall by his, was a suggestion -so horrid, and yet so probable, that it was for ever before me; and I -hastened to fly into obscurity, in the hope, that if my error is -concealed till I am myself in the grave, my brothers may forgive me, and -not attempt to wash out the offence in the blood of the surviving -offender. - -'To remain, and to die here unknown, is all I now dare to wish for. My -servant having formerly known the woman who inhabits this cottage, -contrived to have a few necessaries sent hither without observation; I -have made it worth the while of the people to be secret; and as they -know not my name, I had little apprehension of being discovered. - -'I took no leave of Fitz-Edward; nor have I written to him since. I -lament the pain my sudden absence must give him; but am determined to -see him no more. Should my child live----' - - * * * * * - -Lady Adelina was now altogether unable to proceed, and fell into an -agony of distress which greatly affected her auditors. Mrs. Stafford and -Emmeline said every thing they could think of to console her, and soften -the horror she seemed to feel for her unhappy indiscretion. But she -listened in listless despondence to their discourse, and answered, that -to be reconciled to guilt, and habituated to disgrace, was to be sunk in -the last abyss of infamy. - -They left her not, however, till they saw her rather more tranquil; and -till Mrs. Stafford had prevailed upon her to accept of some books, which -she hoped might amuse her mind, and detach it awhile from the sad -subject of it's mournful contemplations. These she promised to convey to -the cottage in a way that could create no suspicion. And relieved of her -own apprehensions, yet full of concern for the fair unhappy mourner (to -whom neither she or Emmeline had given the least intimation of -Fitz-Edward's frequent residence in that country,) they returned to -Woodfield, impressed with the most earnest solicitude to soften the -calamities they had just heard related, tho' to cure them was -impossible. - - - END OF THE SECOND VOLUME - - - - -VOLUME III - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -Whenever Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline were afterwards alone, they could -think and speak of nothing but Lady Adelina. The misfortunes in which an -unhappy marriage had involved her, her friendless youth, her lovely -figure, the settled sorrow and deep regret that she seemed to feel for -the error into which her too great sensibility of heart had betrayed -her, engaged their tenderest pity, and made them both anxious to give -her all the consolation and assistance she was now capable of receiving. - -When they considered the uncertainty of her remaining long concealed -where she was, and the probability that Fitz-Edward himself might -discover her, they saw the necessity of her removal from Woodbury -Forest. But it was a proposal they could not yet make--nor had they yet -recollected any place where she might be more secure. - -Emmeline, who felt herself particularly interested by her misfortunes, -and who was more pleased with her conversation the oftener she conversed -with her, seldom failed of seeing her every day: but Mrs. Stafford, more -apprehensive of observation, could not so frequently visit her; and the -precaution of both redoubled, when Mrs. Ashwood, Miss Galton, and the -two Miss Ashwood's, arrived at Woodfield, where they declared an -intention of staying the months of June and July. - -Thither also, soon after, came the younger Mr. Crofts, who had made an -acquaintance with Mr. Stafford in London with the hope of obtaining an -invitation, which he eagerly accepted. - -Sir Richard Crofts, in the ambition of making a family, had determined -to give every advantage to his eldest son, which might authorise him to -look up to those alliances that would, he hoped, make his own obscurity -forgotten. From the first dawn of his fortune, he had considered Mr. -Crofts as it's general heir; and had very plainly told his younger son, -that a place under government, which he had procured for him, of about -three hundred a year, must be his only dependance; till he should -possess two thousand pounds, all the provision he intended making for -him at his death--as he meant not to diminish, by a more equal division, -the patrimony of his brother. He recommended to him therefore to remedy -this deficiency of fortune, by looking out for an affluent wife. - -Nature had not eminently qualified him for success in such a project; -for his person was short, thick, and ill made, and his face composed of -large broad features, two dim grey eyes, and a complexion of a dull -sallow white. A vain attempt to look like a gentleman, served only to -render the meanness of his figure more remarkable; and the qualities of -his heart and understanding were but little calculated to make his -personal imperfections forgotten. His heart was selfish, narrow, -unfeeling, and at once mean and proud; his understanding beneath -mediocrity; and his conversation consisted of quaint scraps of something -that he supposed was wit, or at least very like it. And even such -attempts to be entertaining, poor as they were, he retailed from the -office where he passed the greatest part of his time, and for a -subaltern employment in which, his education had been barely such as -fitted him. But ignorant as he was, and devoid of every estimable -accomplishment, he had an infinite deal of that inferior kind of policy -called cunning; and being accustomed to consider his establishment as -depending wholly on himself, he had acquired a habit of sacrificing -every sentiment and every passion to that one purpose; and would adopt -the opinions, and submit to the caprices of others, whenever he thought -they could promote it. He had learned the obsequious attention, the -indefatigable industry, the humble adulation which is necessary for the -under departments of political business: and while such acquisitions -gave him hopes of rising in that line, they failed not to contribute to -his success in another. He would walk from the extremity of Westminster -to Wapping, to smuggle a set of china or of quadrille boxes, for the -mother or aunt of an heiress; and would, with great temper, suffer the -old ladies to take advantage of him at cards, while he ogled the young -ones. Which, together with his being always ready to perform for them -petty services, and to flatter them without scruple, had obtained for -him the character of 'one of the best creatures breathing.' But -whatever favour these various recommendations obtained for him for a -time, from the elderly ladies, he lost his ground when his views were -discovered; and tho' he had received what he fancied encouragement from -two or three young women of fortune on their first emerging from the -nursery, yet they had no sooner acquired an handsomer or richer lover, -than 'the best creature breathing' was discarded. - -He was not however discouraged; and meeting with Mrs. Ashwood at a rout -at Lady Montreville's, he was told by Miss Delamere, who was extremely -diverted with her airs of elegance, that she was a rich widow who wanted -a husband. He enquired into the circumstances of her fortune; and being -assured she possessed such an income as would make him easy, he thought -some little advantage she had over him in point of age no diminution of -her attractions, and found it convenient to fall immediately in love. -She listened to him with complaisance; and soon discovered 'that he was -not so plain as at first he appeared to be'--soon afterwards, 'that he -was rather handsome, and vastly sensible and agreeable.' After which, he -made a rapid progress in her heart; and it was concerted between them -that he should follow her to Woodfield. - -Emmeline and Mrs. Stafford were wearied to death with the party. But the -former forbore to complain, and the latter was forced to submit, and to -smile, while anguish was frequently at her heart. - -Mrs. Ashwood talked of nothing but fashionable parties and fashionable -people, to whom her acquaintance with Lord Montreville's family had -introduced her; and she now seldom deigned to name an untitled -acquaintance--while Crofts hung on her long narratives with affected -admiration; and the two elder of her three daughters, who were all in -training to be beauties, aped their mother in vanity and impertinence. - -The eldest Miss Ashwood, now about fourteen, was an insupportable -torment to Emmeline, as she had taken it into her head to form, with -her, a sentimental friendship. She had learned all the cant of sentiment -from novels; and her mama's lovers had extremely edified her in teaching -her to express it. She talked perpetually of delicate embarrassments and -exquisite sensibilities, and had probably a lover, as she extremely -wanted a confidant; a post which Emmeline with some difficulty -declined.--Of 'the sweet novels' she had read, she just understood as -much as made her long to become the heroine of such an history herself, -and she wanted somebody to listen to her hopes of being so. But Emmeline -shrunk from her advances, and repaid her fondness with general and cool -civility; tho' Mrs. Ashwood, who loved rather to listen to Crofts than -to attend to her daughters, continually promoted the intimacy, in hopes -that she would take them off her own hands, and allow them to be the -companions of her walks. - -This, Emmeline was obliged studiously to evade, as such companions would -entirely have prevented her seeing Lady Adelina; and by repeated excuses -she not only irritated the curiosity of Mrs. Ashwood and Miss Galton, -but gave the former an additional cause of dislike to that which she had -already conceived; inasmuch as she was younger, handsomer, and more -admired than herself. - -Emmeline received frequent letters from Delamere, as warm and passionate -as his personal professions. He told her, that as his mother's health -was greatly amended, he intended soon to visit those parts of France -with which he was yet unacquainted; and should pass some time in the -Northern Provinces, from whence he entreated her to allow him to come -only for a few days to England to see her--an indulgence which he said -would enable him to bear with more tranquillity the remaining months of -his exile. - -Tho' now accustomed to consider him as her husband, Emmeline resolutely -refused to consent to this breach of his engagement to his father. She -had lately seen in her friends, Mrs. Stafford and Lady Adelina, two -melancholy instances of the frequent unhappiness of very early -marriages; and she had no inclination to hazard her own happiness in -hopes of proving an exception. She wished, therefore, rather to delay -her union with Delamere two or three years; but to him she never dared -hint at such a delay. A clandestine interview it was, however, in her -power to decline; and she answered his request by entreating him not to -think of such a journey; and represented to him that he could not expect -Lord Montreville would finally adhere to _his_ promises, if he himself -was careless of fulfilling the conditions on which his Lordship had -insisted. Having thus, as she supposed, prevented Delamere from -offending his father, and without any immediate uneasiness on her own -account, she gave up her mind to the solicitude she could not help -feeling for Lady Adelina. This occupied almost all her time when she -was alone; and gave her, when in company, an air of absence and reserve. - -Tho' Mrs. Ashwood so much encouraged the attention of James Crofts, she -had not forgotten Fitz-Edward, whom she had vainly sought at Lady -Montreville's, in hopes of renewing an acquaintance which had in it's -commencement offered her so much satisfaction. Fitz-Edward had been -amused with her absurdity at the moment, but had never thought of her -afterwards; nor would he then have bestowed so much time on a woman to -him entirely indifferent, had not he been thrown in her way by his -desire to befriend Delamere with Emmeline, on one of those days when -Lady Adelina insisted on his leaving her, to avoid the appearance of his -passing with her all his time. Happy in successful love, his gaiety then -knew no bounds; and his agreeable flattery, his lively conversation, his -fashionable manners, and his handsome person, had not since been absent -from the memory of Mrs. Ashwood. His being sometimes at the house he had -borrowed of Delamere, near Woodfield, was one of the principal -inducements to her to go thither. She indulged sanguine hopes of -securing such a conquest; and evaded giving to Crofts a positive answer, -till she had made another essay on the heart of the Colonel. - -He came, however, so seldom to Woodfield, that Mrs. Stafford had seen -him there only once since her meeting Lady Adelina; and then he appeared -to be under encreased dejection, for which she knew now, how to account. - -Emmeline had given Mrs. Stafford so indifferent an account of Lady -Adelina one evening, that she determined the next morning to see her. -She therefore went immediately after breakfast, on pretence of visiting -a poor family who had applied to her for assistance; when as Mrs. -Ashwood, Miss Galton and Emmeline, were sitting together, Colonel -Fitz-Edward was announced. - -He came down to Tylehurst only the evening before; and not knowing there -was company at Woodfield, rode over to pass an hour with the two -friends, to whom he had frequently been tempted to communicate the -source of his melancholy. - -Whether it was owing to the consciousness of Lady Adelina's mournful -story that arose in the mind of Emmeline, or whether seeing Fitz-Edward -again in company with Mrs. Ashwood renewed the memory of what had -befallen her when they last met, she blushed deeply the moment she -beheld him, and arose from her chair in confusion; then sat down and -took out her work, which she had hastily put up; and trying to recover -herself, grew still more confused, and trembled and blushed again. - -Mrs. Ashwood was in the mean time overwhelming Fitz-Edward with -compliments and kind looks, which he answered with the distant civility -of a slight acquaintance; and taking a chair close to Emmeline, enquired -if she was not well? - -She answered that she was perfectly well; and attempted to introduce -general conversation. But Fitz-Edward was attentive only to her; and -Mrs. Ashwood, extremely piqued at his distant manner, meditated an -excuse to get Emmeline out of the room, in hopes of obtaining more -notice. - -Fitz-Edward, however, having talked apart with Miss Mowbray a short -time, arose and took leave, having by his manner convinced Mrs. Ashwood -of what she reluctantly believed, that some later attachment had -obliterated the impression she had made at their first interview. - -'I never saw such a figure in my life,' cried she, 'as Mr. Fitz-Edward. -Mercy on me!--he is grown _so_ thin, and _so_ sallow!' - -'And _so_ stupid,'interrupted Miss Galton. 'He is in love I fancy.' - -Emmeline blushed again; and Mrs. Ashwood casting a malicious look at -her, said--'Oh! yes--he doubtless is in love. To men of his gay turn you -know it makes no difference, whether a person be actually married or -_engaged_.' - -Emmeline, uncertain of the meaning of this sarcasm, and unwilling to be -provoked to make a tart reply, which she felt herself ready to do, put -up her work and left the room. - -While she went in search of Mrs. Stafford, to enquire after Lady -Adelina, and to relate the conversation that had passed between her and -Fitz-Edward, Mrs. Ashwood and Miss Galton were indulging their natural -malignity. Tho' well apprized of Emmeline's engagement to Delamere, yet -they hesitated not to impute her confusion, and Fitz-Edward's behaviour, -to a passion between them. They believed, that while her elopement with -Delamere had beyond retreat entangled her with him, and while his -fortune and future title tempted her to marry him, her heart was in -possession of Fitz-Edward; and that Delamere was the dupe of his -mistress and his friend. - -This idea, which could not have occurred to a woman who was not herself -capable of all the perfidy it implied, grew immediately familiar with -the imagination of Mrs. Ashwood, and embittered the sense of her own -disappointment. - -Miss Galton, who hated Emmeline more if possible than Mrs. Ashwood, -irritated her suspicions by remarks of her own. She observed 'that it -was very extraordinary Miss Mowbray should walk out so early in a -morning, and so studiously avoid taking any body with her--and that -unless she had appointments to which she desired no witness, it was very -singular she should chuse to ramble about by herself.' - -From these observations, and her evident confusion on seeing him, they -concluded that she had daily assignations with Fitz-Edward. They agreed, -that it would be no more than common justice to inform Mr. Delamere of -their discovery; and this they determined to do as soon as they had -certain proofs to produce, with which they concluded a very little -trouble and attention would furnish them. - -James Crofts, whose success was now indisputable, since of the handsome -Colonel there were no hopes, was let into the secret of their -suspicions; and readily undertook to assist in detecting the intrigue, -for which he assured them he had particular talents. While, therefore, -Mrs. Ashwood, Miss Galton, and James Crofts, were preparing to undermine -the peace and character of the innocent, ingenuous Emmeline, she and -Mrs. Stafford were meditating how to be useful to the unhappy Lady -Adelina. They became every day more interested and more apprehensive for -the fate of that devoted young woman, whose health seemed to be such as -made it very improbable she should survive the birth of her child. Her -spirits, too, were so depressed, that they could not prevail on her to -think of her own safety, or to allow them to make any overtures to her -family; but, in calm and hopeless languor, she seemed resigned to the -horrors of her destiny, and determined to die unlamented and unknown. - -Her elder brother, Lord Westhaven, had returned from abroad almost -immediately after her concealment. His enquiries on his first arrival in -England had only informed him of the embarrassment of Trelawny's -affairs, and the inconvenience to which his sister had consequently been -exposed; and that after staying some time in England, to settle things -as well as she could, she had disappeared, and every body believed was -gone to her husband. His Lordship's acquaintance and marriage with -Augusta Delamere, almost immediately succeeded; but while it was -depending, he was astonished to hear from Lord and Lady Clancarryl that -Lady Adelina had never written to them before her departure. He went in -search of Fitz-Edward; but could never meet him at home or obtain from -his servants any direction where to find him. Fitz-Edward, indeed, -purposely avoided him, and had left no address at his lodgings in town, -or at Tylehurst. - -Lord Westhaven then wrote to Trelawny, but obtained no answer; and -growing daily more alarmed at the uncertainty he was in about Lady -Adelina, he determined to go, as soon as he was married, to Switzerland; -being persuaded that tho' some accident had prevented his receiving her -letters, she had found an asylum there, amongst his mother's relations. - -Fitz-Edward, with anxiety even more poignant, had sought her with as -little success. After the morning when she discharged her lodgings, and -left them in an hackney coach with her maid, he could never, with all -his unwearied researches, discover any traces of her. - -He knew she was not gone to Trelawny; and dreading every thing from her -determined sorrow, he passed his whole time between painful and -fruitless conjectures, and the tormenting apprehension of hearing of -some fatal event. Incessantly reproaching himself for being the betrayer -of his trust, and the ruin of a lovely and amiable woman, he gave -himself up to regret and despondence. The gay Fitz-Edward, so lately the -envy and admiration of the fashionable world, was lost to society, his -friends, and himself. - -He passed much of his time at Tylehurst; because he could there indulge, -without interruption, his melancholy reflections, and only saw Mrs. -Stafford and Emmeline, in whose soft and sensible conversation he found -a transient alleviation of his sorrow--sorrow which now grew too severe -to be longer concealed, and which he resolved to take the earliest -opportunity of acknowledging, in hopes of engaging the pity of his fair -friends--perhaps their assistance in discovering the unhappy fugitive -who caused it. - -From Lady Adelina, they had most carefully concealed, that his residence -was so near the obscure abode she had chosen. Fatal as he had been to -her peace, and conscientiously as she had abstained from naming him -after their first conversation, they knew that she still fondly loved -him, and that her fears for his safety had assisted her sense of -rectitude when she determined to tear herself from him. But were she -again to meet him, they feared she would either relapse into her former -fatal affection, or conquer it by an effort, which in her precarious -state of health might prove immediately fatal. - -The request which Fitz-Edward had made to Emmeline, that he might be -allowed to see her and Mrs. Stafford together, without any other person -being present, they both wished to evade; dreading least they should by -their countenances betray the knowledge they had of his unhappy story, -and the interest they took in it's catastrophe. - -They hoped, therefore, to escape hearing his confession till Lady -Adelina should be removed--and to remove her became indispensibly -necessary, as Emmeline was convinced she was watched in her visits to -the cottage. - -Twice she had met James Crofts within half a quarter of a mile of the -cottage; and at another time discovered, just as she was about to enter -it, that the Miss Ashwoods had followed her almost to the door; which -she therefore forbore to enter. These circumstances made both her and -Mrs. Stafford solicitous to have Lady Adelina placed in greater -security; and, added to Emmeline's uneasiness for her, was the -unpleasant situation in which she found herself. - -Observed with malicious vigilance by Mrs. Ashwood, James Crofts, Miss -Galton, and the two Misses, she felt as awkward as if she really had -some secret of her own to hide; and with all the purity and even heroism -of virtue, learned the uneasy sensation which ever attends mystery and -concealment. The hours which used to pass tranquilly and rationally with -Mrs. Stafford, were now dedicated to people whose conversation made her -no amends; and if she retired to her own room, it failed not to excite -sneers and suspicions. She saw Mrs. Stafford struggling with dejection -which she had no power to dissipate or relieve, and obliged to enter -into frequent parties of what is called pleasure, tho' to her it gave -only fatigue and disgust, to gratify Mrs. Ashwood, who hated all society -but a crowd. James Crofts, indeed, helped to keep her in good humour by -his excessive adulation; and chiefly by assuring her, that by any man of -the least taste, the baby face of Emmeline could be considered only as a -foil to her more mature charms, and that her fine dark eyes eclipsed all -the eyes in the world. He protested too against Emmeline for affecting -knowledge--'It is,' said he, 'a maxim of my father's--and my father is -no bad judge--that for a woman to affect literature is the most horrid -of all absurdities; and for a woman to know any thing of business, is -detestable!' - -Mrs. Ashwood laid by her dictionary, determined for the future to spell -her own way without it. - -Besides the powerful intervention of flattery, James Crofts had another -not less successful method of winning the lady's favour. He told her -that his brother, who had long cherished a passion in which he was at -length likely to be disappointed, was in that case determined never to -marry; that he was in an ill state of health; and if he died without -posterity, the estate and title of his father would descend to himself. - -The elder Crofts, very desirous of seeing a brother established who -might otherwise be burthensome or inconvenient to him, suggested this -finesse; and secured it's belief by writing frequent and melancholy -accounts of his own ill health--an artifice by which he promoted at once -his brother's views and his own. He affected the valetudinarian so -happily, and complained so much of the ill effect that constant -application to business had on his constitution, that nobody doubted of -the reality of his sickness. He took care that Miss Delamere should -receive an account of it, which he knew she would consider as the -consequence of his despairing love; and when he had interested her -vanity and of course her compassion, he contrived to obtain leave of -absence for three months from the duties of his office, in order to go -abroad for the recovery of his health. He hastened to Barege; and soon -found means to re-establish himself in the favour of Miss Delamere; from -which, absence, and large draughts of flattery dispensed with French -adroitness, had a little displaced him. This stratagem put his brother -James on so fair a footing with the widow, that he thought her fortune -would be secured before she could discover it to be only a stratagem, -and that her lover was still likely to continue a younger brother. - -James Crofts seeing the necessity of dispatch, became so importunate, -that Mrs. Ashwood, despairing of Fitz-Edward, and believing she might -not again meet with a man so near a title, for which she had a violent -inclination, was prevailed on to promise she would make him happy as -soon as she returned to her own house. - -It was now the end of June; and Lady Adelina, whose situation grew very -critical, had at length yielded to the entreaties of her two friends, -and agreed to go wherever they thought she could obtain assistance and -concealment in the approaching hour. - -Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline, after long and frequent reflections and -consultations on the subject, concluded that no situation would be so -proper as Bath. In a place resorted to by all sorts of people, less -enquiry is excited than in a provincial town, where strangers are -objects of curiosity to it's idle inhabitants. To Bath, therefore, it -was determined Lady Adelina should go. But when the time of her journey, -and her arrangements there, came to be discussed, she expressed so much -terror least she should be known, so much anguish at leaving those to -whose tender pity she was so greatly indebted, and such melancholy -conviction that she should not survive, that the sensible heart of -Emmeline could not behold without sharing her agonies; nor was Mrs. -Stafford less affected. When they returned home after this interview, -Emmeline was pursued by the image of the poor unhappy Adelina. But to -give, to the wretched, only barren sympathy, was not in her nature, -where more effectual relief was in her power. She thought, that if by -her presence she could alleviate the anguish, and soothe the sorrows of -the fair mourner, perhaps save her character and her life, and be the -means of restoring her to her family, she should perform an action -gratifying to her own heart, and acceptable to heaven. The more she -reflected on it, the more anxious she became to execute it--and she at -length named it to Mrs. Stafford. - -Mrs. Stafford, tho' aware of the numberless objections which might have -been made to such a plan, could not resolve strenuously to oppose it. -She felt infinite compassion for Lady Adelina; but could herself do -little to assist her, as her time was not her own and her absence must -have been accounted for: but Emmeline was liable to no restraint; and -would not only be meritoriously employed in befriending the unhappy, but -would escape from the society at Woodfield, which became every day more -disagreeable to her. These considerations, particularly the benevolent -one of saving an unhappy young woman, over-balanced, in the mind of Mrs. -Stafford, the objection that might be made to her accompanying a person -under the unfortunate and discreditable circumstances of Lady Adelina; -and her heart, too expansive to be closed by the cold hand of prudery -against the sighs of weakness or misfortune, assured her that she was -right. She knew that Emmeline was of a character to pity, but not to -imitate, the erroneous conduct of her friend; and she believed that the -reputation of Lady Adelina Trelawny might be rescued from reproach, -without communicating any part of it's blemish to the spotless purity of -Emmeline Mowbray. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -As soon as Emmeline had persuaded herself of the propriety of this plan -and obtained Mrs. Stafford's concurrence, she hinted her intentions to -Lady Adelina; who received the intimation with such transports of -gratitude and delight, that Emmeline, confirmed in her resolution, no -longer suffered a doubt of it's propriety to arise; and, with the -participation of Mrs. Stafford only, prepared for her journey, which was -to take place in ten days. - -Mrs. Stafford also employed a person on whom she could rely, to receive -the money due to Lady Adelina from her husband's estate. But of this her -Ladyship demanded only half, leaving the rest for Trelawny. The attorney -in whose hands Trelawny's affairs were placed by Lord Westhaven, was -extremely anxious to discover, from the person employed by Mrs. -Stafford, from whence he obtained the order signed by Lady Adelina; and -obliged him to attend several days before he would pay it, in hopes, by -persuasions or artful questions, to draw the secret from him. He met, at -the attorney's chambers, an officer who had made of him the same -enquiry, and had followed him home, and since frequently importuned -him--intelligence, which convinced Mrs. Stafford that Lady Adelina must -soon be discovered, (as they concluded the officer was Fitz-Edward,) and -made both her and Emmeline hasten the day of her departure. - -About a quarter of a mile from Woodfield, and at the extremity of the -lawn which surrounded it, was a copse in which the accumulated waters of -a trout stream formed a beautiful tho' not extensive piece of water, -shaded on every side by a natural wood. Mrs. Stafford, who had -particular pleasure in the place, had planted flowering shrubs and -caused walks to be cut through it; and on the edge of the water built a -seat of reeds and thatch, which was furnished with a table and a few -garden chairs. Thither Emmeline repaired whenever she could disengage -herself from company. Solitude was to her always a luxury; and -particularly desirable now, when her anxiety for Lady Adelina, and -preparations for their approaching departure, made her wish to avoid the -malicious observations of Mrs. Ashwood, the forward intrusion of her -daughters, and the inquisitive civilities of James Crofts. She had now -only one day to remain at Woodfield, before that fixed for their setting -out; and being altogether unwilling to encounter the fatigue of such an -engagement so immediately previous to her journey, she declined being of -the party to dine at the house of a neighbouring gentleman; who, on the -occasion of his son's coming of age, was to give a ball and _fete -champetre_ to a very large company. - -Mrs. Ashwood, seeing Emmeline averse, took it into her head to press her -extremely to go with them; and finding she still refused, said--'it was -monstrous rude, and that she was sure no young person would decline -partaking such an entertainment if she had not some _very particular_ -reason.' - -Emmeline, teized and provoked out of her usual calmness, answered--'That -whatever might be her reasons, she was fortunately accountable to nobody -for them.' - -Mrs. Ashwood, provoked in her turn, made some very rude replies, which -Emmeline, not to irritate her farther, left the room without answering; -and as soon as the carriages drove from the door, she dined alone, and -then desiring one of the servants to carry her harp into the -summer-house in the copse, she walked thither with her music books, and -soon lost the little chagrin which Mrs. Ashwood's ill-breeding had given -her. - -Fitz-Edward, who arrived in the country the preceding evening, after -another fruitless search for Lady Adelina, walked over to Woodfield, in -hopes, as it was early in the afternoon, that he might obtain, in the -course of it, some conversation with Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline. On -arriving, he met the servant who had attended Emmeline to the copse, and -was by him directed thither. As he approached the seat, he heard her -singing a plaintive air, which seemed in unison with his heart. She -started at the sight of him--Mrs. Ashwood's suspicions immediately -occurred to her, and at the same moment the real motive which had made -him seek this interview. She blushed, and looked uneasy; but the -innocence and integrity of her heart presently restored her composure, -and when Fitz-Edward asked if she would allow him half an hour of her -time, she answered--'certainly.' - -He sat down by her, dejectedly and in silence. She was about to put -aside her harp, but he desired her to repeat the air she was singing. - -'It is sweetly soothing,' said he, 'and reminds me of happier days when -I first heard it; while you sing it, I may perhaps acquire resolution to -tell you what may oblige you to discard me from your acquaintance. It -does indeed require resolution to hazard such a misfortune.' - -Emmeline, not knowing how to answer, immediately began the air. The -thoughts which agitated her bosom while she sung, made her voice yet -more tender and pathetic. She saw the eyes of Fitz-Edward fill with -tears; and as soon as she ceased he said-- - -'Tell me, Miss Mowbray--what does the man deserve, who being entrusted -with the confidence of a young and beautiful woman--beautiful, even as -Emmeline herself, and as highly accomplished--has betrayed the sacred -trust; and has been the occasion--oh God!--of what misery may I not have -been the occasion! - -'Pardon me,' continued he--'I am afraid my despair frightens you--I will -endeavour to command myself.' - -Emmeline found she could not escape hearing the story, and endeavoured -not to betray by her countenance that she already knew it. - -Fitz-Edward went on-- - -'When first I knew you, I was a decided libertine. Yourself and Mrs. -Stafford, lovely as I thought you both, would have been equally the -object of my designs, if Delamere's passion for you, and the reserved -conduct of Mrs. Stafford, had not made me doubt succeeding with either. -But for your charming friend my heart long retained it's partiality; nor -would it ever have felt for her that pure and disinterested friendship -which is now in regard to her it's only sentiment, had not the object of -my present regret and anguish been thrown in my way. - -'To you, Miss Mowbray, I scruple not to speak of this beloved and -lamented woman; tho' her name is sacred with me, and has never yet been -mentioned united with dishonour. - -'The connection between our families first introduced me to her -acquaintance. In her person she was exquisitely lovely, and her manners -were as enchanting as her form. The sprightly gaiety of unsuspecting -inexperience, was, I thought, sometimes checked by an involuntary -sentiment of regret at the sacrifice she had made, by marrying a man -every way unworthy of her; except by that fortune to which she was -indifferent, and of which he was hastening to divest himself. - -'I had never seen Mr. Trelawny; and knew him for some time only from -report. But when he came to Lough Carryl, my pity for her, encreased in -proportion to the envy and indignation with which I beheld the -insensible and intemperate husband--incapable of feeling for her, any -other sentiment, than what she might equally have inspired in the lowest -of mankind. - -'Her unaffected simplicity; her gentle confidence in my protection -during a voyage in which her ill-assorted mate left her entirely to my -care; made me rather consider her as my sister than as an object of -seduction. I resolved to be the guardian rather than the betrayer of her -honour--and I long kept my resolution.' - -Fitz-Edward then proceeded to relate the circumstances that attended the -ruin of Trelawny's fortune; and that Lady Adelina was left to struggle -with innumerable difficulties, unassisted but by himself, to whom Lord -Clancarryl had delegated the task of treating with Trelawny's sister and -creditors. - -'Her gratitude,' continued he, 'for the little assistance I was able to -give her, was boundless; and as pity had already taught me to love her -with more ardour than her beauty only, captivating as it is, would have -inspired; gratitude led her too easily into tender sentiments for me. I -am not a presuming coxcomb; but she was infinitely too artless to -conceal her partiality; and neither her misfortunes, or her being the -sister of my friend Godolphin, protected her against the libertinism of -my principles.' - -He went on to relate the deep melancholy that seized Lady Adelina; and -his own terror and remorse when he found her one morning gone from her -lodgings, where she had left no direction; and from her proceeding it -was evident she designed to conceal herself from his enquiries. - -'God knows,' pursued he, 'what is now become of her!--perhaps, when most -in need of tenderness and attention, she is thrown destitute and -friendless among strangers, and will perish in indigence and obscurity. -Unused to encounter the slightest hardship, her delicate frame, and -still more sensible mind, will sink under those to which her situation -will expose her--perhaps I shall be doubly a murderer!' - -He stopped, from inability to proceed--Emmeline, in tears, continued -silent. - -Struggling to conquer his emotion and recover his voice, Fitz-Edward at -length continued-- - -'While I was suffering all the misery which my apprehension for her fate -inflicted, her younger brother, William Godolphin, returned from the -West Indies, where he has been three years stationed. I was the first -person he visited in town; but I was not at my lodgings there. Before I -returned from Tylehurst, he had informed himself of all the -circumstances of Trelawny's embarrassments, and his sister's absence. He -found letters from Lord Westhaven, and from my brother, Lord Clancarryl; -who knowing he would about that time return to England, conjured him to -assist in the attempt of discovering Lady Adelina; of whose motives for -concealing herself from her family they were entirely ignorant, while it -filled them with uneasiness and astonishment. As soon as I went back to -London, Godolphin, of whose arrival I was ignorant, came to me. He -embraced me, and thanked me for my friendship and attention to his -unfortunate Adelina--I think if he had held his sword to my heart it -would have hurt me less! - -'He implored me to help his search after his lost sister, and again said -how greatly he was obliged to me--while I, conscious how little I -deserved his gratitude, felt like a coward and an assassin, and shrunk -from the manly confidence of my friend. - -'Since our first meeting, I have seen him several times, and ever with -new anguish. I have loved Godolphin from my earliest remembrance; and -have known him from a boy to have the best heart and the noblest spirit -under heaven. Equally incapable of deserving or bearing dishonour, -Godolphin will behold me with contempt; which tho' I deserve, I cannot -endure. He must call me to an account; and the hope of perishing by his -hand is the only one I now cherish. Yet unable to shock him by divulging -the fatal secret, I have hitherto concealed it, and my concealment he -must impute to motives base, infamous, and pusillanimous. I can bear -such reflections no longer--I will go to town to-morrow, explain his -sister's situation to him, and let him take the only reparation I can -now make him.' - -Emmeline, shuddering at this resolution, could not conceal how greatly -it affected her. - -'Generous and lovely Miss Mowbray! pardon me for having thus moved your -gentle nature; and allow me, since I see you pity me, to request of you -and Mrs. Stafford a favour which will probably be the last trouble the -unhappy Fitz-Edward will give you. - -'It may happen that Lady Adelina may hereafter be discovered--tho' I -know not how to hope it. But if your generous pity should interest you -in the fate of that unhappy, forlorn young woman, your's and Mrs. -Stafford's protection might yet perhaps save her; and such interposition -would be worthy of hearts like yours. As the event of a meeting between -me and Godolphin is uncertain, shall I entreat you, my lovely friend, to -take charge of this paper. It contains a will, by which the child of -Lady Adelina will be entitled to all I die possessed of. It is enough, -if the unfortunate infant survives, to place it above indigence. Lord -Clancarryl will not dispute the disposition of my fortune; and to your -care, and that of Mrs. Stafford, I have left it in trust, and I have -entreated you to befriend the poor little one, who will probably be an -orphan--but desolate and abandoned it will not be, if it's innocence and -unhappiness interest you to grant my request. Delamere will not object -to your goodness being so exerted; and you will not teach it, generous, -gentle as you are! to hold in abhorrence the memory of it's father. This -is all I can now do. Farewell! dearest Miss Mowbray!--Heaven give you -happiness, _ma douce amie!_ Farewell!' - -These last words, in which Fitz-Edward repeated the name by which he was -accustomed to address Emmeline, quite overcame her. He was hastening -away, while, hardly able to speak, she yet made an effort to stop him. -The interview he was about to seek was what Lady Adelina so greatly -dreaded. Yet Emmeline dared not urge to him how fatal it would be to -her; she knew not what to say, least he should discover the secret with -which she was entrusted; but in breathless agitation caught his hand as -he turned to leave her, crying-- - -'Hear me, Fitz-Edward! One moment hear me! Do not go to meet Captain -Godolphin. I conjure, I implore you do not!' - -She found it impossible to proceed. Her eyes were still eagerly fixed on -his face; she still held his hand; while he, supposing her extreme -emotion arose from the compassionate tenderness of her nature, found the -steadiness of his despair softened by the soothing voice of pity, and -throwing himself on his knees, he laid his head on one of the chairs, -and wept like a woman. - -Emmeline, who now hoped to persuade him not to execute the resolution he -had formed, said--'I will take the paper you have given me, Fitz-Edward, -and will most religiously fulfil all your request in it to the utmost -extent of my power. But in return for my giving you this promise, I must -insist'---- - -At this moment James Crofts stood before them. - -Emmeline, shocked and amazed at his appearance, roused Fitz-Edward by a -sudden exclamation. - -He started up, and said fiercely to Crofts--'Well, Sir!--have you any -commands here?' - -'Commands, Sir,' answered Crofts, somewhat alarmed by the tone in which -this question was put--'I have no commands to be sure Sir--but, but, I -came Sir, just to enquire after Miss Mowbray. I did not mean to -intrude.' - -'Then, Sir,' returned the Colonel, 'I beg you will leave us.' - -'Oh! certainly, Sir,' cried Crofts, trying to regain his courage and -assume an air of raillery--'certainly--I would not for the world -interrupt you. My business indeed is not at all material--only a -compliment to Miss Mowbray--your's,' added he sneeringly, 'is, I see, of -more consequence.' - -'Look ye, Mr. Crofts,' sharply answered Fitz-Edward--'You are to make no -impertinent comments. Miss Mowbray is mistress of her actions. She is in -my particular protection on behalf of my friend Delamere, and I shall -consider the slightest failure of respect to her as an insult to me. -Sir, if you have nothing more to say you will be so good as to leave -us.' - -There was something so hostile in the manner in which Fitz-Edward -delivered this speech, that James Crofts, more at home in the cabinet -than the field, thought he might as well avoid another injunction to -depart; and quietly submit to the present, rather than provoke farther -resentment from the formidable soldier. He therefore, looking most -cadaverously, made one of his jerking bows, and said, with something he -intended for a smile-- - -'Well, well, good folks, I'll leave you to your _tete a tete_, and -hasten back to my engagement. Every body regrets Miss Mowbray's absence -from the ball; and the partner that was provided for her is ready to -hang himself.' - -An impatient look, darted from Fitz-Edward, stopped farther effusion of -impertinence, and he only added--'Servant! servant!' and walked away. - -Fitz-Edward, then turning towards Emmeline, saw her pale and faint. - -'Why, my dear Miss Mowbray, do you suffer this man's folly to affect -you? Your looks really terrify me!' - -'Oh! he was sent on purpose,' cried Emmeline.--'Mrs. Ashwood has lately -often hinted to me, that whatever are my engagements to Delamere I was -much more partial to you. She has watched me for some time; and now, on -my refusing to accompany them to the ball, concluded I had an -appointment, and sent Crofts back to see.' - -'If I thought so,' sternly answered Fitz-Edward, 'I would instantly -overtake him, and I believe I could oblige him to secresy.' - -'No, for heaven's sake don't!' said Emmeline--'for heaven's sake do not -think of it! I care not what they conjecture--leave them to their -malice--Crofts is not worth your anger. But Fitz-Edward, let us return -to what we were talking of. Will you promise me to delay going to -London--to delay seeing Mr. Godolphin until--in short, will you give me -your honour to remain at Tylehurst a week, without taking any measures -to inform Godolphin of what you have told me. I will, at the end of that -time, either release you from your promise, or give you unanswerable -reasons why you should relinquish the design of meeting him at all.' - -Fitz-Edward, however amazed at the earnestness she expressed to obtain -this promise, gave it. He had no suspicion of Emmeline's having any -knowledge of Lady Adelina; and accounted for the deep interest she -seemed to take in preventing an interview, by recollecting the universal -tenderness and humanity of her character. He assured her he would not -leave Tylehurst 'till the expiration of the time she had named. He -conjured her not to suffer any impertinence from Crofts on the subject -of their being seen together, but to awe him into silence by resentment. -Emmeline now desired him to leave her. But she still seemed under such -an hurry of spirits, that he insisted on being allowed to attend her to -the door of the house, where, renewing his thanks for the compassionate -attention she had afforded him, and entreating her to compose herself, -he left her. - -Emmeline intending to go to her own room, went first into the drawing -room to deposit her music book. She had hardly done so, when she heard a -man's step, and turning, beheld Crofts open the door, which he -immediately shut after him. - -'I thought, Sir,' said Emmeline, 'you had been gone back to your -company.' - -'No, not yet, my fair Emmeline. I wanted first to beg your pardon for -having disturbed so snug a party. Ah! sly little prude--who would think -that you, who always seem so cold and so cruel, made an excuse only to -stay at home to meet Fitz-Edward? But it is not fair, little dear, that -all your kindness should be for him, while you will scarce give any -other body a civil look. Now I have met with you I swear I'll have a -kiss too.' - -Emmeline, terrified to death at his approaching her with this speech, -flew to the bell, which she rang with so much violence that the rope -broke from the crank. - -'Now,' cried Crofts, 'if nobody hears, you are more than ever in my -power.' - -'Heaven forbid!' shrieked Emmeline, in an agony of fear. 'Let me go, Mr. -Crofts, this moment.' - -She would have rushed towards the door but he stood with his arms -extended before it. - -'You did not run thus--you did not scream thus, when Fitz-Edward, the -fortunate Fitz-Edward, was on his knees before you. Then, you could weep -and sigh too, and look so sweetly on him. But come--you see I know so -much that it will be your interest, little dear, to make me your -friend.' - -'Rather let me apply to fiends and furies for friendship! hateful, -detestable wretch! by what right do you insult and detain me?' - -'Oh! these theatricals are really very sublime!' cried he, seizing both -her hands, which he violently grasped. - -She shrieked aloud, and fruitlessly struggled to break from him, when -the footsteps of somebody near the door obliged him to let her go. She -darted instantly away, and in the hall met one of the maids. - -'Lord, Miss,' cried the servant, 'did you ring? I've been all over the -house to see what bell it was.' - -Emmeline, without answering, flew to her own room. The maid followed -her: but desirous of being left alone, she assured the girl that nothing -was the matter; that she was merely tired by a long walk; and desiring -a glass of water, tried to compose and recollect herself; while Crofts -unobserved returned to the house where the _fete_ was given time enough -to dress and dance with Mrs. Ashwood. - -It was at her desire, that immediately after dinner Crofts had left the -company under pretence of executing a commission with which she easily -furnished him; but his real orders were to discover the motives of -Emmeline's refusal to be of the party. This he executed beyond his -expectation. It was no longer to be doubted that very good intelligence -subsisted between Emmeline and Fitz-Edward, since he had been found on -his knees before her; while she, earnestly yet kindly speaking, hung -over him with tears in her eyes. Knowing that Emmeline was absolutely -engaged to Delamere, he was persuaded that Fitz-Edward was master of her -heart; and that the tears and emotion to which he had been witness, were -occasioned by the impossibility of her giving him her hand. He knew -Fitz-Edward's character too well to suppose he could be insensible of -the lady's kindness; and possessing himself a mind gross and depraved, -he did not hesitate to believe all the ill his own base and illiberal -spirit suggested. - -Tho', interested hypocrite as he was, he made every other passion -subservient to the gratification of his avarice, Crofts had not coldly -beheld the youth and beauty of Emmeline; he had, however, carefully -forborne to shew that he admired her, and would probably never have -betrayed what must ruin him for ever with Mrs. Ashwood, had not the -conviction of her partiality to Fitz-Edward inspired him with the -infamous hope of frightening her into some kindness for himself, by -threatening to betray her stolen interview with her supposed lover. - -The scorn and horror with which Emmeline repulsed him served only to -mortify his self love, and provoke his hatred towards her and the man -whom he believed she favoured; and with the inveterate and cowardly -malignity of which his heart was particularly susceptible, he determined -to do all in his power to ruin them both. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -Such was the horror and detestation which Emmeline felt for Crofts, that -she could not bear the thoughts of seeing him again. But as she feared -Mrs. Stafford might resent his behaviour, and by that means embroil -herself with the vain and insolent Mrs. Ashwood, with whom she knew -Stafford was obliged to keep on a fair footing, she determined to say as -little as she could of his impertinence to Mrs. Stafford, but to -withdraw from the house without again exposing herself to meet him. As -soon as she saw her the next morning, she related all that had passed -between Fitz-Edward and herself; and after a long consultation they -agreed that to prevent his seeing Godolphin was absolutely necessary; -and that no other means of doing so offered, but Mrs. Stafford's -relating to him the real circumstances and situation of Lady Adelina, as -soon as she could be removed from her present abode and precautions -taken to prevent his discovering her. This, Mrs. Stafford undertook to -do immediately after their departure. It was to take place on the next -day; and Emmeline, with the concurrence of her friend, determined that -she would take no leave of the party at Woodfield: for tho' the -appearance of mystery was extremely disagreeable and distressing to -Emmeline, she knew that notice of her intentions would excite enquiries -and awaken curiosity very difficult to satisfy; and that it was -extremely probable James Crofts might be employed to watch her, and by -that means render abortive all her endeavours to preserve the unhappy -Lady Adelina. - -Relying therefore on the generosity and innocence of her intentions, she -chose rather to leave her own actions open to censure which they did not -deserve, than to risk an investigation which might be fatal to the -interest of her poor friend. She took nothing with her, Mrs. Stafford -undertaking every necessary arrangement about her cloaths--and having at -night taken a tender leave of this beloved and valuable woman, and -promised to write to her constantly and to return as soon as the destiny -of Lady Adelina should be decided, they parted. - -And Emmeline, arising before the dawn of the following morning, set out -alone to Woodbury Forest--a precaution absolutely necessary, to evade -the inquisitive watchfulness of James Crofts. She stole softly down -stairs, before even the servants were stirring, and opening the door -cautiously, felt some degree of terror at being obliged to undertake so -long a walk alone at such an hour. But innocence gave her courage, and -friendly zeal lent her strength. As she walked on, her fears subsided. -She saw the sun rise above the horizon, and her apprehensions were at an -end. - -As no carriage could approach within three quarters of a mile of the -house where Lady Adelina was concealed, they were obliged to walk to the -road where Mrs. Stafford had directed a post chaise to wait for them, -which she had hired at a distant town, where it was unlikely any enquiry -would be made. - -Long disuse, as she had hardly ever left the cottage from the moment of -her entering it, and the extreme weakness to which she was reduced, made -Emmeline greatly fear that Lady Adelina would never be able to reach the -place. With her assistance, and that of her Ladyship's woman, slowly and -faintly she walked thither; and Emmeline saw her happily placed in the -chaise. Every thing had been before settled as to the conveyance of the -servant and baggage, and to engage the secresy of the woman with whom -she had dwelt, by making her silence sufficiently advantageous; and as -they hoped that no traces were left by which they might be followed, the -spirits of the fair travellers seemed somewhat to improve as they -proceeded on their journey.--Emmeline felt her heart elated with the -consciousness of doing good; and from the tender affection and -assistance of such a friend, which could be considered only as the -benevolence of heaven itself, Lady Adelina drew a favourable omen, and -dared entertain a faint hope that her penitence had been accepted. - -They arrived without any accident at Bath, the following day; and -Emmeline, leaving Lady Adelina at the inn, went out immediately to -secure lodgings in a retired part of the town. As soon as it was dark, -Lady Adelina removed thither in a chair; and was announced by Emmeline -to be the wife of a Swiss officer, to be herself of Switzerland, and to -bear the name of Mrs. St. Laure--while she herself, as she was very -little known, continued to pass by her own name in the few transactions -which in their very private way of living required her name to be -repeated. - -When Mrs. Ashwood found that Emmeline had left Woodfield clandestinely -and alone, and that Mrs. Stafford evaded giving any account whither she -was gone, by saying coldly that she was gone to visit a friend in -Surrey whom she formerly knew in Wales, all the suspicions she had -herself harboured, and Miss Galton encouraged, seemed confirmed. James -Crofts had related, not without exaggerations, what he had been witness -to in the copse; and it was no longer doubted but that she was gone with -Fitz-Edward, which at once accounted for her departure and the sudden -and mysterious manner in which it was accomplished. James Crofts had -suspicions that his behaviour had hastened it; but he failed not to -confirm Mrs. Ashwood in her prepossession that her entanglement with -Fitz-Edward was now at a period when it could be no longer -concealed--intelligence which was to be conveyed to Delamere. - -The elder Crofts, who had been some time with Lady Montreville and her -daughter, had named Delamere from time to time in his letters to his -brother. The last, mentioned that he was now with his mother and sister, -who were at Nice, and who purposed returning to England in about three -months. Crofts represented Delamere as still devoted to Emmeline; and as -existing only in the hope of being no longer opposed in his intention of -marrying her in March, when the year which he had promised his father to -wait expired; but that Lady Montreville, as time wore away, grew more -averse to the match, and more desirous of some event which might break -it off. Crofts gave his brother a very favourable account of his -progress with Miss Delamere; and hinted that if he could be fortunate -enough to put an end to Delamere's intended connection, it would so -greatly conciliate the favour of Lady Montreville, that he dared hope -she would no longer oppose his union with her daughter: and when once -they were married, and the prejudices of the mother to an inferior -alliance conquered, he had very little doubt of Lord Montreville's -forgiveness, and of soon regaining his countenance and friendship. - -This account from his brother added another motive to those which -already influenced the malignant and illiberal mind of James Crofts to -injure the lovely orphan, and he determined to give all his assistance -to Mrs. Ashwood in the cruel project of depriving her at once of her -character and her lover. In a consultation which he held on this subject -with his promised bride and Miss Galton, the ladies agreed that it was -perfectly shocking that such a fine young man as Mr. Delamere should be -attached to a woman so little sensible of his value as Emmeline; that it -had long been evident she was to him indifferent, and it was now too -clear that she was partial to another; and that therefore it would be a -meritorious action to acquaint him of her intimacy with Fitz-Edward; and -it could not be doubted but his knowledge of it would, high spirited as -he was, cure him effectually of his ill-placed passion, and restore the -tranquillity of his respectable family. Hiding thus the inveterate envy -and malice of their hearts under this hypocritical pretence, they next -considered how to give the information which was so meritorious. -Anonymous letters were expedients to which Miss Galton had before had -recourse, and to an anonymous letter they determined to commit the -secret of Emmeline's infidelity--while James Crofts, in his letters to -his brother, was to corroborate the intelligence it contained, by -relating as mere matter of news what had actually and evidently -happened, Emmeline's sudden departure from Woodfield. - -Delamere, when he saw his mother out of danger at Barege, had returned -to the neighbourhood of Paris, where he had lingered some time, in hopes -that Emmeline would accede to his request of being allowed to cross the -channel for a few days; but her answer, in which she strongly urged the -hazard he would incur of giving his father a pretence to withdraw _his_ -promise, by violating his own, had obliged him, tho' with infinite -reluctance, to give up the scheme; and being quite indifferent where he -was, if he was still at a distance from her, he had yielded to the -solicitations of Lady Montreville, and rejoined her at Nice. There, he -now remained; while every thing in England seemed to contribute to -assist the designs of those who wished to disengage him from his passion -for Emmeline. - -The day after Emmeline's departure with Lady Adelina, Fitz-Edward went -to Woodfield; and hearing that Miss Mowbray had suddenly left it, was -thrown into the utmost astonishment--astonishment which Mrs. Ashwood and -Miss Galton observed to each other was the finest piece of acting they -had ever seen. - -The whole party were together when he was introduced--a circumstance -Mrs. Stafford would willingly have avoided, as it was absolutely -necessary for her to speak to him alone; and determined to do so, -whatever construction the malignity of her sister-in-law might put upon -it, she said-- - -'I have long promised you, Colonel, a sight of the two pieces of drawing -which Miss Mowbray and I have finished as companions. They are now -framed; and if you will come with me into my dressing-room you shall see -them.' - -As the rest of the company had frequently seen these drawings, there was -no pretence for their following Mrs. Stafford; who, accompanied by the -Colonel, went to her dressing room. - -A conference thus evidently sought by Mrs. Stafford, excited the eager -and painful curiosity of the party in the parlour. - -'Now would I give the world,' cried Mrs. Ashwood, 'to know what is going -forward.' - -'Is it not possible to listen?' enquired Crofts, equal to any meanness -that might gratify the malevolence of another or his own. - -'Yes,' replied Mrs. Ashwood, 'if one could get into the closet next the -dressing-room without being perceived, which can only be done by passing -thro' the nursery. If indeed the nursery maids and children are out, it -is easy enough.' - -'They are out, mama, I assure you,' cried Miss Ashwood, 'for I saw them -myself go across the lawn since I've been at breakfast. Do, pray let us -go and listen--I long of all things to know what my aunt Stafford can -have to say to that sly-looking Colonel.' - -'No, no, child,' said her mother, 'I shall not send you, indeed--but -Crofts, do you think we should be able to make it out?' - -'Egad,' answered he, 'I'll try--for depend upon it the mischief will -out. It will be rare, to have such a pretty tale to tell Mr. Delamere of -his demure-looking little dear.--I'll venture.' - -Mrs. Ashwood then shewing him the way, he went on tip toe up stairs, and -concealing himself in a light closet which was divided from the dressing -room only by lath and plaister, he lent an attentive ear to the dialogue -that was passing. - -It happened, however, that the window near which Mrs. Stafford and -Fitz-Edward were sitting was exactly opposite to that side of the room -to which Crofts' hiding-place communicated; and tho' the room was not -large, yet the distance, the partition, and the low voice in which both -parties spoke, made it impossible for him to distinguish more than -broken sentences. From Mrs. Stafford he heard--'Could not longer be -concealed--in all probability may now remain unknown--the child, I will -myself attend to.' From Fitz-Edward, he could only catch indistinct -sounds; his voice appearing to be lost in his emotion. But he seemed to -be thanking Mrs. Stafford, and lamenting his own unhappiness. His last -speech, in which his powers of utterance were returned, was--'Nothing -can ever erase the impression of your angelic goodness, best and -loveliest of friends!--oh, continue it, I beseech you, to those for whom -only I am solicitous, and forgive all the trouble I have given you!' - -He then hurried away. Mrs. Stafford, after remaining alone a moment as -if to compose herself, went back to the parlour; and Crofts, who thought -he had heard enough, tho' he wished to have heard all, slunk from his -closet and walked into the garden; where being soon afterwards joined by -Mrs. Ashwood and Miss Galton, he, by relating the broken and disjointed -discourse he had been witness to, left not a doubt remaining of the -cause of Emmeline's precipitate retreat from Woodfield. - -And perhaps minds more candid than their's--minds untainted with the -odious and hateful envy which ulcerated their's, might, from the -circumstances that attended her going and Fitz-Edward's behaviour, have -conceived disadvantageous ideas of her conduct. But such was the -uneasiness with which Mrs. Ashwood ever beheld superior merit, and such -the universal delight which Miss Galton took in defamation, that had -none of those circumstances existed, they would with equal malignity -have studied to ruin the reputation of Emmeline; and probably with equal -success--for against such attacks, innocence, however it may console -it's possessor, is too frequently a feeble and inadequate defence! - -While the confederates, exulting in the certainty of Emmeline's ruin, -were manufacturing the letter which was to alarm the jealous and -irascible spirit of Delamere, Fitz-Edward, (from whom Mrs. Stafford, -before she would tell him any thing, had extorted a promise that he -would enquire no farther than what she chose to relate to him,) was -relieved from insupportable anguish by hearing that Lady Adelina was in -safe hands; but he lamented in bitterness of soul the despondency and -affliction to which Mrs. Stafford had told him she entirely resigned -herself. He knew not that Emmeline was with her, whatever he might -suspect; and Mrs. Stafford had protested to him, that if he made any -attempt to discover the residence of Lady Adelina, or persisted in -meeting her brother, she would immediately relinquish all concern in the -affair, and no longer interest herself in what his rashness would -inevitably render desperate. - -He solemnly assured her he would take no measures without her -knowledge; and remained at Tylehurst, secluded from every body, and -waiting in fearful and anxious solicitude to hear of Lady Adelina by -Mrs. Stafford. - -Delamere, (still at Nice with his mother,) who with different sources of -uneasiness thought the days and weeks insupportably long in which he -lived only in the hope of seeing Emmeline at the end of six months, was -roused from his involuntary resignation by the following letter, written -in a hand perfectly unknown to him. - - - 'Sir, - - 'A friend to your worthy and noble family writes this; which is - meant to serve you, and to undeceive you in regard to Miss - Mowbray--who, without any gratitude for the high honour you intend - her, is certainly too partial to another person. She is now gone - from Woodfield to escape observation; and none but Mrs. Stafford is - let into the secret of where she is. You will judge what end it is - to answer; but certainly none that bodes you good. One would have - supposed that the Colonel's being very often her attendant at - Woodfield might have made her stay there agreeable enough; but - perhaps (for I do not aver it) the young lady has some particular - reasons for wishing to have private lodgings. No doubt the Colonel - is a man of gallantry; but his friendship to you is rather more - questionable. The writer of this having very little knowledge of the - parties, can have no other motive than the love of justice, and - being sorry to see deceit and falsehood practised on a young - gentleman who deserves better, and who has a respectful tho' unknown - friend in - - Y. Z.' - - _London, July 22, 17--._ - - -This infamous scroll had no sooner been perused by Delamere, than fury -flashed from his eyes, and anguish seized his heart. But the moment the -suddenness of his passion gave way to reflection, the tumult of his mind -subsided, and he thought it must be an artifice of his mother's to -separate him from Emmeline. The longer he considered her inveterate -antipathy to his marriage, the more he was convinced that this artifice, -unworthy as it was, she was capable of conceiving, and, by means of the -Crofts, executing, if she hoped by it to put an eternal conclusion to -his affection. He at length so entirely adopted this idea, that -determining 'to be revenged and love her better for it,' and to -settle the matter very peremptorily with the Crofts' if they had been -found to interfere, he obtained a tolerable command over his temper and -his features, and joined Lady Montreville and Miss Delamere, whom he -found reading letters which they also had received from England. His -mother asked slightly after his; and, in a few moments, Mr. Crofts -arrived, asking, with his usual assiduity, after the health of Lord -Montreville and that of such friends as usually wrote to her Ladyship? -She answered his enquiries--and then desired to hear what news Sir -Richard or his other correspondents had sent him? - -'My father's letters,' said he, 'contain little more than an order to -purchase some particular sort of wine which he is very circumstantial, -as usual, in telling me how to forward safely. He adds, indeed, that he -can allow my absence no longer than until the 20th of September.'--He -sighed, and looked tenderly at Miss Delamere. - -'I have no other letters,' continued he, 'but one from James.' - -'And does he tell you no news,' asked Lady Montreville? - -'Nothing,' answered Crofts, carelessly, 'but gossip, which I believe -would not entertain your Ladyship.' - -'Oh, why should you fancy that,' returned she--'you know I love to hear -news, tho' about people I never saw or ever wish to see.' - -'James has been at Mr. Stafford's at Woodfield,' said he, 'where your -Ladyship has certainly no acquaintance.' - -'At Woodfield, Sir?' cried Delamere, unable to express his anxiety--'at -Woodfield!--And what does he say of Woodfield?' - -'I don't recollect any thing very particular,' answered Crofts, -carelessly--'I believe I put the letter into my pocket.' He took it out. - -'Read it to us Crofts'--said Miss Delamere. - - - ----'I have lately passed a very agreeable month at Woodfield. - We were a large party in the house. Among other pleasant - circumstances, during my stay there, was a ball and _fete - champetre_, given by Mr. Conway on his son's coming of age. It was - elegant, and well conducted beyond any entertainment of the sort I - ever saw. There were forty couple, and a great number of very - pretty women; but it was agreed on all hands that Miss Mowbray - would have eclipsed them all, who unluckily declined going. She - left Woodfield a day or two afterwards.' - - -Delamere's countenance changed.--Crofts, as if looking for some other -news in his letter, hesitated, then smiled, and went on.-- - - - 'The gossip Fame has made a match for me with Mrs. Ashwood. I - wish she may be right. In some other of her stories I really think - her wrong, so I will not be the means of their circulation.' - - -'The rest,' said Crofts, putting up the letter, 'is only about my -father's new purchases and other family affairs.' - -Delamere, who, in spite of his suspicions of Crofts' treachery, could -not hear this corroboration of his anonymous letter without a renewal of -all his fears, left the room in doubt, suspence and wretchedness. - -The seeds of jealousy and mistrust thus skilfully sown, could hardly -fail of taking root in an heart so full of sensibility, and a temper so -irritable as his. Again he read over his anonymous letter, and compared -it with the intelligence which seemed accidentally communicated by -Crofts; and with a fearful kind of enquiry compared the date and -circumstances. He dared hardly trust his mind with the import of this -investigation; and found nothing on which to rest his hope, but that it -might be a concerted plan between his mother and Crofts. - -His heart alternately swelling between the indignation such a -supposition created and shrinking with horror from the idea of perfidy -on the part of Emmeline, kept him in such a state of mind that he could -hardly be said to possess his reason. But when he remembered how often -his extreme vivacity had betrayed him into error, and hazarded his -losing for ever all he held valuable on earth, he tried to subdue the -acuteness of his feelings, and to support at least without betraying it, -the anguish which oppressed him, till the next pacquet from England, -when it was possible a letter from Emmeline herself might dissipate his -doubts. Resolutely however resolving to call Crofts to a serious -account, if he found him accessory to a calumny so dark and diabolical. - -When the next post from England arrived, he saw, among the letters which -were delivered to him, one directed by the hand of Emmeline. He flew to -his own room, and with trembling hands broke the seal. - -It was short, and he fancied unusually cold. Towards it's close, she -mentioned that she was going to Bath for a few weeks with a friend, and -as she did not know where she should lodge, thought he had better not -write till she was again fixed at Woodfield. - -That she should go to Bath in July, with a nameless friend, and quit so -abruptly her beloved Mrs. Stafford--that she should apparently wish to -evade his letters, and make her actual residence a secret--were a cloud -of circumstances calculated to persuade him that some mystery involved -her conduct; a mystery which the fatal letter served too evidently to -explain. - -As if fire had been laid to the train of combustibles which had, since -the receipt of it, been accumulating in the bosom of Delamere, his -furious and uncontroulable spirit now burst forth. A temporary delirium -seized him; he stamped round the room, and ran to his pistols, which -fortunately were not charged. The noise he made brought Millefleur into -the room, whom he instantly caught by the collar, and shaking him -violently, cried-- - -'Scoundrel!--why are not these pistols loaded?' - -'_Eh! eh! Monsieur!_' exclaimed Millefleur, almost strangled-'_que -voudriez vous?--vos pistolets!--Mon Dieu! que voudriez vous avec vos -pistolets?_' - -'Shoot _you_ perhaps, you blockhead!' raved Delamere, pushing furiously -from him the trembling valet--then snatching up the pistols, he half -kicked, half pushed him out of the room, and throwing them after him, -ordered him to clean and load them: after which he locked the door, and -threw himself upon the bed. - -The resolution he had made in his cooler moments, never again to yield -to such impetuous transports of passion, was now forgotten. He could not -conquer, he could not even mitigate the tumultuous anguish which had -seized him; but seemed rather to call to his remembrance all that might -justify it's excess. - -He remembered how positively Emmeline had forbidden his returning to -England, tho' all he asked was to be allowed to see her for a few hours. -He recollected her long and invincible coldness; her resolute adherence -to the promise she need not have given; and forgetting all the symptoms -which he had before fondly believed he had discovered of her returning -his affection, he exaggerated every circumstance that indicated -indifference, and magnified them into signs of absolute aversion. - -Tho' he could not forget that Fitz-Edward had assisted him in carrying -Emmeline away, and had on all occasions promoted his interest with her, -that recollection did not at all weaken the probability of his present -attachment; for such was Delamere's opinion of Fitz-Edward's principles, -that he believed he was capable of the most dishonourable views on the -mistress, or even on the wife of his friend. He tortured his imagination -almost to madness, by remembering numberless little incidents, which, -tho' almost unattended to at the time, now seemed to bring the cruellest -conviction of their intelligence--particularly that on the night he had -taken Emmeline from Clapham, Fitz-Edward was found there; tho' neither -his father or himself, who had repeatedly sent to his lodgings, could -either find him at home or get any direction where to meet with him. -Almost all his late letters too had been dated from Tylehurst, where it -was certain he had passed the greatest part of the summer.--Fitz-Edward, -fond of society, and courted by the most brilliant circles, shut himself -up in a country house, distant from all his connections. And to what -could such an extraordinary change be owing, if not to his attachment to -Emmeline Mowbray? - -Irritated by these recollections, he gave himself up to all the dreadful -torments of jealousy--jealousy even to madness; and he felt this -corrosive passion in all it's extravagance. It was violent in proportion -to his love and his pride, and more insupportably painful in proportion -to it's novelty; for except once at Swansea, when he fancied that -Emmeline in her flight was accompanied by Fitz-Edward, he had never felt -it before; however they might serve him as a pretence, Rochely and -Elkerton were both too contemptible to excite it. - -The night approached; and without having regained any share of -composure, he had at length determined to quit Nice the next day, that -his mother and Crofts might not be gratified with the sight of his -despair, and triumph in the detected perfidy of Emmeline. - -Lady Montreville and her daughter were out when the letters arrived; and -he now apprehended that when they returned Millefleur might alarm them -by an account of his frantic behaviour, and that they would guess it to -have been occasioned by his letters from England. Starting up, -therefore, he called the poor fellow to him, who was not yet recovered -from his former terrifying menaces; and who approached, trembling, the -table where Delamere sat; his dress disordered, his eyes flashing fire, -and his lips pale and quivering. - -'Come here, Sir!' sternly cried he. - -Millefleur sprung close to the table. - -'Have you cleaned and loaded my pistols?' - -'_Monsieur--je, je m'occupais--je, je--Monsieur, ils sont----_' - -'Fool, of what are you afraid?--what does the confounded _poltron_ -tremble for?' - -'_Mais Monsieur--c'est que--que--mais Monsieur, je ne scais!_' - -'_Tenez_, Mr. Millefleur!' said Delamere sharply--'Remember what I am -going to say. Something has happened to vex me, and I shall go out -to-morrow for a few days, or perhaps I may go to England. My mother is -to know nothing of it, but what I shall myself tell her; therefore at -your peril speak of what has happened this evening, or of my intentions -for to-morrow. Come up immediately, and put my things into my -portmanteaus, and put my fire arms in order. I shall take you with me. -David need not be prepared till to-morrow. I shall go on horseback and -shall want him also. The least failure on your part of executing these -orders, you will find very inconvenient--you know I will not be trifled -with.' - -Millefleur, frightened to death at the looks and voice of his master, -dared not disobey; and Delamere employing him in putting up his cloaths -till after Lady Montreville came in, was, he thought, secure of his -secresy. He then made an effort, tho' a successless one, to hide the -anguish that devoured him; and went down to supper. He found, that -besides their constant attendant Crofts, his mother and sister were -accompanied by two other English gentlemen, and a French man of fashion -and his sister, who full of the vivacity and gaiety of their country, -kept up a lively conversation with Miss Delamere and the Englishmen. But -Delamere hardly spoke--his eyes were wild and inflamed--his cheeks -flushed--and deep sighs seemed involuntarily to burst from his heart. -Lady Montreville observed him, and then said-- - -'Surely, Frederic, you are not well?' - -'Not very well,' said he; 'but I am otherwise, merely from the -intolerable heat. I have had the head-ache all day.' - -'The head-ache!' exclaimed his mother--'Why then do you not go to bed?' - -'No,' answered he, 'I am better up. Since the heat is abated, I am in -less pain. I will take a walk by the fine moon that I see is rising, and -be back again presently--and to-morrow,' continued he--'to-morrow, I -shall go northward for a month. I cannot stay under this burning -atmosphere.' - -Then desiring the company not to move on his account, he arose from -table and hastened away. - -'Do, my good Crofts,' said Lady Montreville--'do follow Frederic--he -frightens me to death--he is certainly very ill.' - -Crofts hesitated a moment, being in truth afraid to interfere with -Delamere's ramble while he was in a humour so gloomy; but on her -Ladyship's repeating her request, dared not shew his reluctance. He went -out therefore under pretence of following him; while the party present, -seeing Lady Montreville's distress, almost immediately departed. - -Crofts walked on without much desire to fulfill his commission; for -Delamere, whenever he was obliged to associate with him, treated him -generally with coldness, and sometimes rudely. There was, however, very -little probability of his overtaking him; for Delamere had walked or -rather run to a considerable distance from the street where his mother -lived, and then wandering farther into the fields, had thrown himself -upon the grass, and had forgotten every thing but Emmeline--'Emmeline -and Fitz-Edward gone together!--the mistress on whom he had so fondly -doated!--the friend whom he had so implicitly trusted!' These cruel -images, drest in every form most fatal to his peace, tormented him, and -the agony of disappointed passion seemed to have affected his brain. -Deep groans forced their way from his oppressed heart--he cursed his -existence, and seemed resolutely bent, in the gloominess of his despair, -to shake it off and free himself from sufferings so intolerable. - -To the first effusions of his phrenzy, a sullen calm, more alarming, -succeeded. He fixed his eyes on the moon which shone above him, but had -no idea of what he saw, or where he was; his breath was short, his hands -clenched; he seemed as if, having lost the power of complaint, he was -unable to express the pain that convulsed his whole frame. - -While he continued in this situation, a favourite little spaniel of his -mother's, of which he had from a boy been fond, ran up to him and licked -his hands and face. The caresses of an animal he had so long remembered, -touched some chord of the heart that vibrated to softer emotions than -those which had for the last three hours possessed him--he burst into -tears. - -'Felix!' said he, sobbing, 'poor Felix!' - -The dog, rejoicing to be noticed, ran barking round him; and presently -afterwards, with hurried steps, came Miss Delamere, leaning on the arm -of Crofts. - -'My God!' exclaimed she, almost screaming, 'here he is! Oh Frederic, you -have so terrified my mother! and Mr. Crofts has been two hours in search -of you. Had it not been for the dog, we should not now have found you. -Mr. Crofts has returned twice to the house without you.' - -'Mr. Crofts may return then a third time,' said Delamere, 'and cease to -give himself such unnecessary trouble.' - -'But you will come with us, brother?--Surely you will now come home?' - -'At my leisure,' replied he, sternly--'Lady Montreville need be under no -apprehensions about me. I shall be at home presently. But I will not be -importuned! I will not be watched and followed! and above all, I will -not have a governor!' - -So saying, he turned from them and walked another way; while they, -seeing him so impracticable, could only return to report what they had -seen to Lady Montreville. Delamere, however, who had taken another way, -entered the house at the same moment. - -Lady Montreville had strictly questioned Millefleur as to the cause of -his master's disorder; and the poor fellow, who dared not relate the -furious passion into which he had fallen on reading his letter, -trembled, prevaricated, stammered, and looked so white, that her -Ladyship, more alarmed, fancied she knew not what; and full of terror, -had sent out Crofts a second time, and the servants different ways, in -search of her son. At length Crofts returning the second time without -success, Miss Delamere went with him herself; and the dog following her, -led her to her brother. But before their return, Lady Montreville's -apprehensions had arisen to such an height, that a return of her fits -seemed to threaten her, and with difficulty was she brought to her -senses when she saw him before her; and when he, moved by the keenness -of her sorrow at his imaginary danger, assured her, in answer to her -repeated enquiries, that he was merely affected by the heat; that he had -no material complaint, and should be quite well and in his usual spirits -when he returned from the excursion he proposed going upon the next day. -Then, being somewhat appeased, his mother suffered him to retire; and -called her counsellor, Mr. Crofts, to debate whether in such a frame of -mind she ought to allow the absence of Delamere? Crofts advised her by -all means to let him go. He suspected indeed that the anonymous letter -had occasioned all the wild behaviour he had been witness to, and -thought it very likely that Delamere might be going to England. But he -knew that James Crofts and his fair associates were prepared for the -completion of their project if he did; and his absence was, on account -of Crofts' own affairs, particularly desirable. - -For these reasons, he represented to Lady Montreville that opposition -would only irritate and inflame her son, without inducing him to stay. -He departed, therefore, the next morning, without any impediment on the -part of his mother; but was yet undecided whither to go. While Crofts, -no longer thwarted by his observation, or humbled by his haughty -disdain, managed matters so well, that in spite of the pride of noble -blood, in spite of her reluctance to marry a commoner, he conquered and -silenced all the scruples and objections of Miss Delamere; and a young -English clergyman, a friend of his, coming to Nice, as both he and -Crofts declared, _by the meerest accident in the world_, just about that -time, Crofts obtained her consent to a private marriage; and his friend -took especial care that no form might be wanting, to enable him legally -to claim his bride, on their return to England. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -Emmeline had now been near a month at Bath, whence she had not written -to Delamere. She had seldom done so oftener than once in six or eight -weeks; and no reason subsisted at present for a more frequent -correspondence. - -Far from having any idea that he would think her temporary removal -extraordinary, she had not attempted to conceal it from him; and of his -jealousy of Fitz-Edward she had not the remotest suspicion. For tho' -Mrs. Ashwood's hints, and the behaviour of James Crofts, had left no -doubt of their ill opinion of her, yet she never supposed them capable -of an attempt to impress the same idea on the mind of Delamere; and had -no notion of the variety of motives which made the whole family of the -Crofts, with which Mrs. Ashwood was now connected, solicitous to -perpetuate the evil by propagating the scandalous story they had -themselves invented. - -Unconscious therefore of the anguish which preyed upon the heart of her -unhappy lover, Emmeline gave her whole attention to Lady Adelina, and -she saw with infinite concern the encreasing weakness of her frame; with -still greater pain she observed, that by suffering her mind to dwell -continually on her unhappy situation, it was no longer able to exert the -powers it possessed; and that, sunk in hopeless despondence, her -intellects were frequently deranged. Amid these alienations of reason, -she was still gentle, amiable and interesting; and as they were yet -short and slight, Emmeline flattered herself, that the opiates which her -physician (in consequence of the restless and anxious nights Lady -Adelina had for some time passed) found it absolutely necessary to -administer, might have partly if not entirely occasioned this alarming -symptom. - -Still, however, the busy imagination of Emmeline perpetually represented -to her impending sorrow, and her terror hourly encreased. She figured to -herself the decided phrenzy, or the death of her poor friend; and unable -to conquer apprehensions which she was yet compelled to conceal, she -lived in a continual effort to appear chearful, and to soothe the -wounded mind of the sufferer, by consolatory conversation; while she -watched her with an attention so sedulous and so painful, that only the -excellence of her heart, which persuaded her she was engaged in a task -truly laudable, could have supported her thro' such anxiety and fatigue. - -She was, however, very desirous that as Mr. Godolphin was now in England -he might be acquainted with his sister's calamitous and precarious -situation; and she gently hinted to Lady Adelina, how great a -probability she thought there was, that such a man as her brother was -represented to be, would in her sorrow and her suffering forget her -error. - -But by the most distant idea of such an interview, she found Lady -Adelina so violently affected, that she dared not again urge it; and was -compelled, in fearful apprehension, to await the hour which would -probably give the fair penitent to that grave, where she seemed to wish -her disgrace and affliction might be forgotten. - -To describe the anxiety of Emmeline when that period arrived, is -impossible; or the mingled emotions of sorrow and satisfaction, pleasure -and pity, with which she beheld the lovely and unfortunate infant whose -birth she had so long desired, yet so greatly dreaded. - -Lady Adelina had, till then, wished to die. She saw her child--and -wished to live.--The physical people who attended her, gave hopes that -she might.--Supported by the tender friendship of Emmeline, and animated -by maternal fondness, she determined to attempt it. - -Emmeline, now full of apprehension, now indulging feeble hopes, prayed -fervently for her recovery; and zealously and indefatigably attended her -with more than her former solicitude. For three days, her hopes -gradually grew stronger; when on the evening of the third, as she was -sitting alone by the side of the bed where Lady Adelina had fallen into -a quiet sleep, she suddenly heard a sort of bustle in the next room; and -before she could rise to put an end to it, a gentleman to whom she was a -stranger, walked hastily into that where she was. On seeing her, he -started and said-- - -'I beg your pardon, Madam--but I was informed that here I might find -Lady Adelina Trelawny.' - -The name of Trelawny, thus suddenly and loudly pronounced, awakened Lady -Adelina. She started up--undrew the curtain--and fixing her eyes with a -look of terrified astonishment on the stranger, she exclaimed, -faintly--'Oh! my brother!--my brother William!' then sunk back on her -pillow, to all appearance lifeless. - -Mr. Godolphin now springing forward, caught the cold and insensible hand -which had opened the curtain; and throwing himself on his knees, cried-- - -'Adelina! my love! are you ill?--have I then terrified and alarmed you? -Speak to me--dear Adelina--speak to me!' - -Emmeline, whose immediate astonishment at his presence had been lost in -terror for his sister, had flown out of the room for the attendants, and -now returning, cried-- - -'You have killed her, Sir!--She is certainly dead!--Oh, my God! the -sudden alarm, the sudden sight of you, has destroyed her!' - -'I am afraid it has!' exclaimed Godolphin wildly, and hardly knowing -what he said--'I am indeed afraid it has! My poor sister--my unhappy, -devoted Adelina!--have I then found you only to destroy you? But -perhaps,' continued he, after a moment's pause, during which -Emmeline and the nurse were chafing the hands and temples of -the dying patient--'perhaps she may recover. Send instantly for -advice--run--fly--let me go myself for assistance.' - -He would now have run out of the room; but Emmeline, whose admirable -presence of mind this sudden scene of terror had not conquered, stopped -him. - -'Stay, Sir,' said she, 'I beseech you, stay. You know not whither to go. -I will instantly send those who do.' - -She then left the room, and ordered a servant to fetch the physician; -for she dreaded least Mr. Godolphin should discover the real name and -quality of the patient to those to whom he might apply; and on returning -to the bed side, where Lady Adelina still lay without any signs of -existence, and by which her brother still knelt in speechless agony, her -fears were again alive, least when the medical gentlemen arrived, his -grief and desperation should betray the secret to them. While her first -apprehension was for the life of her friend, these secondary -considerations were yet extremely alarming--for she knew, that should -Lady Adelina recover, her life would be for ever embittered, if not -again endangered, by the discovery which seemed impending and almost -inevitable. - -The women who were about her having now applied every remedy they could -think of without success, began loudly to lament themselves. Emmeline, -commanding her own anguish, besought them to stifle their's, and not to -give way to fruitless exclamations while there was yet hope, but to -continue their endeavours to recover their lady. Then addressing herself -to Mr. Godolphin, she roused him from the stupor of grief in which he -had fallen, while he gazed with an impassioned and agonizing look on the -pale countenance of his sister. - -'Pardon me, Sir,' said she, 'if I entreat you to go down stairs and -await the arrival of the advice I have sent for. Should my poor friend -recover, your presence may renew and encrease the alarm of her spirits, -and embarrass her returning recollection; and should she not recover, -you had better hear such mournful tidings in any place rather than -this.' - -'Oh! if I _do_ hear them,' answered he, wildly, 'it matters little -where. But I _will_ withdraw, Madam, since you seem to desire it.' - -He had hardly seen Emmeline before. He now turned his eyes mournfully -upon her--'It is, I presume, Miss Mowbray,' said he, 'who thus, with an -angel's tenderness in an angel's form, would spare the sorrows of a -stranger?' - -Emmeline, unable to speak, led the way down to the parlour, and -Godolphin silently followed her. - -'Go back,' said he, tremulously, as soon as they reached the room--'go -back to my sister; your tender assiduity may do more for her than the -people about her. Your voice, your looks, will soothe and tranquillize -her, should she awaken from her long insensibility. Ah! tell her, her -brother came only to rescue her from the misery of her unworthy -lot--Tell her his affection, his brotherly affection, hopes to give her -consolation; and restore her--if it may yet be--to her repose. But go, -dearest Miss Mowbray go!--somebody comes in--perhaps the physician.' - -Emmeline now opening the parlour door, found it to be indeed the -physician she expected; and with a fearful heart she followed him, -informing him, as they went up stairs, that the sudden appearance of -Mrs. St. Laure's brother, whom she had not seen for two or three years, -had thrown her into a fainting fit, from which not all their endeavours -had recovered her. - -He remonstrated vehemently against the extreme indiscretion of such an -interview. Emmeline, who knew not by what strange chain of circumstances -it had been brought about, had nothing to reply. - -So feeble were the appearances of remaining life, that the physician -could pronounce nothing certainly in regard to his patient. He gave, -however, directions to her attendants; but after every application had -been used, all that could be said was, that she was not actually dead. -As soon as the physician had written his prescription and retired, -Emmeline recollected the painful state of suspense in which she had left -Mr. Godolphin, and trying to recover courage to go thro' the painful -scene before her, she went down to him. - -As she opened the door, he met her. - -'I have seen the doctor,' said he, in a broken and hurried voice--'and -from his account I am convinced Adelina is dying.' - -'I hope not,' faintly answered Emmeline. 'There is yet a possibility, -tho' I fear no great probability of her recovery.' - -'My Adelina!' resumed he, walking about the room--'my Adelina! for whose -sake I so anxiously wished to return to England--Gracious God! I am come -too late to assist her! Some strange mystery surely hangs over her! -Long lost to all her friends, I find her here dying! The sight of me, -instead of relieving her sorrow seems to have accelerated her -dissolution! And you, Madam, to whose goodness she appears to be so -greatly indebted--may I ask by what fortunate circumstance, lost and -obscure as she has been, she has acquired such a friend?' - -Emmeline, shuddering at the apprehension of enquiries she found it -impossible to answer, was wholly at a loss how to reply to this. She -knew not of what Mr. Godolphin was informed--of what he was ignorant; -and dreaded to say too much, or to be detected in a false -representation. She therefore, agitated and hesitating, gravely said-- - -'It is not now a time, Sir, to ask any thing relative to Lady Adelina. I -am myself too ill to enter into conversation; and wish, as you have been -yourself greatly affected, that you would now retire, and endeavour to -make yourself as easy as you can. To-morrow may, perhaps, afford us more -chearful prospects--or at least this cruel suspense will be over, and -the dear sufferer at peace.' - -She sobbed, and turned away. Godolphin rising, said in a faultering -voice-- - -'Yes, I will go! since my stay can only encrease the pain of that -generous and sensible heart. I will go--but not to rest!--I cannot rest! -But do you try, most amiable creature! to obtain some repose--Try, I -beseech you, to recover your spirits, which have been so greatly -hurried.' - -He knew not what he said; and was hastening out of the room, when -Emmeline, recollecting how ardently Lady Adelina had desired the -concealment of her name and family, stopped him as he was quitting her. - -'Yet one thing, Captain Godolphin, allow me to entreat of you?' - -'What can I refuse you?' answered he, returning. - -'Only--are you known at Bath?' - -'Probably I may. It is above three years since I was in England, and -much longer since I have been here. But undoubtedly some one or other -will know me.' - -'Then do indulge me in one request. See as few people as you can; and if -you accidentally meet any of your friends, do not say that Lady Adelina -is here.' - -'Not meet any one if I can avoid it!--and if I do, not speak of my -sister! And why is all this?--why this concealment, this -mystery?--why--' - -Emmeline, absolutely overcome, sat down without speaking. Godolphin, -seeing her uneasiness, said-- - -'But I will not distress _you_, Madam, by farther questions. Your -commands shall be sufficient. I will stifle my anxiety and obey you.' -Then bowing respectfully, he added--'To-morrow, at as early an hour as I -dare hope for admittance, I shall be at the door. Heaven bless and -reward the fair and gentle Miss Mowbray--and may it have mercy on my -poor Adelina!'--He sighed deeply, and left the house. - -Lady Adelina, tho' not so entirely insensible, was yet but little -amended. But as what alteration there was, was for the better, Emmeline -endeavoured to recall her own agitated and dissipated spirits. The -extraordinary scene which had just passed, was still present to her -imagination; the last words of Godolphin, still vibrated in her ears. -'Fair and gentle Miss Mowbray!' repeated she. 'He knows my name; yet -seems ignorant of every thing that relates to his sister!' - -Her astonishment at this circumstance was succeeded by reflecting on the -unpleasant task she must have if Mr. Godolphin should again enquire into -her first acquaintance with his sister. To relate to him the melancholy -story she had heard, would, she found, be an undertaking to which she -was wholly unequal; and she was equally averse to the invention of a -plausible falsehood. From this painful apprehension she meditated how to -extricate herself; but the longer she thought of it, the more she -despaired of it. The terrors of such a conversation hourly augmented; -and wholly and for ever to escape from it, she sometimes determined to -write. But from executing that design, was withheld by considering that -if Godolphin was of a fiery and impetuous temper, he would probably, -without reflection or delay, fly to vengeance, and precipitate every -evil which Lady Adelina dreaded. - -After having exhausted every idea on the subject, she could think of -nothing on which her imagination could rest, but to send to Mrs. -Stafford, acquaint her with the danger of Lady Adelina, and conjure her -if possible to come to her. This she knew she would do unless some -singular circumstance in her own family prevented her attention to her -friends. - -Resolved to embrace therefore this hope, she dispatched an hasty billet -by an express to Woodfield; and then betook herself to a bed on the -floor, which she had ordered to be placed by the side of that where Lady -Adelina, in happy tho' dangerous insensibility, still seemed to repose -almost in the arms of death. - -Emmeline could not, however, obtain even a momentary forgetfulness. Tho' -she could not repent her attention to the unhappy Lady Adelina, she was -yet sensible of her indiscretion in having put herself into the -situation she was now in; the cruel, unfeeling world would, she feared, -condemn her; and of it's reflections she could not think without pain. -But her heart, her generous sympathizing heart, more than acquitted--it -repaid her. - -Towards the middle of the night, Lady Adelina, who had made two or three -faint efforts to speak, sighed, and again in faint murmurs attempted to -explain herself. Emmeline started up and eagerly listened; and in a low -whisper heard her ask for her child. - -Emmeline ordered it instantly to be brought; and those eyes which had so -lately seemed closed for ever, were opened in search of this beloved -object: then, as if satisfied in beholding it living and well, they -closed again, while she imprinted a kiss on it's little hand. She then -asked for Emmeline; who, delighted with this apparent amendment, -prevailed on her to take what had been ordered for her. She appeared -still better in a few moments, but was yet extremely languid. - -'I have had a dreadful dream, my Emmeline,' said she, at length--'a long -and dreadful dream! But it is gone--you are here; my poor little boy too -is well; and this alarming vision will I hope haunt me no more.' - -Emmeline, who feared that the dream was indeed a reality, exhorted her -to think only of her recovery; of which, added she cheerfully, we have -no longer any doubt. - -'Comfortable and consoling angel!' sighed Lady Adelina--'your presence -is surely safety. Do not leave me!' - -Emmeline promised not to quit the room; and elate with hopes of her -friend's speedy restoration to health, fell herself into a tranquil and -refreshing slumber. - -On awakening the next morning, she found Lady Adelina much better; but -still, whenever she spoke, dwelling on her supposed dream, and sometimes -talking with that incoherence which had for some weeks before so greatly -alarmed her. Her own dread of meeting Godolphin was by no means -lessened; and to prevent an immediate interview, she dispatched to him -a note. - - - 'Sir, - - 'I am happy in having it in my power to assure you that our dear - patient is much better. But as uninterrupted tranquillity is - absolutely necessary, that, and other considerations, induce me to - beg you will forbear coming hither to day. You may depend on having - hourly intelligence, and that we shall be desirous of the pleasure - of seeing you when the safety of my friend admits it. - - I have the honour to be, Sir, - your most humble servant, - EMMELINE MOWBRAY.' - - _Sept._ 20,17--. - - -To this note, Mr. Godolphin answered-- - - - 'If Miss Mowbray will only allow me to wait on her for one moment - in the parlour, I will not again trespass on her time till I have - her own permission. - - W. G.' - - -This request, Emmeline was obliged, with whatever reluctance, to comply -with. She therefore sent a verbal acquiescence; and repaired to the -bed-side of Lady Adelina, who had asked for her. - -'Will you pardon my folly, my dear Emmeline,' said she languidly--'but I -cannot be easy till I have told you what a strange idea has seized me. I -seemed, last night, I know not at what time, to be suddenly awakened by -a voice which loudly repeated the name of Trelawny. Startled by the -sound, I thought I undrew the curtain, and saw my brother William, who -stood looking angrily on me. I felt greatly terrified; and growing -extremely sick, I lost the vision. But now again it's recollection -harrasses my imagination; and the image of my brother, sterner, and with -a ruder aspect than he was wont to wear, still seems present before me. -Oh! he was accustomed to be all goodness and gentleness, and to love his -poor Adelina. But now he too will throw me from him--he too will detest -and despise me--Or perhaps,' continued she, after a short -pause--'perhaps he is dead. I am not superstitious--but this dream -pursues me.' - -Emmeline, who had hoped that the very terror of this sudden interview -had obliterated it's remembrance, said every thing she thought likely -to quiet her mind, and to persuade her that the uneasy images -represented in her imperfect slumbers were merely the effect of her -weakness and perturbed spirits. - -The impression, however, was too strong to be effaced by arguments. It -still hung heavy on her heart, irritated the fever which had before been -only slight, and deprived her almost entirely of sleep; or if she slept, -she again fancied herself awakened by her brother, angrily repeating the -name of Trelawny. - -Sometimes, starting in terror from these feverish dreams, she called on -her brother to pardon and pity her; sometimes in piercing accents -deplored his death, and sometimes besought him to spare Fitz-Edward. -These incoherences were particularly distressing; as names were often -heard by the attendants which Emmeline hoped to have concealed; and it -was hardly possible longer to deceive the physician and apothecary who -attended her. - -With an uneasy heart, and a countenance pensively expressive of it's -feelings, she went down to receive Captain Godolphin in the parlour. - -'I fear, Miss Mowbray,' said he, as soon as they were seated, 'you will -think me too ready to take advantage of your goodness. But there is that -appearance of candour and compassion about you, that I determined rather -to trust to your goodness for pardon, than to remain longer in a state -of suspense about my sister, which I have already found most -insupportable. In the note you honoured me with to day you say she is -better. Is she then out of danger? Has she proper advice?' - -'She has the best advice, Sir. I cannot, however, say that she is out of -danger, but'--She hesitated, and knew not how to proceed. - -'But--you hope, rather than believe, she will recover,' cried Godolphin -eagerly. - -'I both hope it and believe it. Mr. Godolphin, you yesterday did me the -honour to suppose I had been fortunate enough to be of some service to -Lady Adelina; suffer me to take advantage of a supposition so -flattering, and to claim a sort of right to ask in my turn a favour.' - -'Surely I shall consider it as an honour to receive, and as happiness to -obey, any command of Miss Mowbray's.' - -'Promise me then to observe the same silence in regard to your sister as -I asked of you last night. Trust me with her safety, and believe it -will not be neglected. But you must neither speak of her to others, or -question me about her.' - -'Good God! from whence can arise the necessity for these precautions! -What dreadful obscurity surrounds her! What am I to fear? What am I to -suppose?' - -'You will not, then,' said Emmeline, gravely--'you will not oblige me, -by desisting from all questions 'till this trifling restraint can be -taken off?' - -'I will, I do promise to be guided wholly by you; and to bear, however -difficult it may be, the suspense, the frightful suspense in which I -must remain. Tell me, however, that Adelina is not in immediate danger. -But, but' added he, as if recollecting himself, 'may I not apply for -information on that head to her physician?' - -'Not for the world!' answered Emmeline, with unguarded quickness--'not -for the world!' - -'Not for the world!'--repeated Godolphin, with an accent of -astonishment. 'Heaven and earth! But I have promised to ask nothing--I -must obey--and will now release you, Madam.' - -Godolphin then took his leave; and Emmeline, whose heart had throbbed -violently throughout this dialogue, sat down alone to compose and -recollect herself. She saw, that to keep Godolphin many days ignorant of -the truth would be impossible: and from the eager anxiety of his -questions, she feared that all the horrors Lady Adelina's troubled -imagination had represented would be realized--apprehensions, which -seemed armed with new terror since she had seen and conversed with this -William Godolphin, of whose excellent heart and noble spirit she had -before heard so much both from Lady Adelina and Fitz-Edward, and whose -appearance seemed to confirm the favourable impression those accounts -had given her. - -Godolphin, who was now about five and twenty, had passed the greatest -part of his life at sea. The various climates he had visited had -deprived his complexion of much of it's English freshness; but his face -was animated by dark eyes full of intelligence and spirit; his hair, -generally carelessly dressed, was remarkably fine, and his person tall, -light, and graceful, yet so commanding, that whoever saw him immediately -and involuntarily felt their admiration mingled with respect. His whole -figure was such as brought to the mind ideas of the race of heroes from -which he was descended; his voice was particularly grateful to the ear, -and his address appeared to Emmeline to be a fortunate compound of the -insinuating softness of Fitz-Edward with the fire and vivacity of -Delamere. Of this, however, she could inadequately judge, as he was now -under such depression of spirits: and however pleasing he appeared, -Emmeline, who conceived herself absolutely engaged to Delamere, thought -of him only as the brother of Lady Adelina; yet insensibly she felt -herself more than ever interested for the event of his hearing how -little Fitz-Edward had deserved the warm friendship he had felt for him. -And her thoughts dwelling perpetually on that subject, magnified the -painful circumstances of the approaching eclaircissemen; while her fears -for Lady Adelina's life, who continued to languish in a low fever with -frequent delirium, so harrassed and oppressed her, that her own health -was visibly affected. But without attending to it, she passed all her -hours in anxiously watching the turns of Lady Adelina's disorder; or, -when she could for a moment escape, in giving vent to her full heart by -weeping over the little infant, whose birth, so similar to her own, -seemed to render it to her a more interesting and affecting object. She -lamented the evils to which it might be exposed; tho' of a sex which -would prevent it's encountering the same species of sorrow as that which -had embittered her own life. Of her friendless and desolate situation, -she was never more sensible than now. She felt herself more unhappy than -she had ever yet been; and would probably have sunk under her extreme -uneasiness, had not the arrival of Mrs. Stafford, at the end of three -days, relieved her from many of her fears and apprehensions. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -Mrs. Stafford no sooner heard from Emmeline that Godolphin was yet -ignorant of the true reason of Lady Adelina's concealment, than she saw -the necessity of immediately explaining it; and this task, however -painful, she without hesitation undertook. - -He was therefore summoned to their lodgings by a note from Emmeline, who -on his arrival introduced him to Mrs. Stafford, and left them together; -when, with as much tenderness as possible, and mingling with the -mortifying detail many representations of the necessity there was for -his conquering his resentment, she at length concluded it; watching -anxiously the changes in Godolphin's countenance, which sometimes -expressed only pity and affection for his sister, sometimes rage and -indignation against Fitz-Edward. - -Both the brothers of Lady Adelina had been accustomed to consider her -with peculiar fondness. The unfortunate circumstance of her losing her -mother immediately after her birth, seemed to have given her a -melancholy title to their tenderness; and the resemblance she bore to -that dear mother, whom they both remembered, and on whose memory their -father dwelt with undiminished regret, endeared her to them still more. -To these united claims on the heart and the protection of William -Godolphin, another was added equally forcible, in a letter written by -his father with the trembling hand of anxious solicitude, when he felt -himself dying, and when, looking back with lingering affection on the -children of her whom he hoped soon to rejoin, he saw with anguish his -youngest daughter liable from her situation to deviate into -indiscretion, and surrounded by the numberless dangers which attend on a -young and beautiful woman, whose husband has neither talents to attach -her affections or judgment to direct her actions. Lord Westhaven, -conscious of her hazardous circumstances, and feeling in his last -moments the keenest anguish, in knowing that his mistaken care had -exposed her to them, hoped, by interesting both her brothers to watch -over her, that he should obviate the dangers he apprehended. He had -therefore, in all their conversations, recommended her to his eldest -son; and as he was not happy enough to embrace the younger before he -died, had addressed to him a last letter on the same subject. - -Such were the powerful ties that bound Mr. Godolphin to love and defend -Lady Adelina with more than a brother's fondness. Hastening therefore to -obey the dying injunctions of his father, and in the hope of rendering -the life of this beloved sister, if not happy, at least honourable and -contented, he had heard, that she had clandestinely absented herself -from her family, and after a long search had found her abandoned to -remorse and despair; her reputation blasted; her health ruined; her -intellects disordered; and all by the perfidy of a man, in whom he, from -long friendship, and his sister, from family connection, had placed -unbounded confidence. - -Tho' Godolphin had one of the best tempers in the world--a temper which -the roughness of those among whom he lived had only served to soften and -humanize, and which was immovable by the usual accidents that ruffle -others, yet he had also in a great excess all those keen feelings, which -fill a heart of extreme sensibility; added to a courage, that in the -hour of danger had been proved to be as cool as it was undaunted. Of him -might be said what was the glorious praise of immortal Bayard--that he -was '_sans peur et sans reproche_;'[1] and educated with a high sense of -honour himself, as well as possessing a heart calculated to enjoy, and a -hand to defend, the unblemished dignity of his family, all his passions -were roused and awakened by the injury it had sustained from -Fitz-Edward, and he beheld him as a monster whom it was infamy to -forgive. Hardly therefore had Mrs. Stafford concluded her distressing -recital, than, as if commanding himself by a violent effort, he thanked -her warmly yet incoherently for her unexampled goodness to his sister, -recommended her still to her generous care, and the friendship of Miss -Mowbray, and without any threat against Fitz-Edward, or even a comment -on what he had heard, arose to depart. But Mrs. Stafford, more alarmed -by this determined tho' quiet resentment and by the expression of his -countenance than if he had burst into exclamations and menaces, -perceived that the crisis was now come when he must either be persuaded -to conquer his just resentment, or by giving it way destroy, while he -attempted to revenge, the fame of his sister. - -She besought him therefore to sit down a moment; and when he had done -so, she told him, that if he really thought himself under any -obligations to Miss Mowbray or to her for the services they had been so -fortunate as to render Lady Adelina, his making all they had been doing -ineffectual, would be a most mortifying return; and such must be the -case, if he rashly flew to seek vengeance on Fitz-Edward: 'for that you -have such a design,' continued she, 'I have no doubt; allow me, however, -to suppose that I have, by doing your sister some good offices, acquired -a right to speak of her affairs.' - -'Surely,' answered Mr. Godolphin, 'you have; and surely I must hear with -respect and attention, tho' possibly not with conviction, every opinion -with which you may honour me.' - -She then represented to him, with all the force of reason, how little he -could remedy the evil by hazarding his own life or by taking that of -Fitz-Edward. - -'At present,' continued she, 'the secret is known only to me, Miss -Mowbray, and Lady Adelina's woman; if it is farther exposed, the heirs -of Mr. Trelawny, who are so deeply interested, will undoubtedly take -measures to prove that the infant has no just claim to the estate they -so eagerly expect. Mr. Trelawny's sister has already entertained -suspicions, which the least additional information would give her -grounds to pursue, and the whole affair must then inevitably become -public. Surely this consideration alone should determine you--why then -need I urge others equally evident and equally forcible.' - -Godolphin acknowledged that there was much of truth in the arguments she -used; but denied that any consideration should influence him to forgive -the man who had thus basely and ungenerously betrayed the confidence of -his family. - -'However,' added he again, checking the heat into which he feared a -longer conversation on this subject might betray him--'I have not yet, -Madam, absolutely formed the resolution of which you seem so -apprehensive; and am indeed too cruelly hurt to be able to talk longer -on the subject. Suffer me therefore once more to bid you a good day!' - -But the encreasing gloom of his countenance, and forced calm of his -manner, appeared to be symptoms so unfavourable, that Mrs. Stafford -thought there was no hope of being able to prevent an immediate and -fatal meeting between him and Fitz-Edward but by engaging him in a -promise at least to delay it; this she attempted by the most earnest -arguments, and the most pressing persuasions; but all she could obtain -was an assurance that he would remain at Bath 'till the next day, and -see her again in the evening. - -In the mean time the delirium of Lady Adelina, (which had recurred at -intervals ever since the transient sight she had of her brother) more -frequently, and with more alarming symptoms, returned; and the fever -which had at first threatened the loss of her life, now seemed to be -fixing on her brain, and to menace, by a total deprivation of reason, -reducing her to a condition to which death itself must be preferable. -She still, even in her wildest wanderings, knew Emmeline, and still -caressed her little boy; but much of her time passed in incoherent and -rambling discourse; in which she talked of Fitz-Edward and her brother -William, and held with them both imaginary dialogues. Sometimes she -deprecated the wrath of her elder brother: and then her disordered fancy -ran to the younger; to him from whom she had, in her early life, found -pity and protection in all her little sorrows. - -Mrs. Stafford thought it too hazardous to let her again see her brother, -while her intellects were thus disarranged; as she trembled lest she -should start into actual madness. But it was absolutely necessary to do -something; not only because Mr. Godolphin's impatience made every delay -dangerous, but because it was hardly possible to keep the secret from -the physicians and attendants, who had already heard much more than they -ought to have known. - -She determined, therefore, after consulting with Emmeline, to introduce -Godolphin into the room adjoining to that where Lady Adelina now sat -some hours every day in an easy chair. The affecting insanity of his -unhappy sister, and the mournful and pathetic entreaties she frequently -used, were likely, in the opinion of the fair friends, to effectuate -more than their most earnest persuasions; and prevail on him to drop all -thoughts of that resentment, which could not cure but might encrease her -calamities. - -Mrs. Stafford had heard from him, that he gained information as to the -place of his sister's residence from the mother of Lady Adelina's woman; -who being the reduced widow of a clergyman, resided in the Bishop's -alms-houses at Bromley, where her daughter frequently sent her such -assistance as her own oeconomy, or the bounty of her lady, enabled her -to supply. A few weeks before, she had sent her a note for ten pounds; -and not apprehending that an enquiry would be made of her, had desired -her to acknowledge the receipt of it, and direct to her at Bath, where -she said her lady was with a Miss Mowbray. - -Lady Clancarryl, among many expedients to recover traces of her sister, -had at length recollected this widow, and had desired Mr. Godolphin to -make immediate enquiry of her. - -He had hastened therefore to Bromley, and easily found the poor woman, -who was paralytic and almost childish. Her letters were read for her by -one of her neighbours; a person, who, being present at the arrival of -Mr. Godolphin, immediately found that something was to be got; and -busily put into his hands the very letter which had enclosed the note, -and which contained the direction. - -He eagerly copied the address; and leaving a handsome present for the -use of the old widow, he delayed not a moment to set out for Bath, -where he soon found the house, and where he had enquired for Lady -Adelina Trelawny. - -The servant of the house who opened the door assured him no such person -was there. He supposed that for some reason or other she was denied; and -insisting on being allowed to go up stairs, had entered the room in the -abrupt manner which had so greatly alarmed his sister. - -In hopes of counteracting the fatal effects of the discovery which had -unavoidably followed this interview, Godolphin was, on his return in the -afternoon, introduced into the dining-room, which opened into Lady -Adelina's bed-chamber. The door was a-jar; the partition thin; and Mrs. -Stafford was pretty well assured that the poor patient would be heard -distinctly. Godolphin came in, pale from the conflict of his mind; and -all his features expressed anger and sorrow, with which he seemed vainly -struggling. He bowed, and sat down in silence. - -Mrs. Stafford only was in the room; and as soon as he was seated, said, -in a low voice, yet with forced chearfulness-- - -'Well, Sir, I hope that Miss Mowbray and myself have prevailed on you to -drop at present every other design than the truly generous one of -healing the wounded heart of our fair unfortunate friend.' - -'And shall he who has wounded it,' slowly and sternly replied -Godolphin--'shall he who has wounded it so basely, escape me?' - -At this instant Lady Adelina, who had been some time silent, exclaimed -hastily--'Oh! spare him! my dear brother! and spare your poor Adelina! -who will not trouble--who will not disgrace you long!' - -'Where is she?' said Godolphin, starting--'Good God! what is it I hear?' - -'Your unhappy sister,' answered Mrs. Stafford; 'whom the idea of your -determined vengeance has already driven to distraction.' - -Again Lady Adelina spoke. Her brother listened in breathless anguish. - -'Ah! William!--and are _you_ grown cruel? You, on whom I depended for -pity and protection?' - -'Surely,' said he, 'surely she knows I am here?' - -'No,' answered Mrs. Stafford, 'she knows nothing. But this fear has -incessantly pursued her; and since she saw you she dwells more -frequently on it, tho' her erring memory sometimes wanders to other -objects.' - -'It is very true, my Lord!' cried Lady Adelina, with affected calmness, -her thoughts wavering again towards Lord Westhaven--'It is all very -true! I have deserved all your reproaches! I am ready to make all the -atonement I can! Then you will both of you, my brothers, be -satisfied--for William has told me that if I died he should be content, -for then all might be forgotten.' She ended with a deep sigh; and -Godolphin, wildly starting from his seat, said-- - -'This is too much! you cannot expect me to bear this!--let me go to -her!' - -'Would you go then,' answered Mrs. Stafford, 'to confirm her fears and -to drive her to deeper desperation? If you see her, it must be to soothe -and comfort her; to assure her of your forgiveness, and that you will -bury your resentment against----' - -'Accursed! doubly accursed be the infamous villain who has driven her to -this! And must I bear it tamely! Oh! injured memory of my father!--oh! -my poor, undone sister!' He walked about the room; the tears ran from -his eyes; and Mrs. Stafford, fearing that his hurried step and deep sobs -would be heard by Lady Adelina, determined to bring the scene to a -crisis and not to lose the influence she hoped she had gained on his -mind. She therefore went into the other room, and shutting the door, -advanced with a smile towards the lovely lunatic. - -'What will you say, my dear Adelina, if I bring you the best news you -can possibly hear?' - -'News!' repeated Lady Adelina, looking at her with eyes which too -plainly denoted her unsettled mind--'News!--Ah! dear Madam! I know very -well that all the world is happy but me; and if you are happy, I am very -glad; but as to _me_--Do you indeed think it is reasonable I should part -with him?' - -'With whom?' said Mrs. Stafford. - -'Why, one condition which they insist upon is, that I should give up my -poor little one to them, and never ask to see him again. William was the -most urgent for this--William, who used to be so good, so gentle, so -compassionate to every body! Alas! he is now more cruel and relentless -than the rest!' - -'So far from it,' said Mrs. Stafford, 'your brother William loves you as -much as ever; he will come and tell you so himself if you will only be -composed, and talk less strangely.' - -'To see _me_!' exclaimed she, as if suddenly recovering her -recollection--'Oh! when?--where?--how?' - -But again it forsook her; and she continued-- - -'Ah! he comes perhaps to tell me of the blood he has spilt, and to load -me with reproaches for having obliged him to destroy a friend whom he -once loved. If that is indeed so, why let him come and plunge another -dagger in this poor heart, which has always loved him!' - -She was silent a moment, and then languidly went on-- - -'I thought some time since that I saw him, and Miss Mowbray was with -him; but it was only a dream, for I know he is in Jamaica: and when he -_does_ come home, he will harden his heart against me--he will be my -judge, and sternly will he judge me--he will forget that he is my -brother!' - -'Never! my poor Adelina,' cried Godolphin, rushing into the room, 'never -can I forget that I am your brother--never can I cease to feel for you -compassion and tenderness.' - -He would have taken her in his arms; but struck by the dreadful -alteration that appeared in her face and figure, he stopt short, and -looking at her with silent horror, seemed incapable of uttering what he -felt. - -She knew him; but could neither speak or shed a tear for some moments. -At length, she held out to him her emaciated hand. - -'It is _indeed_ William!' said she. 'He seems, too, very sorry for me. -My dear brother, do you then pardon and pity the poor Adelina?' - -'Both! both!' answered Godolphin, sobbing, and seating himself by her. -He threw his arms round her, and her pale cheek rested on his bosom, -while her eyes were fixed on his face. - -'Stay!' exclaimed she, after a momentary pause, and disengaging herself -suddenly from him--'Stay! I have yet another question, if I dared ask -it! Do you know all? and have you no blood to answer for, on my account? -Will you assure me you will not seek it?' - -'For mercy's sake!' said Mrs. Stafford, 'satisfy her, Mr. -Godolphin--satisfy her at once--you see to what is owing this alienation -of her reason.' - -'No,' reassumed the afflicted Adelina, 'you need not answer me; I see -you cannot--will not forgive----' - -'Name him not, Adelina!' sternly and quickly answered he--'my soul -recoils at his idea! I cannot, I will not promise any thing!' - -At this period, Emmeline, who was unwilling to trust the servants in -such a moment, entered with the infant of Lady Adelina sleeping in her -arms. - -'See,' said Mrs. Stafford, 'a little unfortunate creature, whose -innocence must surely plead forcibly to you: he comes to join our -intreaties to you to spare his mother!' - -Emmeline laid the infant in the lap of Lady Adelina, who was yet unable -to shed a tear. Godolphin beheld it with mingled horror and pity; but -the latter sentiment seemed to predominate; and Emmeline, whose voice -was calculated to go to the heart, began to try it's influence; and -imploring him to be calm, and to promise his sister an eternal oblivion -of the past, she urged every argument that should convince him of it's -necessity, and every motive that could affect his reason or his -compassion. - -He gazed on her with reverence and admiration while she spoke, and -seemed greatly affected by what she said. Animated by the hope of -success, her eyes were lightened up with new brilliancy, and her glowing -cheeks and expressive features became more than ever attractive. A -convulsive laugh from Lady Adelina interrupted her, and drew the -attention of Godolphin entirely to his sister. Emmeline, who saw her -reason again forsaking her, took the sleeping baby from her lap. She had -hardly done so, before, trying to rise from her chair, she shrieked -aloud--for again the image of Fitz-Edward, dying by the hand of her -brother, was before her. - -'See!' cried she, 'see! there he lies!--he is already expiring! yet -William forgives him not! What? would you strike him again? now! while -he is dying?--Go! cruel, cruel brother!' attempting to put Godolphin -from her--'Go!--Oh! touch me not with those polluted hands, they are -stained with human blood!' A convulsive shudder and a deep sigh seemed -to exhaust all her remaining strength, and she fell back in her chair, -pale and faint; and with fixed, unmeaning eyes, appeared no longer -conscious even of the terrors which pursued her. - -But the look of incurable anguish which her features wore; the wild -import of her words; and the sight of the unfortunate child, who seemed -born only to share her wretchedness; could not long be beheld unmoved by -a heart like Godolphin's, which possessed all that tenderness that -distinguishes the truly brave. Again he threw his arms round his sister, -and sobbing, said-- - -'Hear me, Adelina--hear me and be tranquil! I will promise to be guided -by your excellent friends--I will do nothing that shall give pain to -them or to you!' - -'Thank God!' exclaimed Emmeline, 'that you at last hear reason! Remember -this promise is given to us all.' - -'It is,' answered Godolphin; 'but try to make poor Adelina sensible of -it.' She no longer understood any thing; but with her eyes shut, and her -hands clasped in each other, was at least quiet. - -'I cannot bear it!' continued Godolphin--'I must go for a few moments to -recover myself!' He then left the room, desiring Emmeline to comfort and -compose his sister, who soon afterwards asked hastily what was become of -him? - -Emmeline, pleased to find she had a clear recollection of his having -been with her, now told her that he had most solemnly assured them he -would think no more of seeking Fitz-Edward on account of this unhappy -affair. As she seemed still, in fearful apprehension, to doubt the -reality of this promise, Godolphin, who was only in the next room with -Mrs. Stafford, returned, and assured her of his pity, his forbearance -and his forgiveness. - -After some farther efforts on the part of Emmeline, and protestations on -that of Godolphin, tears, which had been long denied to Lady Adelina, -came to her relief. She wept, caressed her infant, and blessed and -thanked her brother and her friends. When capable of recollection, she -knew that towards those whom he had once pardoned, he was incapable of -reproach or unkindness; and her mind, eased of the fears which had so -long harrassed it, seemed to be recovering it's tone. Still, however, -the sense of her own incurable unhappiness, her own irretrievable -unworthiness, and the disgrace of having sullied the honour of her -family, and given pain to such a brother, overwhelmed her with grief and -confusion; while her reason, as it at intervals returned, served only to -shew her the abyss into which she had fallen: and she sometimes even -regretted those hours of forgetfulness, when she possessed not the power -of steady reflection, and when the sad reality was obliterated by wild -and imaginary horrors. - -[Footnote 1: Without fear and without reproach.] - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -Some few days elapsed before there was any great alteration for the -better in Lady Adelina. But the incessant attention of her friends, the -soothing pity of her brother, and the skill of her physician, slowly -conquered the lurking fever which had so long hung about her; and her -intellects, tho' still disordered at times, were more collected, and -gave reason to hope that she would soon entirely recover. - -In the mean time Captain Godolphin communicated to Mrs. Stafford the -resolution he had taken about his sister. He said that she should -renounce for ever all claim on the Trelawny estate, except only the -stipend settled on her as a consideration for the fortune she was to -receive at the death of the dowager Lady Westhaven, and which was only -three hundred a year; a sum which he thought made her but a paltry and -inadequate compensation for having passed two years in the society of -such a man as Trelawny. - -He added, that he had a house in the Isle of Wight (almost all the -patrimony his father had been able to give him,) where, as his ship was -now out of commission, he proposed residing himself; and whither he -should insist upon Lady Adelina's retiring, without any future attempt -to see or correspond with Fitz-Edward. - -As to the child, he asked if Mrs. Stafford would have the goodness to -see that it was taken care of at some cottage in her neighbourhood, -'till he could adjust matters with the Trelawny family, and put an end -to all those fears which might tempt them to enquire into it's birth; -after which he said he would take it to his own house, and call it a son -of his own; a precaution that would throw an obscurity over the truth -which would hardly ever be removed, when none were particularly -interested to remove it. - -These designs he desired Mrs. Stafford to communicate to Lady Adelina; -and as she was obliged to return home in two days, she took the earliest -opportunity of doing so. - -To the conditions her brother offered, Lady Adelina thought herself most -happy to consent. The little boy was immediately baptized by the name of -William Godolphin, and his unfortunate mother now began to flatter -herself that her disastrous history might be concealed even from her -elder brother, Lord Westhaven; of whose indignation and resentment she -had ever the most alarming apprehensions. But while the hope of -escaping them by her brother William's generous compassion, gave to her -heavy sorrows some alleviation, they were renewed with extreme -poignancy, by the approaching separation from her inestimable friends. -Mrs. Stafford could no longer delay her return to her family; and -Emmeline, who now saw Lady Adelina out of danger and in the protection -of her brother, was desirous of accompanying her back to Woodfield. - -Lady Adelina ineffectually tried to bear this early departure with some -degree of fortitude and resolution. Nor was it _her_ heart alone that -felt desolate and unhappy at it's approach--That of her brother, had -received an impression from the mental and personal perfections of -Emmeline, which being at first deep, had soon become indelible; and -ignorant of her engagement, he had indulged it till he found it no -longer possible for him to forbear making her the first object of his -life, and that the value of his existence depended wholly on her. - -Emmeline was yet quite unconscious of this: but Mrs. Stafford had seen -it almost from the first moment of her seeing Godolphin. In their -frequent conversation, she observed that the very name of Emmeline had -the power of fascination; that he was never weary of hearing her -praises; that whenever he thought himself unobserved, his eyes were in -pursuit of her; while fondly gazing on her face, he seemed to drink deep -draughts of intoxicating passion. - -Mrs. Stafford, who knew what ardent and fatal love, such excellence of -person and understanding might produce in a heart susceptible of all -their power, was alarmed for the happiness of this amiable man; and with -regret saw him nourishing an affection which she thought must be -entirely hopeless. - -These apprehensions, every hour's observation encreased. Yet Mrs. -Stafford determined not to communicate them to Emmeline; but to put an -end to the flattering delusion which led on Godolphin to indulge his -passion, by telling him, as soon as possible, of the engagement Emmeline -had formed with Mr. Delamere. - -Accident soon furnished her with an opportunity. While they were all -sitting together after dinner, a packet of letters was brought in, and -among others which were forwarded to Mrs. Stafford from Woodfield, was -one for Emmeline. - -Mrs. Stafford gave it to her, saying--'From France, by the post mark?' - -Emmeline replied that it was. She changed colour as she opened it. - -'From Mr. Delamere?' enquired Mrs. Stafford. - -'No,' answered she, 'it is from Lady Westhaven. Your brother and her -Ladyship are well,' continued she, addressing herself to Mr. Godolphin, -'and are at Paris; where they propose staying 'till Lady Montreville and -Miss Delamere join them as they come to England.' - -'And when are they expected?' said Godolphin. - -'In about a month,' replied Emmeline. 'But Lord and Lady Westhaven do -not propose to return 'till next spring--they only pass a few days all -together at Paris.' - -'And where is Mr. Delamere wandering to?' significantly and smilingly -asked Mrs. Stafford. - -'Lady Westhaven says only,' answered Emmeline, blushing and casting down -her eyes, 'that he has left Lady Montreville, and is, they believe, gone -to Geneva.' - -'However,' reassumed Mrs. Stafford, 'we shall undoubtedly see him in -England in March.' - -Emmeline, in still greater embarrassment, answered two or three other -questions which Godolphin asked her about his brother, and soon after -left the room. - -Godolphin, who saw there was something relative to Delamere with which -he was unacquainted, had a confused idea immediately occur to him of his -attachment: and the pain it gave him was so acute, that he wished at -once to know whether it was well founded. - -'Why does Mr. Delamere certainly return in March?' said he, addressing -himself to Mrs. Stafford, 'rather than with his mother?' - -'To fulfil his engagement,' gravely and coldly replied she. - -'Of what nature is it?' asked he. - -Mrs. Stafford then related the history of Delamere's long and violent -passion for Emmeline; and the reluctant consent he had wrung from Lord -and Lady Montreville, together with the promise obtained from Miss -Mowbray. - -While Mrs. Stafford was making this recital, she saw, by the variations -of Godolphin's countenance, that she had too truly guessed the state of -his heart. Expressive as his features were, it was not in his power to -conceal what he felt in being convinced that he had irrecoverably fixed -his affections on a woman who was the destined wife of another: and -awaking from the soft visions which Hope had offered, to certain -despondence, he found himself too cruelly hurt to be able to continue -the conversation; and after a few faint efforts, which only betrayed his -internal anguish, he hurried away. - -Such, however, was the opinion Mrs. Stafford conceived of his honour and -his understanding, that she had no apprehension that he would attempt -imparting to the heart of Emmeline any portion of that pain with which -his own was penetrated; and she hoped that absence and reflection, -together with the conviction of it's being hopeless, would conquer this -infant passion before it could gather strength wholly to ruin his -repose. - -She was glad that their departure was so near; and hastened it as much -as possible. The short interval was passed in mournful silence on the -part of Godolphin--on that of Lady Adelina, in tears and regret; while -Emmeline, who was herself sensible of great pain in the approaching -parting, struggled to appear chearful; and Mrs. Stafford attempted, tho' -without much success, to reconcile them all to a separation which was -become as necessary as it was inevitable. - -At length the hired coach in which they were to return to Woodfield was -at the door. - -Lady Adelina, unable to speak to either of them, brought her little boy -in her arms, and passionately kissing him, gave him into those of -Emmeline. Then taking a hand of each of her friends, she pressed them to -her throbbing heart, and hastened to conceal the violence of her sorrow -in her own room. - -Godolphin approached to take leave. He kissed the hand of Mrs. Stafford, -and inarticulately expressed his thanks for her goodness to his sister. - -'I know,' continued he, 'I need not recommend to you this poor infant: -the same generosity which prompted you to save his mother, will -effectually plead for him, and secure for him your protection 'till I -can take him to that of his own family. And you, Miss Mowbray,' said he, -turning to Emmeline and taking her hand--'most amiable, loveliest of -human creatures! where shall I find words to thank you as I ought?' - -His emotion was too great for utterance. Emmeline felt it but too -sensibly; and hastening into the coach to hide how much she was herself -affected, she could only say-- - -'All happiness attend you, Sir! Remind Lady Adelina of my hopes of soon -hearing from her.' - -Mrs. Stafford being then seated, and the servant who had been hired to -attend the infant following her, the coach drove from the door. -Godolphin pursued it with his eyes to the end of the street; and then, -as if deprived of all that made life desirable, he gave himself up to -languor and despondence, afraid of examining his own heart, least his -reason should condemn an inclination, which, however hopeless, he could -not resolve to conquer. - -But while he found charms in the indulgence of his unhappy love, he -determined never to disturb the peace of it's object. But rather to -suffer in silence, than to give pain to a heart so generous and sensible -as her's, merely for the melancholy pleasure of knowing that she pitied -him. - -As soon as Lady Adelina could bear the journey, they departed together -to his house in the Isle of Wight; where he left her, and went in search -of Mrs. Bancraft, the sister of Trelawny, of whom he enquired where -Trelawny himself might be found. - -This woman, apprehensive that he meditated a reconciliation between her -brother and his wife, which it was so much her interest to prevent, -refused for some time to give him the information he desired. Having -however at length convinced her that he had no wish to renew a union -which had been productive only of misery to his sister, she told him -that Mr. Trelawny was returned to England, and lived at a house hired in -the name of her husband, a few miles from London. - -There Godolphin sought him; and found the unhappy man sunk into a state -of perpetual and unconscious intoxication; in which Bancraft, the -husband of his sister, encouraged him, foreseeing that it must soon end -in his son's being possessed of an income, to which the meanness of his -own origin, and former condition, made him look forward with anxious -avidity. - -It was difficult to make Trelawny, sinking into idiotism, comprehend -either who Godolphin was, or the purport of his business. But Bancraft, -more alive to his own interest, presently understood, that on condition -of his entering into bonds of separation, Lady Adelina would relinquish -the greater part of her claim on the Trelawny estate; and he undertook -to have the deeds signed as soon as they could be drawn up. In a few -days therefore Godolphin saw Trelawny's part of them compleated; and -returned to Lady Adelina, satisfied in having released her from an -engagement, which, since he had seen Trelawny, had rendered her in his -eyes an object of tenderer pity; and in having acquitted himself -according to his strict sense of honour, by causing her to relinquish -all the advantages Trelawny's fortune offered, except those to which she -had an absolute right. - -This affair being adjusted, he again resigned himself to the mournful -but pleasing contemplations which had occupied him ever since he had -heard of Emmeline's engagement. While Lady Adelina, whose intellects -were now restored, but who was lost in profound melancholy, saw too -evidently the state of her brother's heart; and could not but lament -that his tenderness for her had been the means of involving him in a -passion, which the great merit of it's object, and his own sensibility, -convinced her must be incurable. - -The letters of Emmeline were the only consolation she was capable of -receiving. They gave her favourable accounts of her child, and of the -continued affection of her inestimable friends. Whenever one of these -letters was brought, Godolphin eagerly watched her while she was reading -it; and then, faultering and impatient, asked if all were well; and if -Mr. Delamere was yet returned? She sometimes gave him the letters to -peruse; after which he generally fell into long absence, broken only by -deep drawn and involuntary sighs--symptoms which Lady Adelina knew too -well to doubt of the cause. - -In the mean time Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline visited every day their -innocent charge, who passed for the child of one of Emmeline's friends -gone to the West Indies. Emmeline insensibly grew so fond of him, that -she was uneasy if any accident prevented her daily visit; and her friend -sometimes laughingly reproached her with the robbery little William -committed on her time. - -When they were alone, their conversation frequently turned on Lady -Adelina and her brother. The subject, tho' melancholy, was ever a -favourite with them both; and perhaps the more so because it led them to -mournful reflections--for Mrs. Stafford was unhappy, and Emmeline was -not gay; nor were her spirits greatly heightened by finding that in -spite of herself she thought as much of the brother as the sister, and -with a degree of softness and complacency which could not be favourable -to her happiness. - -When she first discovered in Godolphin those admirable qualities of -heart and understanding which he so eminently possessed, she asked -herself whether she might indulge the admiration they excited without -prejudice to him whom she considered as her husband? And she fancied -that she might safely give him that esteem which his tenderness to his -unhappy sister, the softness of his manners, the elegance of his mind, -and the generosity of his heart, could hardly fail of extorting from the -most indifferent observer. - -But insensibly his idea obtruded itself more frequently on her -imagination; and she determined to attempt to forget him, and no longer -to allow any partiality to rob Delamere of that pure and sincere -attachment with which he would expect her to meet him at the altar. It -was now long since she had heard from him; but she accounted for it by -supposing that he was rambling about, and she knew that letters were -frequently lost. - -It was at this time something more than two years since they had first -met at Mowbray Castle, and in a few weeks Delamere would complete his -twenty-first year--a period to which Lord Montreville had long looked -forward with anxious solicitude. And now he could not but think with -bitterness that his son would not be present to animate the joy of his -dependants at this period; but was kept in another country, in the vain -hope of extinguishing a passion which could not be indulged without -rendering abortive all the pains his Lordship had taken to restore his -family to the eminent rank it had formerly borne in his country. - -To Sir Richard Crofts, his sons had communicated the success of those -plans, by which they had sown, in the irritable mind of Delamere, -jealousy and mistrust of Emmeline; and he failed not to animate and -encourage their endeavours, while he used his power over the mind of -Lord Montreville to limit the bounty and lessen the affection his -Lordship was disposed to shew her as the daughter of his brother. - -She received regularly her quarterly payment, but she received no more; -and instead of hearing, on those occasions, from Lord Montreville -himself, she had twice only a methodical letter from Maddox, the London -steward. - -This might, however, be merely accidental; and Emmeline was far from -supposing that her uncle was estranged from her; nor could she guess -that the malice of Mrs. Ashwood, and the artifices of the Crofts', had -occasioned that estrangement. - -Lord Montreville rather connived at than participated in their -ungenerous proceedings; and as if fearful of trusting his own ideas of -integrity with a plan which so evidently militated against them, he was -determined to take advantage of their endeavours, without enquiring too -minutely into their justice or candour. Sir Richard had assured him that -Mr. Delamere was in a great measure weaned from his attachment; and that -Mr. Crofts was almost sure, that if their meeting could be prevented for -a few months longer, there would be nothing more to fear from this long -and unfortunate prepossession. - -Crofts himself, who had at length torn himself from his bride to pave -the way for his being received by her family as her husband, soon -appeared, and confirmed all this. He told Lord Montreville that Delamere -had conceived suspicions of Emmeline's conduct, (tho' he knew not from -what cause) that had at first excited the most uneasy jealousy, but -which had at length subsided with his love; that he had regained his -spirits; and, when he left his mother and sister, seemed resolved to -make a vigorous effort to expel from his mind a passion he was ashamed -of having so long indulged. - -In saying all this, Crofts rather attended to what his Lordship wished -to hear, than to what was really the truth. He knew that a meeting -between Delamere and Emmeline would probably at once explain all the -unworthy artifices which had been used to divide them, and render those -artifices abortive. He therefore told Lord Montreville, that to prevent -all probability of a relapse, it would be advisable to remove Emmeline -to some place where Delamere could not meet her: and his Lordship, -forgetting at once all the obligations he owed her, thought only of -following this advice. - -Embarrassed, however, himself with public business, he was unable to -give to these domestic politics all the attention which they demanded. -He threw himself more than ever into the power of the Crofts', to whose -policy he left it to contrive the means, between the months of November -and March, of raising an invincible barrier between his son and his -niece. - -Tho' Delamere's being of age encreased the difficulties of this -undertaking, Crofts having no scruples about the methods he was to -pursue, had no doubt of accomplishing his end: and to stimulate his -endeavours, he needed only the particular advantages which would accrue -to himself from the pardon and reception which he hoped to obtain from -Lord Montreville and his family. - -Every engine therefore that ambition, avarice, malice and cunning could -employ, was now put in motion against the character and the peace of the -unprotected and unsuspicious Emmeline. - -In conscious innocence and unsullied purity, she dreamed not that she -had an enemy on earth; for of Mrs. Ashwood, now Mrs. James Crofts, she -only remembered that she had once been obliged to her. The little, -malicious envy which had given her some pain at the time it was shewn, -she now no longer recollected; and tho' she always continued to dislike -James Crofts, yet his impertinence she had forgiven, and had written in -the usual form to congratulate them both on their marriage. - -Of Delamere, she heard nothing; but imputing his silence to his frequent -change of place, she conceived no anger against him on that account; and -still felt herself bound to keep from her mind, as much as possible, the -intrusive image of Godolphin. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - - -Whatever resolution Emmeline might form to drive from her heart those -dangerous partialities which would be fatal to her repose, she found it -impossible to be accomplished while Lady Adelina's frequent letters -spoke only of the generous tenderness and excellent qualities of her -brother. Of what else, indeed, could she speak, in a solitude where his -goodness made all her consolation and his conversation all her pleasure? -where he dedicated to her all his time, and thought of procuring for her -every alleviation to her retirement which books and domestic amusements -afforded? while he taught her still to respect herself; and by his -unwearied friendship convincing her that she had still much to lose, -made her life receive in her own eyes a value it would otherwise have -lost; and prevented her relapsing into that unhappy state of -self-condemnation which makes the sufferer careless of the future. He -thought, that situated as she was, solitude was her only choice; but to -render it as happy as her circumstances allowed, was his continual care: -and tho' oppressive sorrow still lay heavy on her heart; tho' it still -ached with tenderness and regret towards an object whom she had sworn to -think of, to speak of no more; her gratitude and affection towards her -brother were as lively, as if its acute feelings had never felt the -benumbing hand of despair. - -In the total sequestration from the world in which she lived, she had no -other topic to dwell upon than her brother, and she gave it all its -force. Perfectly acquainted, however, with Emmeline's engagements, she -never ventured to mention the passion which she was too well assured -Godolphin felt; but she still, almost unknown to herself, cherished a -lurking hope that her connection with Delamere might be dissolved, and -that her lovely friend was destined to bless her beloved brother. - -This distant hope was warm enough to animate her pen in his praise; and -Emmeline, tho' every letter she received made on her mind a deeper -impression of the merit of Godolphin, yet found such painful pleasure in -reading them, that she was unhappy if at the usual periods they did not -regularly arrive. - -She tried to persuade herself, that the satisfaction she felt in reading -these letters arose purely from the delight natural to every uncorrupted -mind in contemplating a character honourable to human nature. But -accustomed to examine narrowly her own heart, she could not long impose -upon herself; and notwithstanding all her endeavours to stifle it, she -still found the idea of Godolphin mixing itself with all her thoughts, -and embittering the prospect of her certain marriage with Delamere. - -In the answers Emmeline gave her friend, she related whatever she -thought likely to amuse the fair recluse; gave a regular account of her -little charge; but avoided punctiliously the least mention of -Fitz-Edward. - -Fitz-Edward had received from Mrs. Stafford an account of all that had -passed at Bath, except the pains which had been taken to prevent any -meeting between him and Godolphin. But notwithstanding her cautious -silence on that head, Fitz-Edward, who knew Godolphin well, could hardly -be persuaded not to insist on his taking his chance of depriving him of -a life which he said he had deserved to lose, and could little brook -being supposed to hold on courtesy. Nothing but his consideration for -the unhappy Lady Adelina prevented his pursuing the sanguinary projects -that agitated his mind. To her peace he owed it to conquer them; and -while he was yet struggling against that sense of honour which impelled -him to give Godolphin imaginary reparation, by allowing him an -opportunity of putting an end to _his_ existence or losing his own, his -brother, Lord Clancarryl, wrote to desire his attendance in Ireland on -some family business of importance; a summons, which after some -hesitation, Mrs. Stafford and Miss Mowbray prevailed with him to obey. - -Before he went, his eager and affecting entreaties prevailed on Mrs. -Stafford to let him see his son, whom he embraced with an ardour of -affection of which the fair friends believed so gay and fashionable a -man incapable. - -The errors of Fitz-Edward, however, were not those of the heart. Among -the dissipation of fashion and the indulgences of libertinism, his heart -was still sensible, and his integrity retrievable. He felt, therefore, -with great keenness, the injury he had done Lady Adelina; and desirous -of making all the reparation he could to the infant, he again placed in -the hands of Emmeline, a will by which he made it his heir, and -recommended it to the protection of Godolphin, whom he besought to -consider as his nephew, the son of a man whom he had once loved, and who -had dearly paid for having forfeited all claim to his friendship. When -he was departed, nothing seemed likely to interrupt the tranquillity of -Emmeline but her encreasing apprehensions for Mrs. Stafford and her -children. The derangement of Stafford's affairs, and his wife's -unavailing efforts to ward off the ruin which he seemed obstinately bent -on incurring, were every day more visible: while his capricious and -unreasonable temper, and a strange opinion of his own sagacity, which -would never allow him to own himself in the wrong, made him seek to load -his wife with the blame of those misfortunes which he had voluntarily -sought, and now as obdurately refused to avoid while it was yet in his -power. - -Mrs. Stafford, who saw too plainly that the destruction of their fortune -which she had so long dreaded was now with hasty strides advancing, yet -endeavoured to convince him of his infatuation; but he still improved -his house and garden, still schemed away all the money he could raise or -gain credit for, and still repaid with rudeness and insult her anxious -solicitude to save him. - -In Emmeline, she ever found pity and tenderness; but pity and tenderness -was all she had to bestow. The affairs of Stafford required interest and -money; and Emmeline could command neither. Lord Montreville now took no -other notice of her, than to remit her quarterly stipend by the hands of -his steward; and tho' he had promised to double it, that promise yet -remained unfulfilled. - -It was at this time near the end of November, and the mornings were cold -and gloomy: but Emmeline, however delicate in her frame, had a -constitution which had not, by early and false indulgences, been -unfitted for the duties of life; and to personal inconvenience she was -always indifferent when the service of those she loved engaged her to -brave fatigue or cold. She therefore still continued her morning visit -to Woodbury Forest, where she generally past an hour with little -William; and in his improving features and interesting smiles, loved to -trace his resemblance to his mother. Lady Adelina was very like her -brother; and the little boy was not the less tenderly caressed for the -similitude she saw to them both. - -The appearance of rain had one morning detained her at home later than -usual. She went, however, about eleven o'clock; and was busied in -playing with the infant, who began now to know her, and was therefore -more attractive, when, while she yet held him in her arms, she heard the -woman of the house, who was in the outward room, suddenly -exclaim--'Indeed Sir you cannot go in--pray--I beg your honour!' There -was hardly time for Emmeline to feel surprise at this bustle, before the -door opened, and Delamere stood before her! In his countenance was an -expression compounded of rage, fierceness and despair, which extorted -from Emmeline an involuntary shriek! Unable to arise, she remained -motionless in her chair, clasping the baby to her bosom: Delamere seemed -trying to stifle his anger in contempt; vengeance, disdain, and pride, -were struggling for superiority: while with his eyes sternly turned upon -Emmeline, and smiling indignantly, he exclaimed--'Till I _saw_ this----' -inarticulately and tremulously he spoke--'till I _saw_ this, all the -evidence they brought me was insufficient to cure my blind attachment. -But now--oh! infamy--madness--damnation! It _is_ then possible--It _is_ -then true! But what is it to me? Torn--torn for ever from this outraged -heart--never, never shall this sight blast me again!--But what?' -continued he, speaking with more quickness, 'what? for Fitz-Edward! for -the infamous plunderer of his friend's happiness! However, Madam, on you -I intrude no longer. Oh! lost--lost--wretched!'--He could not go on; but -in the speechless agony of contending passions he leaned his head -against the frame of the door near which he stood, and gazed wildly on -Emmeline; who, pale as death, and trembling like a leaf, still sat -before him unable to recall her scattered spirits. - -He waited a moment, gasping for breath, and as if he had still some -feeble expectation of hearing her speak. But the child which she held in -her arms was like a basilisk to his sight, and made in his opinion all -vindication impossible. Again conviction appeared to drive him to -desperation; and looking in a frantic manner round the room, as if -entirely bereft of reason, he dashed his hands furiously against his -head, and running, or rather flying out of the house, he immediately -disappeared. - -In terror and astonishment, Emmeline remained immovable and speechless. -She almost doubted whether this was any other than a fearful dream, -'till the woman of the house, and the maid who attended on the child, -ran into the room frightened--'Lord! Madam,' cried the woman, 'what is -the matter with the young gentleman?' - -'I know not,' answered Emmeline, faintly--'I know not! Where is he now?' - -'He's run away into the wood again like any mad,' answered the woman. - -'And from whence,' enquired Emmeline, 'did he come?' - -'Why, Miss,' said she, 'I was a going out cross our garden to hang out -my cloaths; so up a comes to the hedge side, an a says--Good woman, pray -be'nt here a lady here as comes from Woodfield? one Miss Mowbray?--I -thought how he looked oddish as 'twere about the eyes; but howsever -thinking no harm, I says yes. So he runs up to the door, and I called to -un, to say as I'd come in and let you know; but before I could get thro' -the wicket, whisk he was in the kitchen; then I tried agin to stop un, -but I were as good try to stop the wind.' - -The agitation and uneasiness of Emmeline encreased rather than subsided. -She looked so pale, and with so much difficulty drew her breath, that -the women were alarmed least she should faint: and one of them persuaded -her to swallow something, while the other ran out to see if the person -who had so terrified her was yet in sight. But no traces of him were -visible: and after a few moments, Emmeline recalling her presence of -mind, and feeling proudly conscious of her own innocence and integrity, -recovered in some degree her spirits and resolution. - -That Delamere should be in England did not greatly astonish tho' it -grieved her; but that he should have conceived such strange suspicions -of her and Fitz-Edward, equally surprised and distressed her; since, -had she an opportunity of undeceiving him, which he did not seem willing -to allow her, she could not relate the truth but by betraying the -confidence of her unfortunate friend, and embittering that life she had -incurred such hazards to preserve. As soon as she had apparently -recovered from the shock of this abrupt intrusion, she was desirous of -returning to Woodfield; anxious to know if Delamere had been there, or -by what means he had been enabled to find her at the cottage in the -forest. The women, who fancied the gentleman they had seen was a lunatic -who might lay in wait to hurt her on her way home, would not suffer her -to set out 'till they had called a woodcutter from the forest to -accompany her. Then, slowly and with difficulty, she returned home; -where she heard from Mrs. Stafford that Delamere had neither been there -or sent thither. This information encreased her wonder and her disquiet. -She related to Mrs. Stafford the distressing interview of the morning; -who, having seen frequent instances of those excesses of which Delamere -was capable, heard the relation with concern and apprehension. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - - -Some days were passed by Emmeline in painful conjectures on what -measures Delamere would take, and in uncertainty what she ought to do -herself. Sometimes she thought of writing to Lord Montreville: but -against that Mrs. Stafford remonstrated; representing, that as she was -undoubtedly the injured person, in having been insulted by suspicions so -unworthy, she should leave it wholly to Delamere to discover and recant -his error; which, if he refused on cooler reflection to do, she would be -fortunate in escaping from an engagement with a man who had so little -command of his own temper, so little reliance on her principles, as to -be driven on a mere suspicion into rudeness and insult. - -Greatly mortified at finding it possible for Delamere to think so -injuriously of her, and depressed by a thousand uneasy apprehensions, -she yielded implicitly to the counsel of her friend. But of her counsel -and consolation she was now on the point of being deprived: Stafford, -who had been some time in London, sent an express to fetch his wife -thither a few days after the interview between Emmeline and Delamere. -His affairs were now growing desperate: James Crofts demanded immediate -payment of a sum of money belonging to his wife, that was left her by -her father, and which she had 'till now suffered to remain in the hands -of her brother. Stafford had made no provision to pay it: his boundless -profusion had dissipated all the ready money he could command; and this -claim of his sister's, which James Crofts seemed determined to urge, -would he knew be the signal for every other creditor to beset him with -demands he had no means of discharging. - -Tho' Mrs. Stafford had long tho' vainly implored him to stop in his wild -career, and had represented to him all the evils which were now about to -overtake him, she could not see their near approach without an attempt -again to rescue him. And he was accustomed in every difficulty to have -recourse to her; tho' while he felt none, he scorned and even resented -her efforts to keep them at a distance. He now fancied that her -application might prevail on James Crofts to drop a suit he had -commenced against him: she hastily therefore set out for London; leaving -to Emmeline the care of her children; who promised, by the utmost -attention to them, to obviate part of the inconvenience of such a -journey. - -It was unhappily, however, not only inconvenient but fruitless. Mr. and -Mrs. James Crofts were inexorable. The suit was tried; Stafford was -cast; and nothing remained for him but either to pay the money or to be -exposed to the hazard of losing his property and his liberty. His -conduct had so much injured his credit, that to borrow, it was -impossible. Mrs. Stafford attempted therefore to divest herself of part -of her own fortune to assist him with the money: but her trustees were -not to be moved; and nothing but despair seemed darkening round the head -of the unfortunate Stafford. - -Mrs. Stafford saw too evidently that to be in the power of James Crofts, -was to trust to avarice, meanness and malignity; and she trembled to -reflect that her husband was now wholly at his mercy. The additional -motives he had to use that power rigorously she knew not: she was -ignorant that the business had so eagerly been pushed to a crisis, not -merely by the avidity of James Crofts to possess the money, but also by -the directions of Sir Richard, who hoped by this means to drive the -family with whom Emmeline resided to another country; where Delamere -might find access to her so difficult, that he might never have an -opportunity of explaining the cause of his estrangement, or of hearing -her vindication. - -It was now that Mrs. Stafford remembered the frequent offers of service -which she had repeatedly received from Lord Montreville; and to him she -determined to apply. She hoped that he might be induced to influence the -Crofts' family to give Mr. Stafford time, and to desist from the -violence and precipitation with which they pursued him. She even fancied -that his Lordship would be glad of an opportunity so easily to realize -those offers he had so liberally made; and full of these expectations, -she prepared to become a solicitress for favours to a statesman. She -felt humbled and mortified at the cruel necessity that compelled her to -it; but her children's interest conquering her reluctance, she addressed -a letter to Lord Montreville, and received a very polite answer, in -which he desired the honour of seeing her at two o'clock the following -day; an hour, when he said he should be entirely disengaged. She might -as well, however, have attended at his levee; for tho' punctual to the -hour when he was to be disengaged, she found two rooms adjoining to that -where his Lordship was, occupied by a variety of figures; some of whose -faces, were faces of negociation and equality, but more, whose -expression of fearful suspence marked them for those of petitioners and -dependants. Those of the former description were separately called to an -audience; and each, after a longer or shorter stay, retired; while Mrs. -Stafford, tho' with an heart but ill at ease for observation, could not -help fancying she discerned in their looks the success of their -respective treaties. - -As soon as these gentlemen were all departed, Mrs. Stafford, who had -already waited almost three hours, was introduced into the study; where, -with many gracious bows and smiling apologies, Lord Montreville received -her. - -Sir Richard Crofts had that morning warmly represented to his Lordship -the necessity of the Staffords' going abroad and taking Emmeline with -them. Lord Montreville knew that Delamere was returned, and was -embroiled with Emmeline; he was therefore eager enough to follow advice -which appeared so necessary, and to promote any plan which might prevent -a renewal of the attachment. He enquired not into the cause of this -estrangement, satisfied with it's effect; and had secretly determined -to give Mrs. Stafford no assistance in the endeavours she was using to -keep her family from dispersion and distress. - -But statesman as he was, he could not entirely forget that he _once_ -felt as other men; and he could not hear, without some emotion, the -melancholy description that Mrs. Stafford gave of the impending ruin of -her family and all it's fearful consequences: which she did with so much -clear simplicity, yet with so much proper dignity, that he found his -resolution shaken; and recollecting _that he had a conscience_, was -about to ask it by what right he assumed the power of rendering an -innocent family wandering exiles, merely to save himself from a supposed -possible inconvenience. - -But while every lingering principle of goodness and generosity was -rising in the bosom of his Lordship to assist the suit of Mrs. Stafford, -a servant entered hastily and announced the Duke of N----. His Grace of -course waited not in the anti-room, but was immediately introduced. - -Lord Montreville then civilly apologized to Mrs. Stafford for being -unable to conclude the business; adding, that if she would see Sir -Richard Crofts the next day, he would take care it should be settled to -her satisfaction. She withdrew with a heavy heart; and feeling infinite -reluctance in the proposed application to Sir Richard Crofts, she -employed the whole afternoon in attempting to move, in favour of her -husband, some of those friends who had formerly professed the most -unbounded and disinterested friendship for him and his family. - -Of many of these, the doors were shut against her; others affected the -utmost concern, and lamented that their little power and limited -fortunes did not allow them to assist in repairing the misfortunes they -deplored: some told her how long they had foreseen Mr. Stafford's -embarrassments, and how destructive building and scheming were to a -moderate fortune; while others made vague proffers of inadequate -services, which on farther conversation she found they never intended to -perform if unluckily she had accepted their offers. In all, she saw too -plainly that they looked on Mr. Stafford's affairs as desperate; and in -their coldness and studied civility, already felt all the misery and -mortification of reduced circumstances. - -With encreased anguish, she was now compelled to go, on the following -day, to Sir Richard Crofts; whom she knew only from Emmeline's -description. - -He also, in imitation of his patron, had his anti-chamber filled with -soliciting faces. She waited not quite so long, indeed, for an audience, -but with infinitely less patience. At length, however, she was shewn -into the apartment where Sir Richard transacted business. - -Bloated prosperity was in his figure, supercilious scorn in his eyes: he -rose half off his seat, and slightly inclined his head on her entrance. - -'Madam, your servant--please to sit down.' - -'I waited on you, Sir Richard, to--' - -'I beg your pardon, Madam. But as I am perfectly acquainted, and -informed, and aware of the business, there is no occasion or necessity -to give you the trouble to repeat, and dwell upon, and explain it. It is -not, I find, convenient, or suitable, or commodious, for Mr. Stafford to -pay to my son James, who has married his (Mr. Stafford's) sister, that -part, and proportion, and residue, of her fortune, which her father at -his death gave, bequeathed, and left to her.' - -'It is not only inconvenient, Sir,' answered Mrs. Stafford, 'but -impossible, I fear, for him to do it immediately; and this is what I -wished to speak to you upon.' - -'I am aware, and informed, and apprized, Madam, of what you would say. I -am sorry it is as you say so inconvenient, and impracticable, and -impossible. However, Madam, my way in these cases is to go very plainly, -and straitly, and directly to the point; therefore I will chalk out, and -describe, and point out to you a line of conduct, which if you chuse to -follow, and adopt, and pursue, it appears to me that all may be -adjusted, settled, and put to rights.' - -'You will oblige me, Sir Richard, by doing so.' - -'Well then, it is this--As it appears, and is evident, and visible, that -you have not the money in question, you must immediately sell, and -dispose of, and make into money, your house and effects in Dorsetshire, -and after paying, and satisfying, and discharging the debt to my son -James, you must (as I understand your husband is besides deeply in -debt,) withdraw, retire, and remove to France, or to Normandy, or -Switzerland, or some cheap country, 'till your affairs come round, and -are retrieved, and accommodated and adjusted.' - -'This we might have done, Sir Richard, without troubling you with the -present application.' - -'No, Madam, you might _not_. I assure you I have talked, and reasoned, -and argued some time with Mr. James Crofts, before I could induce, and -prevail upon, and dispose him to wait, and remain, and continue unpaid, -until this arrangement and disposition could take place. He wants the -money, Madam, for a particular purpose; and tho' from my heart I grieve, -and lament, and deplore the necessity of the measure, I do assure you, -Madam, nothing else will give you any chance of winding up, compleating, -and terminating the business before us. You will therefore, Madam, -think, and consider, and reflect on it's necessity, and give your final -answer to my son James, who will wait for it only 'till to-morrow -morning.' - -He then rang his bell; and saying he had an appointment with Lord -Montreville, who must already have waited for him, he made a cold bow -and hastened out of the room. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - - -Mrs. Stafford now saw that nothing remained but to follow her husband to -a prison, or prevail on him to go to the Continent while she attempted -anew to settle his affairs. - -Obstinate even in despair, she had the utmost difficulty to convince him -of the necessity of this measure; and would never, perhaps, have done -it, if the more persuasive argument of a writ, taken out by James -Crofts, had not driven him to embrace it rather than go into -confinement. - -Mrs. Stafford with difficulty procured money to furnish him for his -journey, and saw him depart for Dover; while she herself returned to -Emmeline, who had passed the three weeks of her absence in great -uneasiness. No news had been received of Delamere; and she now believed, -that of the promise he had forced from her he meant not to avail -himself; yet did not relinquish it; but in proud and sullen resentment, -disdained even to enquire whether he had justly harboured anger against -her. She wished to have withdrawn a promise she could no longer think of -without pain and regret; but she found Mrs. Stafford so unhappy, that -she could not resolve to oppress her by complaints; and after some -struggles with herself, determined to let the matter take it's course. - -Willingly, however, she consented to accompany her friend to France; -where Mrs. Stafford, at her husband's request, now determined to go with -her family. She had found an opulent tradesman in a neighbouring town, -who engaged, on receiving a mortgage on the estate, and ten per cent. -interest, (which he so managed as to evade the appearance of usury,) to -let her have the money to pay Mr. Crofts, and a farther sum for the -support of her family: and having got a tenant for the house, and -satisfied as many of the clamorous creditors as she could, she prepared, -with a heavy heart, to quit her abode, with Emmeline and her infant -family. - -As it was necessary that little William should be sent to the Isle of -Wight before their departure, Emmeline wrote to fix a day at the -distance of a month, on which she desired Lady Adelina to send some -careful person for him. But ten days before the expiration of that -period, letters came from Mr. Stafford, in which he directed his wife, -who intended to embark at Brighthelmstone and land at Dieppe, to change -her route, and sail from Southampton to Havre. He also desired her to -hasten her journey: and as every thing was now put on the best footing -the time would allow, Mrs. Stafford immediately complied; and with her -own unfortunate family, Emmeline, and little William, (whom they now -meant to carry themselves to Lady Adelina) they left Woodfield. - -The pain of quitting, probably for ever, a favourite abode, which she -feared would at length be torn from her children by the rapacity of the -law, and the fatigue of travelling with infant children, under such -circumstances, almost overcame the resolution and spirits of Mrs. -Stafford. Emmeline, ever reasonable, gentle, and consoling, was her -principal support; and on the evening of the second day they arrived at -Southampton. - -While Emmeline almost forgot in her attention to her friend her own -uncertain and unpleasant state, Delamere remained in Norfolk, where he -had hid himself from the enquiries of his father, and from the -importunities of his mother, who was now, with her eldest daughter, -settled again in Berkley Square. Here he nourished inveterate resentment -against Fitz-Edward: and finding it impossible to forget Emmeline, he -continued to think of her as much as ever, but with indignation, -jealousy and rage. - -He had, immediately on receiving, as he believed, a confirmation of all -those suspicions with which the Crofts' had so artfully inspired him, -resolved to demand satisfaction of Fitz-Edward; and hearing on enquiry -that he was in Ireland, but his return immediately expected, he waited -with eager and restless uneasiness till the person whom he had -commissioned to inform him of his return should send notice that he was -again in London. - -Week after week, however, passed away. He still heard, that tho' -expected hourly, Fitz-Edward arrived not. Time, far from softening the -asperity with which his thoughts dwelt on this supposed rival, seemed -only to irritate and inflame his resentment; and ingenious in tormenting -himself, he now added new anguish to that which corroded his heart, by -supposing that Emmeline, aware of the danger which threatened her lover -from the vengeance of his injured friend, had written to him to prevent -his return. This idea was confirmed, when the agent whom he employed to -watch the return of Fitz-Edward at length informed him that he had -obtained leave of absence from his regiment, now in England, and was to -pass the remainder of the winter with Lord and Lady Clancarryl. - -The fury of his passions seemed to be suspended, while with gloomy -satisfaction he looked forward to a speedy retribution: but now, when no -immediate prospect offered of meeting the author of his calamities, they -tormented him with new violence. Emmeline and Fitz-Edward haunted his -dreams; Emmeline and Fitz-Edward were ever present to his imagination; -he figured to himself his happy rival possessed of the tenderness and -attachment of that gentle and sensible heart. The anguish these images -inflicted affected his health; and while every day, as it passed, -brought nothing to alleviate his despair, he became more and more -convinced that the happiness of his life was blasted for ever; and -growing impatient of life itself, determined to go to Ireland and insist -on an opportunity of losing it, or of taking that of the man who had -made it an insupportable burthen. - -He set out therefore, attended only by Millefleur, and gave Lord -Montreville no notice of his intention 'till he reached Holyhead; from -thence he wrote to his Lordship to say that he had received an -invitation to visit some friends at Dublin, and that he should continue -about a month in Ireland. His pride prompted him to do this; least his -father, on hearing of his absence, should suppose that he was weak -enough to seek a reconciliation with Emmeline, whose name he now never -mentioned, being persuaded that his Lordship knew how ill she had repaid -an affection, which, tho' he could not divest himself of, he was now -ashamed to acknowledge. - -Lord Montreville, happy to find he had really quitted her, was extremely -glad of this seasonable journey; which, as the Crofts' assured him -Emmeline was on the point of leaving England, would, he thought, prevent -his enquiring whither she was gone, and by introducing him into a new -set of acquaintance, turn his thoughts to other objects and perfect his -cure. - -While Delamere then was travelling to Ireland in pursuit of Fitz-Edward, -Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline left Southampton on a visit to Lady Adelina -in the Isle of Wight; being desirous of delivering little William into -the arms of his mother and his uncle. Tho' it was now almost the end of -January, they embarked in an open boat, with the servant who waited on -the child; but being detained 'till almost noon on account of the tide, -it was evening before they reached a village on the shore, three miles -beyond Cowes, where they were to land. - -On arriving there, they found that the house of Captain Godolphin was -situated two miles farther. Mrs. Stafford, ever attentive and -considerate, was afraid that the sight of the child so unexpectedly, -might overpower the spirits of Lady Adelina, and cause speculation among -the servants which it was absolutely necessary to avoid. Emmeline -therefore undertook to walk forward, attended by a boy in the village, -who was to shew her the way, and apprize Lady Adelina of the visitor she -was to expect. - -Pleasure, in spite of herself, glowed in her bosom at the idea of again -meeting Godolphin; tho' she knew not that he had conceived for her the -most pure and ardent passion that was ever inspired by a lovely and -deserving object. - -He had long since found that his heart was irrecoverably gone. But tho' -he struggled not against his passion, he loved too truly to indulge it -at the expence of Emmeline; and had therefore determined to avoid her, -and not to embitter _her_ life with the painful conviction that their -acquaintance had destroyed the happiness of _his_. For this reason he -did not intend going himself to fetch his nephew from Woodbury Forest, -but had given a careful servant directions to go thither in a few days -after that when Emmeline herself prevented the necessity of the journey. - -Her walk lay along the high rocks that bounded the coast; and it was -almost dark before she entered a small lawn surrounded with a -plantation, in which the house of Godolphin was situated. About half an -acre of ground lay between it and the cliff, which was beat by the -swelling waves of the channel. The ground on the other side rose more -suddenly; and a wood which covered the hill behind it, seemed to embosom -the house, and take off that look of bleakness and desolation which -often renders a situation so near the sea unpleasant except in the -warmest months of Summer. A sand walk lead round the lawn. Emmeline -followed it, and it brought her close to the windows of a parlour. They -were still open; she looked in; and saw, by the light of the fire, for -there were no candles in the room, Godolphin sitting alone. He leaned on -a book, which there was not light enough to read; scattered papers lay -round him, and a pen and ink were on the table. - -Emmeline could not forbear looking at him a moment before she approached -the door. She could as little command her curiosity to know on what he -was thus deeply thinking. The boy who was with her ran round to the -kitchen, and sent up a servant to open the door; who immediately -throwing open that of the parlour, said--'A lady, Sir!' - -Godolphin starting from his reverie, arose, and unexpectedly beheld the -subject of it. - -His astonishment at this visit, was such as hardly left him the power to -express the pleasure with which that astonishment was mingled. 'Miss -Mowbray!' exclaimed he--'Is it indeed Miss Mowbray?' - -For a moment he surveyed her in silent extasy, then congratulated -himself upon his unhoped for good fortune; and answering her enquiries -about Lady Adelina, he suddenly seemed to recollect the papers which lay -on the table, hurried them into a drawer, and again returning to -Emmeline, told her how happy he was to see her look so well. He thought -indeed that he had never seen her so infinitely lovely. The sharpness of -the air during her walk had heightened the glow of her complexion; her -eyes betrayed, by their soft and timid glances, the partiality of which -she was hardly yet conscious; she trembled, without knowing why; and -could hardly recover her composure, while Godolphin, who would trust no -other person to deliver the message, ran eagerly up stairs to acquaint -Lady Adelina. 'My sister,' cried he, immediately returning, 'will be -with you instantly; a slight pain in her head has kept her on the bed -almost all day. But to what do we owe the happiness of seeing you here, -when we thought you on the point of sailing for France by another -route?' - -Emmeline then hastily explained the change in their plan; adding, -gravely--'You will have another visitor, who cannot fail of being -welcome both to you and Lady Adelina. Mrs. Stafford stays with him at -the village, while she desired me to come on to prepare you for his -reception, and to know how you will have him introduced?' - -'As _my_ child,' answered Godolphin. 'My servants are already prepared -to expect such an addition to my family. Ever amiable, ever lovely Miss -Mowbray!' continued he, with looks that encreased her confusion--'what -obligation does not our little boy--do we not all owe you?' - -At this moment Lady Adelina, who had been obliged to wait some moments -to recover herself from the joyful surprise into which the news of -Emmeline's arrival had thrown her, ran into the room, and embracing with -transport her lovely friend, sighed; but unable to weep, sat down, and -could only kiss her hands with such wild expressions of rapture, that -Emmeline was alarmed least it should have any ill effect on her -intellects, or on a frame ever extremely delicate; and which now had, -from her having long indulged incurable sorrow, assumed an appearance of -such languor and weakness, that Emmeline with extreme concern looked on -her as on a beautiful shadow whom she probably beheld for the last time. - -She stood a moment pensively gazing on her face. Godolphin said gently -to his sister, who still held the hand of Emmeline--'Adelina, my love, -recollect yourself--you keep Miss Mowbray standing.' - -'What is yet more material,' answered Emmeline, smiling, is, 'that you -keep me from writing a note to Mrs. Stafford, which the boy who waits -here is to take back to her.' - -Godolphin answered that he would go himself to Mrs. Stafford, and -instantly departed; while Emmeline began to talk to Lady Adelina of the -immediate arrival of her child. She at length succeeded in getting her -to speak of him, and to weep extremely; after which, she grew more -composed, and her full heart seemed relieved by talking of her brother. - -Her words, tho' faint, and broken by the emotion she felt, yet forcibly -conveyed to the heart of Emmeline impressions of that uncommon worth -they described. - -'Never,' said she, 'can I be sufficiently grateful to heaven for having -given me such a brother. 'Tis not in words, my Emmeline, to do him -justice! He is all that is noble minded and generous. Tho' from the loss -of his vivacity and charming spirits, I know too well how deeply my -unworthy conduct has wounded him; tho' I know, that by having sullied -the fair name of our family, and otherwise, I have been the unhappy -cause of injuring his peace, yet never has a reproach or an unkind word -escaped him. Pensive, yet always kind; melancholy, and at times visibly -unhappy; yet ever gentle, considerate, and attentive to me; always ready -to blame himself for yielding to that despondence which he cannot -without an effort conquer; trying to alleviate the anguish of my mind by -subduing that which frequently preys on his own; and now burying the -memory of my fault in compassion to my affliction, he adopts my child, -and allows me without a blush to embrace the dear infant, for whom I -dare not otherwise shew the tenderness I feel.' - -Emmeline, affected by this eulogium, to which her heart warmly assented, -was silent. - -'There is,' reassumed Lady Adelina, 'but one being on earth who -resembles him:--it is my Emmeline! If ever two creatures eminently -excelled the rest of their species, it is my friend and my brother!' - -Something throbbed at the heart of Emmeline at these words, into which -she was afraid to enquire: her engagement to Delamere, yet uncancelled, -lay like a weight upon it; and seemed to impress the idea of her doing -wrong while she thus listened to the praises of another; and felt that -she listened with too much pleasure! She asked herself, however, whether -it was possible to be insensible of the merit of Godolphin? Yet -conscious that she had already thought of it too much, she wished to -change the topic of discourse--But Lady Adelina still pursued it. - -'Lord Westhaven,' said she, 'my elder brother, is indeed a most -respectable and excellent man. Equally with my brother William, he -inherits from my father, integrity, generosity and nobleness of mind, -together with a regularity of morals and conduct, unusual in so young a -man even in any rank of life, and remarkable in him, who has passed -almost all his in the army. But he is, tho' not yet thirty, much older -than I am, and has almost always been absent from me; those who know him -better, have told me, that with as many other good qualities as William, -he has less softness of temper; and being almost free from error -himself, makes less allowance for the weakness of others. Such, however, -has been the management of my younger brother, that the elder knows not -the truth of my circumstances--he does not even suspect them. You may -very possibly see him and Lady Westhaven abroad. I know I need not -caution my Emmeline--she will be careful of the peace of her poor -friend.' - -Emmeline soon satisfied Lady Adelina on that head, who then asked when -she heard of Delamere? - -This question Emmeline had foreseen: but having predetermined not to -distress her unfortunate friend, by telling her into what difficulties -her attendance on her and her child had led her, and being shocked to -own herself the subject of suspicions so injurious as those Delamere had -dared to harbour, she calmly answered that Delamere was returned to -England, but that she had seen him only for a few moments. - -'And did he not object,' enquired Lady Adelina, 'to your quitting -England, since he is himself returned to it?' - -Emmeline, who could not directly answer this question, evaded it by -saying-- - -'My absence or my presence you know cannot hasten the period, 'till the -arrival of which our marriage cannot take place--_if_ it ever takes -place at all.' - -'_If_ it ever takes place at all?' repeated Lady Adelina--'Does then any -doubt remain of it?' - -'An affair of that sort,' replied Emmeline, assuming as much unconcern -as she could, 'is always doubtful where so many clashing interests and -opposite wishes are to be reconciled, and where so very young a man as -Mr. Delamere is to decide.' - -'Do you suspect that he wavers then?' very earnestly asked Lady Adelina, -fixing her eyes on the blushing face of Emmeline. - -'I really am not sure,' answered she--'you know my promise, reluctantly -given, was only conditional. I am far from being anxious to anticipate -by firmer engagements the certainty of it's being fulfilled; much better -contented I should be, if he yet took a few years longer to consider of -it. You, Lady Adelina,' continued she, smiling, 'are surely no advocate -for early marriages; and Mrs. Stafford is greatly averse to them. You -must therefore suppose that what my two friends have found inimical to -their happiness, I cannot consider as being likely to constitute mine.' - -This speech had the effect Emmeline intended. It brought back the -thoughts of Lady Adelina from the uncertainties of her friend to her own -actual sorrows. She sighed deeply. - -'You say truly,' said she. '_I_ have no reason to wish those I love may -precipitately form indissoluble engagements; nor _do_ I wish it. Would -to God _I_ had not been the victim of an hasty and unhappy marriage; or -that I had been the _only_ victim. Emmeline,' added she, lowering her -voice, now hardly audible, 'Emmeline, _may_ I ask?--where is--spare me -the repetition of a name I have solemnly vowed never to utter--you -understand me?' - -'I do,' answered Emmeline, gravely. 'He has been in Ireland; but is now -I suppose in London, as the time he told me he should pass there has -long since elapsed. I heard he was to return no more to Tylehurst, and -that Mr. Delamere had given up the house there; but of this I know -nothing from themselves. The person you enquire after, I have seen only -once, and that for half an hour. Mrs. Stafford can tell you more, if you -wish to hear it.' - -'Ah! pardon my wretched weakness, Emmeline! I know I ought to conquer -it! But I cannot help wishing--I cannot help being anxious to hear of -him! Yet would I conceal from every one but you that the recollection of -this unhappy man never a moment leaves me. Tell me, my angelic friend! -for of you I may ask and be forgiven--has he seen his son?' - -'He has; and was extremely affected. But dear Lady Adelina, do not, I -beseech you, enquire into the particulars of the interview. Try, my -beloved friend, to divest yourself of these painful recollections--ah! -try to recover your peace, and preserve your life, for the sake of our -dear little William and those friends who love you.' - -The unhappy Adelina, who notwithstanding all her efforts, was devoured -by an incurable affection for a man whom she had sworn to banish from -her heart for ever, and whose name her brother would not suffer her to -pronounce, now gave way to an agony of passion which she could indulge -only before Emmeline; and so violently was she affected by regret and -despair, that her friend trembled least her reason should again forsake -it's seat. She tried, by soothing and tenderness, to appease this -sudden effusion of grief; and had hardly restored her to some degree of -composure, before Mrs. Stafford entered the room and embraced most -cordially Lady Adelina, while Godolphin followed her with the little boy -in his arms. In contemplating the beauty of his nephew, he had forgotten -the misery of which his birth had been the occasion; for with all the -humanity of a brave man, Godolphin possessed a softness of heart, which -the helpless innocence of the son, and the repentant sorrow of the -mother, melted into more than feminine tenderness. He carried the child -to his sister, and put it into her arms-- - -'Take him, my Adelina!' said he--'take our dear boy: and while you -embrace and bless him, you will feel all you owe to those who have -preserved him.' - -Lady Adelina did indeed feel such complicated sensations that she was -unable to utter a word. She could only press the little boy to her heart -and bedew his face with tears. Her affecting silence and pale -countenance alarmed both Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline; and the former, -willing to give her thoughts a new turn, said-- - -'You do not suppose, my dear friends, that we intend to go back to -Southampton to night? so I hope you will give us some supper and beds in -this hospitable island.' - -Godolphin, who had been too much enchanted to think before, immediately -saw that the meaning of Mrs. Stafford's solicitude was merely to call -the thoughts of his sister from herself to her guests; he seconded -therefore this intention, by desiring Lady Adelina to give proper orders -about the apartments for her friends; and to take _his_ little boy to -that which had been prepared for his reception. The three ladies -therefore withdrew with the child; where Lady Adelina soon recovered -some degree of serenity, and was able to sit at table while they supped. - -Had Mrs. Stafford been before unsuspicious of the passion of Godolphin -for Emmeline, she would have been convinced of it during the course of -this evening. His voice, his countenance, his manner, evidently betrayed -it; and whenever the eyes of Emmeline were turned to any other object, -his were fixed on her face, with looks so expressive of tender -admiration, yet tempered by a kind of hopeless dejection, that the most -uninterested observer could hardly have mistaken his thoughts. - -But it was not her face, however interesting; or her form, however -graceful; that rivetted the chains of Godolphin. He had seen many faces -more regularly beautiful, and many figures equally elegant, with -indifference: he had heard, with coldness, the finest sentiments uttered -by the fairest mouths; and had listened to the brilliant sallies of -fashionable wit, with contempt. In Emmeline, he discovered a native -dignity of soul, an enlarged and generous heart, a comprehensive and -cultivated understanding, a temper at once soft and lively, with morals -the most pure, and manners simple, undesigning and ingenuous. To these -solid perfections, genius had added all the lighter graces; and nature, -a form which, enchanting as it must ever have been, seemed to receive -irresistible charms from the soul by which it was informed. - -All his philosophy could not prevent his being sensible of the -attractions of such a woman; nor was his resolution sufficiently strong -to enable him to struggle against their influence, even when he found he -had nothing to hope. But yielding to the painful delight of loving her, -he persuaded himself that tho' he could not conquer he could conceal it; -and that while she was ignorant of his passion it could be injurious -only to himself. - -His absence and silence during supper was broken only by his natural -politeness. After it concluded, they drew round the fire; and the three -ladies entered into one of those interesting conversations that are so -pleasant where mutual confidence and esteem reign among the party. - -Godolphin continued silent; and insensibly fell into a train of thought -the most dangerous to that appearance of indifference which he believed -he could observe. Looking at Emmeline as she talked to his sister, and -remembering all the friendship she had shewn her, hearing the sound of -her voice and the elegance of her expressions, he began insensibly to -consider how blessed he _might_ have been, had he known her before her -hand was promised and her affections given to the fortunate Delamere. - -'Had it but been _my_ lot!' said he to himself--'had it been _my_ -lot!--ah, what happiness, after the fatigues and dangers of my -profession, to return to this place which I love so much, and to be -received by such a friend--such a mistress--such a wife as she will -make!' He indulged these ideas, 'till absolutely lost in them, he was -unconscious of every thing but their impression, and starting up, he -struck his hands together and cried-- - -'Merciful heaven!--and can it then never be?' - -Alarmed at the suddenness of an exclamation so causeless, Lady Adelina -looked terrified and her friends amazed. - -'What, brother?--what are you speaking of?' enquired she. - -'I beg your pardon,' said Godolphin, instantly recollecting himself, and -blushing for this unguarded sally--'I beg your pardon. I was thinking of -some business I have to settle; but I do not deserve to be forgiven for -suffering my mind in such company to dwell on any thing but the pleasure -I enjoy; and for yielding to a foolish custom I have acquired of -uttering aloud whatever is immediately in my mind; an habit,' added he, -smiling, 'that has grown upon me by living so much alone. Since Lady -Adelina is now fixed with me, I hope I shall cease to speak and think -like an hermit, and be again humanized. Adelina, my love, you look -fatigued.' - -'Ah!' replied she, 'of what fatigue can I be sensible when with those -who I most love and value; and from whom, to-morrow--to-morrow I must -part!' - -'I doubt that extremely,' said Godolphin, trying to carry the -conversation entirely from his own strange behaviour. 'If I have any -skill in the weather, to-morrow will bring a gale of wind, which will -opportunely make prisoners of our two fair friends for another day.' - -'How infinitely,' cried Lady Adelina, 'shall I be obliged to it.' - -The rising of the wind during the whole evening had made Godolphin's -conjecture highly probable. Mrs. Stafford, impatient to return to her -children, whom she never willingly left wholly in the care of servants, -heard it's encreasing violence with regret. Emmeline tried to do so too; -but she could not prevail on herself to lament a circumstance likely to -keep her another day with Lady Adelina and her little boy. She wanted -too to see a little of this beautiful island, of which she had heard so -much; and found several other reasons for wishing to remain, without -allowing herself to suppose that Godolphin had on these wishes the -smallest influence. - - - - -CHAPTER X - - -Early the next morning, Emmeline arose; and looking towards the sea, saw -a still encreasing tempest gathering visibly over it. She wandered over -the house; which tho' not large was chearful and elegant, and she -fancied every thing in it bore testimony to the taste and temper of its -master. The garden charmed her still more; surrounded by copse-wood and -ever-greens, and which seemed equally adapted to use and pleasure. The -country behind it, tho' divested of its foliage and verdure, appeared -more beautiful than any she had seen since she left Wales; and with -uncommon avidity she enjoyed, even amid the heavy gloom of an impending -storm, the great and magnificent spectacle afforded by the sea. By -reminding her of her early pleasures at Mowbray Castle, it brought back -a thousand half-obliterated and agreeable, tho' melancholy images to her -mind; while its grandeur gratified her taste for the sublime. - -As she was indulging these contemplations, the wind suddenly blew with -astonishing violence; and before Mrs. Stafford arose, the sea was become -so tempestuous and impracticable, that eagerly as she wished to return -to her children she could not think of braving it. - -Godolphin had seen Emmeline wandering along the cliff, and had -resolutely denied himself the pleasure of joining her; for from what had -passed the evening before, he began to doubt his own power to forbear -speaking to her of the subject that filled his heart. - -They now met at breakfast; and Emmeline was charmed with her walk, tho' -she had been driven from it by the turbulence of the weather, which by -this time had arisen to an hurricane. When their breakfast ended, Mrs. -Stafford followed Lady Adelina, who wanted to consult her on something -that related to the little boy; Godolphin went out to give some orders; -and Emmeline retired to a bow window which looked towards the sea. - -Could she have divested her mind of its apprehensions that what formed -for her a magnificent and sublime scene brought shipwreck and -destruction to many others, she would have been highly pleased with a -sight of the ocean in its present tremendous state. Lost in -contemplating the awful spectacle, she did not see or hear Godolphin; -who imagining she had left the room with his sister, had returned, and -with his arms crossed, and his eyes fixed on her face, stood on the -other side of the window like a statue. - -The gust grew more vehement, and deafened her with it's fury; while the -mountainous waves it had raised, burst thundering against the rocks and -seemed to shake their very foundation. Emmeline, at the picture her -imagination drew of their united powers of desolation, shuddered -involuntarily and sighed. - -'What disturbs Miss Mowbray?' said Godolphin. - -Emmeline, unwilling to acknowledge that she had been so extremely absent -as not to know he was in the room, answered, without expressing her -surprise to see him there--'I was thinking how fatal this storm which we -are contemplating, may be to the fortunes and probably the lives of -thousands.' - -'The gale,' returned Godolphin, 'is heavy, but by no means of such fatal -power as you apprehend. I have been at sea in several infinitely more -violent, and shall probably be in many others.' - -'I hope not,' answered Emmeline, without knowing what she said--'Surely -you do not mean it?' - -'A professional man,' said he, smiling, and flattered by the eagerness -with which she spoke, 'has, you know, no will of his own. I certainly -should not seek danger; but it is not possible in such service as ours -to avoid it.' - -'Why then do you not quit it?' - -'If I intended to give you a high idea of my _prudence_, I should say, -because I am a younger brother. But to speak honestly, that is not my -only motive; my fortune, limited as it is, is enough for all my wishes, -and will probably suffice for any I shall _now_ ever form; but a man of -my age ought not surely to waste in torpid idleness, or trifling -dissipation, time that may be usefully employed. Besides, I love the -profession to which I have been brought up, and, by engaging in which, I -owe a life to my country if ever it should be called for.' - -'God forbid it ever should!' said Emmeline, with quickness; 'for then,' -continued she, hesitating and blushing, 'what would poor Lady Adelina -do? and what would become of my dear little boy?' - -Godolphin, charmed yet pained by this artless expression of sensibility, -and thrown almost off his guard by the idea of not being wholly -indifferent to her, answered mournfully--'To them, indeed, my life may -be of some value; but to myself it is of none. Ah, Miss Mowbray! it -might have been worth preserving had I----But wherefore presume I to -trouble you on a subject so hopeless? I know not what has tempted me to -intrude on your thoughts the incoherences of a mind ill at ease. Pardon -me--and suffer not my folly to deprive me of the happiness of being your -friend, which is all I will ever pretend to.' - -He turned away, and hastened out of the room; leaving Emmeline in such -confusion that it was not 'till Mrs. Stafford came to call her to Lady -Adelina's dressing-room, that she remembered where she was, and the -necessity of recollecting her scattered thoughts. When they met at -dinner, she could not encounter the eyes of Godolphin without the -deepest blushes: Lady Adelina, given wholly up to the idea of their -approaching separation, and Mrs. Stafford, occupied by uneasiness of her -own, did not attend to the singularity of her manner. - -The latter had never beheld such a tempest as was now raging; and she -could not look towards the sea, whose high and foaming billows were -breaking so near them, without shivering at the terrifying recollection, -that in a very few hours her children, all she held dear on earth, would -be exposed to this capricious and furious element. Tho' of the steadiest -resolution in any trial that merely regarded herself, she was a coward -when these dear objects of her fondness were in question; and she could -not help expressing to Mr. Godolphin some part of her apprehensions. - -'As I have gained some credit,' answered he, 'for my sagacity in -foreseeing the gale, I might perhaps as well not hazard the loss of it, -by another prophecy, for which you, Lady Adelina, will not thank me.--It -will be fine, I am afraid, to-morrow.' - -'And the day following we embark for France,' said Mrs. Stafford; 'how -providential that we could not sail yesterday!' - -'Your heart fails you, my dear Mrs. Stafford,' replied Godolphin, 'and I -do not wonder at it. But I will tell you what you shall allow me to do: -I will attend you to-morrow to Southampton, where in the character of a -veteran seaman I will direct your departure, (as the whole pacquet is -yours) according to the appearance of the weather; and to indulge me -still farther, you shall suffer me to see you landed at Havre. Adelina, -I know, will be wretched 'till she hears you are safe on the other side; -and will therefore willingly spare me to bring her such intelligence; -and give me at the same time a fortunate opportunity of being useful to -you.' - -Mrs. Stafford, secretly rejoiced at a proposal which would secure them a -protector and as much safety as depended on human skill, could not -conceal her wish to assent to it; tho' she expressed great reluctance to -give him so much trouble. - -Godolphin then consulted the eyes of Emmeline, which on meeting his were -cast down; but he could not find that they expressed any displeasure at -his offer: he therefore assured Mrs. Stafford that he should consider it -as a pleasurable scheme with a party to whom he was indifferent; 'but -when,' added he, 'it gives me the means of being of the least use to -you, to Miss Mowbray, and your children, I shall find in it not only -pleasure but happiness. Alas! how poorly it will repay the twentieth -part of the obligation we owe you!' - -It was settled therefore that Mr. Godolphin was to cross the channel -with them. Again Emmeline tried to be sorry, and again found herself -incapable of feeling any thing but satisfaction in hearing that he would -be yet longer with them. - -During the rest of the evening, he tried to assume a degree of -chearfulness; and did in some measure feel it in the prospect of this -farther temporary indulgence. - -Lady Adelina, unable to conceal her concern, drooped without any effort -to imitate him; and when they parted for the night, could not help -deploring in terms of piercing regret their approaching separation. - -The assurances Godolphin had given them of a favourable morning were -fulfilled. They found that tho' there was yet a considerable swell, the -wind had subsided entirely, and that they might safely cross to -Southampton. The boat that was to convey them was ready; and Emmeline -could not take leave of Lady Adelina without sharing the anguish which -she could not mitigate. They embraced silently and in tears; and -Emmeline pressed to her heart the little boy, to whom she was tenderly -attached. - -Godolphin was a silent spectator of this melancholy farewel. The -softness of Emmeline's heart was to him her greatest charm, and he could -hardly help repeating, in the words of Louis XIV--'She has so much -sensibility that it must be an exquisite pleasure to be beloved by her!' - -He sighed in remembering that such could not be his happiness; then -wishing to shorten a scene which so violently affected the unsettled -spirits of Lady Adelina, he would have led Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline -away; but Lady Adelina insisted on following them to the shore; smiled -thro' her tears; and promised to behave better. Silently they walked to -the sea-side. Mrs. Stafford hastily embracing her, was handed into the -boat by Godolphin; who then advancing with forced gaiety to Emmeline, -about whom his sister still fondly hung, said--'Come, come, I must have -no more adieus--as if you were never to meet again.' - -'Ah! who can tell,' answered Lady Adelina, 'that we ever shall!' - -Emmeline spoke not; but kissing the hand of her weeping friend, gave her -own to Godolphin; while Lady Adelina, resting on the arm of her woman, -and overwhelmed with sorrow, suffered the boat to depart. - -It rowed swiftly away; favoured by the tide. Lady Adelina remained on -the shore as long as she could distinguish it; and then slowly and -reluctantly returned to solitude and tears: while her two friends, -attended by her brother, landed safely at Southampton, where he busied -himself in settling every thing for their departure the next morning in -the pacquet which they had hired, and which now lay ready to receive -them. - -During their passage to Havre, which was short and prosperous, the -attention of Godolphin was equally divided between Mrs. Stafford, her -children, and Emmeline. But when he assisted the latter to leave the -vessel, he could not forbear pressing her to his heart, while in a deep -sigh he bade adieu to the happiness of being with her; for he concluded -she would not long remain single, and after she was married he -determined never more to trust himself with the dangerous pleasure of -beholding her. - -He had never mentioned the name of Delamere; and knew not that he was -returned to England. Having once been assured of her engagement, he was -unable to enquire into the circumstances of what had destroyed his -happiness. He knew they were to be married in March, and that Delamere -had promised to remain on the Continent 'till that period. He doubted -not, therefore, but that Emmeline, in compliance with the entreaties of -her lover, had consented to accompany Mrs. Stafford to France, and by -her presence to charm away the months that yet intervened; after which -he supposed they would be immediately united. - -Notwithstanding some remarks he had made on the interest she seemed to -take in regard to himself, he imputed it merely to her general -sensibility and to his relationship to Lady Adelina. He supposed that -Delamere possessed her heart; and tho' it was the only possession on -earth that would give him any chance of happiness, he envied this happy -lover without hating him. He could not blame him for loving her, who was -in his own opinion irresistible; nor for having used the opportunity his -good fortune had given him of winning her affections. The longer he -conversed with her, the more he was convinced that Delamere, in being as -he believed master of that heart, was the most fortunate of human -beings. But tho' he had not resolution enough to refuse himself the -melancholy yet pleasing gratification of contemplating perfections which -he thought could never be his, and tho' he could not help sometimes -betraying the fondness which that indulgence hourly encreased, he never -seriously meditated supplanting the happy Delamere. He did not think -that to attempt it was honourable; and his integrity would have -prevented the trial, had he supposed it possible to succeed. - -Mrs. Stafford had at first seen with concern that Godolphin, whom she -sincerely esteemed, was nourishing for her friend a passion which could -only serve to make him unhappy. But she now saw it's progress rather -with pleasure than regret. She was piqued at the groundless jealousy and -rash injustice of Delamere towards Emmeline: and disappointed and -disgusted at Lord Montreville's conduct towards herself; sickening at -the little sincerity of the latter, and doubtful of the temper of the -former, she feared that if the alliance took place, her friend would -find less happiness than splendour: and she looked with partial eyes on -Godolphin; who in morals, manners, and temper, was equally -unexceptionable, and whose fortune, tho' inferior to his birth, was yet -enough for happiness in that style of life which she knew better -calculated for the temper and taste of Emmeline than the parade and -grandeur she might share with Delamere. - -Godolphin had no parents to accept her with disdainful and cold -acquiescence--no sister to treat her with supercilious condescension.--But -all his family, tho' of a rank superior to that of Delamere, would -receive her with transport, and treat her with the respect and affection -she deserved. - -Mrs. Stafford, however, spoke not to Emmeline of this revolution in her -sentiments, but chose rather to let the affair take it's course than to -be in any degree answerable for it's consequences. - -The hour in which Godolphin was to leave them now approached. Unable to -determine on bidding Emmeline farewel, he would still have lingered with -her, and would have gone on with them to Rouen, where Stafford waited -their arrival: but this, Mrs. Stafford was compelled to decline; fearing -least this extraordinary attention in a stranger should induce her -husband to make enquiry into their first acquaintance, and by that means -lead to discoveries which could not fail of being injurious to Lady -Adelina. - -Of all that related to her, he was at present ignorant. He had been -told, that the infant which his wife and Miss Mowbray so often visited, -was the son of an acquaintance of the latter; who being obliged soon -after it's birth to go to the West Indies, had sent it to Bath to -Emmeline, who had undertaken to overlook the nurse to whose care it was -committed. - -Into a circumstance which offered neither a scheme to occupy his mind, -or money to purchase his pleasures, Stafford thought it not then worth -his while farther to enquire; but now, in a country of which he -understood not the language, and detached from his usual pursuits, Mrs. -Stafford knew not what strange suspicions the assiduity of Godolphin -might excite in a head so oddly constructed; and without explaining her -reasons to Godolphin, she said enough to convince him that he must, with -whatever reluctance, leave the lovely travellers at Havre. - -He busied himself, however, in adjusting every thing for the safety of -their journey; and being in the course of their preparations left alone -with Emmeline in a room of the hotel, he could not forbear using the -last opportunity he was likely to have of speaking to her.-- - -'Has Miss Mowbray any commands to Lady Adelina?' - -'My most affectionate love!' answered Emmeline, 'my truest remembrance! -And tell her, that the moment I am settled I will give her an account of -my situation, and of all that happens worth her knowing.' - -'We shall hear then,' said he, forcing a melancholy smile, 'we shall -hear when you meet the fortunate, the happy Mr. Delamere.' - -'Lady Adelina,' blushingly replied Emmeline, 'will certainly know it if -I should meet him; but nothing is at present more improbable.' - -'Tis now,' reassumed Godolphin, 'the last week of -January--February--March--ah! how soon March will come! Tell me, how -long in that month may Adelina direct to Miss Mowbray?' - -'Mr. Delamere, Sir,' said Emmeline, gravely, 'is not now in France.' - -'But may he not immediately return thither from Geneva or any other -place? Is my sister, Lady Westhaven, to be present at the ceremony?' - -'The ceremony,' answered she, half angry and half vexed, 'may perhaps -never take place.' - -The awkwardness of her situation in regard to Delamere arose forcibly to -her mind, and something lay very heavy at her heart. She tried to check -the tears which were filling her eyes, least they should be imputed to a -very different cause; but the effort she made to conquer her feelings -rendered them more acute. She took out a handkerchief to wipe away these -involuntary betrayers of her emotion, and sitting down, audibly sobbed. - -Godolphin had asked these questions, in that sort of desperate -resolution which a person exerts who determines to know, in the hope of -being able to endure, the worst that can befal him. But he was now -shocked at the distress they had occasioned, and unable to bear the -sight of her tears. - -'Pardon me,' cried he, 'pardon me, most lovely, most amiable -Emmeline!--oh! pardon me for having given a moment's pain to that soft -and sensible bosom. Had I suspected that a reference to an event towards -which I supposed you looked forward with pleasure, could thus affect -you, I had not presumed to name it. Whenever it happens,' added he, -after a short pause--'whenever it happens, Delamere will be the most -enviable of human beings: and may you, Madam, be as happy as you are -truly deserving of happiness!' - -He dared not trust his voice with another word: but under pretence of -fetching a glass of water left the room, and having recovered himself, -quickly returned and offered it to Emmeline, again apologizing for -having offended her. - -She took the glass from him; and faintly smiling thro' her tears, said -in the gentlest accents--'I am not offended--I am only low spirited. -Tired by the voyage, and shrinking from the fatigue of a long journey, -yet you talk to me of a journey for life, on which I may never set out -in the company you mention--and still more probably never undertake at -all.' - -The entrance of Mrs. Stafford, who came to entreat some directions from -Godolphin, prevented the continuance of this critical conversation; in -which, whatever the words imported in regard to Delamere, he found but -little hope for himself. He attributed what Emmeline had said to mere -evasion, and her concern to some little accidental neglect on the part -of her lover which had excited her displeasure. Ignorant of the jealousy -Delamere had conceived from the misrepresentation of the Crofts', which -the solicitude of Emmeline for the infant of Lady Adelina had so -immediately matured, he had not the most distant idea of the truth; nor -suspected that the passion of Delamere for Emmeline, which he knew had -within a few weeks been acknowledged without hesitation, and received -with encouragement, was now become to him a source of insupportable -torment; that she had left England without bidding him adieu, or even -informing him that she was gone. - -The two chaises were now ready; and Godolphin having placed in the -first, Mrs. Stafford and her younger children, approached Emmeline to -lead her to the second, in which she was to accompany the elder. He -stopped a moment as they were quitting the room, and said--'I cannot, -Miss Mowbray, bid you adieu till you say you forgive me for the -impertinence of my questions.' - -'For impertinence?' answered Emmeline, giving him her hand--'I cannot -forgive you, because I know not that you have been guilty of it. Before -I go, however, allow me to thank you most sincerely for the protection -you have afforded us.' - -'And not one word,' cried he, 'not one parting good wish to your little -_protege_--to my poor William?' - -'Ah! I send him a thousand!' answered Emmeline. - -'And one last kiss, which I will carry him.' She suffered him to salute -her; and then he hastily led her to the chaise; and, as he put her in, -said very solemnly--'Let me repeat my wishes, Madam, that wheresoever -you are, you may enjoy felicity--felicity which I shall never again -know; and that Mr. Delamere--the fortunate Delamere--may be as sensible -of your value as----' - -Emmeline, to avoid hearing this sentence concluded, bade the chaise -proceed. It instantly did so with all the velocity a French postillion -could give it; and hardly allowed her to observe the mournful -countenance and desponding air with which Godolphin bowed to her, as -she, waving her hand, again bade him adieu! - -The travellers arrived in due time safe at Rouen; where Mrs. Stafford -found that her husband had been prevented meeting her, by the necessity -he fancied himself under to watch the early nests of his Canary birds, -of which he had now made a large collection, and whose encrease he -attended to with greater solicitude than the arrival of his family. Mrs. -Stafford saw with an eye of hopeless regret a new source of expence and -absurdity opened; but knowing that complaints were more likely to -produce anger and resentment in his mind, than any alteration in his -conduct, she was obliged to conceal her chagrin, and to take possession -of the gloomy chateau which her husband had chosen for her residence, -about six miles from Rouen; while Emmeline, with her usual equality of -temper, tried to reconcile herself to her new abode, and to share and -relieve the fatigue and uneasiness of her friend. She found the activity -she was for this purpose compelled to exert, assuaged and diverted that -pain which she now could no longer hope to conquer, tho' she had not yet -had the courage to ascertain, by a narrow examination of her heart in -regard to Godolphin, that it would be removed no more. - -On the evening after he had bade her adieu, Godolphin embarked in the -pacquet which was on it's departure to England. The weather, tho' cold, -was calm; and he sat down on the deck, where, after they had got a few -leagues from France, all was profoundly quiet. Only the man at the helm -and one sailor were awake on board. The vessel glided thro' the expanse -of water; while the soul of Godolphin fled back to Emmeline, and dwelt -with lingering fondness on the object of all it's affection. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - - -Emmeline having thus quitted England, and Delamere appearing no longer -to think of her, the Crofts', who had brought about an event so -desirable for Lord Montreville, thought it time to claim the reward of -such eminent service. - -Miss Delamere, in meeting Lady Westhaven at Paris, had severely felt all -the difference of their situation; and as she had repented of her -clandestine union almost as soon as she had formed it, the comparison -between her sister's husband and her own had embittered her temper, -never very good, and made her return to England with reluctance; where -she knew that she could not long evade acknowledging her marriage, and -taking the inferior and humiliating name of _Mrs. Crofts_. - -To avoid returning was however not in her power; nor could she prevail -on Crofts to delay a declaration which must be attended with -circumstances, to her most mortifying and unpleasant. But impatient to -demand a daughter of Lord Montreville as his wife, and still more -impatient to receive twelve thousand pounds, which was her's independant -of her father, he would hear of no delay; and the present opportunity of -conciliating Lord and Lady Montreville, was in the opinion of all the -Crofts' family not to be neglected. - -Sir Richard undertook to disclose the affair to Lord Montreville, and to -parry the first effusions of his Lordship's anger by a very common, yet -generally successful stratagem, that of affecting to be angry first, and -drowning by his own clamours the complaints of the party really injured. - -For this purpose, he waited early one morning on Lord Montreville, and -with a countenance where scornful superiority was dismissed for -pusillanimous dejection, he began.-- - -'My Lord--when I reflect and consider and remember the innumerable, -invaluable and extraordinary favours, kindnesses and obligations I owe -your Lordship, my heart bleeds--and I lament and deplore and regret that -it is my lot to announce and declare and discover, what will I fear give -infinite concern and distress and uneasiness to you--and my Lord----' - -'What is all this, Sir Richard?' cried Lord Montreville, hastily -interrupting him.--'Is Delamere married?' - -'Heaven forbid!' answered the hypocritical Crofts.--'Bad, and unwelcome, -and painful as what I have to say is, it does not amount or arise to -that misfortune and calamity.' - -'Whatever it is Sir,' said his Lordship impatiently, 'let me hear it at -once.--Is it a dismission from my office?' - -'Never, I hope!' replied Sir Richard. 'At least, for many years to come, -may this country not know and feel and be sensible of such a loss, -deprivation and defection. My Lord, my present concern is of a very -different nature; and I do assure and protest to your Lordship that no -time nor intreaties nor persuasion will erase and obliterate and wipe -away from my mind, the injury and prejudice the parties have done _me_, -by thus----' - -'Keep me no longer in suspense!' almost angrily cried Lord Montreville. - -'Mr. Crofts, my Lord; Mr. Crofts is, I find, married--' - -'To _my_ daughter, Sir Richard.--Is it not so?' - -'He is indeed, my Lord! and from this moment I disclaim, and renounce -and protest against him; for my Lord----' - -Sir Richard continued his harangue, to which Lord Montreville did not -seem to attend. He was a moment silent, and then said-- - -'I have been more to blame than the parties.--I might have foreseen -this. But I thought Fanny's pride a sufficient defence against an -inferior alliance. Pray Sir, does Lady Montreville know of this -marriage?' - -Sir Richard then related all that his son had told him; interlarding his -account with every circumstance that might induce his Lordship to -believe he was himself entirely ignorant of the intrigue. Lord -Montreville, however, knew too much of mankind in general, and of the -Crofts' in particular, to give implicit credit to this artful recital. -But Sir Richard was now become so necessary to him, and they had so many -secrets in common of great consequence to the political reputation of -both, that he could not determine to break with him. He considered too -that resentment could not unmarry his daughter; that the lineal honours -of his family could not be affected by her marriage; and that he owed -the Crofts' some favour for having counteracted the indiscretion of -Delamere. Determining therefore, after a short struggle, to sacrifice -his pride to his politics, he dismissed Sir Richard with infinitely less -appearance of resentment than he expected; and after long contention -with the furious and irascible pride of his wife, prevailed upon her to -let her daughter depart without her malediction. She would not see -Crofts, or pardon her daughter; protesting that she never could be -reconciled to a child of her's who bore such an appellation as that of -'_Mrs. Crofts_.' Soon afterwards, however, the Marquisate which Lord -Montreville had been so long promised was to be granted him. But his -wife could not bear, that by assuming a title which had belonged to the -Mowbray family, (a point he particularly wished to obtain) he should -drop or render secondary those honours which he derived from _her_ -ancestors. Wearied by her persecution, and accustomed to yield to her -importunity, he at length gratified her, by relinquishing the name he -wished to bear, and taking the title of Marquis of Montreville, while -his son assumed that of Viscount Delamere. This circumstance seemed -more than any other to reconcile Lady Montreville to her eldest -daughter, whose surname she could evade under the more satisfactory -appellation of Lady Frances. She was now therefore admitted to her -mother's presence; Crofts received an haughty and reluctant pardon; and -some degree of tranquillity was restored to the noble house of -Mowbray-Delamere; while the Crofts', more elated and consequential than -before, behaved as if they had inherited and deserved the fortune and -splendor that surrounded them: and the table, the buildings, the -furniture of Sir Richard, vied in expence and magnificence with those of -the most affluent of the nobility. - -Lord Delamere, to whom the acquisition of a title could offer nothing in -mitigation of the anguish inflicted by disappointed love, was now at -Dublin; where, immediately on his arrival, he had enquired for Colonel -Fitz-Edward at the house of his brother, Lord Clancarryl. - -As the family were in the country, and only a servant in it, he could -not for some days obtain the information he wanted. He heard, however, -that Lord Clancarryl was very soon expected, and for his arrival he -determined to wait. In this interval of suspense, he heard from a -correspondent in England, that Miss Mowbray had not only disappeared -from Woodfield, but had actually quitted England; and was gone no one -knew precisely whither; but it was generally supposed to France. - -Tho' he had sworn in bitterness of heart to drive for ever from it this -perfidious and fatal beauty, it seemed as if forgetting his resolution, -he had in this intelligence received a new injury. He still fancied that -she should have told him of her design to quit England, without -recollecting that he had given her no opportunity to speak to him at -all. - -Again he felt his anger towards Fitz-Edward animated almost to madness; -and again impatiently sought to hasten a meeting when he might discuss -with him all the mischief he had sustained. - -Lord Clancarryl coming for a few days to Dublin, found there letters -from Lord Montreville, in which his Lordship bespoke for his son the -acquaintance of the Clancarryl family. Desirous of shewing every -attention to a young man so nearly connected with his wife's family, by -the marriage of her brother, Lord Westhaven, to his youngest sister, and -related also to himself, Lord Clancarryl immediately sought Delamere; -and was surprised to find, that instead of receiving his advances with -warmth or even with politeness, he hardly returned them with common -civility, and seemed to attend to nothing that was said. The first pause -in the conversation, however, Delamere took advantage of to enquire -after Colonel Fitz-Edward. - -'My brother,' answered Lord Clancarryl, 'left us only three days ago.' - -'For London, my Lord?' - -'No; he is gone with two other friends on a kind of pleasurable -tour.--They hired a sloop at Cork to take them to France.' - -'To France!' exclaimed Delamere--'Mr. Fitz-Edward gone to France?' - -'Yes,' replied Lord Clancarryl, somewhat wondering at the surprise -Delamere expressed--'and I promoted the plan as much as I could; for -poor George is, I am afraid, in a bad state of health; his looks and his -spirits are not what they used to be. Chearful company, and this little -tour, may I hope restore them. But how happens it that he knew not, Sir, -of your return? He was persuaded you were still abroad; and expressed -some pleasure at the thoughts of meeting you when you least expected -it.' - -'No, no, my Lord,' cried Delamere, in a voice rendered almost -inarticulate by contending passions--'his hope was not to meet _me_. He -is gone with far other designs.' - -'What designs, Lord Delamere?' gravely asked Lord Clancarryl. - -'My Lord,' answered Delamere, recollecting himself, 'I mean not to -trouble you on this matter. I have some business to adjust with Mr. -Fitz-Edward; and since he is not here, have only to request of your -Lordship information when he returns, or whither a letter may follow -him?' - -'Sir,' returned Lord Clancarryl with great gravity, 'I believe I can -answer for Colonel Fitz-Edward's readiness to settle _any business_ you -may desire to adjust with him; and I wish, since there is _business_ -between ye, that I could name the time when you are likely to meet him. -All, however, I can decidedly say is, that he intends going to Paris, -but that his stay in France will not exceed five or six weeks in the -whole; and that such letters as I may have occasion to send, are to be -addressed to the care of Monsieur de Guisnon, banker, at Paris.' - -Delamere having received this intelligence, took a cold leave; and Lord -Clancarryl, who had before heard much of his impetuous temper and -defective education, was piqued at his distant manner, and returned to -his house in the country without making any farther effort to cultivate -his friendship. - -Debating whether he should follow Fitz-Edward to France or wait his -return to Ireland, Delamere remained, torn with jealousy and distracted -by delay. He was convinced beyond a doubt, that Fitz-Edward had met -Emmeline in France by her own appointment. 'But let them not,' cried -he--'let them not hope to escape me! Let them not suppose I will -relinquish my purpose 'till I have punished their infamy or cease to -feel it!--Oh, Emmeline! Emmeline! is it for this I pursued--for this I -won thee!' - -The violence of those emotions he felt after Lord Clancarryl's -departure, subsided only because he had no one to listen to, no one to -answer him. He determined, as Lord Clancarryl seemed so certain of his -brother's return in the course of six weeks, to wait in Ireland 'till -the end of that period, since there was but little probability of his -meeting him if he pursued him to France. He concluded that wherever -Emmeline was, Fitz-Edward might be found also; but the residence of -Emmeline he knew not, nor could he bear a moment to think that he might -see them together. - -The violence of his resentment, far from declining, seemed to resist all -the checks it's gratification received, and to burn with accumulated -fury. His nights brought only tormenting dreams; his days only a -repetition of unavailing anguish. - -He had several acquaintances among young men of fashion at Dublin. With -them he sometimes associated; and tried to forget his uneasiness in the -pleasures of the table; and sometimes he shunned them entirely, and shut -himself up to indulge his disquiet. - -In the mean time, Lady Clancarryl was extremely mortified at the account -her husband gave her of Delamere's behaviour. She knew that her brother, -Lord Westhaven, would be highly gratified by any attention shewn to the -family of his wife; particularly to a brother to whom Lady Westhaven was -so much attached. She therefore entreated her Lord to overlook -Delamere's petulance, and renew the invitation he had given him to Lough -Carryl. But his Lordship, disgusted with the reception he had before met -with, laughed, and desired her to try whether _her_ civilities would be -more graciously accepted. Lady Clancarryl therefore took the trouble to -go herself to Dublin: where she so pressingly insisted on Delamere's -passing a fortnight with them, that he could not evade the invitation -without declaring his animosity against Fitz-Edward, and his resolution -to demand satisfaction--a declaration which could not fail of rendering -his purpose abortive. He returned, therefore, to Lough Carryl with her -Ladyship; meaning to stay only a few days, and feeling hurt at being -thus compelled to become the inmate of a family into which he might so -soon carry grief and resentment. - -Godolphin, after his return to the Isle of Wight, abandoned himself more -than ever to the indulgence of his passion. He soothed yet encreased his -melancholy by poetry and music; and Lady Adelina for some time -contributed to nourish feelings too much in unison with her own. He now -no longer affected to conceal from her his attachment to her lovely -friend; but to her only it was known. Her voice, and exquisite taste, he -loved to employ in singing the verses he made; and he would sit hours by -her _piano forte_ to hear repeated one of the many sonnets he had -written on her who occupied all his thoughts. - - - SONNET - - When welcome slumber sets my spirit free - Forth to fictitious happiness it flies, - And where Elysian bowers of bliss arise - I seem, my Emmeline--to meet with thee! - - Ah! Fancy then, dissolving human ties, - Gives me the wishes of my soul to see; - Tears of fond pity fill thy softened eyes; - In heavenly harmony--our hearts agree. - - Alas! these joys are mine in dreams alone, - When cruel Reason abdicates her throne! - Her harsh return condemns me to complain - Thro' life unpitied, unrelieved, unknown. - And, as the dear delusions leave my brain, - She bids the truth recur--with aggravated pain. - - -But Lady Adelina herself at length grew uneasy at beholding the progress -of this unhappy passion. His mind seemed to have lost all it's strength, -and to be incapable of making even an effort to shake off an affection -which his honour would not allow him to attempt rendering successful. -His spirits, affected by the listless solitude in which he lived, were -sunk into hopeless despondence; and his sister was every day more -alarmed, not only for his peace but for his life. She therefore tried -to make him determine to quit her, for a short abode in London; but to -do that he absolutely refused. Lord Clancarryl had long pressed him to -go to Ireland: he had not seen his eldest sister for some years; and -ardently wished to embrace her and her children. But Fitz-Edward was at -her house; and to meet Fitz-Edward was impossible. Lady Clancarryl, -deceived by a plausible story, which had been framed to account for Lady -Adelina's absence, was, as well as her Lord, entirely ignorant of the -share Fitz-Edward had in it: they believed it to have been occasioned -solely by her antipathy to Trelawny, and her fear lest her relations -should insist on her again residing with him; and it was necessary that -nothing should be said to undeceive them. - -Godolphin had therefore been obliged to form several excuses to account -for his declining the pressing invitations he received; and he found -that his eldest sister was already much hurt by his apparent neglect. In -one of her last letters, she had mentioned that Fitz-Edward was gone to -France; and Lady Adelina pointed out to Godolphin several passages which -convinced him he had given pain by his long absence to his beloved -Camilla, and prevailed upon him to go to Ireland. He arrived therefore -at Lough Carryl two days after his sister had returned thither with Lord -Delamere. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - - -Mr. Godolphin was extremely surprised to find, in Ireland, Delamere, the -happy Delamere! who he supposed had long since been with Emmeline, -waiting the fortunate hour that was to unite them for ever. A very few -weeks now remained of the year which he had promised to remain -unmarried; yet instead of his being ready to attend his bride to -England, to claim in the face of the world his father's consent, he was -lingering in another country, where he appeared to have come only to -indulge dejection; for he frequently fled from society, and when he was -in it, forgot himself in gloomy reveries. - -Nobody knew why he came to Ireland, unless to satisfy a curiosity of -which nothing appeared to remain; yet he still continued there; and as -Lord and Lady Clancarryl were now used to his singular humour, they -never enquired into it's cause; while he, flattered by the regard of two -persons so amiable and respectable, suffered not his enmity to -Fitz-Edward to interfere with the satisfaction he sometimes took in -their society; tho' he oftener past the day almost entirely alone. -Godolphin could not repress the anxious curiosity he felt, to know what, -at this period, could separate lovers whose union appeared so certain. -But this curiosity he had no means of satisfying. Lady Clancarryl had -heard nothing of his engagement, or any hint of his approaching -marriage; and tho' he was on all other topics, when he entered at all -into conversation, remarkably open and unguarded, he spoke not, in -company, of any thing that related to himself. - -He seemed, however, to seek a closer intimacy with Godolphin, whose -excellent character he had often heard, and whose appearance and -conversation confirmed all that had been reported in his favour. -Godolphin neither courted him or evaded his advances; but could not help -looking with astonishment on a man, who on the point of being the -husband of the most lovely woman on earth, could saunter in a country -where he appeared to have neither attachments or satisfaction. Sometimes -he almost ventured to hope that their engagement was dissolved: but then -recollecting that Lady Adelina had assured him the promise of Emmeline -was still uncancelled, he checked so flattering an illusion, and -returned again to uncertainty and despondence. - -On the third day after Godolphin's arrival, Delamere, who intended to go -back to Dublin the following morning save one, joined Lady Clancarryl -and her brother in the drawing-room immediately after dinner. - -Godolphin, on account of the expected return of Fitz-Edward, had -determined to make only a short stay at Lough Carryl. He wished to carry -with him to his own house, portraits of his sister and her children; and -was expressing to her this wish--'I should like to have them,' said he, -'in a large miniature; the same size as one I have of Adelina.' - -'Have you then a portrait of Adelina,' enquired Lady Clancarryl, 'and -have not yet shewn it me?' - -'I have,' answered Godolphin; 'but my sister likes not that it should be -seen. It is very like her _now_, but has little resemblance to her -former pictures. This is painted by a young lady, her friend.' He then -took it out of his pocket, and gave it to Lady Clancarryl. - -'And is Adelina so thin and pale,' asked her Ladyship, 'as she is here -represented?' - -'More so,' answered Godolphin. - -'She is then greatly changed.--Yet the eyes and features, and the whole -air of the countenance, I should immediately have acknowledged.' -Continuing to look pensively at the picture, she added, 'Tis charmingly -coloured; and might represent a very lovely and penitent Magdalen. The -black veil, and tearful eye, are beautifully touched. But why did you -indulge her in this melancholy taste?' - -Godolphin, excessively hurt at this, speech, answered mournfully--'Poor -Adelina, you know, has had little reason to be gay.' - -Delamere, who during this conversation seemed lost in his own -reflections, now suddenly advanced, and desired Lady Clancarryl would -favour him with a sight of the picture. He took it to a candle; and -looking steadily on it, was struck with the lightness of the drawing, -which extremely resembled the portraits Emmeline was accustomed to make; -tho' this was more highly finished than any he had yet seen of her's. - -Without being able to account for his idea, since nothing was more -likely than that the drawing of two persons might resemble each other, -he looked at the back of the picture, which was of gold; and in the -centre a small oval crystal contained the words _Em. Mowbray_, in hair, -and under it the name of _Adelina Trelawny_. It was indeed a memorial of -Emmeline's affection to her friend; and the name was in her own hair;--a -circumstance that made it as dear to Godolphin as the likeness it bore -to his sister: and the whole was rendered in his eyes inestimable, by -it's being painted by herself. Delamere, astonished and pained he knew -not why, determined to hear from Godolphin himself the name of the -paintress: returning it to him, he said--'A lady, you say, Sir, drew it. -May I ask her name?' - -Godolphin, now first aware of the indiscretion he had committed, and -flattering himself that the chrystal had not been inspected, answered -with an affectation of pleasantry--'Oh! I believe it is a secret between -my sister and her friend which I have no right to reveal; and to tell -you the truth I teized Adelina to give me the picture, and obtained it -only on condition of not shewing it.' - -Delamere, who had so often sworn to forget her, still fancied he had a -right to be exclusively acquainted with all that related to Emmeline. He -felt himself piqued by this evasion, and answered somewhat quickly--'I -know the drawing, Sir; it is done by Miss Mowbray.' - -Godolphin was then compelled to answer 'that it was.' - -'I envy Miss Mowbray her charming talent,' cried Lady Clancarryl. 'Pray -who is Miss Mowbray?' - -'A relation of Lord Delamere's,' answered Godolphin; 'and a most lovely -and amiable young woman.' - -Delamere, whose varying countenance ill seconded his attempt to appear -indifferent on this subject, now grew pale, now red. - -'Are you acquainted then with Miss Mowbray, Sir?' said he to Godolphin. - -'I have seen her,' replied Godolphin, 'with my sister, Lady Adelina -Trelawny.' - -He then hurried the discourse to some other topic; being unwilling to -answer any other questions that related either to his sister or her -friend. - -But Delamere, whose wounds bled afresh at the name of Emmeline, and who -could not resist enquiring after her of a person who had so lately seen -her, took the earliest opportunity of seeking Godolphin to renew this -discourse. - -They met therefore the following morning in the breakfast parlour; and -Delamere suddenly turning the conversation from the topics of the day, -said--'You are, I find, acquainted with Miss Mowbray. You may perhaps -know that she is not only a relation of mine, but that I _was_ -particularly interested in whatever related to her.' - -Godolphin, whose heart fluttered so as almost to deprive him of speech, -answered very gravely--'I have heard so from Mrs. Stafford.' - -'Then you know, perhaps----But you are undoubtedly well acquainted with -Colonel Fitz-Edward?' - -'Certainly,' replied Godolphin. 'He was one of my most intimate -friends.' - -'Then, Sir,' cried Delamere, losing all temper, 'one of your most -intimate friends is a villain!' - -Godolphin, shocked at an expression which gave him reason to apprehend -Lady Adelina's story was known, answered with great emotion--'You will -be so good, my Lord, as to explain that assertion; which, whatever may -be it's truth, is very extraordinary when made thus abruptly to me.' - -'You are a man of honour, Mr. Godolphin, and I will not conceal from you -the cruel injuries I have sustained from Fitz-Edward, nor that I wait -here only to have an opportunity of telling him that I bear them not -tamely.' He then related, in terms equally warm and bitter, the supposed -alienation of Emmeline's affections by the artifices of Fitz-Edward, -enumerated all the imaginary proofs with which the invidious artifices -of the Crofts' had furnished him, and concluded by asserting, that he -had himself seen, in the arms of Emmeline, a living witness of her ruin, -and the perfidy of his faithless friend. - -To this detail, including as it did the real history of his sister under -the false colours in which the Crofts' had drest it to mislead Delamere -and destroy Emmeline, Godolphin listened with sensations impossible to -be described. He could not hear without horror the character of Emmeline -thus cruelly blasted; yet her vindication he could not undertake without -revealing to a stranger the unhappy story of Lady Adelina, which he had -with infinite difficulty concealed even from his own family. - -The fiery and impatient spirit of Delamere blazing forth in menace and -invective, gave Godolphin time to collect his thoughts; and he almost -immediately determined, whatever it cost him, to clear up the reputation -of Emmeline. - -Tho' he saw, that to explain the whole affair must put the character of -his sister, which he had been so solicitous to preserve, into the power -of an inconsiderate young man, yet he thought he might trust to the -honour and humanity of Delamere to keep the secret; and however -mortifying such a measure appeared, his justice as well as his love -would not allow him to suffer the innocent Emmeline to remain under an -imputation which she had incurred only by her generous and disinterested -attentions to the weakness and misfortunes of another. - -But resolutely as he bore the pain of these reflections, he shrunk from -others with which they were mingled: he foresaw, that as soon as the -jealousy of Delamere was by his information removed; his love, which -seemed to be as passionate as ever, would prompt him to seek a -reconciliation: his repentance would probably be followed by Emmeline's -forgiveness and their immediate union. - -Farewel then for ever to all the hopes he had nourished since his -unexpected meeting with Delamere!--Farewel to every expectation of -happiness for ever! - -But tho' in relinquishing these delightful visions he relinquished all -that gave a value to life, so truly did he love and revere her, that to -have the spotless purity of her name sullied even by a doubt seemed an -insupportable injustice to himself; and his affection was of a nature -too noble to owe it's success to a misrepresentation injurious to it's -object. That the compassion which had saved his sister, should be the -cause of her having suffered from the malicious malice of the Crofts' -and the rash jealousy of Delamere, redoubled all his concern; and he was -so much agitated and hurt, that without farther consideration he was on -the point of relating the truth instantly, had not the entry of Lord -Clancarryl for that time put an end to their discourse: from this -resolution, formed in the integrity of his upright heart, nothing could -long divert him; yet he reflected, as soon as he was alone, on the -violent and ungovernable passions which seemed to render Delamere, -unguided by reason and incapable of hearing it. He was apprehensive that -the discovery, if made to him at Lough Carryl, might influence him to -say or do something that might discover to Lady Clancarryl the unhappy -story of her sister; and he thought it better to delay the explanation -'till he could follow Delamere to Dublin, which he determined to do in a -few days after he left Lough Carryl. - -This interval gave him time to feel all the pain of the sacrifice he was -about to make. Nor could all his strength of mind, and firmness of -honour, prevent his reluctance or cure his anguish. - -He was about to restore to the arms of his rival, the only woman he had -ever really loved; and whom he adored with the most ardent passion, at -the very moment that his honour compelled him to remove the impediments -to her marriage with another. - -Sometimes he thought that he might at least indulge himself in the -melancholy pleasure of relating to her in a letter, what he had done, as -soon as the explanation should be made: but even this gratification he -at length determined to refuse himself. - -'If she loves Delamere,' said he, 'she will perhaps rejoice in the -effect and forget the cause. If she has, as I have sometimes dared to -hope, some friendship and esteem for the less fortunate Godolphin, why -should I wound a heart so full of sensibility by relating the conflicts -of my soul and the passion I have vainly indulged?' - -A latent hope, however, almost unknown, at least unacknowledged, -lingered in his heart. It _was_ possible that Emmeline, resenting the -injurious suspicions and rash accusations of Delamere, might refuse to -fulfil her engagement. But whenever this feeble hope in spite of himself -arose, he remembered her soft and forgiving temper, her strict adherence -to her word on other occasions, and it faded in a conviction that she -would pardon her repentant lover when he threw himself on her mercy; and -not evade a promise so solemnly given, which he learned from Delamere -himself had never been cancelled. - -Delamere now returned to Dublin; and in a few days Godolphin followed -him: but on enquiring at his lodgings, he heard that he was gone out of -town for some days with some of his friends on a party of pleasure. -Godolphin left a letter for him desiring to see him immediately on his -return; and then again resigned himself to the painful delight of -thinking of Emmeline, and to the conscious satisfaction of becoming the -vindicator and protector of her honour even unknown to herself. - -Emmeline, in the mean time, unhappy in the unhappiness of those she -loved, and by no means flattered by the prospect of dependance thro' -life, of which Lord Montreville now made her see all the dreariness and -desolation, by the careless and irregular manner in which even her small -quarterly stipend was remitted to her, yet exerted all her fortitude to -support the spirits of Mrs. Stafford. Calm in the possession of -conscious innocence, and rich in native integrity and nobleness of -nature, she was, tho' far from happy herself, enabled to mitigate the -sorrows of others. Nor was her residence, (otherwise disagreeable and -forlorn enough,) entirely without it's advantages: it afforded her time -and opportunity to render herself perfectly mistress of the language of -the country; of which she had before only a slight knowledge. To the -study of languages, her mind so successfully applied itself, that she -very soon spoke and wrote French with the correctness not only of a -native, but of a native well educated. - -While she thus suffered banishment in consequence of the successful -intrigues of the Crofts' family, they enjoyed all the advantages of -their prosperous duplicity; at least they enjoyed all the satisfaction -that arises from accumulating wealth and an ostentatious display of it. -Sir Richard, by the political knowledge his place afforded him, had been -enabled (by means of trusty agents) to carry on such successful traffic -in the stocks, that he now saw himself possessed of wealth greater than -his most sanguine hopes had ever presented to his imagination. But as -his fortune enlarged, his spirit seemed to contract in regard to every -thing that did not administer to his pride or his appetite. In the -luxuries of the table, his house, his gardens, he expended immense sums; -and the astonished world saw, with envy and indignation, wealth, which -seemed to be ill-gotten, as profusely squandered: but dead to every -generous and truly liberal sentiment, these expences were confined only -to himself; and in regard to others he still nourished the sordid -prejudices and narrow sentiments with which he set out in life--a needy -adventurer, trusting to cunning and industry for scanty and precarious -bread. Mr. Crofts, who had received twelve thousand pounds with his -wife, (whose clandestine marriage had prevented it's being secured in -settlement,) used it, as his father directed, in gaming in the stocks, -with equal avidity and equal success. Lady Frances, in having married -beneath herself, had yet relinquished none of the privileges of high -birth: she played deep, dressed in the extremity of expence, and was -celebrated for the whimsical splendor of her equipages and the -brilliancy of her assemblies. Her husband loved money almost as well as -the fame acquired by these fashionable displays of her Ladyship's taste; -but on the slightest hint of disapprobation, he was awed into silence by -her scornful indignation; and with asperity bade to observe, that tho' -the daughter of the Marquis of Montreville had so far forgotten her rank -as to marry the son of Crofts the attorney, she would allow nobody else -to forget that she was still the daughter of the Marquis of Montreville. - -This right honourable eloquence subdued the plebeian spirit of Crofts; -while he was also compelled to submit patiently, lest Lord Montreville -should be offended and withhold the fortune he farther expected to -receive. Lady Frances therefore pursued the most extravagant career of -dissipation unchecked. She was young, handsome and vain; and saw every -day new occasion to lament having thrown herself away on Crofts: and as -she could not now release herself from him, she seemed determined to -render him at least a fashionable husband. - -Mrs. James Crofts trod as nearly as she could in the footsteps of Lady -Frances; whose name she seemed to take exquisite pleasure in repeating, -tho' it's illustrious possessor scarce deigned to treat her with common -civility; and never on any account admitted her to any thing but her -most private parties, with a few dependants and persons who found the -way to her favour by adulation. Mrs. James Crofts however consoled -herself for the slights she received from Lady Frances, by parading in -all inferior companies with the names of her high and illustrious -relations: and she employed the same tradespeople; laid out with them as -much money; and paid them better than Lady Frances herself.-- - -Her chariot and job horses were discarded for a fashionable coach; her -house at Clapham, for an elegant town residence. She tried to hide the -approaches of age, by rouge; and dress and amusements effectually kept -off the approaches of thought; her husband, slowly yet certainly was -creeping up the hill of preferment; her daughters were certainly growing -more beautiful and accomplished than their mother; and Mrs. James Crofts -fancied she was happy. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - - -It was now early in May; and in the blooming orchards and extensive -beech woods of Normandy, Emmeline found much to admire and something to -lament. - -The Seine, winding thro' the vale and bringing numberless ships and -vessels to Rouen, surrounded by hills fringed with forests, the property -of the crown, and extending even to that of Arques, formed a rich and -entertaining scene. But however beautiful the outline, the landscape -still appeared ill finished: dark and ruinous hovels, inhabited by -peasants frequently suffering the extremes of poverty; half cultivated -fields, wanting the variegated enclosures that divide the lands in -England; and trees often reduced to bare poles to supply the inhabitants -with fewel, made her recollect with regret the more luxuriant and happy -features of her native country. - -The earth, however, covered with grass and flowers, offered her minute -objects on which she delighted to dwell; but she dared not here wander -as in England far from home: the women of the villages, who in this -country are robust and masculine, often followed her with abuse for -being English; and yet oftener the villagers clattered after her in -their sabots, and addressed her by the name of _la belle Demoiselle -Anglaise_, with a rudeness and familiarity that at once alarmed and -disgusted her. - -The long avenue of fir and beech which led to the _chateau_, and the -_parterre_, _potagerie_, and _verger_[2] behind it, were therefore the -scenes of her morning and evening walks. She felt a pensive pleasure in -retracing the lonely rambles she used to take at the same season at -Mowbray Castle; and memory bringing before her the events of the two -years and an half which had elapsed since she left it, offered nothing -that did not renew her regret at having bid it's solitary shades and -unfrequented rocks adieu! - -The idea of Godolphin still obtruded itself continually on her mind: nor -could all her resolution prevent it's obtruding with pleasure, tho' she -perpetually condemned herself for allowing it to recur to her at all. -Lady Adelina, in her two or three last letters, had not mentioned him -farther than to say he was in Ireland; and Emmeline was ashamed of -suffering her thoughts to dwell on a man, whose preference of her seemed -uncertain and perhaps accidental, since he had neither absolutely -declared himself when present or sought to engage her favour when -absent; and tho' she was now fully persuaded that of Delamere she should -hear no more as a lover, yet while her promise remained in his hands -uncancelled, she fancied herself culpable in indulging a partiality for -another. - -Nor could she reflect on the jealousy which had tortured Delamere, and -the pain he must have suffered in tearing her from his heart, without -mingling with her resentment some degree of pity and sorrow. - -She was one afternoon sitting at an open window of the _chateau_, -revolving in her mind these reflections, when raising her eyes at a -sudden noise, she saw driving along the avenue that led to it, an -English post chaise and four, preceded by a _valet de chambre_, and -followed by two livery servants. - -To those who are driven by misfortune to seek a melancholy asylum in a -foreign country, there is an inconceivable delight in beholding whatever -forcibly brings back to the memory, the comforts and conveniences of -their own: Emmeline, who had for many weeks seen only the boors or the -_cure_ of the village, gazed at English servants and English horses -with as much avidity as if she beheld such an equipage for the first -time. - -Instantly however her wonder was converted into pleasure.--Lady -Westhaven was assisted out of the chaise by a gentleman, whose likeness -to Godolphin convinced the fluttering heart of Emmeline that it was her -Lord; and eagerly enquiring for Miss Mowbray, she was immediately in her -arms. - -As soon as the joy (in which Mrs. Stafford partook,) of this unexpected -meeting had a little subsided, Lady Westhaven related, that hearing by a -letter they had received at Paris from Mr. Godolphin, that Emmeline was -with Mrs. Stafford in or near Rouen, she had entreated Lord Westhaven to -make a journey to see her. - -'And I assure you Emmeline,' added she, 'I had no great difficulty to -persuade him. His own curiosity went as far as my inclination; for he -has long wished to see this dangerous Emmeline; who began by turning the -head of _my_ brother, and now I believe has turned the more sage one of -_his_--for Godolphin's letters have been filled only with your praises.' - -Emmeline, who had changed colour at the beginning of this speech, -blushed more deeply at it's conclusion. Involuntary pleasure penetrated -her heart to hear that Godolphin had praised her. But it was immediately -checked. Lady Westhaven seemed to know nothing of Delamere's desertion; -of the history of Lady Adelina she was undoubtedly ignorant. How could -Emmeline account for one without revealing the other? This reflection -overwhelmed her with confusion, and she hardly heard the affectionate -expressions with which Lady Westhaven testified her satisfaction at -meeting her. - -'I trust, my Lord,' said her Ladyship, 'that the partiality which I -foresee you will feel for my fair cousin for her own sake, will not be a -little encreased by our resemblance.--Tell me, do you think us so very -much alike?' - -'I never,' answered he, 'saw a stronger family likeness between sisters. -Our lovely cousin has somewhat the advantage of you in height.' - -'And in complexion, my Lord, notwithstanding the improvements I have -learned to make to mine in France.' - -'_I_ should not,' answered his Lordship smiling, 'have ventured such a -remark. I was merely going to add that you have the same features as -Miss Mowbray, with darker hair and eyes; if however our charming -Emmeline had a form less attractive, I have heard enough of her to be -convinced that her understanding and her heart justify all that Lord -Delamere or Mr. Godolphin have said of her.' - -Lady Westhaven then expressed her wonder that she had heard nothing of -Delamere for some months.--'And it is most astonishing to me,' said she -to Emmeline, 'that the month of March should elapse without _your_ -hearing of him.' - -The distress of Emmeline now redoubled; and became so evident, that Lady -Westhaven, convinced there was something relative to her brother of -which she was ignorant, desired her to go with her into another room. - -Incapable of falsehood, and detesting concealment, yet equally unwilling -to ruin the reputation of the unhappy Adelina with her brother's wife, -and having no authority to divulge a secret entrusted to her by her -friend, Emmeline now felt the cruellest conflict. All she could -determine was, to tell Lady Westhaven in general terms that Lord -Delamere had undoubtedly altered his intentions with regard to her, and -that the affair was, she believed, entirely and for ever at an end. - -However anxious her Ladyship was to know from what strange cause such a -change of sentiments proceeded, she found Emmeline so extremely hurt -that she forbore at present to press the explanation. Full of concern, -she was returning to the company, having desired Emmeline to remain and -compose herself; when, as she was leaving the room, she said-- - -'But I forgot, my dear Emmeline, to ask you where you first became -acquainted with Mr. Godolphin?' - -Again deep blushes dyed the cheeks of the fair orphan; for this question -led directly to those circumstances she could not relate. - -'I knew him,' answered she, faultering as she spoke, 'at Bath.' - -'And _is_ he,' enquired Lady Westhaven, 'so _very_ charming as his -brother and his family represent him?' - -'He is indeed very agreeable,' replied she--'very much so. Extremely -pleasant in his manner, and in his person very like Lord Westhaven.' - -'He never told us how he first became acquainted with _you_; and to tell -you the truth Emmeline, if I had not thought, indeed known, that you -was engaged to Lord Delamere, I should have thought Godolphin your -lover.' - -This speech did not serve to hasten the composure Emmeline was trying to -regain. She attempted to laugh it off; but succeeded so ill, that Lady -Westhaven rejoined her Lord and Mr. and Mrs. Stafford, full of uneasy -conjectures; and Emmeline, with a still more heavy heart, soon after -followed her. - -The pressing and earnest invitation of Mrs. Stafford, induced her guests -to promise her their company for some days. But Lady Westhaven was so -astonished at her brother's desertion of Emmeline, and so desirous of -accounting for it without finding occasion to impute cruelty and caprice -to him, or imprudence and levity to Emmeline, that she took the earliest -opportunity of asking Mrs. Stafford, with whom she knew Miss Mowbray had -no secrets, to explain to her the cause of an event so contrary to her -expectations. - -Mrs. Stafford had heard from Emmeline the embarrassment into which the -questions of Lady Westhaven had thrown her; and with great difficulty at -length persuaded her, that she owed it to her own character and her own -peace to suffer her Ladyship to be acquainted with the truth: that she -could run no risk in telling her what, for the sake of her Lord (whose -happiness might be disturbed, and whose life hazarded by it's knowledge) -she certainly would not reveal. Besides which motives to secresy, the -gentleness and humanity of Lady Westhaven would, Mrs. Stafford said, be -alone sufficient to secure Lady Adelina from any possible ill -consequences by her being made acquainted with the unhappy story. - -These arguments wrung from Emmeline a reluctant acquiescence: and Mrs. -Stafford related to Lady Westhaven those events which had been followed -by Delamere's jealousy and their separation. - -The love and regard, which on her first knowledge of Emmeline Lady -Westhaven had conceived for her, and which her admirable qualities had -ever since encreased, was now raised to enthusiasm. She knew not (for -Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline were themselves ignorant) of the artful -misrepresentations with which the Crofts' had poisoned the mind of her -brother; and was therefore astonished at his suspicions and grieved at -his rashness. She immediately proposed writing to him; but this design -both her friends besought her for the present to relinquish. Emmeline -assured her that she had so long considered the affair as totally at an -end, that she could not now regret it; or if she felt any regret, it was -merely in resigning the hope of being received into a family of which -Lady Westhaven was a part. Her Ladyship could not however believe that -Emmeline was really indifferent to her brother; and accounted for her -present coldness by supposing her piqued and offended at his behaviour, -for which she had so much reason. - -Anxious therefore to reconcile them, she still continued desirous of -writing to Delamere. And so much did her affectionate heart dwell on the -happiness she should have in re-uniting her brother and her friend, that -only the difficulty which there seemed to be in vindicating Emmeline -without injuring Lady Adelina, withheld her; and she promised to delay -writing 'till means could be found to clear up the reputation of the one -without ruining that of the other. - -Lord Westhaven had, during his stay, learnt from Mrs. Stafford the -circumstances that had driven her and her family abroad; and had heard -them with a sincere wish to alleviate the inconveniences that oppressed -a woman whose manners and conduct convinced him she deserved a better -fate. Unwilling however to hold out to her hopes that he was not sure he -should be able to fulfil, he contented himself with procuring from -Emmeline general information of the state of their affairs, and silently -meditated the noble project of doing good, as soon as it should be in -his power. - -Her children, for whose sake only she seemed to be willing to support -with patience her unfortunate lot, were objects particularly interesting -to Lord Westhaven; and for the boys he thought he might, on his return -to England, assist in providing. To their father, consoling himself in -trifling follies and dirty intrigues for his misfortunes, it seemed more -difficult to be serviceable. - -While these benevolent purposes engaged his attention, Lady Westhaven -reflected with regret on her approaching departure, which must divide -her from Emmeline, whom she seemed now to love with redoubled affection. -His Lordship, ever solicitous to gratify her, proposed that Emmeline -should go with them into Switzerland with the Baron de St. Alpin, his -Lordship's uncle; who, after a life passed in the service of France, now -prepared to retire to his native country. - -The Baron had seen his nephew at Paris. He had embraced with transport -the son of a beloved sister, and insisted on his and Lady Westhaven's -going back with him to his estate in the Pais de Vaud, as soon as he -should have the happiness of being rejoined by his only son, the -Chevalier de Bellozane, who was expected with his regiment from -Martinique. Lord Westhaven, on his first visit to the paternal house of -his mother, had found there only one of her sisters, who, with the -Baron, were the last survivors of a numerous family. He could not -therefore resist his uncle's earnest entreaties to accompany him back; -and Lady Westhaven, who was charmed with the manners of the respectable -veteran and interested by his affection for her Lord, readily consented -to delay her return to England for three months and to cross France once -more to attend him. - -To have Emmeline her companion in such a journey seemed to offer all -that could render it charming. But how could she ask her to quit Mrs. -Stafford, to whom she had been so much obliged; and who, in her present -melancholy solitude, seemed more than ever to need her consolatory -friendship. - -Her Ladyship however ventured to mention it to Emmeline; who answered, -that tho' nothing in the world would give her more pleasure than being -with such friends, she could not, without a breach of duty which it was -impossible to think of, quit Mrs. Stafford, to whom she was bound by -gratitude as well as by affection. - -Lord Westhaven acquiesced in the justice of this objection, but -undertook to remove it by rendering the situation of her friend such as -would make a short absence on both sides more supportable. - -He therefore in his next conversation with Stafford represented the -inconvenience of a house so far from a town, and how much better his -family would be situated nearer the metropolis. He concluded by offering -him a house he had himself hired at St. Germains; which he said he -should be obliged to Mrs. Stafford and her family if they would occupy -'till his return from Switzerland. And that no objection might arise as -to expence, he added, that considering himself as Miss Mowbray's banker, -he had furnished her with five hundred pounds, with which she was -desirous of repaying some part of the many obligations she owed Mr. and -Mrs. Stafford. - -Mrs. Stafford, who saw immediately all the advantages that might arise -to Emmeline from her residence with Lady Westhaven, had on the slightest -hint been warmly an advocate for her going. However reluctant to part -with her, she suffered not her own gratifications to impede the interest -of her fair charge. But she could not prevail on Emmeline to yield to -her entreaties, 'till Lord Westhaven having settled every thing for the -removal of the family to St. Germains, she was convinced that Mrs. -Stafford would be in a pleasant and advantageous situation; and that she -ought, even for the sake of her and her children, whom Lord Westhaven -had so much the power of serving, to yield to an arrangement which would -so much oblige him. - -The _chateau_ they inhabited was ready furnished; their cloaths were -easily removed; and the Staffords and their children set out at the same -time with Lord Westhaven, his wife, and Emmeline; who having seen them -settled at St. Germains greatly to the satisfaction of Mrs. Stafford, -went on to Paris; where, in about a week, they were joined by the Baron -de St. Alpin, and the Chevalier de Bellozane. - -[Footnote 2: Flower garden, kitchen garden, and orchard.] - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - - -The Baron de St. Alpin was a venerable soldier, near sixty, in whom the -natural roughness of his country was polished by a long residence among -the French. He was extremely good humoured and chearful, and -passionately fond of the Chevalier de Bellozane, who was the youngest of -three sons, the two elder of whom had fallen in the field. The military -ardour however of the Baron had not been buried with them; and he still -entrusted the sole survivor of his house, and the last support of his -hopes, in the same service. - -With infinite satisfaction he embraced this beloved son on his return -from Martinique, and with exultation presented him to his nephew, to -Lady Westhaven, and Miss Mowbray. The Baron was indeed persuaded that he -was the most accomplished young man in France, and had no notion that -every body did not behold him with the same eyes. - -Bellozane was tall, well made, and handsome; his face, and yet more, his -figure, bore some resemblance to the Godolphin family; his manners were -elegant, his air military, his vivacity excessive, and he was something -of a coxcomb, but not more than is thought becoming to men of his -profession in France at two and twenty. - -Having lived always in the army or in fashionable circles at Paris, he -had conceived no advantageous ideas of his own country, where he had not -been since his childhood. His father now retiring thither himself, had -obtained a long leave of absence for him that he might go also; but -Bellozane would willingly have dispensed with the journey, which the -Baron pressed with so much vehemence, that he had hardly time to -modernize his appearance after his American campaigns; a point which was -to him of serious importance. - -He had therefore with reluctance looked forward to their journey over -the Alps. But as soon as his father (who had met him at Port L'Orient on -his landing) introduced him at Paris to his English relations and to -Emmeline, the journey seemed not only to have lost it's horrors, but to -become a delightful party of pleasure, and he was happy to make the -fourth in the post-coach in which Lady Westhaven, Emmeline, and her -Ladyship's woman, travelled; Lord Westhaven and the Baron following in a -post-chaise. - -Nothing could exceed the happiness of the Baron, nor the gaiety of his -son. Lord Westhaven and his wife, tho' they talked about it less, were -not less pleased with their friends and their expedition; while Emmeline -appeared restored to her former chearfulness, because she saw that they -wished to see her chearful: but whenever she was a moment alone, -involuntary sighs fled towards England; and when she remembered how far -she must be from Lady Adelina, from little William, in short, from -Godolphin, how could she help thinking of them with concern. - -During the day, however, the Chevalier gave her no time for reflection. -He waited on her with the most assiduous attention, watched her looks to -prevent her slightest wishes, talked to her incessantly, besought her to -teach him English, and told her all he had seen in his travels, and much -that he had done. A Frenchman talks without hesitation of himself, and -the Chevalier was quite a Frenchman. - -Too polite however for exclusive adulation, Lady Westhaven shared all -his flattery; and her real character being now unrepressed by the -severity of her mother, she, all gaiety and good humour, was extremely -amused with the extravagant gallantry of the Chevalier and at -Emmeline's amazement, who having been little used to the manners of the -French, was sometimes alarmed and sometimes vexed at the warmth of his -address and the admiration which he professed towards them both. - -Lady Westhaven assured her that such conversation was so usual that -nobody ever thought of being offended at it; and that Bellozane was -probably so much used to apply the figures of speech, which she thought -so extraordinary, to every woman he saw, that he perhaps knew not -himself, and certainly never thought of, what he was saying. - -Emmeline therefore heard from him repeatedly what would from an -Englishman have been considered as an absolute declaration of love, -without any other answer than seeming inattention, and flying as soon as -possible to some other topic. - -In the progress of their journey these common place speeches and this -desultory gallantry was gradually exchanged for a deportment more -respectful. He besought Emmeline very seriously to give him an -opportunity of speaking to her apart; which she with the utmost -difficulty evaded. His extreme gaiety forsook him--the poor Chevalier -was in love. - -It was in vain he communicated his malady to _la belle cousine_, (as he -usually called Lady Westhaven); _la belle cousine_ only laughed at him, -and told him he had according to his own account been so often in love, -that this additional _penchant_ could not possibly hurt him, and would -merely serve to prevent what he owned he had so much dreaded, being -'_ennuye a la mort_' at St. Alpin. - -When he found the inexorable Lady Westhaven refused seriously to attend -to him, he applied with new ardour to Emmeline herself; to whom his -importunity began to be distressing, as she foresaw in his addresses -only a repetition of the persecution she had suffered from the fiery and -impetuous Delamere. Still, however, she was often obliged to hear him. -She could hear him only with coldness; which he was far from taking as -discouragement. As she did not love to think _herself engaged_, she -could not use that plea, or even name an engagement which she believed -might now never be claimed by _him_ to whom it was given. All therefore -she could say was, that she had no thoughts of marrying. An answer, -which however frequently repeated, Bellozane determined to think -favourable; and Emmeline knew not how to treat with peremptory rudeness -the cousin of Lord Westhaven and of Captain Godolphin. - -But whatever diminution of her ease and tranquillity she might suffer or -apprehend from the growing attachment of this young man, the journey was -attended with so many pleasant circumstances, that all parties were -desirous that it might be lengthened. - -The extreme eagerness with which the Baron de St. Alpin had wished to -revisit his estate, gave way to the pleasures he found in travelling in -such society; and as Lady Westhaven had never been farther South than -Lyons, and Emmeline had never seen the Southern Provinces at all, it was -determined on their arrival at that city to proceed to the shore of the -Mediterranean before they went into Switzerland. - -It was the finest season of the year and the loveliest weather -imaginable. The party consulted therefore only pleasure on their way. -Sometimes they went no more than a single stage in a day, and employed -the rest in viewing any place in it's neighbourhood worth their -curiosity. They often left their carriages to walk, to saunter, to dine -on the grass on provisions they had brought with them; and whenever a -beautiful view or uncommon scene presented themselves, they stopped to -admire them; and Bellozane drew sketches, which were put into Emmeline's -_port feuille_. - -As they were travelling between Marseilles and Toulon they entered a -road bounded on each side by mountainous rocks, which sometimes -receding, left between them small but richly cultivated vallies; and in -other parts so nearly met each other, as to leave little more room than -sufficed for the carriage to pass; while the turnings of the road were -so angular and abrupt, that it seemed every moment to be carrying them -into the bosom of the rock. Thro' this defile, as it was quite shady, -they agreed to walk. - -In some places huge masses impended over them, of varied form and -colour, without any vegetation but scattered mosses; in others, aromatic -plants and low shrubs; the lavender, the thyme, the rosemary, the -mountain sage, fringed the steep craggs, while a neighbouring aclivity -was shaded with the taller growth of holly, phillyrea, and ever-green -oak; and the next covered with the glowing purple of the Mediterranean -heath. The summits of almost all, crowned with groves of fir, larch, and -pine. - -Emmeline in silent admiration beheld this beautiful and singular scene; -and with the pleasure it gave her, a soft and melancholy sensation was -mingled. She wanted to be alone in this delightful place, or with some -one who could share, who could understand the satisfaction she felt. -She knew nobody but Godolphin who had taste and enthusiasm enough to -enjoy it. - -Insensibly she left Lady Westhaven and the Chevalier behind her; and -passing his Lordship and the Baron, who were deeply engaged in a -discourse about the military operations of the past war, she walked on -with some quickness. Intent on the romantic wildness of the cliffs with -which she was surrounded, and her mind associating with these objects -the idea of him on whom it now perpetually dwelt, she had brought -Godolphin before her, and was imagining what he would have said had he -been with her; with what warmth he would enjoy, with what taste and -spirit point out, the beauty of scenes so enchanting! - -She had now left her companions at some distance; yet as she heard their -voices swell in the breeze along the defile, she felt no apprehension. -In the narrowest part of it, where she saw only steep craggs and the -sky, which their bending tops hardly admitted, she was stopped by a -transparent stream, which bursting suddenly with some violence out of -the rock, is received into a small reservoir of stone and then carried -away in stone channels to a village at some distance. - -While Emmeline stood contemplating this beautiful spring, she beheld, in -an excavation in the rock close to it, two persons sitting on a bench, -which had been rudely cut for the passenger to rest. One of them -appeared to be a man about fifty; he wore a short, light coloured coat, -a waistcoat that had once been of embroidered velvet; from his head, -which was covered first with a red thrum night-cap, and then with a -small hat, bound with tarnished lace, depended an immense _queue_; his -face, tho' thin and of a mahogena darkness, seemed to express -penetration and good humour; and Emmeline, who had at first been a -little startled, was no longer under alarm; when he, on perceiving her -near the entrance of the cavern, flew nimbly out of it, bowed to the -ground, and pulling off most politely his thrum night-cap, -enquired--'_Si Mademoiselle voudrez bien se reposer?_'[3] - -Emmeline thanked him, and advanced towards the bench; from which a girl -about seventeen, very brown but very pretty, had on her approach arisen, -and put up into a kind of wallet the remains of the provisions they had -been eating, which were only fruit and black bread. As soon as the old -Frenchman perceived that Emmeline intended to sit down, he sprung -before her, brushed down the seat with his cap, and then making several -profound bows, assured '_Mademoiselle qu'elle pourroit s'asseoir sans -incommodite_.'[4] - -The young woman, dressed like the _paisannes_ of the country, was -modestly retiring; but Emmeline desired her to remain; and entering into -conversation with her, found she was the daughter of the assiduous old -Frenchman, and that he was going with her to Toulon in hopes of -procuring her a service. - -The Baron and Lord Westhaven now approached, and laughingly reproached -Emmeline for having deserted them. She told them she was enchanted with -the seat she had found, and should wait there for the Chevalier and Lady -Westhaven. - -'I am only grieved,' said she, 'that I have disturbed from their humble -supper these good people.' - -The two gentlemen then spoke to the old Frenchman; whose countenance had -something of keen intelligence and humble civility which prejudiced both -in his favour. - -'_Je vois bien_,' said he, addressing himself to Lord Westhaven,--'_je -vois bien que j'ai l'honneur de parler a un Milor Anglais_.'[5] - -'_Eh! comment?_' answered his Lordship--'_comment? tu connois donc bien -les Anglais?_'[6] - -'_Oh oui!--j'ai passe a leur service une partie de ma jeunesse.--Ils -sont les meilleur maitres_--'[7] - -'_Parle tu Anglais, mon ami?_'[8] - -'Yes Milor, I speak little English. _Mais_,' continued he, relapsing -into the volubility of his own language--'_Mais il y'a a peu pres dix -neuf ans, depuis que mon maitre--mon pauvre maitre mouroit dans mes -bras; helas!--s'i avoit vecu--car il etoit tout jeun--j'aurois passe ma -vie entiere avec lui--j'aurois retournez avec lui en Angleterre--Ah -c'est un pais charmant que cette Angleterre._'[9] - -'You have been there then?' - -He answered that he had been three times; and should have been happy had -it pleased heaven to have ended his days there. - -'The praise you bestow on our country, my friend,' said Lord Westhaven, -'is worth at least this piece _de six francs_, and the beauty _de cette -jolie enfant_,[10] added he, turning towards the little _paisanne_, 'is -interesting enough to induce me to enquire whether such a gift may not -serve to purchase _quelques petites amplettes a la ville_.'[11] He -presented the young woman with another crown. - -The old Frenchman seemed ready to thank his Lordship with his tears. - -Without solicitation or ceremony, seeing that the gentlemen were -disposed to listen to him, he began to relate his 'short and simple' -story. - -Lady Westhaven and the Chevalier now arrived: but she sat down by -Emmeline, and desired the old man to continue whatever he was saying. - -'He has been praising our country,' said Lord Westhaven, 'and in return -I am willing to hear the history of himself, which he seems very -desirous of relating.' - -'I was in the army,' said he, 'as we all are; till being taken with a -pleurisy at Calais, and rendered long incapable of duty, I got my -discharge, and hired myself as a travelling valet to a _Milor Anglais_. -With him (he was the best master in the world) I lived six years. I went -with him to England when he came to his estate, and five years -afterwards came back with him to France. He met with a misfortune in -losing _une dame tres amiable_, and never was quite well afterwards. To -drive away trouble, _pour se dissiper_, he went among a set of his own -countrymen, and I believe _le chagrin_, and living too freely, gave him -a terrible fever. _Une fievre ardente lui saisit a Milan, ses compagnons -apparemment n'aimoit gueres les malades_;[12] for nobody came near him -except a young surgeon who arrived there by accident, and hearing that -an Englishman of fashion lay ill, charitably visited him. But it was too -late: he had already been eleven days under the hands of an Italian -physician, and when the English gentleman saw him he said he had only a -few hours to live. - -'He sat by him, however. But my poor master was senseless; 'till about -an hour before he died he recovered his recollection. - -'He ordered me to bring him two little boxes, which he always carried -with him, and charged me to go to England with his body, and deliver -those boxes to a person he named. He bade me give one of his watches, -which was a very rich one, to his brother, and told _me_ to keep the -other in memory of my master. - -'Then he spoke to the stranger--"Sir," said he, "since you have the -humanity to interest yourself for a person unknown to you, have the -goodness to see that my servant is suffered to execute what I have -directed, and put your seal on my effects. The money I have about me, my -cloaths, and my common watch, I have given him. He knows what farther I -would have done; I told him on the second day of my illness. -Baptist--you remember----" - -'He tried to say something more; but in a few moments he died in my -arms. - -'With the assistance of the young English surgeon, I arranged every -thing as my master directed. I went with his corps to England, and -received a large present from his brother, whom, however, I did not see, -because he was not in London. Then I returned to France.' - -'Since you loved England so much,' enquired the Baron, '_puisque vous -aimiez tant cet pais pourquoi ne pas y' rester?_'[13] - -'_Ah, Monsieur! j'etois riche; et je brulez de partager mes richesse -avec une jolie fille dont j'etois eperdument amoureux._'[14] - -'_Eh bien?_' - -'I married her, Monsieur; and for above two years we were the happiest -people on earth. But we were very thoughtless. _Je ne scais comment cela -se faisoit, mes espece Anglais, qui je croyais inepuisable se -dissiperent peu a peu, et enfin il falloit songer a quelque provision -pour ma femme et mes deux petites filles._'[15] - -'I returned therefore into the Limosin, of which province I was a -native; but some of my family were dead, and the rest had neither power -or inclination to assist their poor relations. The seigneur of the -village had bought a post at Paris, and was about to quit his chateau. -He heard I was honest; and therefore, tho' he had very little to lose, -he put me into it. I worked in the garden, and raised enough, with the -little wages we had, to keep us. My wife learned to work, and my two -little girls were healthy and happy. - -'_Oui Messieurs, nous etions pauvre a la verite! mais nous etions tres -contents!_[16] 'till about eight months ago; and then an epidemical -distemper broke out in the village, and carried off my wife and my -eldest daughter. - -'_Oh, Therese! et toi ma petite Suzette, je te pleurs; encore amerement -je te pleurs._'[17] - -The poor Frenchman turned away and wept bitterly. - -'_Je scais bien_,' continued he--'_je scais bien qu'il faut s'accoutumer -a les souffrances!_[18] We might still have lived on, Madelon and me, at -our ruinous chateau; but the possessor of it dying, his son sent us -notice that he should pull it down (indeed it must soon have fallen) and -ordered us to quit it. - -'_Ainsi me voila, Messieurs, a cinquante ans, sans pain. Mais pour cela -je ne m'embarrasse pas; si je pourrois bien placer ma pauvre Madelon -tout ira bien!_'[19] - -There was in this relation a touching simplicity which drew tears from -Lady Westhaven and Emmeline. The whole party became interested for the -father and the daughter, who had wept silently while he was relating -their story. - -'Can nothing be done for these poor creatures?' said Lady Westhaven. - -'Certainly we will assist them,' answered her Lord.--'But let us enquire -how we can best do it. _Tu t'appelles?_'[20] continued he, speaking to -the Frenchman. - -'_Baptiste La Fere--mais mon nomme de guerre, et de condition fut -toujours Le Limosin._'[21] - -'_Dites moi donc_,[22] Monsieur Le Limosin,' said his Lordship, 'what -hopes have you of placing your daughter at Toulon?' - -'Alas! Milor, but little. I know nobody there but an old relation of my -poor wife's, who is _Touriere_ at a convent; and if I cannot get a -service for Madelon, I must give the good abbess a little money to take -her till I can do something better for her.' - -'And where do you expect to get money?' - -'_Tenez, mon Seigneur_,' answered he, pulling a watch out of his pocket, -'_ayez la bonte d'examiner cet montre_.[23] It is an English watch. Gold; -and in a gold case. I have been offered a great deal of money for it; -but in all my poverty, in all my distresses, I have contrived to keep it -because it was the last gift of my dear master. But now, my poor Madelon -must be thought of, and if it must be so, I will sell it and pay for her -staying in the convent.' - -'You shall not do that, my friend,' replied Lord Westhaven, still -holding the watch in his hand. - -It had a cypher, H. C. M. and a crest engraved on it. - -'H. C. M,' said his Lordship, 'and the Mowbray crest! Pray what was your -master's name?' - -'_Milor Moubray_,' answered Le Limosin. - -'_Comment? Milor Mowbray?_' - -'_Oui Milor--regardez s'il vous plait. Voila son chiffre, Henri-Charles -Moubray--et voila le cimier du famille._'[24] - -Emmeline, who no longer doubted but this was her father's servant, was -so much affected, that Lady Westhaven, apprehending she would faint, -called for assistance; and the Chevalier, who during this conversation -had attended only to her, snatched up the beechen cup out of which Le -Limosin and Madelon had been drinking, and which still stood on the -ground, and flying with it to the spring, brought it instantly back -filled with water; while Lady Westhaven bathed her temples and held to -her her salts. She soon recovered; and then speaking in a faint voice to -his Lordship, said--'My Lord, this is the servant in whose arms my poor -father expired. Do allow me to intercede with your Lordship for him and -for his daughter; but let him not know, to-night at least, who I am. I -cannot again bear a circumstantial detail about my father.' - -Lord Westhaven now led Le Limosin out of the cave; told him he had -determined, as he had known his master's family, to take him into his -own service, and that Lady Westhaven would provide for his daughter. At -this intelligence the poor fellow grew almost frantic. He would have -thrown himself at the feet of his benefactor had he not been prevented; -then flew back to fetch his Madelon, that she might join in prayers and -benedictions; and hardly could Lord Westhaven persuade him to be -tranquil enough to understand the orders he gave him, which were, to -hire some kind of conveyance at the next village to carry his daughter -to Toulon; where he gave him a direction to find his English benefactor -the next day. - -It was now late; and the party hastened to leave this romantic spot, -which had been marked by so singular a meeting. On their arrival at -Toulon, they equipped, and sent away before them to St. Alpin, Le -Limosin and Madelon, the latter of whom Lady Westhaven took entirely to -wait on Emmeline. - -The soft heart and tender spirits of Emmeline had not yet recovered the -detail she had heard of her father's death. A pensive melancholy hung -over her; which the Chevalier, nothing doubting his own perfections, -hoped was owing to a growing affection for himself. But it had several -sources of which he had no suspicion; and it made the remaining three -weeks of their tour appear tedious to Emmeline; who languished to be at -St. Alpin, where she hoped to find letters from Mrs. Stafford and from -Lady Adelina. She thought it an age since she had heard from the latter; -and secretly but anxiously indulged an hope of meeting a large pacquet, -which might contain some intelligence of Godolphin. - -[Footnote 3: If the young lady would please to sit down.] - -[Footnote 4: That she might sit down without inconvenience.] - -[Footnote 5: I perceive I have the honour to speak to an English -nobleman.] - -[Footnote 6: How? are you then well acquainted with the English?] - -[Footnote 7: I passed part of my youth in their service.----They are -the best masters in the world.] - -[Footnote 8: Do you speak English, my friend?] - -[Footnote 9: It is almost nineteen years, since my master--my poor -master, died in my arms; had he lived, for he was quite a young man, I -should have passed my life with him--I should have returned with him to -England--Ah! that England is a charming country!] - -[Footnote 10: Of this pretty maid.] - -[Footnote 11: Some little necessaries, bargains, at the neighbouring -town.] - -[Footnote 12: A burning fever seized him at Milan; his companions seemed -to have but little affection for the sick.] - -[Footnote 13: Why not stay there?] - -[Footnote 14: Ah, Sir! I was rich, and I longed eagerly to share my -riches with a pretty young woman with whom I was distractedly in love.] - -[Footnote 15: I know not how it happened, my English money, which I -thought inexhaustible, diminished by little and little; and at length it -was necessary to think what I was to do for my wife and my two little -girls.] - -[Footnote 16: Yes, gentlemen, we were indeed poor; but we were very, very -happy!] - -[Footnote 17: Oh! Theresa!--and you, my poor Suzette, I lament -ye!--bitterly I still deplore your loss!] - -[Footnote 18: I know well--I know, that we must learn to suffer!] - -[Footnote 19: So here I am, gentlemen, at fifty years old, without bread -to eat. But it is not that which troubles me--If I could get a -comfortable place for my poor Madelon, all would be well!] - -[Footnote 20: Your name?] - -[Footnote 21: Baptiste La Fere. But the name under which I served as a -soldier and as a servant is Le Limosin.] - -[Footnote 22: Tell me then.] - -[Footnote 23: See, my Lord; have the goodness to look at this watch.] - -[Footnote 24: Yes, my Lord; be so good as to observe. There is his -cypher, H. C. M. and there the family crest.] - - - END OF THE THIRD VOLUME - - - - -VOLUME IV - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -The Chateau de St. Alpin was a gloomy and antique building, but in -habitable repair. The only constant resident in it for some years had -been the Demoiselle de St. Alpin, now about five and forty; whose whole -attention had been given to keeping it in order, and collecting, in the -garden, variety of plants, in which she took singular pleasure. Detached -from the world, and with no other relations than her brother and her -nephews, whom she was seldom likely to see, she found in this innocent -and amusing pursuit a resource against the tedium of life. Her manners, -tho' simple, were mild and engaging; and her heart perfectly good and -benevolent. With her, therefore, Emmeline was extremely pleased; and the -country in which her residence was situated, was so beautiful, that -accustomed to form her ideas of magnificent scenery from the first -impressions that her mind had received in Wales, Emmeline acknowledged -that her eye was here perfectly satisfied. - -With her heart it was far otherwise. On her arrival at St. Alpin, she -found letters from Lady Adelina enclosed in others from Mrs. Stafford. -Lady Adelina gave such an account of her own health as convinced -Emmeline it was not improved since she left England. Of Mr. Godolphin -she only said, that he was returned from Ireland, but had staid with her -only a few hours, and was then obliged to go on business to London, -where his continuance was uncertain. - -Mrs. Stafford gave of herself and her family a more pleasing account. -She said she had hopes that the readjustment of Mr. Stafford's affairs -would soon allow of their return to England; and as it might possibly -happen on very short notice, and before Emmeline could rejoin them, she -had sent, by a family who were travelling to Geneva, and who readily -undertook the care of it, a large box which contained some of her -cloaths and the caskets which belonged to her, which had been long left -at Mrs. Ashwood's after Emmeline's precipitate departure from her house -with Delamere, and which, on Mrs. Ashwood's marriage and removal, she -had sent with a cold note (addressed to Miss Mowbray) to the person who -negociated Mr. Stafford's business in London. - -Their lengthened journey had so much broken in on the time allotted to -their tour, that Lord and Lady Westhaven purposed staying only a month -at St. Alpin. The Baron, who had equal pride and pleasure in the company -of his nephew, endeavoured by every means in his power to make that time -pass agreeably; and felt great satisfaction in shewing to the few -neighbours who were within fifteen miles of his _chateau_, that he had, -in an English nobleman of such rank and merit, so near a relation. - -He had observed very early the growing passion of his son for Miss -Mowbray. He was assured that she returned it; for he never supposed it -possible that any woman could behold the Chevalier with indifference. - -He had heard from Lord Westhaven that Emmeline was the daughter of a man -of fashion, but was by the circumstances of her birth excluded from any -share of his fortune, and entirely dependant on the favour of the -Marquis of Montreville. The old Baron, charmed himself with her person -and her manners, rather approved than opposed the wishes of his son; and -however convenient it might have been to have seen him married to a -woman of fortune, he was disposed to rejoice at his inclining to marry -at all; and convinced that with Emmeline he must be happy, thought he -might dispense with being rich. The Chevalier, confident of success, and -believing that Emmeline had meant by her timid refusals only -encouragement, grew so extremely importunate, that she was sometimes on -the point of declaring to him her real situation. - -But from this she was deterred by the apprehension that he would apply -to Lord Delamere for the relinquishment of her promise; and should he -obtain it, consider himself as having a claim to the hand his Lordship -resigned. - -This was an hope, which whatever his vanity might have suggested, she -never meant to give him; yet she had the mortification to find that all -her rejections, however repeated, were considered by the Chevalier as -words of course. It was in vain she assured him that besides her -disinclination to change her situation by marriage at all, she had other -forcible objections; that she should never think of passing her life -out of England; that not only their country, but their manners, their -ideas on a thousand subjects, so materially differed, as to make every -other reason of her refusal unnecessary. - -When she seriously urged thus much, he usually answered that he would -then reside in England; that he would accommodate his manner of living -to her pleasure; and that as to the ideas which had displeased her, he -would never again offend her with their repetition. - -Emmeline had indeed been extremely hurt and disgusted at that levity of -principle on the most serious subjects which the Chevalier avowed -without reserve, and for which he appeared to value himself. Tho' -brought up a Calvinist, he had as he owned always conformed to the mode -of worship and ceremonies of the Catholics while he was among them; and -usually added, that had he served amid the Turks or the Jews, he should -have done the same, as a matter of great indifference. - -The Baron, whose life had been more active than contemplative, was -unaccustomed to consider these matters deeply. And as every thing -Bellozane advanced had with him great authority, he was struck with his -lively arguments; and whatever might be their solidity, could not help -admiring the wit of the Chevalier, whom he sometimes encouraged to -dispute with Lord Westhaven. The religion of Lord Westhaven was as -steady and unaffected as his morals were excellent; and he entered -willingly into these dialogues with Bellozane, in hopes of convincing -him that infidelity was by no means necessary to the character of a -soldier; and that _he_ was unlikely to serve well the country to which -he belonged, or for which he fought, who began by insulting his God. - -He found however that the young man had imbibed these lessons so early, -and fancied them so much the marks of a superior and penetrating mind, -that he could make no impression by rational argument. Bellozane usually -answered by a sprightly quotation from some French author, and his -Lordship soon declined the conversation, believing that if sickness and -sorrow did not supercede so slow a cure, time at least would convince -him of his folly. - -But such was the effect of this sort of discourse on Emmeline, that had -Bellozane been in other respects unexceptionable, and had her heart been -free from any other impression, she would never have listened to him as -a lover. - -From his own account of himself in other respects, Emmeline had gathered -enough to believe that he was profligate and immoral. But as she could -not appear to detect these errors without allowing him to suppose her -interested in his forsaking them, she generally heard him in silence; -and only when pressed to name her objections stated his loose opinions -as one in her mind very material. - -To this he again repeated, that his opinions he would correct; his -residence should be settled by herself.--'Had she any objection to his -person?' enquired he, as he proudly surveyed it in the long old -fashioned glass which ornamented the _sal a manger_.[25] - -Emmeline, blushing from the conscious recollection of the resemblance it -bore in height and air to that of Godolphin, answered faulteringly--'That -to his person there could be no objection.' - -'To his fortune?' - -'It was undoubtedly more than situated as she was she could expect.' - -'To his family?' - -'It was a family whose alliance must confer honour.' - -'What then?' vehemently continued the Chevalier--'what then, charming -Emmeline, occasions this long reserve, this barbarous coldness? Since -you can form no decided objection; since you have undoubtedly allowed me -to hope; why do you thus cruelly prolong my sufferings? Surely you do -not, you cannot mean finally to refuse and desert me, after having -permitted me so long to speak to you of my passion?' - -'It is with some justice,' gravely and coldly answered Emmeline--'I own -it is with some justice that you impute to me the appearance of -coquetry; because I have listened with too much patience, (tho' -certainly never with approbation,) to your discourse on this subject. -But be assured that whatever I have said, tho' perhaps with insufficient -firmness, I now repeat, in the hope that you will understand it as my -unalterable resolution--The honour you are so obliging as to offer me, I -_never_ can accept; and I beg you will forbear to urge me farther on a -subject to which I never can give any other answer.' - -This dialogue, which happened on the second day of her residence at St. -Alpin, and the first moment he could find her alone, did not seem to -discourage the Chevalier. He observed her narrowly: the country round -St. Alpin, which, as well as the place itself, he thought '_triste et -insupportable_,' seemed to delight and attract her. He saw her not only -enduring but even fond of his aunt and her plants, which were to him, -'_les sujets du monde les plus facheux_.'[26]--His excessive vanity made -him persist in believing that she could not admire such a place but -thro' some latent partiality to it's master; nor seek the company and -esteem of his aunt, but for the sake of her nephew. - -These remarks, and a conviction formed on his own self-love and on the -experience of his Parisian conquests, made him disregard her refusal and -persecute her incessantly with his love. Lord Westhaven saw her -uneasiness; but knew not how to relieve her without offending the Baron -and the Chevalier, or divulging circumstances of which he did not think -himself at liberty without her permission to speak. - -Lady Westhaven, to whom Emmeline was obliged to complain of the -importunity of Bellozane, repeatedly but very fruitlessly remonstrated -with him. What she had at first ridiculed, now gave her pain; and -anxious as she was to reconcile her brother to her friend, from whom she -thought only his warmth of temper and a misunderstanding had divided -him, she wished to shorten as much as possible their stay at St. Alpin. - -Her own situation too made her very anxious to return to England; and -she was impatient to see Lord Delamere, to explain to him all the -mystery of Emmeline's conduct; a detail which she could not venture by -the post, tho' she had written to him from Lyons, intreating him to -suspend all opinion in regard to Miss Mowbray's conduct 'till she should -see him. - -This letter never reached the hands of Lord Delamere, and therefore was -not answered to St. Alpin; whither his sister had desired him to direct, -and where she now grew very uneasy at not hearing from him. - -Le Limosin and his Madelon had arrived at St. Alpin some time before -their noble patrons, with whose goodness they were elated to excess. Le -Limosin himself, assiduous to do every thing for every body, flew about -as if he was but twenty. His particular province was to attend with Lady -Westhaven's English servant on her Ladyship and Miss Mowbray; and -Madelon was directed to wait on the latter as her _fille de chambre_. - -Emmeline, with painful solicitude for which she could hardly account, -wished to hear from Le Limosin those particulars of her father of which -he was so well able to inform her. He had served, too, her mother; whose -name she had hardly ever heard repeated, and of whom, before witnesses, -she dared not enquire. - -Lord Westhaven had not yet explained to him to what he principally owed -the extraordinary kindness he had met with. He knew not that the lady on -whom he had the honour to wait was the daughter of that master to whom -he had been so much obliged. - -The first days that Lord and Lady Westhaven and Emmeline had passed with -the Baron, had been engaged by company or in parties which he made to -shew the views of the surrounding country to his English guests. The -Chevalier never suffered Emmeline to be absent from these excursions, -nor when at home allowed her to be a moment out of his company. If she -sought refuge in the chamber of Mrs. St. Alpin, he followed her; if she -went with her to her plants, thither also came Bellozane; and having -acquired from his aunt's books a few physical and botanical terms, -affected to desire information, which the old Lady, highly pleased with -his desire of improvement in her favourite studies, gave him with great -simplicity. - -Lord Westhaven grew apprehensive that the jaunts of pleasure which the -Baron continued to propose would be too fatigueing for his wife. And as -they were now to go on a visit to one of St. Alpin's old military -friends, who resided at the distance of fifteen miles, and where they -were to remain all night, he prevailed on her to stay at home, where -Emmeline also desired to be left. - -Bellozane, detesting a party which the ladies were not to enliven, made -some efforts to be excused also; but he found his declining to go would -so much chagrin and disappoint his father, that, with whatever -reluctance, he was obliged to set out with him. - -Lady Westhaven, who was a good deal indisposed, went to lie down in her -own room; whither Emmeline attended her, and finding she was disposed to -sleep, left her. Mrs. St. Alpin was busied in her garden; and Emmeline, -delighted with an opportunity of being alone, retired to her room to -write to Mrs. Stafford. She had not proceeded far in her letter, when a -servant informed her that the messenger who had been sent to Geneva for -her box was returned with it. She desired that it might be brought up. -Madelon came to assist her in opening it, and then left her. - -She took out the cloaths and linen, and then the two embroidered -caskets, which she put on the table before her, and gazed at with -melancholy pleasure, as silent memorials of her parents. They brought -also to her mind the recollection of Mrs. Carey, and many of her -infantine pains and pleasures at Mowbray Castle, where she remembered -first to have remarked them in a drawer belonging to that good woman; to -which, tho' it was generally locked, she had occasionally sent her -little charge when she was herself confined to her chair. - -One of them she had began to inspect at Clapham, and perused some of the -letters it contained. They were from her grandmother, Mrs. Mowbray, to -her father; and were filled with reproaches so warm and severe, and such -pointed censures of his conduct in regard to Miss Stavordale, her -mother, to whom one letter yet more bitter was addressed, that after -reading three of them, Emmeline believed that the further inspection of -the casket was likely to produce for her only unavailing regret. - -Still however she would then have continued it, painful as it was, but -was interrupted by the sudden entrance of Lord Montreville, who came to -enquire after his son. The sight of Mr. Mowbray's picture, which she had -taken out, created in the breast of his Lordship a momentary tenderness -for his niece. She had since always worn that picture about her; but the -papers, by which she had been too much affected after that interview -farther to peruse, she had again secured in the caskets; and being -almost immediately afterwards taken by Delamere on her involuntary -journey to Stevenage, from whence she returned no more to Clapham, she -had not since had them in her possession. - -Her mind in this interval had acquired greater strength; and she at -length wished to know those particulars of her mother's fate, into which -she had hitherto forborne thro' timidity to enquire. Being now therefore -alone, and having these repositories once more in her hands, she -resolutely inspected them. - -The first contained about twenty letters. Some were those she had before -seen, and others followed them equally severe. They seemed in sullen -resentment to have been preserved; and Emmeline could not but reflect -with pain on the anger and asperity in which they were written; on the -remorse and uneasiness with which they must have been read. - -The second casket seemed also to hold letters. On opening it, Emmeline -found they were part of the correspondence between her father and mother -during the early part of their acquaintance, when, tho' they sometimes -resided in the same house, the vigilant observation of Mrs. Mowbray very -seldom allowed them to converse. - -Among these, were several pieces of poetry, elegant and affecting. After -having read which, Emmeline imagined she had seen all the box contained, -a few loosely folded papers only remaining; but on opening one of these, -what was her astonishment to find in it two certificates of her mother's -marriage; one under the hand of a Catholic priest, by whom she had been -married immediately on their arrival at Dunkirk; the other signed a few -days before the birth of Emmeline by an English clergyman, who had again -performed the ceremony in the chapel of the English Ambassador at Paris. - -That the memory of her mother should thus be free from reproach; that -the conduct of her father, which had hitherto appeared cruel and unjust, -should be vindicated from every aspersion; and that she should herself -be restored to that place in society from which she seemed to be -excluded for ever; was altogether such unexpected, such incredible -happiness, as made her almost doubtful of the evidence of her senses. -Ignorant as she was of the usual form of such papers, yet the care with -which these seemed to be executed left her little doubt of their -regularity. One other folded paper yet remained unread. Trembling she -opened it. It was written in her father's hand and endorsed - - - MEMORANDUM - - 'The harshness with which my mother and her family have treated - Miss Stavordale, for a supposed crime, has forced her to put herself - under my protection. Miss Stavordale is now my wife; but of this I - shall not inform my family, conceiving myself accountable no longer - to persons capable of so much rashness and injustice. Least any - thing however should happen before I can make a will in due form, I - hereby acknowledge Emmeline Stavordale (now Mowbray) as my wife; and - her child, whether a son or a daughter, heir to my estate. My - brother being possessed of a very large fortune, both by his late - marriage and the gifts of his mother's family, will hardly dispute - the claim of such child to my paternal estate. - - '(This is a duplicate of a paper sent to Francis Williamson, my - steward at Mowbray Castle.) Signed by me at Paris in presence of - two witnesses, this fifteenth of March 17--. - - HENRY CHARLES MOWBRAY. - - Witnessed by - ROBERT WALLACE, - BAPTISTE LA FERE, (dit Le Limosin.)' - - -This, which was of the same date as the last certificate, confirmed -every claim which they both gave Emmeline to her name and fortune. A -change of circumstances so sudden; her apprehensions that the Marquis of -Montreville, who she thought must have long known, should dispute her -legitimacy, and her wonder at the concealment which Mr. Williamson and -Mrs. Carey seemed passively to have suffered; which together with a -thousand other sensations crouded at once into her mind, so greatly -affected her, that feeling herself grow sick, she was obliged to call -Madelon, who being at work in an adjoining room, ran in, and seeing her -lady look extremely pale, and hearing her speak with difficulty, she -threw open the window, fetched her some water, and then without waiting -to see their effects she flew away to call Mrs. St. Alpin; who presently -appeared, followed by her maid carrying a large case which was filled -with bottles of various distillations from every aromatic and pungent -herb her garden or the adjacent mountains afforded. - -Emmeline, hardly knowing what she did, was compelled to swallow a glass -full of one of these cordials; which Mrs. St. Alpin assured her was -'_excellente pour les vapeurs_.'[27] It almost deprived her of breath, -but recalled her astonished spirits; and having with great difficulty -prevailed on her kindly-busy hostess to leave her, she locked up her -papers, and threw herself on the bed; where, having directed Madelon to -draw the curtains and retire, she tried to compose her mind, and to -consider what steps she ought to take in consequence of this -extraordinary discovery. - -[Footnote 25: Dining Room.] - -[Footnote 26: The most wearisome, or to use the cant of the times, the -most _boring_ subjects in the world.] - -[Footnote 27: Excellent for the cure of vapours.] - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -Convinced of the noble and disinterested nature of Lord Westhaven, -Emmeline thought she ought immediately on his return to shew him the -papers she had found, and entreat him to examine, for farther -particulars, Le Limosin, who seemed providentially to have been thrown -in her way on purpose to elucidate her history. - -After having formed this resolution, her mind was at liberty for other -reflections. Delamere returned to it: his unjust suspicions; his haughty -reproaches; his long, indignant anger, which vouchsafed not even to -solicit an explanation; she involuntarily compared with the gentleness, -the generosity of Godolphin; with his candid temper, his warm -affections, his tender heart. And with pain she remembered, that unless -Delamere would relinquish the fatal promise she had given him, she could -not shew the preference which she feared she must ever feel for him. -Sometimes she thought of asking Lord Westhaven to apply to Delamere for -her release. But how could she venture on a measure which might involve, -in such difficulties, Lady Adelina, and engage Lord Westhaven in an -enquiry fatal to his repose and that of his whole family? How could she, -by this application, counteract the wishes of Lady Westhaven, who -anxiously hoped to re-unite her brother and her friend; and who desired -ardently to be in England, that she might explain herself, to Delamere, -all the circumstances that had injured Emmeline in his opinion; which -she thought she could easily do without hazarding any of the evils that -might follow from an inconsiderate disclosure of the occurrences he had -misunderstood. - -Uneasily ruminating on the painful uncertainty of her situation and the -difficulties which every way surrounded her, she continued alone; till -Lady Westhaven, alarmed at hearing she had been ill, sent her woman to -enquire after and know if she might herself come to her? Emmeline, to -relieve at once her friendly solicitude, arose and went to her -apartment; where she made light of her sickness, and endeavoured to -assume as much chearfulness as possible.--'Till she had seen Lord -Westhaven, she determined not to mention to her Ladyship the discovery -of the morning; feeling that there would be great indelicacy in eagerly -divulging to her a secret by which she must tacitly accuse the Marquis -of Montreville of having thus long detained from its legal owner the -Mowbray estate; and of having brought up in indigence and obscurity, the -daughter of his brother, while conscious of her claim to education and -affluence. - -Struggling therefore to subdue the remaining tumult of her spirits, she -rejoined her friend. They passed the afternoon tranquilly with Mrs. St. -Alpin; and about eleven o'clock the following morning, Lord Westhaven, -the Baron, and the Chevalier, returned. - -Emmeline took the earliest opportunity of telling Lord Westhaven that -she wished to speak to him alone. There was no way of escaping from the -Chevalier but by his Lordship's openly declaring that he wanted a -private conference with his fair cousin, whom he led into the garden. -Bellozane, who hoped that his earnest solicitations had prevailed on -Lord Westhaven to befriend his love, was glad to see them walk out -together, while he watched them from a window. - -Emmeline put into her pocket the two certificates and the memorandum -written by her father. Without explanation or comment, she gave them, as -soon as they were at a little distance from the house, to Lord -Westhaven. - -He read them twice over in silence; then looking with astonishment at -Emmeline, he asked her from whence she had these papers? - -'They were enclosed, my Lord,' answered she 'in two little boxes or -caskets which were left to me among other things by my father's nurse; -who becoming the housekeeper at Mowbray Castle, brought me up. They -afterwards long remained at the house of Mrs. James Crofts, with whom -you know I resided; on her removal after her marriage, they were sent, -together with some of my cloaths, to Mrs. Stafford's agent in London; -from whence she lately received them; and having an opportunity of -sending them to Geneva by a family travelling thither, she forwarded -them to me, and I found them yesterday in the trunk brought by the -messenger which you know the Baron sent thither on purpose.' - -Again Lord Westhaven read the papers; and after pausing a moment said-- - -'There is no doubt, there can be none, of the authenticity of these -papers, nor of your consequent claim to the Mowbray estate. Surely,' -added he, again pausing--'surely it is most extraordinary that Lord -Montreville should have suffered the true circumstances of your birth to -remain thus long unexplained. Most cruel! most ungenerous! to possess -himself of a property to which he must know he had no right! Your -father's memorandum says that he had forwarded a duplicate of it to -Francis Williamson; do you know whether that person is yet living?' - -'He is dead, my Lord. He died in consequence of an accident at Mowbray -Castle, where he was many years steward.' - -'He must however have had sufficient time to give Lord Montreville every -information as to his master's marriage, even if his Lordship knew it -not, as he probably did, by other means. Yet from a man of honour--from -Lord Montreville--such conduct is most unworthy. I can hardly conceive -it possible that he should be guilty of such concealment.' - -'Surely, my Lord, it is possible,' said the candid and ingenuous -Emmeline--'surely it _is_ possible that my uncle might, by some -accident, (for which without knowing more we cannot account) have been -kept in ignorance of my mother's real situation. For your satisfaction -and mine, before we say more on this subject, would it not be well to -hear what Le Limosin, who was I suppose present both at my mother's -marriage and at my father's death, has to relate?' - -To this proposal Lord Westhaven agreed. The _sal a compagnie_[28] was -usually vacant at this time of the day. Thither they went together, and -sent for Le Limosin; who loved talking so much that nothing was more -easy than to make him tell all he remembered, and even minutely describe -every scene at which he had been present. - -'Le Limosin,' said Lord Westhaven, as soon as he came into the room, 'I -was much pleased and interested with the account you gave me when I -first met you, of the English master whom you call _Milor Mowbray_. I -know his family well. Tell me, does this picture resemble him?' - -His Lordship shewed him a portrait of Mr. Mowbray which had been drawn -at Paris. - -Le Limosin looked a moment at it--the tears came into his eyes. - -'_O oui--oui, mi Lor!--je me rappelle bien ce portrait!--Ah! quel -resemblance! Quelques mois avant sa mort tel etoit mon pauvre maitre! -Ah!_' added he, giving back, with a sigh, the picture to Lord -Westhaven--'_cela me fend le coeur!_'[29] - -'Now then,' reassumed Lord Westhaven, 'look, Le Limosin, at that.' He -put before him the resemblance of Emmeline's mother, which had been -painted at the same time. - -'_Eh! pardi oui--voila--voila Madame! la charmante femme, dont la perte -couta la vie a mon maitre. Helas!--je m'en souviens bien du jour que je -vis pour la premiere fois cette aimable dame. Elle n'avoit qu'environ -quatorze a quinze ans. Ah! qu'elle etoit pour lors, gai, espiegle, -folatre, et si belle!--si belle!_'[30] - -'Tell me,' said Lord Westhaven, 'all you remember of her.' - -'I remember her, my Lord,' said Le Limosin, speaking still in French, 'I -remember her from the first of my going to England with Milor Mowbray. -She lived then with Madame Mowbray; and the servants told me, that being -a distant relation and an orphan, Madame had taken her and intended to -give her a fortune. Milor Mowbray, when he first returned from his -travels, used to live for two or three months together with Madame his -mother; but she was strict and severe, and used frequently to reproach -him with his gaieties--_il etoit un peu libertin Milor, comme sont a -l'ordinaire les jeunes seigneurs de sa nation_.[31] He admired -Mademoiselle Stavordale as a beautiful child, and used to romp with her; -but as she grew older, Madame Mowbray was dissatisfied with him for -taking so much notice of her, and would oblige her to live always up in -Madame's dressing room, so that my master could hardly ever see her. -Madame, however, told my master one day, that tho' Mademoiselle -Stavordale had no fortune, she would not object to his marrying her in a -year or two if he was then in the same mind. But my master was in his -turn offended. He said he would not be dictated to, nor told whether he -should marry or remain single. _Madame etoit forte brusque--elle piquoit -Monsieur par un reponse un peu vive_[32]--and they had a violent -disagreement; in consequence of which he quitted her house, and only -went now and then afterwards to see her quite in form. Some months -afterwards he called me to him; and as I was dressing him he asked me if -I had no female friend among his mother's servants. 'Baptiste,' said he, -'I cannot get the Demoiselle Stavordale out of my head.--_J'aime a la -folie cette fille mais pour le mariage, je ne suis pas trop sur, que je -m'acquitterai bien, en promissant de l'aimer pour la vie.--Je veux aussi -qu'elle m'aime sans que l'interet y'entre pour quelque chose.--Puisque -Madame ma mere s'amuse a me guetter, je voudrois bien la tromper; je -scais que tu est habile--ne pourra tu pas nous menager une petite tete a -tete?[33] 'Milor, je faisois mon possible--et enfin--par la bonte et -l'honetete--d'une fille qui servoit Madame--je vins heureusement -about--Quelque jours apres--Monsieur enleva la belle Stavordale tant en -depit--qu'en amour._'[34] - -At this recital, Emmeline found herself cruelly hurt; but Lord Westhaven -besought her to command herself, and Le Limosin went on. - -'To avoid the rage and reproaches of Madame Mowbray, which it was likely -would be very loud, my master took Mademoiselle Stavordale immediately -abroad. We landed at Dunkirk; but the young lady was so unhappy at the -step she had taken, _elle pleuroit, elle se desoloit, elle s'abandonna a -le desespoir--enfin, tant elle faisoit_,[35] that Monsieur sent for a -priest, and they were married. Soon afterwards my lady was likely to -bring Monsieur an heir. _Ah! qu'ils etoient pour lors heureux._ But -their happiness was interrupted by the death of my master's mother, -Madame Mowbray, who had never forgiven him, and who disposed of all her -money that was in her own power to his brother. My poor lady took this -sadly to heart. She reproached herself with being the cause of my -master's losing such a fortune. He said he had yet enough; and tried to -console my lady. Still, still it hung on her spirits; and she could not -bear to think that Madame Mowbray, who had brought her up, and had been -kind to her when she had no other friend, should have died in anger with -her. I believe my master was sorry then that he had not reconciled -himself with his mother, as my lady often begged and entreated that he -would; but it was now too late; and he said his brother had used him -unkindly, and had certainly helped to irritate his mother against him; -and he would not write to him tho' my lady often desired and prayed that -he would. As she grew near her time, she was more and more out of -spirits, and my master finding her uneasy because they had not been -married by an English priest, had the ceremony performed again in the -chapel of the English Ambassador. My master could not however make her -forget her concern for the death of his mother; and she was always -melancholy, as if she had foreseen how little a time she had herself to -live. Alas! she brought my master a daughter, and died in three hours!' - -'If I were to live a thousand years,' continued Le Limosin, 'I should -never forget my poor master's distraction when he heard she was dead. It -was with great difficulty that even with the assistance of his English -servants I could prevent his destroying himself in the phrenzy of his -grief. I dared not leave him a moment. He heard nothing we said to him; -he heeded not the questions I asked him about the child; and at last I -was forced to send an express to Mr. Oxenden, his friend, who was at -some distance from Paris. He came; and by the help of another English -gentleman they forced him out of the house while the body of my mistress -was removed to be carried to England. He was so near madness, that his -friends were afraid of his relapsing, even after he grew better, if they -asked him many questions about it. So they gave me orders as to her -funeral; and after about a fortnight he came back to the house where the -child was, attended by his two friends. - -'It was an heart-piercing sight, Milor, to see him weep over the little -baby as it lay in the arms of it's nurse. After some time he called me, -and told me that he should not be easy, unless he was sure his poor -little girl would be taken proper care of; that he had no friend in -France to whom he chose to entrust her; and therefore ordered me to go -with the nurse to England, and directed Therese, my mistress's _fille de -chambre_, to go also, that the child might be well attended. He told me -that he should perhaps quit Paris before I could get back; in which case -he would leave directions where I should follow him. Then he kissed his -little girl, and his two friends tore him away. I immediately proceeded -to England as he directed, with the nurse, and Therese, and we carried -the infant to the Chateau de Mowbray. The French nurse could speak no -English, and could not be prevailed upon to stay above two days. Therese -too longed to get back to France; and we immediately returned to Paris, -where I found a letter from my master, ordering me to follow him into -Italy. - -'At Milan, Milor, I rejoined him. He looked very ill; and complained of -feeling himself indisposed. But still he went out; and I believe drank -too much with his English friends. The third or fourth day after I got -there he came home from a party which he had made out of town with them -about ten o'clock in the morning, and told me he had a violent pain in -his head. He went up into his room. "I am strangely disordered, -Baptiste," said he, as he put his hand to his temples--"perhaps it may -go off; but if it should grow worse, as I am afraid it will, remember -that you take those two little boxes in which I keep my papers, to -England, and deliver them to my steward at Mowbray Castle. I have -already written to him about my daughter." Then almost shrieking with -the acute pain which darted into his head, he cried--"I cannot talk, nor -can I now write to my brother as I think I ought to do about my child. -But send, send for a notary, and when I am a little easier I will -dictate a will." - -'Milor, I sent for the notary, But he waited all day in the anti-room to -no purpose. My poor master was never again easy enough to see him--never -again able to dictate a will. He grew more and more delirious, and -continued to complain of his head, his head! Alas! he did not even know -me, till about an hour before his death.' - -Emmeline, whose tears had almost choaked her during the greatest part of -this narration, now said to Lord Westhaven-- - -'My Lord, do not let him repeat the scene of my father's death; I am not -now able to bear it.' - -'Well, Le Limosin,' said his Lordship, 'this young lady, who is the -daughter of your master; the same whom you helped to carry, an infant, -to Mowbray Castle, will soon have it in her power to reward your -fidelity and attachment to her father.' - -Le Limosin now threw himself on his knees in a transport of joy and -acknowledgment. Lord Westhaven, fearing that his raptures might quite -overcome the disturbed spirits of his fair mistress, desired her to give -him her hand to kiss; which she did, and trying, but ineffectually, to -smile thro' her tears, was led by his Lordship into her own room. He -told her that at present he wished to conceal from Lady Westhaven the -discovery they had made. 'For tho' I am convinced,' added he, 'that for -your sake she will rejoice in it, she will be hurt at the extraordinary -conduct of her father, and harrass herself with conjectures about it and -apologies for it, which I wish to spare her in her present state.' - -Emmeline assured him she would observe a strict silence; and he left her -to give to Le Limosin a charge of secresy. He then retired to his room, -and wrote to Lord Montreville, stating the simple fact, and enclosing -copies of the certificates; and after shewing his letter to Emmeline, -sent it off to England. - -Emmeline now went out to walk, in hopes of recovering her composure and -being able to appear at dinner without betraying by her countenance that -any thing extraordinary had been the subject of her conversation with -Lord Westhaven. The Chevalier, however, was soon at her side. And still -flattering himself that his Lordship had undertaken to plead his cause, -he addressed her with all the confidence of a man sure of success. - -Emmeline was very little disposed to listen to him; and with a greater -appearance of chagrin and impatience than she had yet shewn, repeated to -him her determination not to marry. He still declared himself sure of -her relenting; and added, that unless she had designed finally to hear -him favourably she would never have allowed him so repeatedly to press -his attachment. This speech, which indirectly accused her of coquetry, -encreased her vexation. But the persevering Chevalier was not to be -repressed. He told her that he had projected a party of pleasure on the -lake the next day, in which he intended to include a visit to the Rocks -of Meillerie. - -'It is classic ground, Mademoiselle,' said he, 'and is fitted to love -and despair. Ah! will you not there hear me? Will you still inhumanly -smile; will you still look so gentle, while your heart is harder than -the rocks we shall see--colder than the snow that crowns them!--an heart -on which even the pen of fire which Rousseau held would make no -impression!' - -He held her hands during this rhapsody. She could not therefore -immediately escape. But on the appearance of a servant, who announced -the dinner's being ready, she coldly disengaged herself and went into -the house. - -[Footnote 28: Drawing room.] - -[Footnote 29: O yes, my Lord; I recollect well this picture. What a -likeness! Such, a few months before he died, was my poor master! Alas! -it cuts me to the heart.] - -[Footnote 30: Ah! hah! yes,--there is, sure enough, my Lady. The charming -woman whose loss cost my master his life. Alas! how well I recollect the -first day I saw this amiable lady; she was then only between fourteen -and fifteen; and at that time so gay, so full of frolic and vivacity, -and so very, very pretty!] - -[Footnote 31: He was a little free, my Lord; as the young noblemen of his -country usually are.] - -[Footnote 32: Madame was very hasty; she irritated my master by a sharp -answer.] - -[Footnote 33: I love that girl to madness; but as to marrying her I am -not quite sure I should acquit myself well were I to promise that I -would love her for ever. I desire too that interest may have nothing to -do with her affection for me. As my mother amuses herself with watching -me, I long to deceive her. You are a clever fellow; cannot you contrive -for us a private meeting?] - -[Footnote 34: My Lord, I did my best; and at last by the goodness and -civility of a young woman who waited on Madame, I happily accomplished -it. Some days after which, my master carried off the fair Stavordale, as -much thro' revenge as love.] - -[Footnote 35: She wept, she lamented, she gave herself up to despair.] - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -The agitation she had undergone in the morning, affected both the -spirits and the looks of Emmeline; and when, immediately after dinner, -Bellozane proposed the party of pleasure he had projected for the next -day, Lady Westhaven answered--'As for me I shall on my own account make -no objection, but I cannot equally answer for our fair cousin.--Emmeline, -my love, you seem ill. I cannot imagine, my Lord, what you have been -saying to her?' - -'I have been advising her,' answered Lord Westhaven, 'to go into a -convent; and her looks are merely looks of penitence for all the -mischief she has done. She determines to take the veil, and to do no -more.' - -Emmeline, tho' hardly able to bear even this friendly raillery, turned -it off with a melancholy smile. The party was agreed upon; the Baron -went out to give orders for preparing the provisions they were to take -with them, and the Chevalier to see that the boat was in a proper state -for the expedition and give the boatmen notice. - -Lady Westhaven then began talking of England, and expressed her -astonishment at having heard nothing from thence for above six weeks. -While Lord Westhaven was attempting to account for this failure of -intelligence, which he saw gave his wife more concern than she -expressed, a servant brought in several large pacquets of letters, which -he said the messenger who was usually sent to the post town, had that -moment brought in. - -His Lordship, eagerly surveying the address of each, gave to Emmeline -one for her; which opening, she found came from Mrs. Stafford, and -enclosed another. - - - _St. Germains, June 6._ - - 'My dearest Emmeline will forgive me if I write only a line in the - envelope, to account for the long detention of the enclosed letter. - It has, by some mistake of Mr. La Fosse, been kept at Rouen instead - of being forwarded to St. Germains; and appears to have passed thro' - numberless hands. I hope you will get it safe; tho' my being at - Paris when it _did_ arrive here has made it - yet a week later. By the next post I shall write more fully, and - therefore will now only tell you we are well, and that I am ever, - with the truest attachment, your - - C. STAFFORD.' - - -Emmeline now saw by the seal and the address that the second letter was -from Lord Montreville. It appeared to have been written in great haste; -and as she unfolded it, infinite was her amazement to find, instead of a -remittance, which about this time she expected, the promise she had -given Delamere, torn in two pieces and put into a blank paper. - -The astonishment and agitation she felt at this sight, hardly left her -power to read the letter which she held. - - - _Berkley-Square, May 5, 17--_ - - 'Dear Miss Mowbray, - - 'My son, Lord Delamere, convinced at length of the impropriety of - a marriage so unwelcome to his family, allows me to release you from - the promise which he obtained. I do myself the pleasure to enclose - it, and shall be glad to hear you receive it safe by an early post. - My Lord Delamere assures me that you hold no promise of the like - nature from him. If he is in this matter forgetful, I doubt not but - that you will return it on receipt of this. - - 'Maddox informs me that he shall in a few days forward to you the - payment due: to which I beg leave to add, that if you have occasion - for fifty or an hundred pounds more, during your stay on the - continent, you may draw on Maddox to that amount. With sincere - wishes for your health and happiness, I am, dear Miss Mowbray, your - obedient and faithful humble servant, - - MONTREVILLE.' - - -Tho' joy was, in the heart of Emmeline, the predominant emotion, she yet -felt some degree of pique and resentment involuntarily arise against -Lord Montreville and his son; and tho' the renunciation of the latter -was what she had secretly wished ever since she had discovered the -capricious violence of Delamere and the merit of Godolphin, the cold and -barely civil stile in which his father had acquainted her with it, -seemed at once to shock, mortify, and relieve her. - -After having considered a moment the contents of her own letters, she -cast her eyes towards Lady Westhaven, whose countenance expressed great -emotion; while her Lord, sternly and displeased ran over his, and then -put them into his pocket. - -'What say _your_ letters from England, my fairest cousin?' said he, -advancing and trying to shake off his chagrin. - -'Will you do me the honour to peruse them, my Lord?' said she, half -smiling.--'They will not take you up much time.' - -He read them. 'It is a settled thing then I find. Lady Westhaven, your's -are, I presume, from Berkley-square?' - -'They are,' answered she.--'Never,' and she took out her -handkerchief--'never have I received any less welcome!' - -She gave one from Lady Frances Crofts to his Lordship, in which, with -many details of her own affairs, was this sentence-- - - - 'Before this, you have heard from my father or my mother that - Lord Delamere has entirely recovered the use of his reason, and - accepts of Miss Otley with her immense fortune. This change was - brought about suddenly. It was settled in Norfolk, immediately - after Lord Delamere's return from Ireland. I congratulate you and - Lord W. on an event which I conclude _must_ to _both_ of you be - pleasing. I have seen none of the family for near three weeks, as - they are gone back into Norfolk; only my brother called for a - moment, and seemed to be greatly hurried; by which, as well as from - other circumstances, I conclude that preparations are making for - the wedding immediately.' - - _May 18._ - - -Lady Westhaven, who saw all hopes of being allied to the friend of her -heart for ever at an end--who believed that she had always cherished an -affection for her brother, and who supposed that in consequence of his -desertion she was left in mortifying dependance on Lord Montreville, was -infinitely hurt at this information. The letter from her father to -Emmeline confirmed all her apprehensions. There was a freezing civility -in the style, which gave no hopes of his alleviating by generosity and -kindness the pain which her Ladyship concluded Emmeline must feel; while -Lord Westhaven, knowing that to her whom he thus insulted with the -distant offer of fifty or an hundred pounds, he really was accountable -for the income of an estate of four thousand five hundred a year, for -near nineteen years, and that he still withheld that estate from her, -could hardly contain his indignation even before his wife; whom he -loved too well not to wish to conceal from her the ill opinion he could -not help conceiving of her father. - -Emmeline, who was far from feeling that degree of pain which Lady -Westhaven concluded must penetrate her heart, was yet unwilling to shew -that she actually received with pleasure (tho' somewhat allayed by Lord -Montreville's coldness) an emancipation from her engagement. Of her -partiality to Godolphin, her friend had no idea; for Emmeline, too -conscious of it to be able to converse about him without fearing to -betray herself, had studiously avoided talking of him after their first -meeting; and she now imagined that Lady Westhaven, passionately fond of -her brother as she was, would think her indifference affected thro' -pique; and carried too far, if she did not receive the intelligence of -their eternal separation with some degree of concern. These thoughts -gave her an air of vexation and embarrassment which would have saved her -the trouble of dissimulation had she been an adept in it's practice. -Extremely harrassed and out of spirits before, tears now, in spite of -her internal satisfaction, and perhaps partly arising from it, filled -her eyes; while Lady Westhaven, who was greatly more hurt, exclaimed-- - -'My brother then marries Miss Otley! After all I have heard him say, I -thought it impossible!' - -'He will however, I doubt not, be happy,' answered Emmeline. 'The -satisfaction of having made Lord and Lady Montreville completely happy, -must greatly contribute to his being so himself.' - -'Heaven grant it!' replied Lady Westhaven. 'Poor Frederic! he throws -away an invaluable blessing! Whether he will, in any other, find -consolation, I greatly doubt. But however changed _his_ heart may be, my -dearest Emmeline,' added she, tenderly embracing her, 'I think I can -venture to assure you that those of Lord Westhaven and your Augusta, -will, towards you, ever be the same.' - -Emmeline now wished to put an end to a conversation which Lady Westhaven -seemed hardly able to support; and she languished herself to be alone. -Forcing therefore a smile, tho' the tears still fell from her eyes, she -said--'My dear friends, tho' I expected this long ago, yet I beg you to -consider that being _but_ a woman, and of course vain, my pride is a -little wounded, and I must recollect all your kindnesses, to put me in -good humour again with myself. Do not let the Chevalier follow me; for I -am not disposed to hear any thing this evening, after these sweetest -and most consoling assurances of your inestimable friendship. Therefore -I shall take Madelon with me, and go for a walk.' - -She then left the room, Lady Westhaven not attempting to detain her; and -her Lord, vexed to see his gentle Augusta thus uneasy, remained with -her, pointing out to her the fairest prospects of establishment for her -beloved Emmeline; tho' he thought the present an improper opportunity to -open to her his knowledge of those circumstances in her friend's -fortune, which, without such conspicuous merit, could hardly fail of -obtaining it. - -To go to a great distance from the house, alone, Emmeline had not -courage; to stay near it, subjected her to the intrusion and importunity -of the Chevalier. She therefore determined to take Madelon, whose -presence would be some protection without any interruption to her -thoughts. She had wished, ever since her arrival at St. Alpin, to visit -alone the borders of the lake of Geneva. Madelon, alert and sprightly, -undertook to shew her the pleasantest way, and led her thro' a narrow -path crossing a hill covered with broom and coppice wood, into a dark -and gloomy wood of fir, cypress, and chestnut, that extended to the edge -of the water; from which it was in some places separated by rocks -pointing out into the lake, while in others the trees grew almost in the -water, and dipped their extremities in the limpid waves beneath them. - -Madelon informed Emmeline that this was the place where the servants of -the castle assembled to dance of an holyday, in the shade; and where -boats usually landed that came from the other side of the lake. - -The scene, softened into more pensive beauty by the approach of a warm -and serene evening, had every thing in it that could charm and soothe -the mind of the lovely orphan. But her internal feelings were at this -time too acute to suffer her to attend to outward circumstances. She -wished only for tranquillity and silence, to collect her thoughts; and -bidding Madelon find herself a seat, she went a few yards into the wood, -and sat down on the long grass, where even Madelon might not remark her. - -The events of the two last days appeared to be visions rather than -realities. From being an indigent dependant on the bounty of a relation, -whose caprice or avarice might leave her entirely destitute, she was at -once found to be heiress to an extensive property. From being bound down -to marry, if he pleased, a man for whom she felt only sisterly regard, -and who had thrown her from him in the violence of unreasonable jealousy -and gloomy suspicion, she was now at liberty to indulge the affections -she had so long vainly resisted, and to think, without present -self-accusation, or the danger of future repentance, of Godolphin. In -imagination, she already beheld him avowing that tenderness which he had -before generously struggled to conceal. She saw him, who she believed -would have taken her _without_ fortune, receiving in her estate the -means of bestowing happiness, and the power of indulging his liberal and -noble spirit. She saw the tender, unhappy Adelina, reconciled to life in -contemplating the felicity of her dear William; and Lord Westhaven, to -whom she was so much obliged, glorying in the good fortune of a brother -so deservedly beloved; while still calling her excellent and lovely -friend Augusta by the endearing appellation of sister, she saw her -forget, in the happiness of Godolphin, the concern she had felt for -Delamere. - -From this delicious dream of future bliss, she was awakened somewhat -suddenly by Madelon; who running towards her, told her that a boat, in -which there appeared to be several men, was pointing to land just where -she had been sitting. Emmeline, wearied as she was with the Chevalier's -gallantry, immediately supposed it to be him, and she knew he was out on -the lake. She therefore advanced a step or two to look. It was so nearly -dark that she could only distinguish a man standing in the boat, whose -figure appeared to be that of Bellozane; and taking Madelon by the arm, -she hastily struck into the wood, to avoid him by returning to St. Alpin -before he should perceive her. - -She had hardly walked twenty paces, when she heard the boat put on -shore, and two or three persons leap out of it. Still hoping, however, -to get thro' the wood before Bellozane could overtake her, she almost -ran with Madelon. But somebody seemed to pursue them. Her cloaths were -white; and she knew, that notwithstanding the evening was so far shut -in, and the path obscured by trees, she must yet be distinguished -gliding between their branches. The persons behind gained upon her, and -her pace quickened as her alarm encreased; for she now apprehended -something yet more disagreeable than being overtaken by Bellozane. -Suddenly she heard--'_Arretez, arretez, Mesdames! de grace dites moi si -vous etes de la famille du Baron de St. Alpin?_'[36] - -The first word of this sentence stopped the flying Emmeline, and fixed -her to the spot where she stood. It was the voice of Godolphin--Godolphin -himself was before her! - -The suddenness of his appearance quite overcame her, breathless as she -was before from haste and fear; and finding that to support herself was -impossible, she staggered towards a tree which grew on the edge of the -path, but would have fallen if Godolphin had not caught her in his arms. - -He did this merely from the impulse of his natural gallantry and good -nature. What were his transports, when he found that the fugitive whom -he had undesignedly alarmed by asking a direction to St. Alpin, was his -adored Emmeline; and that the lovely object whose idea, since their -first meeting, had never a moment been absent from it, he now pressed to -his throbbing heart? Instantly terrified, however, to find her -speechless and almost insensible, he ordered the servant who followed -him to run back for some water; and seating her gently on the ground, he -threw himself down by her and supported her; while Madelon, wringing her -hands called on her _aimable_, her _belle maitresse_; and was too much -frightened to give her any assistance. - -Before the man returned with the water, her recollection was restored, -and she said, faintly--'Mr. Godolphin! Is it possible?' - -'Loveliest Miss Mowbray, how thoughtlessly have I alarmed you!--Can you -forgive me?' - -'Ah!' cried she, disengaging herself from his support--'how came you -here, and from whence?' - -Godolphin, without considering, and almost without knowing what he said, -replied--'I come from Lord Delamere.' - -'From Lord Delamere!' exclaimed she, in amazement. 'Is he not in London -then?--is he not married?' - -'No; I overtook him at Besancon; where he lies ill--very ill!' - -'Ill!' repeated Emmeline.--'Ill, and at Besancon!--merciful heaven!' - -She now again relapsed almost into insensibility: for at the mention of -Godolphin's having overtaken him, and having left him ill, a thousand -terrific and frightful images crouded into her mind; but the predominant -idea was, that it was on her account they had met, and that Delamere's -illness was a wound in consequence of that meeting. - -That such an imagination should possess her, Godolphin had no means of -knowing. He therefore very naturally concluded that the violent sorrow -which she expressed, on hearing of Delamere's illness, arose from her -love towards him; and, in such a conclusion, he found the ruin of those -hopes he had of late fondly cherished. - -'Happy, happy Delamere!' said he, sighing to himself.--'Her first -affections were his, and never will any secondary tenderness supersede -that early impression. Alas! his rejection of her, has not been able to -efface it--For me, there is nothing to hope! and while I thus hold her -to my heart, I have lost her for ever! I came not hither, however, -solely on my own account, but rather to save from pain, her and those -she loves. 'Tis not then of myself I am to think.' - -While these reflections passed thro' his mind, he remained silent; and -Emmeline concluded that his silence was owing to the truth of her -conjecture. The grief of Lady Westhaven for her brother, the despair of -Lord Montreville for his son, presented themselves to her mind; and the -contemptuous return of her promise, which a few hours before she thought -of with resentment, was now forgotten in regret for his illness and pity -for his sufferings. - -'Ah!' cried she, trying to rise, 'what shall I say to Lady -Westhaven?--How disclose to her such intelligence as this?' - -'It was to prevent her hearing it abruptly,' said Godolphin, 'that I -came myself, rather than sent by a messenger or a letter, such -distressing information.' - -So strongly had the idea of a duel between them taken possession of the -mind of Emmeline, that she had no courage to ask particulars of his -illness; and shuddering with horror at the supposition that the hand -Godolphin held out to assist her was stained with the blood of the -unfortunate Delamere, she drew her's hastily and almost involuntarily -from him; and taking again Madelon's arm, attempted to hasten towards -home. - -But the scene of anguish and terror which she must there encounter with -Lady Westhaven, the distress and vexation of her Lord, and the misery of -believing that Godolphin had made himself for ever hateful to all her -own family, and that if her cousin died she could never again behold him -but with regret and anguish, were altogether reflections so -overwhelming, and so much more than her harrassed spirits were able to -sustain, that after tottering about fifty yards, she was compelled to -stop, and gasping for breath, to accept the offered assistance of -Godolphin. Strongly prepossessed with the idea of her affection for -Delamere, he languidly and mournfully lent it. He had no longer courage -to speak to her; yet wished to take measures for preventing Lady -Westhaven's being suddenly alarmed by his appearance; and he feared, -that not his appearance only, but his countenance, would tell her that -he came not thither to impart tidings of happiness. - -It was now quite dark; and the slow pace in which only Emmeline could -walk, had not yet carried them through the wood. The agitation of -Emmeline encreased: she wished, yet dreaded to know the particulars of -Delamere's situation; and unable to summons courage to enquire into it, -she proceeded mournfully along, almost borne by Godolphin and Madelon; -who understanding nothing of what had been said, and not knowing who the -gentleman was who had thus frightened her mistress, was herself almost -as much in dismay. - -After a long pause, Emmeline, in faultering accents, asked 'if the -situation of Lord Delamere was absolutely desperate?' - -'I hope and believe not,' said Godolphin. 'When I left him, at least, -there were hopes of a favourable issue.' - -'Ah! wherefore did you leave him? Why not stay at least to see the -event?' - -'Because he so earnestly desired that his sister might know of his -situation, and that I only might acquaint her with it and press her to -go to him.' - -'She will need no entreaties. Poor, poor Delamere!'--sighing deeply, -Emmeline again became silent. - -They were to mount a small hill, which was between the wood they had -left and the grounds immediately surrounding St. Alpin, which was -extremely steep and rugged. Before she reached the top, she was quite -exhausted. - -'I believe,' said she, 'I must again rest before I can proceed.' - -She sat down on a bank formed by the roots of the trees which sustained -the earth, on the edge of the narrow path. - -Godolphin, excessively alarmed at her weakness and dejection, which he -still attributed to the anguish she felt for Delamere, sat by her, -hardly daring to breathe himself, while he listened to her short -respiration, and fancied he heard the violent palpitation of her heart. - -'And how long do you think,' said she, again recurring to Delamere--'how -long may he linger before the event will be known?' - -'I really hope, and I think I am not too sanguine, that the fever will -have left him before we see him again.' - -'The fever!' repeated Emmeline--'has he a fever then?' - -'Yes,' replied Godolphin--'I thought I told you that a fever was his -complaint. But had you not better, my dear Madam, think a little of -yourself! Ill as you appear to be, I see not how you are to get home -unless you will suffer me to go on and procure some kind of conveyance -for you.' - -'I shall do very well,' answered she, 'as I am, if you will only tell me -about Lord Delamere. He has only a fever?' - -'And is it not enough,' said Godolphin. 'Tho', were I Lord Delamere, I -should think an illness that called forth in my favour the charming -sensibility of Miss Mowbray, the happiest event of my life.' - -Having said this, he fell into a profound silence. The certainty of her -affection for Delamere, deprived him of all spirits when he most wanted -to exert them. Yet it was necessary to take some measures for -introducing himself at St. Alpin without alarming Lady Westhaven, and to -consider how he was to account to his brother for Delamere's -estrangement from Emmeline; and while he canvassed these and many other -perplexities, Emmeline, who was relieved from the most distressing of -her apprehensions, and dared not for the world reveal what those -apprehensions had been, in some degree recovered herself; and growing -anxious for Lady Westhaven, said she believed she could now walk home. - -As she was about to arise with an intention to attempt it, they heard -the sound of approaching voices, and almost immediately lights appeared -above the hill, while 'Mademoiselle!--Miss Mowbray!--Madelon!--Madelon!' -was frequently and loudly repeated by the persons who carried them. - -'The Baron and Lord Westhaven,' said Emmeline, 'alarmed at my being out -so late, have sent persons in search of me.' - -Her conjecture was right. In a moment the Chevalier, with a flambeau in -his hand, was before them; who, when he found Emmeline sitting in such -a place, supported by a young man whom he had never before seen, was at -once amazed and displeased. There was no time for explanation. Lord -Westhaven immediately followed him; and after stopping a moment to -consider whether the figure of Godolphin which rose before him was not -an illusion, he flew eagerly into his arms. - -The manly eyes of both the brothers were filled with tears. Lord -Westhaven had not seen Godolphin for four years; and, since their last -parting, they had lost their father. After a short pause, his Lordship -introduced Godolphin to Bellozane; and then taking the cold and -trembling hand of Emmeline, who leaned languidly on Madelon, he said-- - -'And you, my lovely cousin, for whose safety we have been above an hour -in the cruellest alarm, where did you find William, and by what -extraordinary chance are ye here together?' - -Emmeline with great difficulty found voice enough to explain their -accidental meeting. And Bellozane observing her apparent faintness, -said--'you seem, Mademoiselle, to be extremely fatigued. Pray allow me -the honour of giving you my arm.' - -'If you please,' said she, in a low voice. And supposing that Godolphin -would be glad to have some conversation with his brother, she accepted -his assistance and proceeded. - -This preference, however, of Bellozane, Godolphin imputed to her -coldness or dislike towards himself; and so struck was he with the cruel -idea, that it was not without an effort he recollected himself enough to -relate to his brother, as they walked, all that it was necessary for him -to know. Lord Westhaven, anxious for a life so precious to his wife and -her family as was that of Lord Delamere, determined immediately to go to -him. At present it was necessary to reveal as tenderly as possible his -situation to his sister, Lady Westhaven; and first to dissipate the -uneasiness she had suffered from the long absence of Emmeline. - -[Footnote 36: Stay, stay a moment, ladies! Have the goodness to tell me -whether you belong to the family of the Baron de St. Alpin?] - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -Lord Westhaven first entered the room where his wife was, whose alarming -apprehensions at Emmeline's long stay were by this time extreme. - -'Our Emmeline is returned, my love,' said he, 'and has met with no -accident.' - -Lady Westhaven eagerly embracing her, reproached her tenderly for her -long absence. But then observing how pale she looked, and the fatigue -and oppression she seemed to suffer, her Ladyship said-- - -'Surely you have been frightened--or you are ill? You look so faint!' - -'She is a little surprised,' interrupted Lord Westhaven, seeing her -still unable to answer for herself. 'She has brought us a visitor whom -we did not expect. My brother Godolphin landed just as she was returning -home.' - -At this intelligence Lady Westhaven could express only pleasure. She had -never seen Godolphin, who was now introduced, and received with every -token of regard by her Ladyship, as well as by the Baron and Mrs. St. -Alpin; who beheld with pleasure another son of their sister, and beheld -him an honour to their family. - -Bellozane, however, saw his arrival with less satisfaction. He -remembered that Emmeline had been, as she had told him, well acquainted -with Godolphin in England; and recollected that whenever he had been -spoken of, she had always done justice to his merit, yet rather evaded -than sought the conversation. Her extraordinary agitation on his -arrival, which was such as disabled her from walking home, seemed much -greater than could have been created by the sight of a mere -acquaintance; his figure was so uncommonly handsome, his countenance so -interesting, and his address such a fortunate mixture of dignity and -softness, that Bellozane, vain as he was, could not but acknowledge his -personal merit; and began to fear that the coldness and insensibility of -Emmeline, which he had, till now, supposed perseverance would vanquish, -were less occasioned by her affected blindness to his own perfections, -than by her prepossession in favour of another. - -Whatever internal displeasure this idea of rivalry gave the Chevalier, -he overwhelmed Godolphin with professions of regard and esteem, not the -less warm for being wholly insincere. - -But Godolphin, who saw, in the encreasing dejection of Emmeline, only a -confirmation of her attachment to Delamere, drooped in hopeless -despondence. Emmeline, unable to support herself, retired early to her -room; and Godolphin, complaining of fatigue, was conducted to his by -Bellozane; while Lord Westhaven meditated how to disclose to his wife, -without too much distressing her, the illness of her brother. He -thought, that as she had suffered a good deal of vexation in the course -of the day, as well as terror at Emmeline's absence at so late an hour -in the evening, he would defer till the next morning this unwelcome -intelligence. As soon, however, as she was retired, he communicated to -his uncle and aunt the situation of Lord Delamere, and the necessity -there was for their quitting St. Alpin the next day, to attend him; an -account which they both heard with sincere regret. Mrs. St. Alpin -heartily wished Lord Delamere was with _her_, being persuaded she could -immediately cure him with remedies of her own preparing; while the Baron -expressed his vexation and regret to find the visit of his nephews so -much shortened. - -Lord Westhaven went to his own apartment in great uneasiness. He heard -from his brother, that Lord Delamere, repenting of his renunciation of -Emmeline, was coming to St. Alpin, when illness stopped him at Besancon. -He knew not how to act about her; who, heiress to a large fortune, was -of so much more consequence than she had been hitherto supposed. He had -a long contention in view with Lord Montreville; and was now likely to -be embarrassed with the passion of Delamere, if he recovered, (who would -certainly expect his influence over Emmeline to be exerted to obtain his -pardon); or if the event of his illness should prove fatal, he dreaded -the anguish of Lady Westhaven and the despair of the whole family. - -He was besides hurt at that melancholy and unhappy appearance, so unlike -his former manners, which he had observed in Godolphin; and for which, -ignorant of his passion for Emmeline, he knew not how to account. His -short conversation with him had cleared up no part of the mystery which -he could not but perceive hung about the affairs of Lady Adelina; and he -only knew enough to discover that something remained which it would -probably pain him to know thoroughly. - -The pillow of Emmeline also was strewn with thorns. For tho' the -sharpest of them was removed, by having heard that Delamere was ill -without having suffered from the event of any dispute in which he might -on her account have engaged, she was extremely unhappy that he had, in -pursuit of her, come to France, which she now concluded must be the -case, and sorry for the disquiet which she foresaw must arise from his -indisposition and his love. - -She was sure that Lady Westhaven would immediately fly to her brother. -And in that event how was she herself to act? - -Could she suffer her generous, her tender friend, to whom she was so -much obliged, to encounter alone all the fatigue and anxiety to which -the sickness and danger of this beloved brother would probably expose -her? Yet could she submit to the appearance of seeking a man who had so -lately renounced her for ever, with coldness, contempt, and insult? If -she went not with Lady Westhaven, she had no choice but that of -travelling across France alone, to rejoin Mrs. Stafford; since she could -not remain with propriety a moment at St. Alpin, with the Chevalier de -Bellozane; whose addresses she never meant to encourage, and whose -importunate passion persecuted and distressed her. Godolphin -too!--whither would Godolphin go? Could she go where he was, and conceal -her partiality? or could she, by accompanying him to Besancon, plunge -another dagger in the heart of Delamere, and shew him, not only that he -had lost that portion of her regard he had once possessed, but that all -her love was now given to another. - -That she was most partial to Godolphin, she could no longer attempt to -conceal from herself. The moment her fears that he had met Delamere -hostilely were removed, all her tenderness for him returned with new -force. She again saw all the merit, all the nobleness of his character; -but she still tormented herself with uneasy conjectures as to the cause -of his journey to Switzerland; and wearied herself with considering how -she ought to act, 'till towards morning, when falling, thro' mere -fatigue and lassitude, into a short slumber, she saw multiplied and -exaggerated, in dreams, the dreadful images which had disturbed her -waking; and starting up in terror, determined no more to attempt to -sleep. It was now day break; and wrapping herself in her muslin morning -gown and cloak, she went down into the garden of Mrs. St. Alpin, where, -seated on a bench, under a row of tall walnut trees, which divided it -from the vineyard, she leaned her head against one of them; and lost in -reflections on the strangeness of her fate, and the pain of her -situation, she neither saw or heard any thing around her. - -Godolphin, in the anxiety she had expressed for Delamere, believed he -saw a confirmation of his fears; which had always been that the early -impression he had made on her heart would be immoveable, and that -neither his having renounced her or his rash and heedless temper would -prevent her continuing to love him. Wretched in this idea, he concluded -all hopes of obtaining her regard for ever at an end; while every hour's -experience of his own feelings, whether he thought of or saw her, -convinced him that his love, however desperate, was incurable. -Accustomed to fatigue, all that he had endured the day before could not -restore to him that repose which was driven away by these reflections. -Almost as soon as he saw it was light, he left his room, and with less -interest than he would once have taken in such a survey, wandered over -the antique apartments of the paternal house of his mother. He then went -down into the garden; and musing rather than observing, passed along the -strait walk that went between the walnut trees into the vineyard. At the -end of it he turned, and, in coming again towards the house, saw -Emmeline sitting on the bench beneath them, who had not seen him the -first time he passed her, but who now appeared surprised at his -approach. - -She had not, however, time to rise before he went up to her, and bowing -gravely, enquired how she did after the alarm he had been so unfortunate -as to give her the evening before? - -'I fear,' said he, seating himself by her, 'that Miss Mowbray is yet -indisposed from her late walk and my inconsiderate address to her. I -know not how to forgive myself for my indiscretion, since it has -distressed you.' - -'Such intelligence as I had the misfortune of hearing, Sir, of the -brother of Lady Westhaven--a brother so dear to her--could hardly fail -of affecting me. I should have been concerned had a stranger been so -circumstanced; but when--' - -'Ah! Madam,' interrupted Godolphin, 'you need not repeat all the claims -which give the fortunate Delamere a right to your favour. But do not -suffer yourself, on his account, to be so extremely alarmed. I hope the -danger is by no means so great as to make his recovery hopeless. Since -of those we love, the most minute account is not tedious, and since it -may, perhaps, alleviate your apprehensions for his safety, will you -allow me to relate all I know of his illness! It will engage me, -perhaps, in a detail of our first acquaintance, and carry me back to -circumstances which I would wish to forget; if your gratification was -not in my mind a consideration superior to every other.' - -Emmeline, trembling, yet wishing to hear all, could not refuse. She -bowed in silence; and Godolphin considering that as an assent, reassumed -his discourse. - - * * * * * - -'Soon after I had the happiness of seeing you last, my wish to embrace -Lady Clancarryl and her family (from whose house I had been long obliged -to absent myself because Mr. Fitz-Edward was with them) carried me to -Ireland; and to my astonishment I there met Lord Delamere. - -'The relationship between their families, made my sister anxiously -invite him to Lough Carryl. Thither reluctantly he came; and an accident -informed him that I had the good fortune, by means of Lady Adelina -Trelawny, to be known to you. - -'He did me the honour to shew me particular attention; and the morning -after he found I had the happiness of being acquainted with Miss -Mowbray, he took occasion, when we were alone, to ask me, abruptly, -whether I knew Colonel Fitz-Edward? I answered that I certainly did, by -the connection in our families; and that he was once my most intimate -friend. - -'He then unreservedly, and with vehemence said, that Fitz-Edward was a -villain! Astonished and hurt at an assertion which (how true soever it -might be) I thought alluded to that unhappy affair which I hoped was a -secret, I eagerly asked an explanation. But judge, Miss Mowbray, of the -astonishment, the pain, with which I heard him impute to you the error -of my unfortunate Adelina--when I saw him take out three anonymous -letters, one of which I found had hastened his return from France, -purporting that Fitz-Edward had availed himself of his absence to win -your affections, that he had taken, of those affections, the most -ungenerous advantage, and that on going to a place named (which I -remembered to be the house where my little William was nursed,) he might -himself see an unequivocal proof of your fatal attachment and -Fitz-Edward's perfidy. - -'When I had read these odious letters, and listened to several -circumstances he related, which confirmed in his apprehension the truth -of the assertions they contained, he went on to inform me, that -following this cruel information, he had seen you with the infant in -your arms; had bitterly reproached you, and then had quitted you for -ever!--But as he could not rest without trying to punish the infamous -conduct of Fitz-Edward, he had pursued him to Ireland, where, instead of -finding him, he heard that he was gone to France, undoubtedly to meet -you, by your own appointment; but as Lord Clancarryl still expected him -back, he determined to wait a little longer, in hopes of an opportunity -of discussing with him the subjects of complaint he had related. - -'Tho' I immediately saw what I ought to do, astonishment for a moment -kept me silent, and in that moment we were interrupted. - -'This delay, however unwelcome, gave me time for reflection. Lord -Delamere was to go the same day from Lough Carryl to Dublin. I resolved -to follow him thither, and relate the whole truth; since I would by no -means suffer your generous and exalted friendship for my sister to stain -the lovely purity of a character which only the malice of fiends could -delight in blasting, only the blind and infatuated rashness of jealousy -a moment believe capable of blemish! Many reasons induced me, however, -to delay this necessary explanation 'till I saw him at his own lodgings. -Thither I followed him, two days after he departed from Lough Carryl. -But on enquiring for him, was surprised and mortified to find that he -had received letters from England which had induced him immediately to -return thither, and that he had sailed in the packet for Holyhead the -day after his arrival at Dublin.' - -Emmeline, astonished at the malice which appeared to have been exerted -against her, remained silent; but in such tremor, that it was with -difficulty she continued to hear him. - -'I now, therefore, relinquished all thoughts of returning to the house -of my sister, and followed him by the first conveyance that offered, -greatly apprehending, that if the letters he had received gave him -notice of Fitz-Edward's return to London, my interposition would be too -late to prevent their meeting. I knew the hasty and inconsiderate -Delamere would, without an explanation, so conduct himself towards -Fitz-Edward, that neither his spirit or his profession would permit him -to bear; and that if they met, the consequence must, to one of them, be -fatal. I was impatient too to rescue your name, Madam, from the -unmerited aspersions which it bore. But when I arrived in London, and -hastened to Berkley-Square, I heard that Lord and Lady Montreville, -together with Lady Frances Crofts, her husband, and Lord Delamere, had -gone all together to Audley Hall, immediately after his return from -Ireland. Thither, therefore, I went also.' - -'Generous, considerate Godolphin!' sighed Emmeline to herself. - -'Tho' related, by my brother's marriage, to the family of the Marquis of -Montreville, I was a stranger to every member of it but Lord Delamere. -He was gone to dine out; and in the rest of the family I observed an air -of happiness and triumph, which Lord Montreville informed me was -occasioned by the marriage which was intended soon to take place between -his son and Miss Otley; whose immense fortune, and near relationship to -his mother's family, had made such a marriage particularly desirable. I -was glad to hear he was likely to be happy; but it was not therefore the -less necessary to clear up the error into which he had fallen. On his -coming home, he appeared pleased and surprised to see me; but I saw in -his looks none of that satisfaction which was so evident in those of the -rest of the house. - -'As soon as we were alone, he said to me--"You see me, Mr. Godolphin, at -length taken in the toils. Immediately after leaving Lough Carryl, I -received a letter from a person in London, whom I had employed for that -purpose, which informed me that he heard, at the office of the agent to -Fitz-Edward's regiment, that he was certainly to be in town in a few -days. He named, indeed, the exact time; and I, who imagined that pains -had been taken to keep us from meeting, determined to return to England -instantly, that he might not again avoid me. On reaching London, -however, I found that the intelligence I had received was wholly -unfounded, and originated in the mistake of a clerk in the agent's -office. None knew where Fitz-Edward was, or when he would return; and -though I wrote to enquire at Rouen, where I imagined the residence of -Miss Mowbray might induce him to remain, I have yet had no answer. The -entreaties and tears of my mother prevailed on me to come down hither; -and reckless of what becomes of me, since Emmeline is undoubtedly lost -to me for ever, I have yielded to the remonstrance of my father and the -prayers of my mother, and have consented to marry a woman whom I cannot -love. Let not Fitz-Edward, however, imagine," (vehemently and fiercely -he spoke) "that he is with impunity to escape; and that tho' my -vengeance may be delayed, I can _forgive_ the man who has basely robbed -me of her whom I _could_ love--whom I _did_ love--even to madness!" - -'I own to you, Madam, that when I found this unfortunate young man had -put into his father's hands the promise you had given him, and that it -was returned to you, I felt at once pity for him, and--hope for myself, -which, 'till then, I had never dared to indulge.' - -Godolphin had never been thus explicit before. Pale as death, and -deprived of the power as well as of the inclination to interrupt him, -Emmeline awaited, in breathless silence, the close of this extraordinary -narrative. - -'It was now,' reassumed he, 'my turn to speak. And trusting to his -honour for his silence about my unhappy sister, I revealed to him the -whole truth. I at once cleared your character from unjust blame, and, I -hope, did justice to those exalted virtues to which I owe so much. I -will not shock your gentle and generous bosom with a relation of the -wild phrenzy, the agonies of regret and repentance, into which this -relation threw Lord Delamere. Concerned at the confusion his reproaches -and his anguish had occasioned to the whole family, I lamented that I -could not explain to _them_ what I had said to _him_, which had produced -so sudden a change in his sentiments about you; but to such women as the -Marchioness of Montreville and her daughter, I could not relate the -unhappiness of my poor Adelina; and Delamere steadily refused to tell -them how he became convinced of your innocence, and the wicked arts -which had been used to mislead him; which he openly imputed to the -family of the Crofts', against whom his fiery and vindictive spirit -turned all the rage it had till now cherished against Fitz-Edward. - -'The Marquis, tho' extremely hurt, had yet candour enough to own, that -if I was convinced that the causes of complaint which his son had -against you were ill founded, I had done well in removing them. Yet I -saw that he wished I had been less anxious for the vindication of -innocence; and he beheld, with an uneasy and suspicious eye, what he -thought officious interference in the affairs of his family. I observed, -too, that he believed when the influence that he supposed I had over the -mind of Lord Delamere was removed, he should be able to bring him back -to his engagements with Miss Otley, which had, I found, been hurried on -with the utmost precipitation. The ladies, who had at first overwhelmed -me with civilities, now appeared so angry, that notwithstanding Lord -Delamere's entreaties that I would stay with him till he could determine -how to act, I immediately returned to London; and from thence, after -passing a week with Adelina, whom I had only seen for a few hours since -my return from Ireland, I set out for St. Alpin.' - -'But Lord Delamere, Sir?' said Emmeline, inarticulately. - -'Alas! Madam,' dejectedly continued Godolphin, 'I mean not to entertain -you on what relates to myself; but to hasten to that which I farther -have to say of the fortunate Delamere! I waited a few days at -Southampton for a wind; and then landing at Havre, proceeded to St. -Germains, where Mrs. Stafford's last letters had informed Adelina she -was settled. I knew, too, that you were gone with my brother and Lady -Westhaven to St. Alpin. Mrs. Stafford had only the day before forwarded -to you Lord Montreville's letter, which, by one from his Lordship to -herself, she knew contained the promise you had given Lord Delamere. She -said, that this renunciation would give you no pain. She made me hope -that your heart was not irrevocably his. Ah! why did I suffer such -illusions to lead me on to this conviction! But pray forgive me, lovely -Miss Mowbray! I am still talking of myself. From St. Germains I made as -much haste as possible to Besancon. I rode post; and, just as I got off -my horse at the hotel, was accosted by a French servant, whom I knew -belonged to Lord Delamere. - -'The man expressed great joy at seeing me, and besought me to go with -him to his master, who, he said, had, thro' fatigue and the heat of the -weather, been seized with a fever, and was unable to proceed to St. -Alpin, whither he was going. - -'I was extremely concerned at his journey; and, I hope, not so selfish -as to be unmoved by his illness. I found, indeed, his fever very high, -but greatly irritated and encreased by his impatience. As soon as he saw -me, he told me that he was hurrying to St. Alpin, in hopes of obtaining -your pardon; that he had broke off his engagement with Miss Otley, and -never would return to England till he carried you thither as his wife. - -'"I am now well enough to go on, indeed Godolphin," added he, "and if I -can but see her!----" - -'I was by no means of opinion that he was in a condition to travel. His -fever encreased; after I left him in the evening, he grew delirious; and -Millefleur, terrified, came to call me to him. I sat up with him for -the rest of the night; and being accustomed to attend invariably to the -illness of men on ship board, I thought I might venture, from my -experience, to direct a change in the method which the physician he had -sent for pursued. In a few hours he grew better, and the delirium left -him; but he was then convinced that he was too weak to proceed on his -journey. - -'He knew I was coming hither, and he entreated me to hasten my -departure. "Go, my good friend," said he--"send Augusta to me. She will -bring with her the generous, the forgiving angel, whom my rash folly has -dared to injure! She will behold my penitence; and, if her pardon can be -obtained, it will restore me to life; but if I cannot see them--if I -linger many days longer in suspence, my illness must be fatal!" - -'As I really did not think him in great danger, and saw every proper -care was now taken of him, determined to come on; not only because I -wished to save Lady Westhaven the pain of hearing of his illness by any -other means, but because--' - -He was proceeding, when a deep and convulsive sigh from Emmeline made -him look in her face, from which he had hitherto kept his eyes, (unable -to bear the varying expressions it had shewn of what he thought her -concern for Delamere.) He now beheld her, quite pale, motionless, and to -all appearance lifeless. Her sense of what she owed to the generosity of -Godolphin; her concern for Delamere; and the dread of those contending -passions which she foresaw would embitter her future life, added to the -sleepless night and fatigueing day she had passed, had totally overcome -her. Godolphin flew for assistance. The servants were by this time up, -and ran to her. Among the first of them was Le Limosin, who expressed -infinite anxiety and concern for her, and assiduously exerted himself in -carrying her into the house; where she soon recovered, begged -Godolphin's pardon for the trouble she had given, and was going to her -own room, led by Madelon, when Bellozane suddenly appeared, and offered -his assistance, which Emmeline faintly declining, moved on. - -Godolphin, who could not bear to leave her in such a state, walked -slowly by her, tho' she had refused his arm. The expression of his -countenance, while his eyes were eagerly fixed on her face, would have -informed any one less interested than Bellozane, of what passed in his -heart; and the Chevalier surveyed him with looks of angry observation, -which did not escape Emmeline, ill as she was. On arriving, therefore, -at the foot of the staircase, she besought, in English, Godolphin to -leave her, which he instantly did. She then told the Chevalier that she -would by no means trouble him to attend her farther; and he, satisfied -that no preference was shewn to his cousin, at least in this instance, -bowed, and returned with him into the room where they usually assembled -in a morning, and where they found Lord Westhaven. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -His Lordship told them that Lady Westhaven had been less alarmed at the -account he had given her of Delamere than he had apprehended; and that -she was preparing to begin their journey towards him immediately after -breakfast. - -'I must send,' continued he, 'Miss Mowbray to her; who is, I understand, -already up and walking.' - -Bellozane then informed his Lordship of what he knew of Emmeline. But -Godolphin was silent: he dared not trust himself with speaking much of -her; he dared not relate her illness, lest the cause of it should be -enquired into. 'Does Miss Mowbray go with my sister?' asked he. - -'That I know not,' replied Lord Westhaven. 'Augusta will very -reluctantly go without her. Yet her situation in regard to Lord Delamere -is such'--He ceased speaking; looked embarrassed; and, soon after, the -Chevalier quitting the room, before whom civility would not allow them -to converse long in English, and to whom his Lordship thought he had no -right to reveal the real situation of Emmeline, while it yet remained -unknown to others, he related to his brother the circumstances of the -discovery that had been made of her birth, and of her consequent claim -to the Mowbray estate. - -Godolphin, who would, from the obscurest indigence, have chosen her in -preference to all other women, heard this account with pleasure, only as -supposing that independance might be grateful to her sensibility, and -affluence favourable to the liberality of her spirit. But the -satisfaction he derived from these reflections, was embittered and -nearly destroyed, when he considered, that her acquiring so large a -fortune would make her alliance eagerly sought by the very persons who -had before scorned and rejected her; and that all the family would unite -in persuading her to forgive Delamere, the more especially as this would -be the only means to keep in it the Mowbray estate, and to preclude the -necessity of refunding the income which had been received for so many -years, and which now amounted to a great sum of money. When the pressing -instances of all her own family, and particularly of Lady Westhaven, -whom she so tenderly loved, were added to the affection he believed she -had invariably felt for Delamere, he thought it impossible that her -pride, however it might have been piqued by the desertion of her lover, -could make any effort against a renewal of her engagement; and his own -hopes, which he had never cherished till he was convinced Delamere had -given her up, and which had been weakened by her apparent affection for -him, were by this last event again so nearly annihilated, that, no -longer conscious he retained any, he fancied himself condemned still to -love, serve, and adore the object of his passion, without making any -effort to secure it's success, or being permitted to appear otherwise -than as her friend. He was vexed that he had been unguardedly explicit, -in telling her that he had ever indulged those hopes at all; since he -now feared it would be the means of depriving her conversation and her -manner, when they were together, of that charming frankness, of which, -tho' it rivetted his chains and encreased his torments, he could not -bear to be deprived. Melancholy and desponding, he continued long silent -after Lord Westhaven ceased speaking. Suddenly, however, awakening from -his reverie, he said--'Does your Lordship think Miss Mowbray _ought_ to -go to meet Lord Delamere?' - -'Upon my word I know not how to advise: my wife is miserable without -her, and fancies the sight of her will immediately restore Delamere. On -the other hand, I believe Emmeline herself will with reluctance take a -step that will perhaps, appear like forcing herself into the notice of a -man from whom she has received an affront which it is hardly in female -nature to forgive.' - -They were now interrupted by Bellozane, who flew about the house in -evident uneasiness and confusion. He did not yet know how Emmeline was -to be disposed of: he saw that Lord Westhaven was himself uncertain of -it; and he had been applying for information to Le Limosin and Madelon, -who had yet received no orders to prepare for her departure. - -While Emmeline had created in the bosoms of others so much anxiety, she -was herself tortured with the cruellest uncertainty. Unable to resolve -how she ought to act, she had yet determined on nothing, when Lady -Westhaven sent for her, who, as soon as she entered the room, said--'My -dear Emmeline, are you not preparing for our journey?' - -'How can I, dearest Madam--how can I, with any propriety, go where Lord -Delamere is? After the separation which has now so decidedly and -irrevocably taken place between us, shall I intrude again on his -Lordship's sight? and solicit a return of that regard with which I most -sincerely wish he had forborne to honour me?' - -'You are piqued, my lovely friend; and I own with great reason. But Mr. -Godolphin has undoubtedly told you that poor Frederic is truly penitent; -that he has taken this journey merely to deprecate your just anger and -to solicit his pardon. Will my Emmeline, generous and gentle as she is -to others, be inexorable only to him? Besides, my sweet coz, pray -consider a moment, what else can you do? You certainly would not wish to -stay here? Surely you would not travel alone to St. Germains. And let me -add my own hopes that you will not quit me now, when poor Frederic's -illness, and my own precarious health, make your company not merely -pleasant but necessary.' - -'That is indeed a consideration which must have great force with me. -When Lady Westhaven commands, how shall I disobey, even tho' to obey be -directly contrary to my judgment and my wishes.' - -'Commands, my dear friend,' very gravely, and with an air of chagrin, -said her Ladyship, 'are neither for me to give or for you to receive. -Certainly if you are so determined against going with me, I must submit. -But I did not indeed think that Emmeline, however the brother may have -offended her, would thus have resented it to the sister.' - -'I should be a monster, Lady Westhaven,' (hardly was she able to -restrain her tears as she spoke,)--'was I a moment capable of forgetting -all I owe you. But do you really think I _ought_ again to put myself in -the way of Lord Delamere--again to renew all the family contention which -his very unfortunate partiality for me has already occasioned; and again -to hazard being repulsed with contempt by the Marquis, and still more -probably by the Marchioness of Montreville. My lot has hitherto been -humble: I have learned to submit to it, if not without regret, at least -with calmness and resignation; yet pardon me if I say, that however -unhappy my fortune, there is still something due to myself; and if I -again make myself liable to the humiliation of being _refused_, I shall -feel that I am degraded in mind, as much as I have been in -circumstances, and lost to that proper pride to which innocence and -rectitude has in the lowest indigence a right, and which cannot be -relinquished but with the loss of virtue.' - -The spirit which Emmeline thought herself obliged to exert, was -immediately lost in softness and in sorrow when she beheld Lady -Westhaven in tears; who, sobbing, said--'Go then, Miss Mowbray!--Go, my -dear Emmeline! (for dear you must ever be to me) leave _me_ to be -unhappy and poor Frederic to die.' - -'Hear me, my dear Madam!' answered she with quickness--'If to _you_ I -can be of the least use, I will hesitate no longer; but let it then be -understood that I go _with_ you, and by no means _to_ Lord Delamere.' - -'It shall be so understood--be assured, my love, it shall! You will not, -then, leave me?--You will see my poor brother?' - -'My best, my dearest friend,' replied Emmeline, collecting all her -fortitude, 'hear me without resentment explain to you at once the real -situation of my heart in regard to Lord Delamere. I feel for him the -truest concern; I feel it for him even to a painful excess; and I have -an affection for him, a sisterly affection for him, which I really -believe is little inferior to your own. But I will not deceive you; nor, -since I am to meet him, will I suffer him to entertain hopes that it is -impossible for me to fulfil. To be considered as the friend, as the -sister of Lord Delamere, is one of the first wishes my heart now -forms--against ever being his wife, I am resolutely determined.' - -'Impossible!--Surely you cannot have made such a resolution?' - -'I have indeed!--Nor will any consideration on earth induce me from that -determination to recede.' - -'And is it anger and resentment only have raised in your heart this -decided enmity to my poor brother? Or is it, that any other----' - -Emmeline, whose colourless cheeks were suffused with a deep blush at -this speech, hastily interrupted it.-- - -'Whatever, dear Lady Westhaven, are my motives for the decision, it is -irrevocable; as Lord Delamere's sister, I shall be honoured, if I am -allowed to consider myself.--As such, if my going with you to Besancon -will give you a day's--an hour's satisfaction, I go.' - -'Get ready then, my love. But indeed, cruel girl, if such is your -resolution it were better to leave you here, than take you only to shew -Lord Delamere all he has lost, while you deprive him of all hopes of -regaining you. But I will yet flatter myself you do not mean all -this.--"At lovers' perjuries they say Jove laughs."--And those of my -fair cousin will be forgiven, should she break her angry vow and receive -her poor penitent. Come, let us hasten to begin our journey to him; for -tho' that dear Godolphin, whom I shall love as long as I live,' (ah! -thought Emmeline, and so shall I) 'assures me he does not think him in -any danger, my heart will sadly ache till I see him myself.' - -Emmeline then left her to put up her cloaths and prepare for a journey -to which she was determined solely by the pressing instances of Lady -Westhaven. To herself she foresaw only uneasiness and embarrassment; and -even found a degree of cruelty in permitting Lord Delamere to feed, by -her consenting to attend him, those hopes to which she now could never -accede, unless by condemning herself to the most wretched of all -lots--that of marrying one man while her love was another's. The late -narrative which she had heard from Godolphin, encreased her affection -for him, and took from her every wish to oppose it's progress; and tho' -she was thus compelled to see Delamere, she determined not to deceive -him, but to tell him ingenuously that he had lost all that tenderness -which her friendship and long acquaintance with him would have induced -her to cherish, had not his own conduct destroyed it-- - -But it was hardly less necessary to own to him part of the truth, than -to conceal the rest. Should he suspect that Godolphin was his rival, and -a rival fondly favoured, she knew that his pride, his jealousy, his -resentment, would hurry him into excesses more dreadful, than any that -had yet followed his impetuous love or his unbridled passions. - -The apprehensions that he must, if they were long together, discover it, -were more severely distressing than any she had yet felt; and she -resolved, both now and when they reached Besancon, to keep the strictest -guard on her words and looks; and to prevent if possible her real -sentiments being known to Delamere, to Lady Westhaven, and to Godolphin -himself. - -So painful and so difficult appeared the dissimulation necessary for -that end; and so contrary did she feel it to her nature, that she was -withheld only by her love to Lady Westhaven from flying to England with -Mrs. Stafford; and should she be restored to her estate, she thought -that the only chance she had of tranquillity would be to hide herself -from Delamere, whom she at once pitied and dreaded, and from Godolphin, -whom she tenderly loved, in the silence and seclusion of Mowbray Castle. - -Her embarrassment and uneasiness were encreased, when, on her joining -Lord and Lady Westhaven, whose carriages and baggage were now ready, she -found that the Chevalier de Bellozane had insisted on escorting them; an -offer which they had no pretence to refuse. On her taking leave of the -Baron, he very warmly and openly recommended his son to her favour; and -Mrs. St. Alpin, who was very fond of her, repeated her wishes that she -would listen to her nephew; and both with unfeigned concern saw their -English visitors depart. Captain Godolphin had a place in his brother's -chaise; Madelon occupied that which on the former journey was filled by -Bellozane in the coach, the Chevalier now proceeding on horseback. - -During the journey, Emmeline was low and dejected; from which she was -sometimes roused by impatient enquiries and fearful apprehensions which -darted into her mind, of what was to happen at the end of it. Every -thing he observed, confirmed Godolphin in his persuasion that her heart -was wholly Delamere's: her behaviour to himself was civil, but even -studiously distant; while the unreserved and ardent addresses of -Bellozane, who made no mystery of his pretensions, she repulsed with yet -more coldness and severity: and tho' towards Lord and Lady Westhaven the -sweetness of her manners was yet preserved, she seemed overwhelmed with -sadness, and her vivacity was quite lost. - -As soon as they reached Besancon, Lord Westhaven directed the carriages -to stop at another hotel, while he went with his brother to that where -Lord Delamere was. At the door, they met Millefleur; who, overjoyed to -see them, related, that since Mr. Godolphin left his master the violence -of his impatience had occasioned a severe relapse, in which, according -to the orders Mr. Godolphin had given, the surgeons had bled and -blistered him; that he was now again better, but very weak; yet so -extremely ungovernable and self-willed, that the French people who -attended him could do nothing with him, and that his English footmen, -and Millefleur himself, were forced to be constantly in his room to -prevent his leaving it or committing some other excess that might again -irritate the fever and bring on alarming symptoms. They hastened to him; -and found not only that his fever still hung on him, tho' with less -violence, but that he was also extremely emaciated; and that only his -youth had supported him thro' so severe an illness, or could now enable -him to struggle with it's effects. - -The moment they entered the room, he enquired after his sister and -Emmeline; and hearing the latter was actually come, he protested he -would instantly go to her. - -Lord Westhaven and Godolphin resolutely opposed so indiscreet a plan: -the former, by his undeviating rectitude of mind and excellent sense, -had acquired a greater ascendant over Delamere than any of his family -had before possessed; and to the latter he thought himself so much -obliged, that he could not refuse to attend to him. He consented -therefore at length to remain where he was; and Lord Westhaven hastened -back to his wife, whom he led immediately to her brother. - -She embraced him with many tears; and was at first greatly shocked at -his altered countenance and reduced figure. But as Lord Westhaven and -Godolphin both assured her there was no longer any danger if he would -consent to be governed, she was soothed into hope of his speedy recovery -and soon became tolerably composed. - -As Lord Westhaven and Godolphin soon left them alone, he began to talk -to his sister of Emmeline. He told her, that when he had been undeceived -by Mr. Godolphin, and the scandalous artifices discovered which had -raised in his mind such injurious suspicions, he had declared to Lord -and Lady Montreville his resolution to proceed no farther in the treaty -which they had hurried on with Miss Otley, and had solicited their -consent, to his renewing and fulfilling that, which he had before -entered into with Miss Mowbray; but that his mother, with more anger and -acrimony than ever, had strongly opposed his wishes; and that his father -had forbidden him, on pain of his everlasting displeasure, ever again to -think of Emmeline. - -After having for some time, he said, combated their inveterate -prejudice, he had left them abruptly, and set out with his three -servants for St. Alpin, (where Godolphin informed him Emmeline was to -be;) when a fever, owing to heat and fatigue, seized and confined him -where he now was. - -'Ah, tell me, my sister, what hopes are there that Emmeline will pardon -me? May I dare enquire whether she is yet to be moved in my favour?' - -Lady Westhaven, who during their journey could perceive no symptoms that -her resolution was likely to give way, dared not feed him with false -hopes; yet unwilling to depress him by saying all she feared, she told -him that Emmeline was greatly and with justice offended; but that all he -could at present do, was to take care of his health. She entreated him -to consider the consequence of another relapse, which might be brought -on by his eagerness and emotion; and then conjuring him to keep all he -knew of Lady Adelina a secret from Lord Westhaven (the necessity of -which he already had heard from Godolphin) she left him and returned to -Emmeline. - -To avoid the importunity of Bellozane, and the melancholy looks of -Godolphin, which affected her with the tenderest sorrow, she had retired -to a bed chamber, where she waited the return of Lady Westhaven with -impatience. - -Her solicitude for Delamere was very great; and her heart greatly -lightened when she found that even his tender and apprehensive sister -did not think him in any immediate danger, and believed that a few days -would put him out of hazard even of a relapse. - -She now again thought, that since Lady Westhaven had nothing to fear for -his life, her presence would be less necessary; and her mind, the longer -it thought of Mowbray Castle, adhering with more fondness to her plan of -flying thither, she considered how she might obtain in a few days Lady -Westhaven's consent to the preliminary measure of quitting Besancon. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -While the heiress of Mowbray Castle meditated how to escape thither from -the embarrassed and uneasy situation in which she now was; and while she -fancied that in retirement she might conceal, if she could not conquer, -her affection for Godolphin, (tho' in fact she only languished for an -opportunity of thinking of him perpetually without observation), Lady -Westhaven laid in wait for an occasion to try whether the ruined health -and altered looks of her brother, would not move, in his favour, her -tender and sensible friend. - -While Delamere kept his chamber, Emmeline easily evaded an interview; -but when, after three or four days, he was well enough to leave it, it -was no longer possible for her to escape seeing him. However Godolphin -thought himself obliged to bury in silence his unfortunate passion, he -could not divest himself of that painful curiosity which urged him to -observe the behaviour of Emmeline on their first meeting. Bellozane had -discovered on what footing Lord Delamere had formerly been; and he -dreaded a renewal of that preference she had given her lover, to which -his proud heart could ill bear to submit, tho' he could himself make no -progress in her favour. Tho' Lady Westhaven had entreated her to see -Delamere alone, she had refused; assigning as a reason that as he could -never again be to her any other than a friend, nothing could possibly -pass which her other friends might not hear. Delamere was obliged -therefore to brook the hard conditions of seeing her as an indifferent -person, or not seeing her at all. But tho' she was immoveably determined -against receiving him again as a lover, she had not been able to steel -her heart against his melancholy appearance; his palid countenance, his -emaciated form, extremely affected her. And when he approached her, -bowed with a dejected air, and offered to take her hand--her -haughtiness, her resentment forsook her--she trembling gave it, -expressed in incoherent words her satisfaction at seeing him better, and -betrayed so much emotion, that Godolphin, who with a beating heart -narrowly observed her, saw, as he believed, undoubted proof of her love; -and symptoms of her approaching forgiveness. - -Delamere, who, whenever he was near her, ceased to remember that any -other being existed; would, notwithstanding the presence of so many -witnesses, have implored her pardon and her pity; but the moment he -began to speak on that subject, she told him, with as much resolution as -she could command, that the subject was to her so very disagreeable, as -would oblige her to withdraw if he persisted in introducing it. - -While his looks expressed how greatly he was hurt by her coldness, those -of Godolphin testified equal dejection. For however she might repress -the hopes of his rival by words of refusal and resentment, he thought -her countenance gave more unequivocal intelligence of the real state of -her heart. Bellozane, as proud, as little used to controul and -disappointment, and with more personal vanity than Lord Delamere, beheld -with anger and mortification the pity and regard which Emmeline shewed -for her cousin; and ceasing to be jealous of Godolphin, he saw every -thing to apprehend from the rank, the fortune, the figure of -Delamere--from family connection, which would engage her to listen to -him--from ambition, which his title would gratify--from her tenderness -to Lady Westhaven, and from the return of that affection which she had, -as he supposed, once felt for Lord Delamere himself. - -But the more invincible the obstacles which he saw rising, appeared, the -more satisfaction he thought there would be in conquering them. And to -yield up his pretensions, on the first appearance of a formidable rival, -was contrary to his enterprising spirit and his ideas of that glory, -which he equally coveted in the service of the fair and of the French -King. - -With these sentiments of each other, the restraint and mistrust of every -party impeded general or chearful conversation. Godolphin soon left the -room, to commune with his own uneasy thoughts in a solitary walk; Lord -Westhaven would then have taken out Bellozane, in order to give Lord -Delamere an opportunity of being alone with his sister and Emmeline. But -he was determined not to understand hints on that subject; and when his -Lordship asked him to take an afternoon's walk, found means to refuse -it. Afraid of leaving two such combustible spirits together, Lord -Westhaven, to the great relief of Emmeline, staid with them till -Delamere retired for the night. - -But the behaviour of Bellozane to Emmeline, which was very particular, -as if he wished it to be noticed, had extremely alarmed Delamere; and -whenever they afterwards met, they surveyed each other with such haughty -reserve, and their conversation bordered so nearly on hostility and -defiance, that Emmeline, who expected every hour to see their animosity -blaze out in a challenge, could support her uneasiness about it no -longer; and sending early to speak to Lord Westhaven on the beginning of -the second week of their stay, she represented to him her fears, and -entreated him to prevail on the Chevalier to leave them and return to -St. Alpin. - -'I have attempted it already,' said he; 'but with so little success, -that if I press it any farther I must quarrel with him myself. I know -perfectly well that your fears have too much foundation; and that if we -can neither separate or tranquillise these unquiet spirits, we shall -have some disagreeable affair happen between them. I know nothing that -can be done but your accepting at once your penitent cousin.' - -'No, my Lord,' answered she, with an air of chagrin, 'that I will not -do! I most ardently wish Lord Delamere well, and would do any thing to -make him happy--except sacrificing my own happiness, and acting in -opposition to my conscience.' - -'Why, my dear Emmeline, how is this? You had once, surely, an affection -for Delamere; and his offence against you, however great, admits of -considerable alleviation. Consider all the pains that were taken to -disunite you, and the importunity he suffered from his family. Surely, -when you are convinced of his repentance you should restore him to your -favour; and however you may be superior to considerations of fortune and -rank, yet when they unite in a man otherwise unexceptionable they should -have some weight.' - -'They have none with me, upon my honour, my Lord. And since we have got -upon this topic, I will be very explicit--I am determined on no account -to marry Lord Delamere. But that I may give no room to charge me with -caprice or coquetry (since your Lordship believes I once had so great a -regard for him), or with that unforgiving temper which I see you are -disposed to accuse me of, it is my fixed intention, if I obtain, by your -Lordship's generous interposition, the Mowbray estate, to retire to -Mowbray Castle, and never to marry at all.' - -Lord Westhaven, at the solemnity and gravity with which she pronounced -these words, began to laugh so immoderately, and to treat her resolution -with ridicule so pointed, that he first made her almost angry, and then -obliged her to laugh too. At length, however, she prevailed on him again -to listen to her apprehensions about Delamere and Bellozane. - -'Do not, my Lord, rally me so cruelly; but for Heaven's sake, before it -is too late, prevent any more meetings between these two rash and -turbulent young men. Why should the Chevalier de Bellozane stay here?' - -'Because it is his pleasure. I do assure you seriously, my dear Miss -Mowbray, that I have almost every day since we came hither attempted to -send my fiery cousin back to St. Alpin. But my anxiety has only piqued -him; and he determines more resolutely to stay because he sees my motive -for wishing him gone. He is exactly the character which I have somewhere -seen described by a French poet.--A young man who, - - ----_'leger, impetueux, - De soi meme rempli, jaloux, presomptueux, - Bouillant dans ses passions; cedant a ses caprices; - Pour un peu de valeur, se passoit de tous ses vices._'[37] - -'Yet, among all his faults, poor Bellozane has some good qualities; and -I am really sorry for this strange perseverance in an hopeless pursuit, -because it prevents my asking him to England. I give you my honour, -Emmeline,' continued his Lordship, in a more serious tone, 'that I have -repeatedly represented to him the improbability of his success; but he -answers that you have never positively dismissed him by avowing your -preference to another; that he knows your engagement with Lord Delamere -is dissolved, and that he considers himself at liberty to pursue you -till you have decidedly chosen, or even till you are actually married. -Nay, I doubt whether your being married would make any difference in the -attentions of this eccentric and presuming Frenchman, for I do not -consider Bellozane as a Swiss.' - -'Well, but my dear Lord, if the Chevalier will persist in staying, I -must determine to go. I see not that my remaining here will be attended -with any good effects. It may possibly be the cause of infinite -uneasiness to Lady Westhaven. Do, therefore, prevail upon her to let me -go alone to St. Germains. When I am gone, Lord Delamere will think more -of getting well than of forcing me into a new engagement. He will then -soon be able to travel; and the Chevalier de Bellozane will return -quietly to the Baron.' - -'Why to speak ingenuously, Emmeline, it _does_ appear to me that it were -on every account more proper for you to be in England. Thither I wish -you could hasten, before it will be possible for Lord Delamere, or -indeed for my wife, who must travel slowly, to get thither. I do not -know whether your travelling with us will be strictly proper, on other -accounts; but if it were, it would be rendered uneasy to you by the -company of these two mad headed boys; for Bellozane I am sure intends, -if you accompany us, to go also.' - -'What objection is there then to my setting out immediately for St. -Germains, with Le Limosin and Madelon, if Lady Westhaven would but -consent to it?' - -'I can easily convince her of the necessity of it; but I foresee another -objection that has escaped you.' - -'What is that, my Lord?' - -'That Bellozane will follow you.' - -'Surely he will not attempt it?' - -'Indeed I apprehend he will. I have no manner of influence over him; and -he is here connected with a set of military men, who are the likeliest -people in the world to encourage such an enterprize--and if at last this -Paris should carry off our fair Helen!'-- - -'Nay, but my Lord do not ridicule my distress.' - -'Well then, I will most seriously and gravely counsel you: and my advice -is, that you set out as soon as you can get ready, and that my brother -Godolphin escort you.' - -Emmeline was conscious that she too much wished such an escort; yet -fearing that her preference of him would engage Godolphin in a quarrel -with Bellozane or Lord Delamere, perhaps with both, she answered, while -the deepest blush dyed her cheeks-- - -'No, my Lord, I cannot--I mean not--I should be sorry to give Captain -Godolphin the trouble of such a journey--and I beg you not to think of -it--.' - -'I shall speak to him of it, however.' - -'I beg, my Lord--I intreat that you will not.' - -'Here he is--and we will discuss the matter with him now.' - -Godolphin at this moment entered the room; and Lord Westhaven relating -plainly all Emmeline's fears, and her wishes to put an end to them by -quitting Besancon, added the proposal he had made, that Godolphin should -take care of her till she joined Mrs. Stafford. - -Tho' Godolphin saw in her apprehensions for the safety of Delamere, only -a conviction of her tender regard for him, and considered his own -attachment as every way desperate; yet he could not refuse himself, when -it was thus offered him, the pleasure of being with her--the exquisite -tho' painful delight of being useful to her. He therefore eagerly -expressed the readiness, the happiness, with which he should undertake -so precious a charge. - -Emmeline, fearful of betraying her real sentiments, overacted the civil -coldness with which she thought it necessary to refuse this offer. -Godolphin, mortified and vexed at her manner as much as at her denial, -ceased to press his services; and Lord Westhaven, who wondered what -could be her objection, since of the honour and propriety of Godolphin's -conduct he knew she could not doubt, seemed hurt at her rejection of his -brother's friendly intention of waiting on her; and dropping the -conversation, went away with Godolphin. - -She saw that her conduct inevitably impressed on the mind of the latter -a conviction of her returning regard for Delamere; and she feared that -to Lord Westhaven it might appear to be the effect of vanity and -coquetry. - -'Perhaps he will think me,' said she, 'so vain as to suppose that -Godolphin has also designs, and that therefore I decline his attendance; -and coquet enough to wish for the pursuit of these men, whom I only -affect to shun, and for that reason prefer going alone, to accepting the -protection of his brother. Yet as _I_ know the sentiments of Godolphin, -which it appears Lord Westhaven does not, surely I had better suffer his -ill opinion of me, than encourage Godolphin's hopes; which, till -Delamere can be diverted from prosecuting his unwelcome addresses, will -inevitably involve him in a dispute, and such a dispute as I cannot bear -to think of.' - -Uncertain what to do, another day passed; and on the following morning, -while she waited for Lady Westhaven, she was addressed by Godolphin, who -calmly and gravely enquired if she would honour him with any commands -for England? - -'Are you going then, Sir, before my Lord and Lady?' - -'I am going, Madam, immediately.' - -'By way of Paris?' - -'Yes, Madam, to Havre; whence I shall get the quickest to Southampton, -and to the Isle of Wight. I am uneasy at the entire solitude to which my -absence condemns Adelina.' - -'You have heard no unfavourable news, I hope, of Lady Adelina or your -little boy?' - -'None. But I am impatient to return to them.' - -'As you are going immediately, Sir,' said Emmeline (making an effort to -conquer a pain she felt rising in her bosom) 'I will not detain you by -writing to Lady Adelina. Perhaps--as it is possible--as I hope'-- - -She stopped. Godolphin looked anxious to hear what was possible, what -she hoped. - -'As I shall so soon, so very soon be in England, perhaps we may meet,' -reassumed she, speaking very quick--'possibly I may have the happiness -of seeing her Ladyship and dear little William.' - -'To meet _you_,' replied Godolphin, very solemnly, 'Adelina shall leave -her solitude; for certainly a journey to see her in it will hardly be -undertaken by _Lady Delamere_.' - -He then in the same tone wished her health and happiness till he saw her -again, and left her. - -He was no sooner gone, than she felt disposed to follow him and -apologize for her having so coldly refused his offers of protection. -Pride and timidity prevented her; but they could not stop her tears, -which she was obliged to conceal by hurrying to her own room. Lady -Westhaven soon after sent for her to a late breakfast: she found Lord -Delamere there; but heard that Godolphin was gone. - -Soon after breakfast, Lady Westhaven and her brother, (who could not yet -obtain a clear intermission of the fever which hung about him, and who -continued extremely weak,) went out together for an airing; and Lord -Westhaven, unusually grave, was left reading in the room with Emmeline. - -He laid down his book. 'So,' said he, 'William is flown away from us.' - -It was a topic on which Emmeline did not care to trust her voice. - -'I wish you could have determined to have gone with him.' - -'I wish, my Lord, I could have reconciled it to my ideas of propriety; -since certainly I should have been happy and safe in such an escort; and -since, without any at all, I must, in a day or two, go.' - -'I believe it will be best. Lord Delamere is no better; and Bellozane -has no thought of leaving us entirely, tho' his military friends take up -so much of his time that he is luckily less with Delamere. Lord Delamere -has again, Miss Mowbray, been imploring me to apply to you. He wishes -you only to hear him. He complains that you fly from him, and will not -give him an opportunity of entering on his justification.' - -'I am extremely concerned at Lord Delamere's unhappiness. But I must -repeat that I require of his Lordship no justification; that I most -sincerely forgive him if he supposes he has injured me; but that as to -any proposals such as he once honoured me with, I am absolutely resolved -never to listen to them; and I entreat him to believe that any future -application on the subject must be entirely fruitless.' - -'Poor young man!' said Lord Westhaven. 'However you must consent to see -him alone, and to tell him so yourself; for from me he will not believe -you so very inflexible--so very cruel.' - -'I am inflexible, my Lord, but surely not cruel. The greatest cruelty of -which I could be guilty, either to Lord Delamere or myself, would be to -accept his offers, feeling as I feel, and thinking as I think.' - -'I do not know how we shall get him to England, or what will be done -with him when he is there.' - -'He will do well, my Lord. Doubt it not.' - -'Upon my honour I _do_ doubt it! It is to me astonishing that a young -man so volatile, so high-spirited as Delamere, should be capable of an -attachment at once so violent and so steady.' - -'Steady!--Has your Lordship forgotten Miss Otley?' - -'His wavering then was, you well know, owing to some evil impressions he -had received of you; which, tho' he refuses to tell me the particulars, -he assures me were conveyed and confirmed with so much art, that a more -dispassionate and cooler lover would have believed them without enquiry. -How then can you wonder at _his_ petulant and eager spirit seizing on -probable circumstances, which his jealousy and apprehension immediately -converted into conviction? As soon as he knew these suspicions were -groundless, did he not fly to implore your pardon; and hasten, even at -the hazard of his life, to find and appease you? Such is the present -situation of his mind and of his health, that I very seriously assure -you I doubt whether he will survive your total rejection.' - -Emmeline, unable to answer this speech gravely, without betraying the -very great concern it gave her, assumed a levity she did not feel. - -'Your Lordship,' said she, 'is disposed to think thus, from the warm and -vehement manner in which Lord Delamere is accustomed to express himself. -If he is really unhappy, I am very sorry; but I am persuaded time, and -the more fortunate alliance which he is solicited to form, will effect a -cure. Don't think me unfeeling if I answer your melancholy prophecy in -the words of Rosalind-- - - 'Men have died from time to time, and worms have eat them--but not - for love.' - -She then ran away, and losing all her forced spirits the moment she was -alone, gave way to tears. She fancied they flowed entirely for the -unhappiness of poor Delamere, and for her uncertain situation. But tho' -the former uneasiness deeply affected her sensible heart, many of the -tears she shed were because Godolphin was gone, and she knew not when -she should again see him. - -Godolphin, repining and wretched, pursued his way to Paris. He thought -that Emmeline's coldness and reserve were meant to put an end to any -hopes he might have entertained; and that her reconciliation and -marriage with Lord Delamere must inevitably take place as soon as she -had, by her dissimulated cruelty, punished him for his rashness and his -errors. His daily observation confirmed him in this opinion: he saw, -that in place of her candid and ingenuous manners, a studied conduct was -adopted, which concealed her real sentiments--sentiments which he -concluded to be all in favour of Delamere. And finding that he could not -divest himself of his passion for her, he thought that it was a -weakness, if not a crime, to indulge it in her presence, while it -imposed on himself an insupportable torment; and that, by quitting her, -he should at least conceal his hopeless attachment, and save himself the -misery of seeing her actually married to Lord Delamere. He determined, -therefore, to tear himself away; and to punish himself for the premature -expectations with which he had begun his journey to St. Alpin, by -shutting himself up at East Cliff (his house in the Isle of Wight) and -refusing himself the sight of her, of whom it would be sufficient misery -to think, when she had given herself to her favoured and fortunate -lover. - -Full of these reflections, Godolphin continued his road, intending to -take the passage boat at Havre. But at the hotel he frequented at Paris, -he met a gentleman of his acquaintance who was going the next day to -England by way of Calais; and as he had his own post chaise, and only -his valet with him, he told Godolphin that if he would take a place in -his chaise he would send his servant post. This offer Godolphin -accepted; and altering his original design, went with his friend to -Calais to cross to England. - -[Footnote 37: - - ----Volatile--impetuous-- - Full of himself--jealous--presumptuous-- - Fiery in his passions; yielding to every caprice; - And who believes some courage an apology for all his vices.] - - - - -CHAPTER VII - - -It was now impossible for Emmeline to avoid a conversation with Lord -Delamere, which his sister urged her so earnestly to allow him. -Bellozane was, by the French officers, with whom he principally lived, -engaged out for two days; and Lord and Lady Westhaven easily found an -opportunity to leave Emmeline with Delamere. - -He was no sooner alone in her presence, than he threw himself on his -knees before her--'Will you,' cried he, 'ah! will you still refuse to -hear and to forgive me? Have I offended beyond all hopes of pardon?' - -'No, my Lord.--I do most readily and truly forgive every offence, -whether real or imaginary, that you believe you have committed against -me.' - -'You forgive me--But to what purpose?--Only to plunge me yet deeper into -wretchedness. You forgive me--but you despise, you throw me from you for -ever. Ah! rather continue to be angry, than distract me by a pardon so -cold and careless!' - -'If your Lordship will be calm--if you will rise, and hear me with -temper, I will be very explicit with you; but while you yield to these -extravagant transports, I cannot explain all I wish you to understand; -and must indeed beg to be released from a conversation so painful to me, -and to you so prejudicial.' - -Delamere rose and took a chair. - -'I need not, Sir,' said Emmeline, collecting all her courage, 'recall to -your memory the time so lately passed, when I engaged to become your's, -if at the expiration of a certain period Lord and Lady Montreville -consented, and you still remained disposed to bestow on me the honour of -your name.' - -'What am I to expect,' cried Delamere, eagerly interrupting her--'Ah! -what am I to expect from a preface so cold and cruel? You have indeed no -occasion to recall to my memory those days when I was allowed to look -forward to that happiness, which now, thro' the villainy of others, and -my own madness and ideotism, I have lost. But, Madam, it must not, it -cannot be so easily relinquished! By heaven I will not give you up!--and -if but for a moment I thought----.' - -'You seemed just now, Sir, disposed to hear me with patience. Since, -however, you cannot even for a few minutes forbear these starts of -passion, I really am unequal to the task of staying with you.' - -She would then have hastened away; but Delamere forcibly detaining her, -again protested he would be calm, and again she went on. - -'At that time, I will own to you, that without any prepossession, almost -without a wish either to accept or decline the very high honour you -offered me, I was content to engage myself to be your wife; because you -said such an engagement would make _you_ happy, and because I then knew -not that it would render _me_ otherwise.' - -'Was you even then thus indifferent? Had I no place in your heart, -Madam, when you would have given me your hand?' - -'Yes, Sir--you had then the place I now willingly restore to you. I -esteemed you; I looked upon you with a sisterly affection; and had I -married you, it would have been rather to have made you happy, than -because I had any wish to form other ties than those by which our -relationship and early acquaintance had connected us.' - -'Ah! my angelic Emmeline! it will still make me happy! Let the reasons -which then influenced you, again plead for me; and forget, O! forget all -that has passed since my headlong folly urged me to insult and forsake -you!' - -'Alas! my Lord, that is not in my power! You have cancelled the -engagements that subsisted between us; and, as I understand, have -actually formed others more indissoluble, with a lady of high rank and -of immense fortune--one whose alliance is as anxiously courted by your -family, as mine is despised. Can your Lordship again fly from your -promises? Can you quit at pleasure the affluent and high-born heiress as -you quitted the deserted and solitary orphan?' - -'Cursed, cursed cruelty!' exclaimed Delamere, speaking thro' his shut -teeth--But go on, Madam! I deserve your severity, and must bear your -reproaches! Yet surely you know that but for the machinations of those -execrable Crofts', I should never have acted as I did--you know, that -however destitute of fortune chance had made you, I preferred you to all -those who might have brought me wealth!' - -'I acknowledge your generosity, Sir, and on that head meant not to -reproach. I merely intended to represent to you what you seem to have -forgotten--that were I disposed to restore you the hand you so lately -renounced, you could not take it; since Miss Otley will certainly not -relinquish the claim you have given her to your regard.' - -'You are misinformed.--I am under no engagement to Miss Otley.--I am not -by heaven! by all that is sacred!' - -'Were not all preparations for your marriage in great forwardness, Sir, -when you left England? and must not your consent have been previously -obtained before Lord Montreville would have made them? However, to put -an end to all uncertainty, I must tell you, my Lord, with a sincerity -which will probably be displeasing to you, that my affections--' - -'Are no longer in your own power!' cried he, hastily interrupting -her--'Speak, Madam--is it not so?' - -'I did not say that, Sir. I was going to assure you that I now find it -impossible to command them--impossible to feel for you that preference, -without which I should think myself extremely culpable were I to give -you my hand.' - -'I understand you, Madam! You give that preference to another. The -Chevalier de Bellozane has succeeded to your affections. He has -doubtless made good use of the opportunities he has had to conciliate -your favour; but before he carries his good fortune farther, he must -discuss with me the right by which he pretends to it.' - -'Whether he has or has not a right to pretend to my regard, Sir,' said -Emmeline, with great spirit, 'this causeless jealousy, so immediately -after you have been convinced of the fallacy of your supposition in -regard to another person, convinces me, that had I unfortunately given -you an exclusive claim to my friendship and affection, my whole life -would have been embittered by suspicion, jealousy, and caprice. -Recollect, my Lord, that I have said nothing of the Chevalier de -Bellozane, nor have you the least reason to believe I have for him those -sentiments you are pleased to impute to me.' - -'But can I doubt it!' exclaimed Delamere, rising, and walking about in -an agony--'Can I doubt it, when I have heard you disclaim me for -ever!--when you have told me your affections are no longer in your -power!' - -'No, Sir; my meaning was, what I now repeat--that as my near relation, -as my friend, as the brother of Lady Westhaven, I shall ever esteem and -regard you; but that I cannot command now in your favour those -sentiments which should induce me to accept of you as my husband. What -is past cannot be recalled; and tho' I am most truly concerned to see -you unhappy, my determination is fixed and I must abide by it.' - -'Death and hell!' cried the agonized Delamere--'It is all over then! You -utterly disclaim me, and hardly think it worth while to conceal from me -for whose sake I am disclaimed!' - -Emmeline was terrified to find that he still persisted in imputing her -estrangement from him to her partiality for Bellozane; foreseeing that -he would immediately fly to him, and that all she apprehended must -follow. - -'I beg, I entreat, Lord Delamere, that you will understand that I give -no preference to Mr. de Bellozane. I will not only assure you of that, -but I disclaim all intention of marriage whatever! Suffer me, my Lord, -to entreat that you will endeavour to calm your mind and regain your -health. Reflect on the cruel uncertainty in which you have left the -Marquis and the Marchioness; reflect on the uneasy situation in which -you keep Lord and Lady Westhaven, and on the great injury you do -yourself; and resolutely attempt, in the certainty of succeeding, to -divest yourself of a fatal partiality, which has hitherto produced only -misery to you and to your family.' - -'Oh! most certainly, most certainly!' cried Delamere, almost choaked -with passion--'I shall undoubtedly make all these wise reflections; and -after having gone thro' a proper course of them, shall, possibly, with -great composure, see you in the arms of that presumptuous coxcomb--that -vain, supercilious Frenchman!--that detested Bellozane! No, Madam! no! -you may certainly give yourself to him, but assure yourself I live not -to see it!' - -He flew out of the room at these words, tho' she attempted to stop and -to appease him. Her heart bled at the wounds she had yet thought it -necessary to inflict; and she was at once grieved and terrified at his -menacing and abrupt departure. She immediately went herself after Lord -Westhaven, to intreat him to keep Bellozane and Delamere apart. His -Lordship was much disturbed at what had passed, which Emmeline -faithfully related to him: Bellozane was still out of town; and Lord -Westhaven, who now apprehended that on Delamere's meeting him he would -immediately insult him, said he would consider what could be done to -prevent their seeing each other 'till Delamere became more reasonable. -On enquiry, he found that the Chevalier was certainly engaged with his -companions 'till the next day. He therefore came back to Emmeline about -an hour after he had left her, and told her that he thought it best for -her to set out that afternoon on her way to St. Germains. - -'You will by this means make it difficult for Bellozane to overtake you, -if he should attempt it; and when he sees you have actually fled from -Delamere, he will be little disposed to quarrel with him, and will -perhaps go home. As to Delamere, his sister and I must manage him as -well as we can; which will be the easier, as he is, within this half -hour, gone to bed in a violent access of fever. Indeed, in the -perturbation of mind he now suffers, there is no probability of his -speedy amendment; for as fast as he regains strength, his violent -passions throw his frame again into disorder.--But perhaps when he knows -you are actually in England, he may try to acquire, by keeping himself -quiet, that share of health which alone can enable him to follow you.' - -Emmeline, eagerly embracing this advice, which she found had the -concurrence of Lady Westhaven, prepared instantly for her departure; and -embracing tenderly her two excellent friends, who hoped soon to follow -her, and who had desired her to come to them to reside as soon as they -were settled in London, where they had no house at present, she got into -a chaise, with Madelon, and attended by Le Limosin, who was proudly -elated at being thus '_l'homme de confience_'[38] to Mademoiselle -Mowbray, she left Besancon; her heart deeply impressed with a sense of -Delamere's sufferings, and with an earnest wish for the restoration of -his peace. - -Tho' Godolphin had been gone four days, and went post, so that she knew -he must be at Paris long before her, she could not, as she proceeded on -her journey, help fancying that some accident might have stopped him, -and that she might overtake him. She knew not whether she hoped or -feared such an encounter. But the disappointed air with which she left -every post house where she had occasion to stop for horses, plainly -evinced that she rather desired than dreaded it. She felt all the -absurdity and ridicule of expecting to see him; yet still she looked out -after him; and he was the object she sought when she cast her eyes round -her at the several stages. - -Without overtaking him, or being herself overtaken by Bellozane, she -arrived in safety and in the usual time at Paris, and immediately went -on to St. Germains; Le Limosin being so well acquainted with travelling, -that she had no trouble nor alarm during her journey. - -When she got to St. Germains, she was received with transport by Mrs. -Stafford and her family. She found her about to depart, in two days, for -England, where there was a prospect of settling her husband's affairs; -and she had undertaken to go alone over, in hopes of adjusting them for -his speedy return; while he had agreed to remain with the children 'till -he heard the success of her endeavours. Great was the satisfaction of -Mrs. Stafford to find that Emmeline would accompany her to England; with -yet more pleasure did she peruse those documents which convinced her -that her fair friend went to claim, with an absolute certainty of -success, her large paternal fortune. - -Lord Westhaven had given her a long letter to the Marquis of -Montreville, to whom he desired she would immediately address herself; -and he had also written to an eminent lawyer, his friend, into whose -hands he directed her immediately to put the papers that related to her -birth, and by no means to trust them with any other person. - -With money, also, Lord Westhaven had amply furnished her; and she -proposed taking lodgings in London, 'till she could settle her affairs -with Lord Montreville; and then to go to Mowbray Castle. - -On the second day after her reaching St. Germains, she began her journey -to Calais with Mrs. Stafford, attended by Le Limosin and Madelon. When -they arrived there, they heard that a passage boat would sail about nine -o'clock in the evening; but on sending Le Limosin to speak to the -master, they learned that there were already more cabin passengers than -there was room to accommodate, and that therefore two ladies might find -it inconvenient. - -As the evening, however, was calm, and the wind favourable, and as the -two fair travellers were impatient to be in England, they determined to -go on board. It was near ten o'clock before the vessel got under way; -and before two they were assured they should be at Dover. They therefore -hesitated not to pass that time in chairs on the deck, wrapped in their -cloaks; and would have preferred doing so, to the heat and closeness of -the cabin, had there been room for them in it. - -By eleven o'clock, every thing insensibly grew quiet on board. The -passengers were gone to their beds, the vessel moved calmly, and with -very little wind, over a gently swelling sea; and the silence was only -broken by the waves rising against it's side, or by the steersman, who -now and then spoke to another sailor, that slowly traversed the deck -with measured pace. - -The night was dark; a declining moon only broke thro' the heavy clouds -of the horizon with a feeble and distant light. There was a solemnity in -the scene at once melancholy and pleasing. Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline -both felt it. They were silent; and each lost in her own reflections; -nor did they attend to a slight interruption of the stillness that -reigned on board, made by a passenger who came from below, muffled in a -great coat. He spoke in a low voice to the man at the helm, and then sat -down on the gunwale, with his back towards the ladies; after which all -was again quiet. - -In a few minutes a deep sigh was uttered by this passenger; and then, -after a short pause, the two friends were astonished to hear, in a -voice, low, but extremely expressive, these lines, addressed to Night. - - - SONNET - - I love thee, mournful sober-suited Night, - When the faint Moon, yet lingering in her wane - And veil'd in clouds, with pale uncertain light - Hangs o'er the waters of the restless main. - - In deep depression sunk, the enfeebled mind - Will to the deaf, cold elements complain, - And tell the embosom'd grief, however vain, - To sullen surges and the viewless wind. - - Tho' no repose on thy dark breast I find, - I still enjoy thee--chearless as thou art; - For in thy quiet gloom, the exhausted heart, - Is calm, tho' wretched; hopeless, yet resign'd. - While, to the winds and waves, it's sorrows given, - May reach--tho' lost on earth--the ear of heaven! - - -'Surely,' said Mrs. Stafford in a whisper, 'it is a voice I know.' - -'Surely,' repeated the heart of Emmeline, for she could not speak, 'it -is the voice of Godolphin!' - -'Do you,' reassumed Mrs. Stafford--'do you not recollect the voice?' - -'Yes,' replied Emmeline. 'I think--I believe--I rather fancy it is--Mr. -Godolphin.' - -'Shall I speak to him?' asked Mrs. Stafford, 'or are you disposed to -hear more poetry? He has no notion who are his auditors.' - -'As you please,' said Emmeline. - -Again the person sighed, and repeated with more warmth-- - - - 'And reach, tho' lost on earth--the ear of heaven!' - - -'Yes--if _she_ is happy, they will indeed be heard! Ah! that cruel -_if_--_if_ she is happy! and can I bear to doubt it, yet leave her to -the experiment!' - -There now remained no doubt but that the stranger was Godolphin; and -Emmeline as little hesitated to believe herself the subject of his -thoughts and of his Muse. - -'Why do _you_ not speak to him, Emmeline?' said Mrs. Stafford archly. - -'I cannot, indeed.' - -'I must speak then, myself;' and raising her voice, she said--'Mr. -Godolphin, is it not?' - -'Who is so good as to recollect me?' cried he, rising and looking round -him. It was very dark; but he could just distinguish that two ladies -were there. - -Mrs. Stafford gave him her hand, saying--'Have you then forgotten your -friends?' - -He snatched her hand, and carried it to his lips. - -'There is another hand for you,' said she, pointing to Emmeline--'but -you must be at the trouble of taking it.' - -'That I shall be most delighted to do. But who is it? Surely it cannot -be Miss Mowbray, that allows me such happiness?' - -'Have you, in one little week,' said the faultering Emmeline, 'occasion -to ask that question?' - -'Not now I hear that voice,' answered Godolphin in the most animated -tone--'Not when I hold this lovely hand. But whence comes it that I find -you, Madam, here? or how does it happen that you have left my brother -and sister, and the happy Delamere?' He seemed to have recollected, -after his first transport at meeting her, that he was thus warmly -addressing _her_ who was probably only going to England to prepare for -her union with his rival. - -'Do not be so unreasonable,' said Mrs. Stafford, 'as to expect Miss -Mowbray should answer all these questions. But find a seat; and let us -hear some account of yourself. You have also to make your peace with me -for not seeing me in your way.' - -Godolphin threw himself on the deck at their feet. - -'I find a seat here,' said he, 'which I should prefer to a throne. As to -an account of myself, it is soon given. I met a friend, whose company -induced me to come to Calais rather than travel thro' Normandy; and the -haste he was in made it impossible for me to stop him. Miss Mowbray had -refused to give me any commission for you; and I had nothing to say to -you that would have given you any pleasure. I was, therefore, unwilling -to trouble you merely with a passing enquiry.' - -'But whence comes it that you sail only to-night, if your friend was so -much hurried?' - -'He went four days ago; but I--I was kept--I was detained at Calais.' - -Emmeline felt a strange curiosity to know what could have detained him; -but dared not ask such a question. - -They then talked of Lord and Lady Westhaven. - -'Lord Delamere is, I conclude, much better?' said Godolphin. - -'When I took leave of Lord and Lady Westhaven,' coldly answered -Emmeline, 'I did not think him much better than when we first saw him. -His servant said he was almost as ill as when you, Sir, with friendship -so uncommon, attended him.' - -'Call it not uncommon, Madam!--It was an office I would have performed, -not only for any Englishman in another country, but I hope for any human -being in any country, who had needed it. Should I then allow you to -suppose there was any great merit in my rendering a slight service to -the brother of Lady Westhaven; and who is besides _dear to one_ to whom -_I_ owe obligations so infinite.' - -The stress he laid on these words left Emmeline no doubt of his meaning. -She was, however, vexed and half angry that he persisted in believing -her so entirely attached to Delamere; and, for the first time she had -ventured to think steadily on the subject, meditated how to undeceive -him. Yet when she reflected on the character of Delamere; and remembered -that his father would now claim an authority to controul her -actions--that one would think himself at liberty to call any man to an -account who addressed her, and the other to refuse his consent to any -other marriage than that which would be now so advantageous to the -family--she saw only inquietude to herself, and hazard to the life so -dear to her, should she suffer the passion of Godolphin openly to be -avowed. - -'Is it not remarkable,' said Mrs. Stafford, 'that you should voluntarily -have conducted us to France, and by chance escort us home?' - -'Yes,' answered Godolphin.--'And a chance so fortunate for me I should -think portended some good, was I sanguine, and had I any faith in -omens.' - -'Are you going immediately to London?' - -'Immediately.' - -'And from thence to East Cliff?' - -'I believe I shall be obliged to stay in town a week or ten days.--But -my continuance there shall be longer, if you or Miss Mowbray will employ -me.' - -The night now grew cold; and the dew fell so heavily, that Mrs. Stafford -expressed her apprehensions that Emmeline would find some ill effects -from it, and advised her to go down. - -'Oh! no,' said Godolphin, with uncommon anxiety in his manner--'do not -go down. There are so many passengers in the cabin, and it is so close, -that you will find it extremely disagreeable. It will not now be half an -hour before we see the lights of Dover; and we shall presently be on -shore.' - -Emmeline, who really apprehended little from cold, acquiesced; and they -continued to converse on general topics 'till they landed. - -Godolphin saw them on shore immediately, and attended them to the inn. -He then told them he must go back to see after the baggage, and left -them hastily. They ordered a slight refreshment; and when it was brought -in, Emmeline said--'Shall we not wait for Mr. Godolphin?' - -'The Gentleman is come in, Madam,' said the waiter, 'with another lady, -and is assisting her up stairs. Would you please I should call him?' - -Emmeline felt, without knowing the nature of the sensation, involuntary -curiosity and involuntary uneasiness. - -'No, do not call him,' said Mrs. Stafford--'I suppose he will be here -immediately. But send the French servant to us.' - -Le Limosin attending, she gave him some requisite orders, and then again -enquired for Captain Godolphin. - -Le Limosin answered, that he was gone to assist a lady to her room, who -had been very ill during the passage. - -'Of which nation is she, Le Limosin?' - -'I am ignorant of that, Madam, as I have not heard her speak. _Monsieur -Le Capitaine_ is very sorry for her, and has attended her the whole way, -only the little time he was upon deck.' - -'Is she a young lady?' enquired Mrs. Stafford. - -'Yes, very young and pretty.' - -The curiosity of Mrs. Stafford was now, in spite of herself, awakened. -And the long stay Godolphin made, gave to Emmeline such acute -uneasiness, as she had never felt before. It is extraordinary surely, -said she to herself, that he should be thus anxious about an -acquaintance made in a pacquet boat. - -She grew more and more disturbed at his absence; and was hardly able to -conceal her vexation from Mrs. Stafford, while she was ashamed of -discovering it even to herself. In about ten minutes, which had appeared -to her above an hour, Godolphin came in; apologised, without accounting, -for his stay, and while they made all together a slight repast, enquired -how they intended to proceed to London and at what time. - -On hearing that they thought of setting out about noon, in a chaise, he -proposed their taking a post coach; 'and then,' added he, 'you may -suffer me to occupy the fourth place.' To this Mrs. Stafford willingly -agreed; and Emmeline, glad to find that at least he did not intend -waiting on his pacquet boat acquaintance to London, retired with -somewhat less uneasiness than she had felt on her first hearing that he -had brought such an acquaintance on shore. - -After a few hours sleep, the fair travellers arose to continue their -journey. They heard that Mr. Godolphin had long left his room, and was -at breakfast with the lady whom he had been so careful of the preceding -morning. At this intelligence Emmeline felt all her anxiety revive; and -when he came into the room where they were to speak to them, hardly -could she command herself to answer him without betraying her emotion. - -'Miss Mowbray is fatigued with her voyage,' said he, tenderly -approaching her--'The night air I am afraid has affected her health?' - -'No, Sir;' coldly and faintly answered Emmeline. - -'How is the young lady you was so good as to assist on shore, Sir?' said -Mrs. Stafford. 'I understand she was ill.' - -Godolphin blushed; and replied, with some little embarrassment, 'she is -better, Madam, I thank you.' - -'So,' thought Emmeline, 'he makes then no mystery of having an interest -in this lady.' - -'Are you acquainted with her?' enquired Mrs. Stafford. - -'Yes.' - -Politeness would not admit of another question: yet it was impossible to -help wishing to ask it. Godolphin, however, turned the discourse, and -soon afterwards went out. Emmeline felt ready to cry, yet knew not for -what, and dreaded to ask herself whether she had not admitted into her -heart the tormenting passion of jealousy. - -'Why should I be displeased,' said she. 'Why should I be unhappy? Mr. -Godolphin believes me attached to Delamere, and has ceased to think of -me; wherefore should I lament that he thinks of another; or what right -have I to enquire into his actions--what right have I to blame them?' - -The post coach was now ready. Emmeline, attended by Madelon, Mrs. -Stafford, and Godolphin, got into it, and a lively and animated -conversation was carried on between the two latter. Emmeline, in the -approaching interview with her uncle, and in the wretchedness of -Delamere, which she never ceased to lament, had employment enough for -her thoughts; but in spite of herself they flew perpetually from those -subjects to the acquaintance which Captain Godolphin had brought with -him from Calais. - -[Footnote 38: Confidential servant.] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - - -When they arrived at Canterbury, the ladies were shewn into a parlour, -where Godolphin did not join them for near half an hour. Emmeline had -accounted for her lowness of spirits by her dread of meeting her uncle -on such terms as they were likely to meet; but Mrs. Stafford knew the -human heart too well to be ignorant that there was another and a -concealed source of that melancholy which overwhelmed her. It was in -vain she had attempted to dissemble. It was, to her friend, evident, -that her compassion, her good wishes, were Delamere's, but that her -heart was wholly Godolphin's, and was now pierced with the poignant -thorns of new-born jealousy and anxious mistrust. - -While they waited together the return of Godolphin, Mrs. Stafford -said--'I fancy that post chaise that passed us about half an hour ago, -contained Mr. Godolphin's _acquaintance_.' - -'Did it? Why do you think so?' - -'Because he looked after it so earnestly; and there seemed to be only a -young woman in it.' - -'I did not observe it indeed,' replied Emmeline, with the appearance of -carelessness. - -'I should like to see her nearer,' continued Mrs. Stafford, with some -archness--'By the glympse I had of her she appeared to be very -handsome.' - -'Do you think she is a French woman?' enquired Emmeline, still affecting -great indifference. - -'No, she appeared to be English. But if you please I will enquire of -him?' - -'I beg you will not,' in an half angry tone, answered Emmeline--'I am -sure it is very immaterial.' - -At this moment Godolphin entered; and with looks of uneasiness -apologized for his long stay. 'I have an awkward embarrassment,' said -he, 'on my hands: a poor young woman, who is wholly a stranger in this -country, and whom I have undertaken to conduct to London; but she is so -ill that I am afraid she is unfit to go on.--Yet how to leave her here I -know not.' - -'Pray, Sir,' said Emmeline, 'do not let us be any restraint to you. If -your presence is necessary to the lady, you had surely better continue -with her, than put her to any inconvenience to go on.' - -Godolphin, who was at once pleased and pained by the quickness with -which she spoke, said--'I will tell you, my dear Miss Mowbray, very -ingenuously, that if I were quite sure the character of this unhappy -young woman is such as may entitle her to your's and Mrs. Stafford's -protection, I should without scruple have asked it. _I_ know,' continued -he, looking distressed, 'how compassionate and good you both are; but I -ought not therefore to hazard improperly taxing such generosity and -sensibility.' - -'Who is this young person, Sir?' asked Mrs. Stafford. - -'If it will not tire you I will tell you. On my arrival at Calais this -day se'nnight, I found all the pacquet boats on the other side, and was -obliged to wait with my friend Cleveland a whole day. As I was -sauntering about the streets after dinner, I passed by an Englishman -whose face I thought I recollected. The man looked confused, and took -off his hat; and I then perfectly remembered him to have been one of the -best sailors I had on board in the West Indies, where he received a -dangerous wound in the arm. - -'I stopped, and asked him by what accident he came to Calais, and why -his appearance was no better; for his honest hard features seemed -pinched with want, his dress was shabby, his person meagre, and his look -dejected. - -'"I am ashamed to tell you, Captain," said he, "how I came hither; but -in short because I could not live at home. You know I got prize money -when I served under your honour. Mayhap I might have managed it better; -but howsomdever 'tis gone, and there's an end on't. So as we are all -turned a drift in the world, some of my ship mates advised me to try a -little matter of smuggling with them, and come over here. I have lived -among these Frenchmen now these two months, and can, to be sure, just -live; but rot 'em, if I could get any thing to do at home, I wouldn't -stay another hour, for I hates 'em all, as your honour very well knows. -A lucky voyage or two will put some money mayhap in my way, with this -smuggling trade; and then I reckons to cross over home once for all, and -so go down to Liverpool to my friends, if any on um be alive yet." - -'I reproved my acquaintance severely for his proceeding, and told him, -that to enable him to go to his friends, I would supply him with money -to buy him cloaths, which I found he principally wanted; being ashamed -to appear among his relations so ill equipped, after having received a -considerable sum in prize money. - -'The poor fellow appeared to be very grateful, and assured me that to -prove his sincerity he would embark in the same pacquet boat. "But Lord, -Captain," added he, "I be'nt the only Englishman who stays in this -rascally country agin their will--your honour remembers Lieutenant -Stornaway, on board your honour's ship?" - -'Aye, to be sure I do.' - -'"Well; he, poor lad, is got into prison here for debt, and there I -reckon he'll die; for nobody that ever gets into one of their confounded -jails in this country, ever gets out again." - -'As I perfectly remembered Stornaway, a gallant and spirited young -Scotsman, I was much hurt at this account, and asked if I could be -admitted to see him. I found it attended with infinite difficulty, and -that I must apply to so many different persons before I could be allowed -to see my unfortunate countryman, that the pacquet boat of the next day -must sail without me. Cleveland therefore departed; and I, with long -attendance on the Commandant and other officers, was at length -introduced into the prison. I will not shock you with a description of -it, nor with the condition in which I found the poor young man; who -seemed to me likely to escape, by death, from the damp and miserable -dungeon where he lay, without necessary food, without air, and without -hope of relief. He related to me his sorrowful and simple tale. He was -brought up to the sea; had no friends able to assist him; and on being -discharged, after the peace, had gone, with what money he received, and -on half pay, to France, in hopes of being able to live at less expence -than in England, and to learn, at the same time, a language so necessary -in his profession. - -'"And for some time," said he, "I did pretty well; till going with one -of my countrymen to see a relation of his, who was (tho' born of Scots -parents) brought up as a pensioner in a convent, and a Catholic, I was -no longer my own master, and tho' I knew that it was almost impossible -for me to support a wife, I yet rashly married, and have made one of the -loveliest young creatures in the world a beggar. - -'"She was totally destitute of fortune; and was afraid her friends, who -were but distant relations, and people of rank in Scotland, would insist -on her taking the veil, as the most certain and easiest means of -providing for her. She had a decided aversion to a monastic life; and -poor as I was, (for I did not attempt to deceive her,) hesitated not to -quit her convent with me, which it was easy enough to do by the -management of her relation, with whom she was allowed to go out. We set -out, therefore, together for England. I had about twenty Louis in my -pocket, which would have carried us thither comfortably: but calamity -overtook us by the way. We travelled in stages and diligences, as we -found cheapest; in one of which I imagine my poor girl caught the -infection of the small pox, with which she fell ill at Amiens. I -attended her with all the agonizing fear of a wretch who sees his only -earthly good on the point of being torn from him for ever; and very, -very ill she was for many days and nights. Yet her lovely face was -spared; and in a month I saw her quite out of danger, but still too weak -to travel. As I spared nothing that could contribute to her ease or her -recovery, my money was dreadfully diminished, and I had barely enough -left to carry me alone to England. But as our credit was yet good, I -purposed our living on it till her strength was somewhat re-established, -and that I would then go to England, get a supply of money, and return -to pay my debts and fetch my wife. - -'"This was the only expedient," said poor Stornaway, "that I could think -of, and perhaps was the very worst I could have adopted; since by this -means we insensibly got into debt, and to creditors the most inexorable. - -'"At the end of three weeks, my wife was tolerably well. I divided with -her the money I had left, and went off in the night to Calais, -flattering myself I should return to her within a fortnight. But so -vigilant were those to whom I owed money, and so active the -_marechausses_, that I was pursued, and thrown, without hesitation and -without appeal, into this prison; where my little remaining money, being -all exhausted in fees, to save me from even worse treatment, I have now -lain near six weeks in the situation in which you see me. As to myself," -continued the poor young man, "my life has been a life of hardship, and -I have learned to hold it as nothing; but when I reflect on what must -have been the condition of my Isabel, I own to you, dear Sir, that my -fortitude forsakes me, and the blackest despair takes possession of my -soul." - -'I had but little occasion to deliberate,' said Godolphin, continuing -his narrative--'I had but little occasion to deliberate. I enquired into -the debt. It was a trifle. I blushed to think, that while Englishmen -were daily passing thro' the place in pursuit of pleasure, a gentleman, -an officer of their nation, languished for such a sum in the horrors of -a confinement so dreadful. The debt was easily discharged; and I took -the unhappy Stornaway to my lodgings, from whence he was eagerly flying -to Amiens, when I was called aside by one of the _marechausse_, who -desired to speak to me. - -'"Sir," said the man, "you have been generous to me, and I will hazard -telling you a secret. Orders are coming to stop your friend, whom you -have released from prison, for stealing a pensioner out of a convent. -Get him off to England immediately, or he will be taken, and perhaps -confined for life." - -'I hastened Stornaway instantly into a boat, and sent him after a -pacquet which had just sailed, and which I saw him overtake. He conjured -me, in an agony of despair, to enquire for his wife, without whom he -said he could not live, and that rather than attempt it, he would return -and perish in prison. I promised all he desired; and as soon as I was -sure he was safe, I set out post for Amiens, where I found the poor -young woman in a situation to which no words can do justice. She had -parted with almost every thing for her support; and was overwhelmed by -the weight of misfortunes, which, young and inexperienced as she was, -she had neither the means to soften or the fortitude to bear. I brought -her away to Calais, and embarked with her yesterday, having only staid -long enough to furnish her with cloaths, and to recruit her enfeebled -frame after her journey. But sea sickness, added to her former ill state -of health, has reduced her to a condition of deplorable weakness. She -speaks so little English that she is unable to travel alone; and I was -in hopes that by her chaise keeping up with the coach, I might have -assisted her on the road; but she is now so extremely ill that I am -afraid she must remain here.' - -During the first part of this short account, Emmeline, charmed more than -ever with Godolphin, and ashamed of having for a moment entertained a -suspicion to the disadvantage of such a man, sat silent; but at the -conclusion of it, her eyes overflowed with tears; she felt something -that told her she ought to apologize to him for the error she had been -guilty of--tho' of that error he knew nothing; and impelled by an -involuntary impulse, she held out her hand to him.--Dear, generous, -noble-minded Godolphin! was uttered by her heart, but her lips only -echoed, the last word. - -'Godolphin!' said she, 'let us go to this poor young creature--let us -see her ourselves.' - -'Certainly we will,' cried Mrs. Stafford; 'and indeed, Sir, you ought to -have told us before, that we might sooner have offered all the -assistance in our power.' - -'I was afraid,' answered he. 'I knew not whether I might not be deceived -in the character of Mrs. Stornaway; and dared not intrude upon you, lest -it should be found that the object merited not your good offices.' - -'But she is in distress!' said Emmeline--'she is a stranger!--and shall -we hesitate?--' - -Godolphin, who found in the tenderness of her address to him, and in the -approbation her eyes expressed, a reward as sweet as that which the -consciousness of doing good afforded from his own heart; kissed the hand -she had given him, in silence, and then went to enquire if the poor -young woman could see the ladies. She expressed her joy at being so -favoured, and Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline were introduced. - -The compassion they expressed, and the assurances they gave her that she -would meet her husband in London, and that she should stay with them -'till she did, calmed and composed her; and as her illness was merely -owing to fatigue and anxiety, they believed a few hours rest, now her -mind was easier, would restore her. Tho' they were impatient to get on -to London, they yet hesitated not to remain at Canterbury all night, on -the account of this poor stranger. Godolphin, on hearing their -determination, warmly thanked them: the heart of Emmeline was at once -eased of its inquietude, and impressed with a deeper sense than ever of -Godolphin's worth: she gave way, almost for the first time, to her -tenderness and esteem, without attempting to check or conceal her -sentiments; while Mrs. Stafford, who ardently wished to see her in -possession of her estate and married to Godolphin, rejoiced in observing -her to be less reserved; and Godolphin himself, hardly believing the -happiness he possessed real, forgot all his fears of her attachment to -Lord Delamere, and dared again entertain the hopes he had discarded at -Besancon--as he thought, for ever. - -The next day Mrs. Stornaway was so much recovered that they proceeded in -their journey, taking her into the coach with them and directing Madelon -to travel in the chaise, accompanied by her father. They arrived early -in town; and Godolphin, leaving them at an hotel, went in search of -lodgings. He soon found apartments to accommodate them in Bond street; -and thither they immediately went; Mrs. Stafford taking upon herself the -protection of the poor forlorn stranger 'till Godolphin could find her -husband, on whose behalf he immediately intended to apply for a berth on -board some ship in commission. He had given him a direction to his -banker, and bid him there leave an address where he might be found in -London. The next day he brought the transported Stornaway to his wife; -and the gratitude these poor young people expressed to their benefactor, -convinced the fair friends that they had deserved his kindness, and that -there was no deception in the story the Lieutenant had told them about -his wife. Godolphin took a lodging for them in Oxford street; and gave -them money for their support till he could get the young man employed, -which his interest and indefatigable friendship soon accomplished. - -In the mean time he saw Emmeline every day, and every day he rose in her -esteem. Yet still she hesitated to discover to him all she thought of -him; and at times was so reserved and so guarded, that Godolphin knew -not what to believe. He knew she was above the paltry artifice of -coquetry; yet she fearfully avoided being alone with him, and never -allowed him an opportunity of asking whether he had any thing to hope -from time and assiduity. - -'Is he not one of the best creatures in the world?' said Mrs. Stafford, -after he left the room, on the second day of their arrival, to go out in -the service of the Stornaways. - -'Yes.' - -'Yes! and is that all the praise you allow to such a man? Is he not a -perfect character?' - -'As perfect, I suppose, as any of them are.' - -'Ah! Emmeline, you are a little hypocrite. It is impossible you can be -insensible of the merit of Godolphin; and I wonder you are not in more -haste to convince him that you think of him as he deserves.' - -'What would you have me do?' - -'Marry him.' - -'Before I am sure he desires it?' smilingly asked Emmeline. - -'You cannot doubt that, tho' you so anxiously repress every attempt he -makes to explain himself. Shall I tell you what he has said to me? Shall -I tell you what motive carried him to St. Alpin?' - -'No--I had rather not hear any thing about it.' - -'And why not?' - -'Because it is better, for some time, if not for ever, that Godolphin -should be ignorant of those favourable thoughts I may have had of -him--better that I should cease to entertain them.' - -'Why so, pray?' - -'Because I dread the mortified pride and furious jealousy of Lord -Delamere on one hand; and on the other the authority of my uncle, who, -'till I am of age, will probably neither restore my fortune nor consent -to my carrying it out of his family.' - -'For those very reasons you should immediately marry Godolphin. When you -are actually married, Delamere will reconcile himself to the loss of -you. To an inevitable evil, even his haughty and self-willed spirit must -submit. And should Lord Montreville give you any trouble about your -fortune, who can so easily, so properly oblige him to do you justice, as -a man of spirit, of honour, of understanding, who will have a right to -insist upon it.' - -It was impossible to deny so evident a truth. Yet still Emmeline -apprehended the consequence of Delamere's rage and disappointment; and -thought that there would be an indelicacy and an impropriety in -withdrawing herself from the protection of her own family almost as soon -as she could claim it, and that her uncle might make such a step a -pretence for new contention and longer wrath. The result, therefore, of -all her deliberations ended in a determination neither to engage herself -or to marry 'till she was of age; and, 'till then, not even to encourage -any lover whatever. By that time, she hoped that Lord Delamere, wearied -by an hopeless passion, and convinced of her fixed indifference, would -engage in some more successful pursuit. She knew that by that time all -affairs between her and Lord Montreville must be adjusted. If the -affection of Godolphin was, as she hoped, fixed, and founded on his -esteem for her character, he would not love her less at the end of that -period, when she should have the power of giving him her estate -unincumbered with difficulties and unembarrassed by law suits; and -should, she hoped, escape the misery of seeing Delamere's anguish and -despair, on which she could not bear to reflect. - -She ingenuously explained to Mrs. Stafford her reasons for refusing to -receive Godolphin's proposals; in which her friend, tho' she allowed -them to be plausible, by no means acquiesced; still insisting upon it, -that the kindest thing she could do towards Lord Delamere, as well as -the properest in regard to the settlement of her estate, was immediately -to accept Godolphin. But Emmeline was not to be convinced; and all she -could obtain from Mrs. Stafford was an extorted promise, reluctantly -given, that she would not give any advice or encouragement to Godolphin -immediately to press his suit. Emmeline, tho' convinced she was right, -yet doubted whether she had fortitude enough to persist in the conduct -she wished to adopt; if exposed at once to the solicitations of a woman -of whose understanding she had an high opinion, and to the ardent -supplications of the man she loved. - -The day after her arrival in London, she had sent to Berkley-square, -and was informed that Lord Montreville and his family were in Norfolk. - -Thither therefore she wrote, and enclosed the letter she had brought -from Lord Westhaven. Her own was couched in the most modest and dutiful -terms, and that of Lord Westhaven was equally mild and reasonable. But -they gave only disquiet and concern to the ambitious and avaricious -bosom of Lord Montreville. Tho' already tortured by Delamere's absence -and illness, and uncertain whether the object of his long solicitude -would live to reap the advantage of his accumulated fortunes, he could -not think but with pain and reluctance of giving up so large a portion -of his annual income: still more unwilling did he feel to refund the -produce of the estates for so long a period; and in the immediate -emotion of his vexation at receiving Lord Westhaven's first letter, he -had sent for Sir Richard Crofts, who, having at the time of Mr. -Mowbray's death been entrusted with all the papers and deeds which -belonged to him, was the most likely to know whether any were among them -that bore testimony to the marriage of Mr. Mowbray and Miss Stavordale. - -The fact was, that a very little time before he died, his steward, -Williamson, had received the memorandum of which Emmeline had found a -copy; and, on the death of his master, had carried it to Sir Richard -Crofts; Lord Montreville being then in the North of England. Sir Richard -eagerly enquired whether there were any other papers to the like -purport. Williamson replied, he believed not; and very thoughtlessly -left it in his hands. When, a few days afterwards, he called to know in -whose name the business of the Mowbray estate was to be carried on, Sir -Richard (then acting as an attorney, and only entering into life) told -him that every thing was to be considered as the property of Lord -Montreville; because there were many doubts about the marriage of Mr. -Mowbray, and great reason to think that the paper in question was -written merely with a view to pique and perplex his brother, with whom -he was then at variance; but that Lord Montreville would enquire into -the business, and certainly do justice to any claims the infant might -have on the estate. - -Soon after, Williamson applied again to have the paper restored; but -Crofts answered, that he should keep it, by order of Lord Montreville, -tho' it was of no use; his Lordship having obtained undoubted -information that his brother was never married. - -Sir Richard had reflected on the great advantage that would accrue to -his patron from the possession of this estate; to which, besides it's -annual income, several boroughs belonged. He thought it was very -probable that the little girl, then only a few weeks old, and without a -mother or any other than mercenary attendants, might die in her infancy: -if she did not, that Lord Montreville might easily provide for her, and -that it would be doing his friend a great service, and be highly -advantageous to himself, should he conceal the legal claim of the child, -even unknown to her uncle, and put him in immediate possession of his -paternal estate. - -Having again strictly questioned Williamson; repressed his curiosity by -law jargon; and frightened him by threats of his Lord's displeasure if -he made any effort to prove the legitimacy of Emmeline; he very -tranquilly destroyed the paper, and Lord Montreville never knew that -such a paper had existed. - -Williamson, timid and ignorant of every thing beyond his immediate -business, returned in great doubt and uneasiness to Mowbray Castle. When -he received the child and the two caskets, he had questioned the -Frenchman who brought her and heard an absolute confirmation of the -marriage of his master. He then examined the caskets, and found the -certificates. But without money or friends, he knew not how to prosecute -the claim of the orphan against the power and affluence of Lord -Montreville; and after frequent consultations with Mrs. Carey, they -agreed that the safest way would be carefully to secure those papers -till Emmeline was old enough to find friends; for should they attempt -previously to procure justice for her, they might probably lose the -papers which proved her birth, as they had already done that which -Williamson had delivered to Crofts. As long as Williamson lived, he -carefully locked up these caskets. His sudden death prevented him from -taking any steps to establish the claim of his orphan mistress; and that -of Mrs. Carey two years afterwards, involved the whole affair in -obscurity, which made Sir Richard quite easy as to any future discovery. - -But as the aggressor never forgives, Sir Richard had conceived against -Emmeline the most unmanly and malignant hatred, and had invariably -opposed every tendency which he had observed in Lord Montreville to -befriend and assist her, for no other reason but that he had already -irreparably injured her. - -He hoped, that as he had at length divided her from Lord Delamere, and -driven her abroad, she would there marry a foreigner, and be farther -removed than ever from the family, and from any chance of recovering the -property of which he had deprived her: instead of which, she had, in -consequence of going thither, met the very man in whose power it was to -prove the marriage of her mother; and, in Lord Westhaven, had found a -protector too intelligent and too steady to be discouraged by evasion or -chicanery--too powerful and too affluent to be thrown out of the -pursuit, either by the enmity it might raise or the expence it might -demand. - -Nothing could exceed the chagrin of Sir Richard when Lord Montreville -put into his hands the first letter he had on this subject from Lord -Westhaven. Accustomed, however, to command his countenance, he said, -without any apparent emotion, that as no papers in confirmation of the -fact alledged had ever existed among those delivered to him on the death -of Mr. Mowbray, it was probably some forgery that had imposed on Lord -Westhaven. - -'I see not how that can be,' answered Lord Montreville. 'It is not -likely that Emmeline Mowbray could forge such papers, or should even -conceive such an idea.' - -'True, my Lord. But your Lordship forgets and overlooks and passes by -the long abode and continuance and residence she has made with the -Staffords. Mrs. Stafford is, to my certain knowledge and conviction, -artful and designing and intrigueing; a woman, my Lord, who affects and -pretends and presumes to understand and be competent and equal to -business and affairs and concerns with which women should never -interfere or meddle or interest themselves. It is clearly and evidently -and certainly to the interest and advantage and benefit of this woman, -that Miss Mowbray, over whom she has great influence and power and -authority, should be established and fixed and settled in affluence, -rather than remain and abide and continue where nature and justice and -reason have placed her.' - -'I own, Sir Richard, I cannot see the thing in this light. However, to -do nothing rashly, let us consider how to proceed.' - -Sir Richard then advised him by no means to answer Lord Westhaven's -letter, but to wait till he saw his Lordship; as in cases so momentous, -it was, he said, always wrong to give any thing in black and white. In a -few days afterwards he heard out of Norfolk, (for he had come up from -thence to consult with Sir Richard Crofts) that Lord Delamere was ill -at Besancon. His precipitate departure had before given him the most -poignant concern; and now his fears for his life completed the distress -of this unfortunate father. On receiving, however, the second letter -from Lord Westhaven, together with that of Emmeline, his apprehensions -for the life of his son were removed, and left his mind at liberty to -recur again to the impending loss of four thousand five hundred a year, -with the unpleasant accompanyment of being obliged to refund above sixty -thousand pounds. Again Sir Richard Crofts was sent for, and again he -tried to quiet the apprehensions of Lord Montreville. But his attempt to -persuade him that the whole might be a deception originating with the -Staffords, obtained not a moment's attention. He knew Stafford himself -was weak, ignorant, and indolent, and would neither have had sagacity to -think of or courage to execute such a design; and that Mrs. Stafford -should imagine and perform it seemed equally improbable. He was -perfectly aware that Lord Westhaven had a thorough acquaintance with -business, and was of all men on earth the most unlikely to enter warmly -into such an affair, (against the interest too of the family into which -he had married) unless he was very sure of having very good grounds for -his interference. - -But tho' Sir Richard could not prevail on him to disbelieve the whole of -the story, he saw that his Lordship thought with great reluctance of the -necessity he should be under of relinquishing the whole of the fortune. -He now therefore recommended it to him to remain quiet, at least 'till -Lord Westhaven came to England; to send an answer to Miss Mowbray that -meant nothing; and to gain time for farther enquiries. These enquiries -he himself undertook; and leaving Lord Montreville in a political fit of -the gout, he returned from Audley Hall to London, and bent all his -thoughts to the accomplishment of his design; which was, to get the -original papers out of the hands of Emmeline, and to bribe Le Limosin to -go back to France. - -While these things were passing in England, Lord Delamere (whose rage -and indignation at Emmeline's departure the authority of Lord Westhaven -could hardly restrain) had learned from his brother-in-law the real -circumstances of the birth of his cousin, and he heard them with the -greatest satisfaction. He now thought it certain that his father would -press his marriage as eagerly as he had before opposed it; and that so -great an obstacle being removed, and Emmeline wholly in the power of -his family, she would be easily brought to forgive him and to comply -with the united wishes of all her relations. - -In this hope, and being assured by Lord Westhaven that Bellozane was -actually returned into Switzerland without any design of following -Emmeline, (who had been induced, he said, to leave Besancon purely to -avoid him) he consented to attempt attaining a greater command over his -temper, on which the re-establishment of his health depended; and after -about ten days, was able to travel. Lord and Lady Westhaven, therefore, -at the end of that time, slowly began with him their journey to England. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - - -Emmeline had now been almost a week in London; and Mrs. Stafford, with -the assistance of Godolphin, had succeeded so much better than she -expected, in the arrangement of some of those affairs in which she -apprehended the most difficulty, that very little remained for her to do -before she should be enabled to return to France (where her husband was -to sign some papers to secure his safety); and that little depended on -James Crofts, who seemed to be making artificial delay, and trying to -give her all the trouble and perplexity in his power. - -He had, however, another motive than merely to harrass and distress her. -His father had employed him to deal with Le Limosin; well knowing that -there was nothing so base and degrading that he would not undertake -where his interest was in question; and Sir Richard had promised him a -considerable addition to his fortune if he had address enough to prevent -so capital a sum as Emmeline claimed from being deducted from that of -the family to whom his brother was allied; and from whence he had -expectations, which could not but suffer from such a diminution of it's -wealth and interest. - -The tediousness therefore that the Crofts' created promised still to -detain Emmeline in London; and her uncle's letter, which coldly and -hardly with civility deferred any conference on her affairs till the -arrival of Lord Westhaven, convinced her that from his tenderness she -had nothing, from his justice, little to hope. - -Godolphin was very anxious to be allowed personally to apply to him on -the claim of his niece. But this Emmeline positively refused. She would -not even allow Mr. Newton, the lawyer to whom Lord Westhaven had -recommended her, and in whose hands her papers were safely deposited, to -write officially to Lord Montreville; but determined to wait quietly the -return of Lord Westhaven himself, on whom she knew neither the anger of -her uncle, or the artifices of Sir Richard, would make any impression; -while his Lordship's interference could not be imputed to such motives -as might possibly be thought to influence Godolphin, or would it give -her the appearance of proceeding undutifully and harshly against Lord -Montreville, which appearances she might be liable to, should she -hastily institute a suit against him. - -She grew, however, very uneasy at the determined attendance of -Godolphin, whose presence she knew was so necessary to poor Lady -Adelina. She saw that he was anxious about his sister, yet could not -determine to tear himself from _her_; and to insist upon his returning -to Lady Adelina, would be to assume a right, to which, on the footing -they were, she declined pretending. She failed not, however, every day -to represent to him the long solitude in which Lady Adelina had been -left, and to read to him parts of her letters which breathed only sorrow -and depression. Whenever this happened, Godolphin heard her with -concern, and promised to set out the next day; but still something was -to be done for the service of Emmeline, and still he could not bear to -resign the delight he had now so long enjoyed of seeing her every day, -and of indulging those hopes she had tacitly allowed him to entertain. - -Mrs. Stafford, notwithstanding her promise to Emmeline, had not been -able to forbear discovering to him part of the truth. Yet when he -reflected on the advantages Delamere had over him in fortune, in rank, -in the influence his family connection and his former engagement might -give him, he trembled least, if he should be himself absent when Lord -Delamere arrived, her tender and timid spirit would yield to the sorrow -of her lover and the authority of her family; and that almost in despite -of herself, he might lose her for ever. While he yet lingered, and -continued to promise that he would go to the Isle of Wight, the eight -first days of their stay in town glided away. Early in the morning of -the ninth, Godolphin entered the room where Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline -were at breakfast. - -'I must now indeed,' said he, 'lose no time in going to Adelina. I am to -day informed that Mr. Trelawny is dead.' - -'Shall we then see Lady Adelina in town?' eagerly asked Emmeline, who -could not affect any concern at the death of such a man. - -'I apprehend not,' replied Godolphin. 'Whatever business there may be to -settle with the Bancrafts, I am sure will be more proper for me than for -her. To them I must now go, at Putney; and only came to inform you, -Madam,' addressing himself to Mrs. Stafford, 'of the reason of my sudden -absence.' - -'Shall you return again to London, Sir, before you proceed into -Hampshire?' - -'Not unless you or Miss Mowbray will allow me to suppose that to either -of you my return may be in any way serviceable.' - -Mrs. Stafford assured him she had nothing to trouble him upon which -required such immediate attention. Emmeline then attempted to make an -answer of the same kind. But tho' she had for some days wished him to -go, she could not see him on the point of departing without being -sensible of the anguish his absence would occasion her; and instead of -speaking distinctly her thanks, she only murmured something, and was so -near bursting into tears, that fearing to expose herself, she was -hurrying out of the room. - -'No message--no letter--not one kind word,' said he, gently detaining -her, 'to poor Adelina? Nothing to your little _protege_?' - -'My--love to them both, Sir?' - -'And will you not write to my sister?' - -'By the post,' said Emmeline, struggling to get from him to conceal her -emotion. - -He then kissed her hand, and suffered her to go. While the explanation -Mrs. Stafford gave of her real feelings, elated him to rapture, in which -he departed, protesting that nothing should prevent his return, to -follow the good fortune which he now believed might be his, as soon as -he could adjust his sister's business with her husband's relations. - -Mrs. Stafford recommended it to him to bring Lady Adelina to London with -him, as the affection Emmeline had for her would inevitably give her -great influence. Godolphin, in answer to this advice, only shook his -head; and Mrs. Stafford remained uncertain of his intentions to follow -it. - -A few days now elapsed without any extraordinary occurrence. Emmeline -thought less of the impending restoration of her fortune (for of it's -restoration Mr. Newton assured her he had no doubt), than of him with -whom she hoped to share it. She impatiently longed to hear from Lady -Adelina that he was with her: and sometimes her mind dwelt with painful -solicitude on Lady Westhaven and Delamere, for whose health and safety -she was truly anxious, and of whom she had received no account since her -arrival in London. - -As she was performing the promise she had made to Godolphin of writing -to Lady Adelina by an early post, Le Limosin announced Mr. James Crofts; -who immediately entered the room with his usual jerking and familiar -walk. Emmeline, who incapable as she was of hating any body, yet felt -towards him a disgust almost amounting to hatred, received him with the -coldest reserve, and Mrs. Stafford with no more civility than was -requisite to prevent his alledging her rudeness and impatience as -reasons for not settling the business on which she concluded he came. - -He began with general conversation; and when Mrs. Stafford, impatient to -have done with him, introduced that which went more immediately to the -adjustment of the affair she wished to settle, he told her, that being -extremely unwilling to discuss a matter of business with a _lady_, and -apprehensive of giving offence to one for whom he and his dear Mrs. -Crofts had so sincere a regard, he had determined to leave all the -concerns yet between them to his attorney; a man of strict honour and -probity, to whom he would give her a direction, and to whom it would be -better for _her_ attorney to apply, than that they should themselves -enter on a topic whereon it was probable they might differ. - -Mrs. Stafford, vexed at his dissimulation and finesse, again pressed him -to come to a conclusion without the interference of lawyers. But he -again repeated the set speech he had formed on the occasion; and then -addressing himself to Emmeline, asked smilingly, and affecting an -interest in her welfare, 'whether the information he had received was -true?' - -'What information, Sir?' - -'That Miss Mowbray has the most authentic claim to the estate of her -late father.' - -'It is by no means an established claim, Sir; and such as you must -excuse me if I decline talking of.' - -'I am told you have papers that put it out of dispute. If you would -favour me with a sight of them, perhaps I could give you some insight -into the proceedings you should commence; and I am sure my friendship -and regard would make any service I could do you a real satisfaction to -myself.' - -'I thank you, Sir, for your professions. The papers in question are in -the hands of Mr. Newton of Lincolns Inn. If he will allow you to see -them I have no objection.' - -'You intend then,' said James Crofts, unable entirely to conceal his -chagrin--'you intend to begin a suit with my Lord Montreville?' - -'By no means, Sir. I am persuaded there will be no necessity for it. But -as you have just referred Mrs. Stafford to a lawyer, I must beg leave to -say, that if _you_ have any questions to ask you must apply to mine.' - -James Crofts, quite disconcerted notwithstanding his presumptuous -assurance, was not ready with an answer; and Emmeline, who doubted not -that he was sent by his father to gain what intelligence he could, was -so provoked, that not conceiving herself obliged to preserve the -appearance of civility to a man she despised, she left him in possession -of the room, from whence Mrs. Stafford had a few moments before -departed. He therefore was obliged to withdraw; having found his attempt -to shake the integrity of Le Limosin as fruitless as that he had made to -get sight of the papers. - -He had not long been gone, when a servant brought to Emmeline the -following note.-- - - - 'I have heard you are in town with Mrs. Stafford, and beg leave - to wait on you. Do not, _ma douce amie_, refuse to grant me this - favour. Besides the happiness of seeing you and your friend, I have - another very particular reason for soliciting you to grant such an - indulgence to - - GEORGE FITZ-EDWARD. - - 'I write this from a neighbouring coffee-house, where I expect - your answer.' - - -Emmeline immediately carried this billet to Mrs. Stafford; who told her -there was no reason why she should refuse the request it contained. She -therefore wrote a card of compliment to Colonel Fitz-Edward, signifying -that she should be glad to see him. - -In a few moments Fitz-Edward appeared; and Emmeline, tho' aware of his -arrival, could not receive him without confusion and emotion. Nor could -she without pity behold his altered countenance and manner, so different -from what they were when she first saw the gay and gallant Fitz-Edward -at Mowbray Castle. He began by expressing, with great appearance of -sincerity, his joy at seeing her; enquired after Lord Delamere, and -mentioned his astonishment at what he had heard--that Delamere had so -repeatedly enquired after him, and signified such a wish to see him, yet -had never written to him to explain his business. - -Emmeline, who knew well on what he had so earnestly desired to meet him, -blushed, but did not think it necessary to clear up a subject which -Godolphin's explanation to Delamere had rendered no longer alarming. - -'You know, perhaps,' said Fitz-Edward, 'that Mr. Trelawny is dead.' - -'I do.' - -'And your fair unhappy friend?--May I now--(or is it still a crime,) -enquire after her.' - -'She is, I believe, well,' answered Emmeline, 'and remains at the house -of her brother.' - -'Tell me, Miss Mowbray--will she after a proper time refuse, do you -think, her consent to see me? will _you_, my lovely friend, undertake to -plead for me? will you and Mrs. Stafford, who know with what solicitude -I sought her, with what anguish I deplored her loss, intercede on my -behalf?--you, who know how fondly my heart has been devoted to her from -the moment of our fatal parting?' - -'I can undertake nothing of this kind, Sir. The fate of Lady Adelina -depends, I apprehend, on her brothers. To them I think you should -apply.' - -'And why not to herself? Is she not now at liberty? And when destiny has -at length broken the cruel chains with which she was loaded, will she -voluntarily bind herself with others hardly more supportable? If she -refers me to her brothers, I must despair:--the cold-hearted Lord -Westhaven, the inflexible and rigid Godolphin, will make it a mistaken -point of honour to divide us for ever!' - -'You cannot suppose, Sir, that _I_ shall undertake to influence Lady -Adelina to measures disapproved by her family. I know not that Lord -Westhaven is cold and unfeeling as you describe him: on the contrary, I -believe he unites one of the best heads and warmest hearts. If your -request is proper, you certainly risk nothing by referring it to him.' - -Of Godolphin she spoke not; fearful of betraying to the penetrating and -observing Fitz-Edward how little he answered in her idea the character -of unfeeling and severe. - -'I know not what to do,' said Fitz-Edward. 'Should I address myself to -her brothers without success, I am undone; since I well know that from -their decision there will be no appeal. I cannot live without her, -Emmeline--indeed I cannot; and in the hope only of what has lately -happened, have I dragged on till now a reluctant existence. Once, and -but once, I dared write to her. But her brother returned the letter. She -suffered him cruelly to return it, in a cover in which he informed me, -"that the peace and honour of Lady Adelina Trelawny made it necessary -for her to forget that such a man existed as Colonel Fitz-Edward." -Godolphin,' continued he--'Godolphin may carry this too far; he may -oblige me to remind him that there is more than one way in which his -inexorable punctilio may be satisfied.' - -'Certainly,' cried Emmeline, in great agitation, which she vainly -struggled to conceal, 'there is no method more likely to convince Lady -Adelina of your tenderness for her, than that you hint at; and if you -should be fortunate enough to destroy a brother to whom she owes every -thing, your triumph will be complete.' - -'Prevent then the necessity of my applying to Godolphin by speaking to -Lady Adelina in my favour. Ask her whether she can divest herself of all -regard for me? ask her whether she can condemn me to eternal regret and -despair?' - -'I cannot indeed. I am not likely to see her; and if I were, this is a -subject on which nothing shall induce me to influence her.' - -Mrs. Stafford, who had been detained in another room by a person who -came to her upon business, now joined them; and Fitz-Edward without -hesitation repeated to her what he had been saying to Emmeline. - -'I do not think indeed, Colonel, that Miss Mowbray can interfere; and I -am of her opinion, that as soon as such proposals as you intend to make -are proper, you should address them to her brothers.' - -'Mr. Godolphin, Madam, treats me in a way which only my tenderness, my -love for his sister, induces me to bear. I have met him accidentally, -and he passes rudely by me. I sent a gentleman to him to desire an -amicable interview. He answered, that as we could not meet as friends, -he must be excused from seeing me at all. Had I been as rash, as cruel -as he seems to be, I should then have noticed, in the way it demanded, -such a message: but conscious that I had already injured him, I bore -with his petulance and his asperity. I love Godolphin,' continued -he--'from our boyish days I have loved and respected him. I know the -nobleness of his nature, and I can make great allowances for the -impatience of injured honour. But will he not carry it too far, if now -that his sister is released from her detested marriage he still persists -in dividing us?' - -'You are not sure,' said Mrs. Stafford, 'that he will do so. Have -patience at least till the time is elapsed when you may try the -experiment. In the interim I will consider what ought to be done.' - -'My ever excellent, ever amiable friend!' exclaimed Fitz-Edward -warmly--'how much do I owe you already! Ah! add yet to those obligations -the restoration of Adelina, and I shall be indebted to you for more than -life. As to you, my sweet marble-hearted Emmeline, I heartily pray that -all your coldness both towards me and poor Delamere may be revenged by -your feeling, on behalf of him, all the pain you have inflicted.' - -Alas! thought Emmeline, your wicked wish is already accomplished, tho' -not in favour of poor Delamere. - -Fitz-Edward then obtained permission to wait on them again; tho' Mrs. -Stafford very candidly told him, that after Captain Godolphin came to -town, she begged he would forbear coming in when he heard of his being -there. - -'We will try,' said she, 'to conciliate matters between you, so that ye -may meet in peace; and till then pray forbear to meet at all.' - -Fitz-Edward, flattering himself that Mrs. Stafford would interest -herself for him, and that Emmeline, however reserved, would be rather -his friend than his enemy, departed in rather better spirits; and left -the fair friends to debate on the means of preventing what was very -likely to happen--a difference of the most alarming kind between him and -Godolphin, should the latter persist in refusing him permission to -address, at a proper season, Lady Adelina. - -The long delays that seemed likely to arise before her own business -would be adjusted with Lord Montreville; the fiery and impatient spirits -with which it appeared to be her lot to contend; the vexation to which -she saw Mrs. Stafford subjected by the sordid and cruel conduct of the -Crofts' towards her; and lastly, her encreasing disquietude about -Godolphin, whom she feared to encourage, yet was equally unwilling and -unable to repulse; oppressed her spirits, and made her stay in London -very disagreeable to her. She had never before been in it for more than -a night or two; and at this time of the year (it was the beginning of -October) the melancholy, deserted houses in the fashionable streets, and -the languor that appeared in the countenances of those who were obliged -to be in town, offered no amusement or variety to compensate for the -loss of the pure air she had been accustomed to breathe, or for the -beautiful and interesting landscapes which she remembered to have -enjoyed in Autumn at Mowbray Castle; where she so much languished to be, -that she sometimes thought, if her uncle would resign it and the estate -immediately around, to her, she could be content to leave him in -possession of the rest of that fortune he coveted with so much avidity. - - - - -CHAPTER X - - -A few days longer passed, and Emmeline yet heard nothing of the return -of Lord and Lady Westhaven; a circumstance at which she grew extremely -uneasy. Not only as it gave her reason to fear for the health of Lord -Delamere, for whom she was very anxious; but for that of Lady Westhaven, -whom she so tenderly loved. - -She observed too, with concern, that under pretence of waiting the -arrival of his son and his son in law, Lord Montreville delayed all -advances towards a settlement; and that Mrs. Stafford, wearied by the -duplicity and chicanery of the Crofts', and miserable in being detained -so long from her children, grew quite disheartened, and was prevented -only by her affection for Emmeline from returning to France and -abandoning all hopes of an accommodation which every day seemed more -difficult and more distant. - -The arrival of Lord Westhaven was on her account particularly desirable, -as he had promised Emmeline to make a point of assisting her; and on his -assurances she knew it was safe to rely, since they were neither made to -give himself an air of importance, nor meant to quiet the trouble of -present importunity, by holding out the prospect of future advantage -never thought of more. - -Nothing, however, could be done to hasten this important arrival; and -the fair friends, tho' uneasy and impatient, were obliged to submit. But -from the restlessness of daily suspence, they were roused by two -letters; which brought in it's place only poignant concern. That to Mrs. -Stafford was from her husband; who, tho' he had neither relish for her -conversation nor respect for her virtues, was yet dissatisfied without -her; and even while she was wholly occupied in serving him, tormented -her with murmurs and suspicions. He scrupled not to hint, 'that as she -was with her beloved Miss Mowbray, she forgot her duty to her family; -and that as she had been now gone near a month, he thought it quite long -enough, not only to have done the business she undertook, but to have -enjoyed as much pleasure as was in her situation reasonable. He -therefore expected her to return to France, and supposed that she had -settled every thing to facilitate his coming back to England.' The -unreasonable expectations, and ungrateful suspicions, which this letter -contained, overwhelmed her with mortification. To return without having -finished the business on which she came, would be to expose herself to -insult and reproach; yet to stay longer, without a probability of -succeeding by her stay, would only occasion an aggravation of his ill -humour, and probably a worse reception when she rejoined him. - -The letter to Emmeline was from Lady Adelina, and ran thus.-- - - - _East Cliff, Oct. 16._ - - 'Godolphin, my Emmeline, is at length returned to your unhappy - friend, who has passed many, many melancholy days since he left her. - My dear brother appears not only in better health, but in better - spirits than when he went from hence. Ought I then to repine? when I - see him, and when he tells me that you are well; and that affluence, - and with it, I hope, happiness will be your's? The very name of - happiness and of Adelina should not come in the same page! Ah! never - must they any where meet again. Pardon me for thus recurring to - myself: but the mournful topic will intrude! Unhappy Trelawny! he - had not quite compleated his twenty-fifth year. Tho' I never either - loved or esteemed him, and tho' to my early and hasty marriage I owe - all the misery of my life, his death has something shocking in it. - My weak spirits, which have of late been unusually deranged, are - sadly affected by it. Yet surely in regard to _him_ I have little to - reproach myself. Did he not abandon me to my destiny? did he not - plunge headlong into follies from which he resented even an effort - to save him? Alas! unless I could have given him that understanding - which nature - had denied him, my solicitude must ever have been vain! It is - some alleviation, too, to my concern, to reflect, that as much of - his honour as depended on me, has not, by the breath of public - fame, been sullied. And I try to persuade myself, that since his - life was useful to nobody, and had long been, from intemperance, - burthensome to himself, I should not suffer his death to dwell so - heavily upon me. Yet in spite of every effort to shake off the - melancholy which devours me, it encreases upon me; and to you I may - say, for you will hear and pity me, that there exists not at this - moment so complete a wretch as your Adelina! - - 'To my brother William, all gentle and generous as he is, I cannot - complain. It were ingratitude to let him see how little all his - tenderness avails towards reconciling me to myself; towards healing - the wounds of my depressed spirit, and quieting the murmurs of this - feeble heart. Yet methinks to have a friend, in whose compassionate - bosom I might pour out it's weakness and it's sorrows, would - mitigate the extreme severity of those sufferings which are now more - than I can bear. - - 'Where have I on earth such a friend but in my Emmeline? And will - she refuse to come to me? Ah! wherefore should she refuse it? I - shall be alone; for Godolphin is obliged to go immediately to London - to settle all the business I shall now ever have with the family of - Trelawny, and put it on such a footing as may preclude the necessity - of my ever meeting any of them hereafter. He tells me that your - affairs advance nothing till Lord Westhaven's return; and that our - dear Mrs. Stafford talks of being obliged to go back to her family. - If she must do so, you will not stay in London alone; and where is - your company so fondly desired, where can you have such an - opportunity of exercising your generous goodness, as in coming - hither? Our little boy--do you not long to embrace him? Ah! lovely - as he is, why dare I not indulge all the pleasure and all the pride - I might feel in seeing him; and wherefore must anguish so keen - mingle with tenderness so delicious! - - 'Ah! my friend, come to me, I entreat, I implore you! The reasons - why I cannot see London, are of late multiplied rather than removed, - and I can only have the happiness of embracing you here. Hesitate - not to oblige me then; for I every hour wish more and more ardently - to see you. When I awake from my imperfect slumbers, your presence - is the first desire of my heart: I figure you to myself as I wander - forth on my solitary walks. - - And when I _do_ sleep, the image of my angelic friend, - consolatory and gentle, makes me some amends for visions less - pleasant, that disturb it. - - 'Ah! let me not see you in dreams alone; for above all I want - you--"when I am alone with poor Adelina." Come, O come; and if it be - possible--save me--from myself! - - A.T.' - - -The melancholy tenor of this letter greatly affected Emmeline. She -wished almost as eagerly as her friend to be with her. But how could she -determine to become an inmate at the house of Godolphin, even tho' he -was himself to be absent from it? She communicated, however, Lady -Adelina's request to Mrs. Stafford, who could see no objection to any -plan which might promote the interest of Godolphin. She represented -therefore to Emmeline how very disagreeable it would be to her to be -left alone in town, when she should herself be obliged to leave her, as -must now soon happen. That there was, in fact, no very proper asylum for -her but the house of her uncle, which he seemed not at all disposed to -offer her. But that to Lady Adelina's proposal there could be no -reasonable objection, especially as Godolphin was not to be there. - -Emmeline yet hesitated; till another letter from Stafford, more harsh -and unreasonable than the first, obliged her friend to fix on the -following Thursday for her departure; the absurd impatience of her -husband thus defeating it's own purpose; and Emmeline, partly influenced -by her persuasions, and yet more by her own wishes, determined at length -to fix the same time for beginning her journey to the Isle of Wight. - -There was yet two days to intervene; and Mrs. Stafford was obliged to -employ the first of them in the city, among lawyers and creditors of her -husband. From scenes so irksome she readily allowed Miss Mowbray to -excuse herself; who therefore remained at home, and was engaged in -looking over some poems she had purchased, when she heard a rap at the -door, and the voice of Godolphin on the stairs enquiring of Le Limosin -for Mrs. Stafford. Le Limosin told him that she was from home, but that -Mademoiselle Mowbray was in the dining room. He sent up to know if he -might be admitted. Emmeline had no pretence for refusing him, and -received him with a mixture of confusion and pleasure, which she -ineffectually attempted to hide under the ordinary forms of civility. - -The eyes of Godolphin were animated by the delight of beholding her. But -when she enquired after Lady Adelina, as she almost immediately did, -they assumed a more melancholy expression. - -'Adelina is far from being well,' said he. 'Has she not written to you?' - -'She has.' - -'And has she not preferred a request to you?' - -'Yes.' - -'What answer do you mean to give it? Will you refuse once more to bless -and relieve, by your presence, my unhappy sister?' - -'I do not know,' said Emmeline, deeply blushing, 'that I ought, -(especially without the concurrence of my uncle,) to consent; yet to -contribute to the satisfaction of Lady Adelina--to give _her_ any degree -of happiness--what is there I can refuse?' - -'Adorable, angelic goodness!' eagerly cried Godolphin. 'Best, as well as -loveliest of human creatures! You go then?' - -'I intend beginning my journey on Thursday.' - -'And you will allow me to see you safe thither?' - -'There can surely be no occasion to give you that trouble, Sir,' said -Emmeline apprehensively; 'nor ought you to think of it, since Lady -Adelina's affairs certainly require your attendance in London.' - -'They do; but not so immediately as to prevent my attending you to East -Cliff. If you will suffer me to do that, I promise instantly to return.' - -'No. I go only attended by my servants or go not at all.' - -Godolphin was mortified to find her so determined. And easily -discouraged from those hopes which he had indulged rather from the -flattering prospects offered to him by Mrs. Stafford than presumption -founded on his own remarks, he now again felt all his apprehensions -renewed of her latent affection for Delamere. The acute anguish to which -those ideas exposed him, and their frequent return, determined him now -to attempt knowing at once, whether he had or had not that place in -Emmeline's heart which Mrs. Stafford had assured him he had long -possessed. - -Sitting down near her, therefore, he said, gravely--'As I may not, Miss -Mowbray, soon have again the happiness I now enjoy, will you allow me to -address you on a subject which you must long have known to be nearest -my heart; but on which you have so anxiously avoided every explanation I -have attempted, that I fear intruding too much on your complaisance if I -enter upon it.' - -Emmeline found she could not avoid hearing him; and sat silent, her -heart violently beating. Godolphin went on.-- - -'From the first moment I beheld you, my heart was your's. I attempted, -indeed, at the beginning of our acquaintance--ah! how vainly -attempted!--to conquer a passion which I believed was rendered hopeless -by your prior engagement. While I supposed you the promised wife of Lord -Delamere, I concealed, as well as I was able, my sufferings, and never -offended you with an hint of their severity. Had you married him, I -think I could have carried them in silence to the grave. Those ties, -however, Lord Delamere himself broke; and I then thought myself at -liberty to solicit your favour. It was for that purpose I took the road -to St. Alpin, when the unhappy Delamere stopped me at Besancon. - -'When I afterwards related to you his illness; the sorrow, the lively -and generous sorrow, you expressed for _him_, and the cold and reserved -manner in which you received _me_, made me still believe, that tho' he -had relinquished your hand he yet possessed your heart. I saw it with -anguish, and continued silent. All that passed at Besancon confirmed me -in this opinion. I determined to tear myself away, and again conceal in -solitude a passion, which, while I felt it to be incurable, I feared was -hopeless. Accident, however, detaining me at Calais, again threw me in -your way; and I heard, that far from having renewed your engagement with -Lord Delamere, you had left him to avoid his eager importunity. Dare I -add--that _then_, my pity for him was lost in the hopes I presumed to -form for myself; and studiously as you have avoided giving me an -opportunity of speaking to you, I have yet ventured to flatter myself -that you beheld not with anger or scorn, my ardent, my fond attachment.' - -From the beginning of this speech to it's conclusion, the encreasing -confusion of Emmeline deprived her of all power of answering it. With -deepened blushes, and averted eyes, she at first sought for refuge in -affecting to be intent on the netting she drew from her work box; but -having spoiled a whole row, her trembling hands could no longer go on -with it; and as totally her tongue refused to utter the answer, which, -by the pause he made, she concluded Godolphin expected. After a moment, -however, he went on. - -'I have by no means encouraged visions so delightful, without a severe -alloy of fear and mistrust. Frequently, your coldness, your unkindness, -gives me again to despondence; and every lovely prospect I had suffered -my imagination to draw, is lost in clouds and darkness. Yet I am -convinced you do not _intend_ to torture me; and that from Miss Mowbray -I may expect that candour, that explicit conduct, of which common minds -are incapable. Tell me then, dearest and loveliest Emmeline, may I -venture to hope that tender bosom is not wholly insensible? Will you -hear me with patience, and even with pity?' - -'What, Sir, can I say?' faulteringly asked Emmeline. 'I am in a great -measure dependant, at least for some time, on Lord Montreville; and till -I am of age, have determined to hear nothing on the subject on which you -are pleased to address me.' - -'Admitting it to be so,' answered Godolphin, 'give me but an hope to -live upon till then!' - -'I will not deny, Sir,' said Emmeline still more faintly, 'I will not -deny that my esteem for your character--my--my' - -'Oh! speak!' exclaimed Godolphin eagerly--'speak, and tell me that----' - -At this moment Le Limosin hastily came into the room, and -said--'_Mademoiselle, le Chevalier de Bellozane demande permission de -vous parler._'[39] - -Godolphin, vexed at the interruption, and embarrassed at the arrival of -the Chevalier, said hastily--'You will not see him?' - -'How can I refuse him?' answered she; 'perhaps he comes with some -intelligence of your brother--of my dear Lady Westhaven.' - -By this time the Chevalier was in the room. Emmeline received him with -anxious and confused looks, arising entirely from her apprehensions -about Lady Westhaven and Lord Delamere; but the vanity of Bellozane saw -in it only a struggle between her real sentiments and her affectation of -concealment. She almost instantly, however, enquired after her friends. - -'I left them,' said Bellozane, 'almost as soon as you did, and went -(because I wanted money and my father wanted to see _me_,) back to St. -Alpin, where I staid almost a fortnight; and having obtained a necessary -recruit of cash, I set off for Paris; where (my leave of absence being -to expire in another month) I was forced to make interest to obtain a -longer permission, in order to throw myself, lovely Miss Mowbray, at -your feet, and to pass the winter in the delights of London, which they -tell me I shall like better than Paris.' - -Emmeline, disgusted at his presumption and volatility, enquired if he -knew nothing since of Lord and Lady Westhaven. - -'Oh, yes,' said he, 'I saw them all at Paris, and asked them if they had -any commands to you? But I could get nothing from my good cousin but -sage advice, and from Lady Westhaven only cold looks and half sentences; -and as to poor Delamere, I knew he was too much afraid of my success to -be in a better temper with me than the other two; so we had but little -conversation.' - -'But they are well, Sir?' - -'No; Delamere has been detained all this time by illness, at different -places. He was better when I saw him; but Lady Westhaven was herself -ill, and my cousin was, in looks, the most rueful of the three.' - -'But, Sir, when may they be expected in England?' - -'That I cannot tell. The last time I saw Lord Westhaven was above a week -before I left Paris; and then he said he knew not when his wife would be -well enough to begin their journey, but he hoped within a fortnight.' - -'Good God!' thought Emmeline, 'what can have prevented his writing to me -all this time?' - -Godolphin, after the first compliments passed with the Chevalier, had -been quite silent. He now, however, asked some questions about his -brother; by which he found, that in consequence of endeavouring to -discourage Bellozane's voyage to England, Lord Westhaven had offended -him, and that a coldness had taken place between them. Bellozane had -ceased to consider Godolphin as a rival, when he beheld Lord Delamere in -that light; and was now rather pleased to meet him, knowing that his -introduction into good company would greatly be promoted by means of -such a relation. - -'Do you know,' said the Chevalier, addressing himself to Emmeline, 'that -I have had some trouble, my fair friend, to find you?' - -'And how,' enquired Godolphin, 'did you accomplish it?' - -'Why my Lord Westhaven, to whom I applied at Paris, protested that he -did not know; so remembering the name of le Marquis de Montreville, I -wrote to him to know where I might wait on Mademoiselle Mowbray. -Monseigneur le Marquis being at his country house, did not immediately -answer my letter. At length I had a card from him, which he had the -complaisance to send by a gentleman, un Monsieur--Monsieur _Croff_, who -invited me to his house, and introduced me to Milady _Croff_, his wife, -who is daughter to Milor Montreville. _Mon Dieu! que cette femme la, est -vive, aimable; qu'elle a l'air du monde, et de la bonne compagnie._'[40] - -'You think Lady Frances Crofts, then, handsomer than her sister?' asked -Godolphin. - -'_Mais non--elle n'est pas peut-etre si belle--mais elle a cependant un -certain air. Enfin--je la trouve charmante._'[41] - -Godolphin then continuing to question him, found that the Crofts' had -invited Bellozane with an intention of getting from him the purpose of -his journey, and what his business was with Emmeline; and finding that -it was his gallantry only brought him over, and that he knew nothing of -the late Mr. Mowbray's affairs, had no longer made any attempt to oppose -his seeing her. - -Godolphin, tho' he believed Emmeline not only indifferent but averse to -him, was yet much disquieted at finding she was likely again to be -exposed to his importunities. He trembled least if he discovered her -intentions of going to East Cliff, he should follow her thither; for -which his relationship to Lady Adelina would furnish him with a -pretence; and desirous of getting him away as soon as possible, he asked -if he would dine with him at his lodgings. - -Bellozane answered that he was already engaged to Mr. Crofts'; and then -turning to Emmeline, offered to take her hand; and enquired whether she -had a softer heart than when she left Besancon? - -Emmeline drew away her hand; and very gravely entreated him to say no -more on a subject already so frequently discussed, and on which her -sentiments must ever be the same. Bellozane gaily protested that he had -been too long a soldier to be easily repulsed. That he would wait on her -the next day, and doubted not but he should find her more favourably -disposed. '_Je reviendrai demain vous offrir encore mon hommage. Adieu! -nymphe belle et cruelle. La chaine que je porte fera toute ma -gloire._'[42] He then snatched her hand, which in spite of her efforts he -kissed, and with his usual gaiety went away, accompanied by Godolphin. - -Hardly had Emmeline time to recollect her dissipated spirits after the -warm and serious address of Godolphin, and to feel vexation and disgust -at the presumptuous forwardness of Bellozane, from which she apprehended -much future trouble, before a note was brought from Mrs. Stafford, to -inform her, that after waiting some hours at the house of the attorney -she employed, the people who were to meet her had disappointed her, and -that there was no prospect of her getting her business done till a late -hour in the evening; she therefore desired Emmeline to dine without her, -and not to expect her till ten or eleven at night. - -As it was now between four and five, she ordered up her dinner, and was -sitting down to it alone, when Godolphin again entered the room. -Vexation was marked in his countenance: he seemed hurried; and having -apologized for again interrupting her, tho' he did not account for his -return, he sat down. - -'Surely,' cried Emmeline, alarmed, 'you have heard nothing unpleasant -from France?' - -'Nothing, upon my honour,' answered he. 'The account the Chevalier gives -is indeed far from satisfactory, yet I am persuaded there is nothing -particularly amiss, or we should have heard.' - -'It is that consideration only which has made me tolerably easy. Yet it -is strange I have no letter from Lady Westhaven. Will you dine with me?' -added Emmeline. It was indeed hardly possible to avoid asking him, as Le -Limosin at that moment brought up the dinner. - -'Where is Mrs. Stafford?' said he. - -'Detained in the city.' - -'And you dine alone, and will allow me the happiness of dining with -you?' - -'Certainly,' replied Emmeline, blushing, 'if you will favour me with -your company.' - -Godolphin then placed himself at the end of the table; and in the -pleasure of being with her, thus unmarked by others, and considering her -invitation as an assurance that his declaration of the morning was -favourably received, he forgot the chagrin which hung upon him at his -first entrance, and thought only of the means by which he might -perpetuate the happiness he now possessed. - -Emmeline tried to shake off, in common conversation, her extreme -embarrassment. But when dinner was over, and Le Limosin left the room, -in whose presence she felt a sort of protection, she foresaw that she -must again hear Godolphin, and that it would be almost impossible to -evade answering him. - -She now repented of having asked him to dine with her; then blamed -herself for the reserve and coldness with which she had almost always -treated a man, who, deserving all her affections, had so long possessed -them. - -But the idea of poor Delamere--of his sadness, his despair, arose before -her, and was succeeded by yet more frightful images of the consequences -that might follow his frantic passions. And impressed at once with pity -and terror, she again resolved to keep, if it were possible, the true -state of her heart from the knowledge of Godolphin. - -'I have seldom seen one of my relations with so little pleasure,' said -he, after the servant had withdrawn, 'as I to day met my volatile cousin -de Bellozane. I hoped he would have persecuted you no farther with a -passion to which I think you are not disposed to listen.' - -'I certainly never intend it.' - -'Pardon me then, dearest Miss Mowbray, if I solicit leave to renew the -conversation his abrupt entrance broke off. You had the goodness to say -you had some esteem for my character--Ah! tell me, if on that esteem I -may presume to build those hopes which alone can give value to the rest -of my life?' - -Emmeline, who saw he expected an answer, attempted to speak; but the -half-formed words died away on her lips. It was not thus she was used to -receive the addresses of Delamere: her heart then left her reason and -her resolution at liberty, but now the violence of it's sensations -deprived her of all power of uttering sentiments foreign to it, or -concealing those it really felt. - -Godolphin drew from this charming confusion a favourable omen.--'You -hear me not with anger, lovely Emmeline!' cried he--'You allow me, then, -to hope?' - -'I can only repeat, Sir,' said Emmeline, in a voice hardly audible, -'that until I am of age, I have resolved to hear nothing on this -subject.' - -'And why not? Are you not now nearly as independant as you will be -then?' - -'Alas!' said Emmeline, 'I am indeed!--for my uncle concerns not himself -about me, and it is doubtful whether he will do me even the justice to -acknowledge me.' - -'He must, he shall!' replied Godolphin warmly--'Ah! entrust me with your -interest; let me, in the character of the fortunate man whom you allow -to hope for your favour--let me apply to him for justice.' - -'That any one should make such an application, except Lord Westhaven, is -what I greatly wish to avoid. I shall most reluctantly appeal to the -interference of friends; and still more to that of _law_. The last is, -you know, very uncertain. And instead of the heiress to the estate of my -father, as I have lately been taught to believe myself, I may be found -still to be the poor destitute orphan, so long dependant on the bounty -of my uncle.' - -'And as such,' cried Godolphin, greatly animated, 'you will be dearer to -me than my existence! Yes! Emmeline; whether you are mistress of -thousands, or friendless, portionless and deserted, your power over this -heart is equally absolute--equally fixed! Ah! suffer not any -consideration that relates to the uncertainty of your situation, to -delay a moment the permission you must, you will give me, to avow my -long and ardent passion.' - -'It must not be, Mr. Godolphin!' (and tears filled her eyes as she -spoke) 'Indeed it must not be! It is not now _possible_, at least it is -very _improper_, for me to listen to you. Ah! do not then press it. I -have indeed already suffered you to say too much on such a topic.' - -Godolphin then renewed his warm entreaties that he might be permitted -openly to profess himself her lover: but she still evaded giving way to -them, by declaring that 'till she was of age she would not marry. 'Had I -no other objections,' continued she, 'the singularity of my -circumstances is alone sufficient to determine me. I cannot think of -accepting the honour you offer me, while my very _name_ is in some -degree doubtful; it would, I own, mortify me to take any advantage of -your generosity; and should I fail of obtaining from Lord Montreville -that to which I am now believed to have a claim, his Lordship, irritated -at the attempt, will probably withdraw what he has hitherto allowed -me--scanty support, and occasional protection.' - -'Find protection with your lover, with your husband!' exclaimed he--'And -may that happy husband, that adoring lover, be Godolphin! May Adelina -forget her own calamities in contemplating the felicity of her brother; -and may her beauteous, her benevolent friend, become her sister indeed, -as she has long been the sister of her heart.' - -'You will oblige me, Sir,' said Emmeline, feeling that notwithstanding -all her attempts to conceal it the truth trembled in her eyes and -faultered in her accents--'you will oblige me if you say no more of -this.' - -'I will obey you, if you will only tell me I may hope.' - -'How can I say so, Sir, when so long a time must intervene before I -shall think of fixing myself for life.' - -'Yet surely you know, the generous, the candid Miss Mowbray knows, -whether her devoted Godolphin is agreeable to her, or whether, if every -obstacle which exists in her timid imagination were removed, he would be -judged wholly unworthy of pretending to the honour of her hand?' - -'Certainly not unworthy,' tremblingly said Emmeline. - -'Let me then, thus encouraged, go farther--and ask if I have a place in -your esteem?' - -'Do not ask me--indeed I cannot tell--Nay I beg, I entreat,' added she, -trying to disengage her hands from him, 'that you will desist--do not -force me to leave you.' - -'Ah! talk not, think not of leaving me; think rather of confirming those -fortunate presages I draw from this lovely timidity. I cannot go till I -know your thoughts of me--till I know what place I hold in that soft -bosom.' - -'I think of you as an excellent brother; as a generous and disinterested -friend; for such I have found you; as a man of great good sense, of -noble principles, of exalted honour!' - -'As one then,' said Godolphin, vehemently interrupting her, 'not -unworthy of being entrusted with your happiness; who may hope to be -honoured with a deposit so inestimable, as the confidence and tenderness -of that gentle and generous heart?' - -'I do indeed think very highly of you.--I cannot, if I would, deny it.' - -'And you allow me, then, to go instantly to Lord Montreville?' - -'Oh! no! no!--surely nothing I have said implied such a consent.' - -Godolphin, however, was still pressing; and at length brought her to -confess, with blushes, and even with tears, her early and long -partiality for him, and her resolution either to be his, or die -unmarried. She found, indeed, all attempts to dissimulate, vain: the -reserve she had forced herself to assume, gave way to her natural -frankness; and having once been induced to make such an acknowledgment -of the state of her heart, she determined to have no longer any secrets -concealed from him who was it's master. - -She therefore candidly told him how great was her compassion for Lord -Delamere, and how severe her apprehensions of his rage, resentment and -despair. - -He allowed the force of the first; but as to the other, he would not -suppose it a reason for her delaying her marriage. - -'Poor Delamere,' said he, 'is of a temper which opposition and -difficulty renders more eager and more obstinate. Yet when you are for -ever out of his reach; as the obstacle will become invincible, he must -yield to necessity. While you remain single, he will still hope. The -greatest kindness, therefore, that you can do him, will be to convince -him that he has nothing to expect from you; and put an end at once to -the uncertainty which tortures him.' - -'To drive him to despair? Ah! I know so well the dreadful force of his -passions, and the excesses he is capable of committing when under their -influence, that I dare not, I positively will not, risk it. I love -Delamere as my brother; I love him for the resemblance he is said to -bear to my father. I pity him for the errors which the natural -impetuosity of his temper, inflamed by the unbounded indulgence of his -mother, continually leads him into; and the misfortunes these causes are -so frequently inflicting on him; and should his fatal inclination for -me, be the means of bringing on himself and on his family yet other -miseries, I should never forgive myself; or him by whose means they were -incurred.' - -'From me, at least, you have nothing of that sort to apprehend: I truly -pity Delamere; I feel what it must be to have relinquished the woman he -loves; and to find her lost to his hopes, while his passion is -unabated:--be assured my compassion for him will induce me rather to -soothe his unhappiness than to insult him with an ostentatious display -of my enviable fortune. Yet if you suffer me to believe my attachment -not disagreeable to you, how shall I wholly conceal it? how appear as -not _daring_ to avow that, which is the glory and happiness of my life? -and by your being supposed disengaged and indifferent, see you exposed -to the importunities of an infinite number of suitors, who, however -inconsequential they may be to _you_, will torment _me_. I do not know -that I have much of jealousy in my nature; yet I cannot tell how I shall -bear to see Delamere presuming again on your former friendship for -him.--Even the volatile and thoughtless Bellozane has the power to make -me uneasy, when I see him so persuaded of his own merit, and so -confident of success.' - -'While you assert that you are but little disposed to jealousy, you are -persuading me that you are extremely prone to it. You know Bellozane can -never have the smallest interest in my heart. But as to Delamere, I am -decided against inflaming his irritable passions, by encouraging an -avowed rival, tho' I will do all I can by other means, to discourage -him. The only condition on which I will continue to see you is, that you -appear no otherwise interested about me, than as the favoured friend of -your sister, your brother, and Lady Westhaven. Press me, therefore, no -farther on the subject, and let us now part.' - -'Tell me, first, whether your journey remains fixed for -Thursday?--whether you still hold your generous resolution of going to -Adelina?' - -'I do. But I must insist on going alone.' - -'And if Bellozane should enquire whither you are going? You see nothing -prevents his following you; and to follow you to East Cliff, he will, -you know, have sufficient excuse. Emmeline, I cannot bear it!--there is -a presumption in his manner, which offends and shocks me; and which, -however you may dislike it, it may not always be in your power to -repress!' - -'Surely he need not know that I am going thither.' - -It was now, therefore, agreed between them that if Bellozane called upon -her the next day, as he said he intended, she should be denied to him; -and that early on the following morning, which was Thursday, she should -set out for East Cliff, attended by Madelon and Le Limosin. - -This arrangement was hardly made when Mrs. Stafford returned, weary and -exhausted from the unpleasant party with which she had passed the day. - -With Emmeline's permission (who left the room that she might not hear -it) Godolphin related to Mrs. Stafford the conversation they had held. -It was the only information which had any power to raise her depressed -spirits; and as soon as Emmeline rejoined them, she added her entreaties -to those of Godolphin. They urged her to conquer immediately all those -scruples which divided her from him to whom she had given her heart; and -to put herself into such protection as must at once obviate all the -difficulties she apprehended. But Emmeline still adhered to her -resolution of remaining single, if not 'till she was of age, at least -till her affairs with her uncle were adjusted, and 'till she saw the -unhappy Delamere restored to health and tranquillity. But -notwithstanding this delay, Godolphin, assured of possessing her -affection, left her with an heart which was even oppressed with the -excess of it's own happiness. - -[Footnote 39: The Chevalier is below.] - -[Footnote 40: How lively and agreeable she is--how much she has the air -of a woman of fashion and of the world.] - -[Footnote 41: Not so handsome, perhaps--but there is a something--in -short, I think her charming.] - -[Footnote 42: I shall come again to-morrow to offer my homage. Adieu! -fair, cruel nymph! I place my glory in wearing your chains.] - - - - -CHAPTER XI - - -Emmeline seemed to be happier since she had confessed to Godolphin his -influence over her mind, and since she had made him in some measure the -director of her actions. She hoped that she might conceal her partiality -'till she had nothing to fear from Delamere; at present she was sure he -had no suspicion that Godolphin was his rival; and she flattered -herself, that on his return to England, the conviction of her coldness -would by degrees wean him from his attachment, and that he would learn -to consider her only as his sister. - -These pleasing hopes, however, were insufficient to balance the concern -she felt for Mrs. Stafford; who having long struggled against her -calamities, now seemed on the point of sinking under their pressure, and -of determining to attend, in despondent resignation, the end of her -unmerited sufferings. - -Emmeline attempted to re-animate her, by repeating all the promises of -Lord Westhaven, on whose word she had the most perfect reliance. She -assured her, that the moment her own affairs were settled, her first -care should be the re-establishment of those of her beloved friend. For -some time the oppressed spirits of Mrs. Stafford would only allow her to -answer with her tears these generous assurances. At length she said-- - -'It is to you, my Emmeline, I could perhaps learn to be indebted -without being humbled; for you have an heart which receives while it -confers an obligation. But think what it is for one, born with a right -to affluence and educated in its expectation, with feelings keen from -nature, and made yet keener by refinement, to be compelled, as I have -been, to solicit favours, pecuniary favours, from persons who have no -feeling at all--from the shifting, paltry-spirited James Crofts, -forbearance from the claim of debts; from the callous-hearted and -selfish politician, his father, pity and assistance; from Rochely, who -has no ideas but of getting or saving money, to ask the loan of it! and -to bear with humility a rude refusal. I have endured the brutal -unkindness of hardened avarice, the dirty chicane of law, exercised by -the most contemptible of beings; I have been forced to attempt softening -the tradesman and the mechanic, and to suffer every degree of -humiliation which the insolence of sudden prosperity or the insensible -coolness of the determined money dealer, could inflict. Actual poverty, -I think, I could have better borne; - - - 'I should have found, in some place of my soul, - A drop of patience!' - - -But ineffectual attempts to ward it off by such degradation I can no -longer submit to. While Mr. Stafford, for whom I have encountered it -all, is not only unaffected by the poignant mortifications which torture -me; but receives my efforts to serve him, if successful, only as a -duty--if unsuccessful, he considers my failure as a fault; and loads me -with reproach, with invective, with contempt!--others have, in their -husbands, protectors and friends; mine, not only throws on me the -burthen of affairs which he has himself embroiled, but adds to their -weight by cruelty and oppression. Such complicated and incurable misery -must overwhelm me, and then--what will become of my children?' - -Penetrated with pity and sorrow, Emmeline listened, in tears, to this -strong but too faithful picture of the situation of her unfortunate -friend; and with difficulty said, in a voice of the tenderest pity-- - -'Yet a little patience and surely things will mend. It cannot be very -long, before I shall either be in high affluence or reduced to my former -dependance; perhaps to actual indigence. Of these events, I hope the -former is the most probable: but be it as it may, you and your children -will be equally dear to me.--If I am rich, my house, my fortune shall -be your's--if I am poor, I will live with you, and we will work -together. But for such resources as the pencil or the needle may afford -us, we shall, I think, have no occasion. You, my dear friend, will -continue to exert yourself for your children; Lord Westhaven is greatly -interested for you; and all will yet be well.' - -'I am afraid not,' replied Mrs. Stafford. 'Among the various misfortunes -of life, there are some that admit of no cure; some, which even the -tender and generous friendship of my Emmeline can but palliate. Of that -nature, I fear, are many of mine. My past life has been almost all -bitterness; God only knows what the remainder of it may be, but - - - 'Shadows, clouds, and darkness, rest upon it.' - - -'Ah! give not up your mind to these gloomy thoughts,' said Emmeline. -'Setting aside all hopes I have of being able, without the assistance of -any one, to clear those prospects, I have a firm dependance on Lord -Westhaven, and am sure I shall yet see you happy.' - -'Never, I believe, in this world!' dejectedly answered Mrs. Stafford. -'But why should I distress you, my best Emmeline, with a repetition of -my hopeless sorrows; why cannot I now refrain, as I have hitherto done, -from taxing with my complaints your lively sensibility?' She then began -to talk of their journey for the next day, for which every thing was now -ready. It would have been very agreeable to Emmeline could Mrs. Stafford -have gone by Southampton, and have accompanied her for a few days to -East Cliff; but she said, that besides her suffering so much at sea, -which made the long passage to France very dreadful to her, she had -already, in a letter to her husband, fixed to go by Calais; and as he -might either send or come to meet her on that road, he might be offended -if she took the other: besides these reasons, she had yet another in the -chance the Calais road afforded of meeting Lord and Lady Westhaven. The -two last arguments were unanswerable: Emmeline relinquished the project -of their going together; and they passed the rest of the day in the last -preparations for their separate journeys. In the course of it, Bellozane -called twice, but was not admitted. Godolphin was allowed to sup with -them; and early the next morning came again to see them set out. They -parted on all sides with tears and reluctance--Emmeline, with Madelon -in the chaise with her, and Le Limosin on horseback, took the road to -Southampton, and Mrs. Stafford pursued her melancholy journey to Dover. - -Emmeline arrived at Southampton late the same evening, where she slept; -and the next morning landed on the Isle of Wight. - -It was a clear and mild day, towards the end of October; and she walked, -attended by her servants, to East Cliff. As she approached the door of -Godolphin's house, her heart beat quick; a thousand tender recollections -arose that related to it's beloved master, and some mournful -apprehensions for the fate of it's present lovely and unhappy -inhabitant. - -The maid who had so long waited on Lady Adelina opened the door, and -expressed the utmost delight at seeing Emmeline. 'Ah! dearest Madam!' -said she, 'how good it is in you to come to my lady! Now, I hope, both -her health and her spirits will be better. But the joy of knowing you -are here, will overcome her, unless I inform her of it with caution; for -tho' she rather expected you, I know it will be extreme.' - -Barret then ran to execute this welcome commission, and in a few moments -Lady Adelina, supported by her, walked into the room, holding in her -hand little William, and fell, almost insensible, into the arms of her -friend. - -The expression of her countenance, faded as it was, where a gleam of -exquisite pleasure seemed to lighten up the soft features which had long -sunk under the blighting hand of sorrow; her weeds, forming so striking -a contrast to the fairness of her transparent skin; and the lovely -child, now about fourteen months old, which hung on her arm; made her -altogether appear to Emmeline the most interesting, the most affecting -figure, she had ever seen. Neither of them could speak. Lady Adelina -murmured something, as she fondly pressed Emmeline to her heart; but it -was not till it's oppression was relieved by tears, that she could -distinctly thank her for coming. Emmeline, with equal marks of -tenderness, embraced the mother and caressed the son, whose infantine -beauty would have charmed her had he been the child of a stranger. After -a little, they grew more composed; and Emmeline, while Lady Adelina in -the most melting accents spoke of her brother William, and enquired -tenderly after her elder brother and his wife, had time to contemplate -her lovely but palid face; from which the faint glow of transient -pleasure, the animated vivacity of momentary rapture, was gone; and a -languor so great seemed to hang over her, such pensive and settled -melancholy had taken possession of her features, that Emmeline could -hardly divest herself of the idea of immediate danger; and fancied that -she was come thither only to see the beauteous mourner sink into the -grave. She trembled to think on the consequence which, in such a state -of health, might arise from the conflict she would probably have to -undergo in regard to Fitz-Edward. Emmeline herself dared not name him to -Godolphin in their long conference. It was a subject, on which (however -slightly touched) he had always expressed such painful sensibility, that -she could not resolve to enter upon it with him. Yet she foresaw, that -on Lord Westhaven's arrival either a general explanation must take -place, or that his Lordship would accept, for his sister, the offer of -Fitz-Edward, to which there would be in his eyes, (while he yet remained -ignorant of their former unfortunate acquaintance,) no possible -objection. She supposed that Lord and Lady Clancarryl, equally ignorant -of that error (which had been partly owing to their own confidence in -Fitz-Edward) would press Lady Adelina to accept him; and that Godolphin -must either consent to forgive, and receive him as his brother, or give -such reasons for opposing his alliance with Lady Adelina, as would -probably destroy the peace of his family and the fragile existence of -his sister. Sometimes, she thought that his inflexible honour would -yield, and induce him to bury the past in oblivion. But then she -recollected all the indignation he had but lately expressed against -Fitz-Edward, and doubted, with fearful apprehension, the event. - -The first day passed without that mutual and unreserved confidence being -absolutely established, which the lovely friends longed to repose in -each other. Lady Adelina languished to enquire after, to talk of -Fitz-Edward, yet dared not trust herself with his name; and Emmeline, -tho' well assured that the knowledge of those terms which she was now on -with Godolphin would give infinite pleasure to his sister, yet had not -courage to reveal that truth which her conscious heart secretly enjoyed. -Affected with her friend's depression, and unwilling to keep her up -late, she complained of fatigue soon in the evening, and retired to her -own room. She there dismissed Madelon, and bade her, as soon as Mrs. -Barret came from her lady's apartment, let her know that she desired to -speak to her. - -She wished to enquire of this faithful servant her opinion of her lady's -health. And as soon as she came to her, expressed her fears about it in -terms equally anxious and tender. - -'Ah! Madam,' said Barret, 'all you observe as to my lady is but too -just; and what I go thro' about her, (especially when the Captain is not -here) I am sure no tongue can tell. Sometimes, Ma'am, when I have left -her of a night, and she tells me she is going to bed, I hear her walk -about the room talking; then she goes to the bed (for I have looked -thro' the key hole) where Master Godolphin sleeps, and looks at him, and -bursts into tears and laments herself over him, and again begins to walk -about the room, and speaks as it were to herself; and at other times, -she will open the window, and leaning her head on her two hands, sit and -look at the clouds and the stars; and sighs so deeply, and so often, -that it makes my heart quite ache to hear her. The child was very ill -once with a tooth fever, while the Captain was gone to France; and then -indeed I thought my poor lady would have been quite, quite gone in her -head again; for she talked _so_ wildly of what she would do if he died, -and said such things, as almost frightened me to death. We sent to -Winchester for a physician; and before he could come, for you know, -Ma'am, what a long way 'tis to send, she grew so impatient, and had -terrified herself into such agonies, that when the doctor did come, he -said she was in a great deal the most danger of the two. Thank God, -Master Godolphin soon got well; but it was a long time before my lady -was quite herself again; and since that, Ma'am, she will hardly suffer -Master out of her sight at all; but makes either his own maid or me sit -in the room to attend upon him while she reads or writes. When she walks -out, she generally orders one of us to take him with her; and only goes -out alone after he is in bed of a night. Then, indeed, she stays out -long enough; and tho' you see, Ma'am, how sadly she looks, she never -seems to care at all about her own health, but does things that really -would kill a strong person.' - -'What then does she do?' enquired Emmeline. - -'Why, Ma'am, quite late sometimes of a night, when every body else is -asleep, she will go away by herself perhaps to that wood you see there, -or down to the sea shore; and she orders me to let nobody follow her. -Quite of cold nights this Autumn, when the wind blew, and the sea made a -noise so loud and dismal, she has staid there whole hours by herself; -only I ventured to disobey her so far as to see that no harm came to -her. But three or four times, Ma'am, she remained so long that I -concluded she must catch her death. At last, I bethought me of getting -one of the maids to go and tell her Master was awake; and I have got her -to come in by that means out of the wind and the cold. Then, Ma'am, she -seems to take pleasure in nothing but sorrow and melancholy. The books -she reads are so sad, that sometimes, when her own eyes are tired and -she makes me read them to her, I get quite horrible thoughts in my head. -But my lady, instead of trying, as I do, to shake them off, will go -directly to her music, and play such mournful tunes, that it really -quite overcomes me, as I am at work in another room. At other times she -goes and writes verses about her own unhappiness. How is it possible, -Ma'am, that with such ways of passing her time, my lady, always so -delicate as she was in health, should be well: for my part I only wonder -she is not quite dead.' - -'But how do you know, Barret, that your lady employs herself in writing -verses about her own unhappiness?' - -'Dear, Ma'am, I have found them about every where. When the Captain is -absent, my lady is indifferent where she leaves them. Sometimes four or -five sheets lay open on the table in her little dressing room, and -sometimes upon her music.' - -Emmeline was too certain that such were the occupations of her poor -friend. During the short time they had been together, Lady Adelina had -shewn her some work; and as she took it out of her drawer, she drew out -some papers with it. - -'I do but little work,' said she. 'I find even embroidery does not serve -to call off my thoughts sufficiently from myself. I read a good deal in -books of mere amusement, for of serious application I am incapable; and -here is another specimen of my method of employing myself, which perhaps -you will not think a remedy for melancholy thoughts.' - -She put a written paper into Emmeline's hand, who was about to open it; -but Lady Adelina added, with a pensive smile, 'do not read it now; -rather keep it till you are alone.' - -This paper Emmeline took out to peruse as soon as she had dismissed -Barret. Her heart bled as she ran over this testimony of the anguish and -despondence which preyed on the heart of Lady Adelina. It was an - - - ODE TO DESPAIR - - Thou spectre of terrific mien, - Lord of the hopeless heart and hollow eye, - In whose fierce train each form is seen - That drives sick Reason to insanity! - I woo thee with unusual prayer, - 'Grim visaged, comfortless Despair!' - Approach; in me a willing victim find, - Who seeks thine iron sway--and calls thee kind! - - Ah! hide for ever from my sight - The faithless flatterer Hope--whose pencil, gay, - Portrays some vision of delight, - Then bids the fairy tablet fade away; - While in dire contrast, to mine eyes - Thy phantoms, yet more hideous, rise, - And Memory draws, from Pleasure's wither'd flower, - Corrosives for the heart--of fatal power! - - I bid the traitor Love, adieu! - Who to this fond, believing bosom came, - A guest insidious and untrue, - With Pity's soothing voice--in Friendship's name; - The wounds _he_ gave, nor Time shall cure, - Nor Reason teach me to endure. - And to that breast mild Patience pleads in vain, - Which feels the curse--of meriting it's pain. - - Yet not to me, tremendous power! - Thy worst of spirit-wounding pangs impart, - With which, in dark conviction's hour, - Thou strik'st the guilty unrepentant heart! - But of Illusion long the sport, - That dreary, tranquil gloom I court - Where my past errors I may still deplore - And dream of long-lost happiness no more! - - To thee I give this tortured breast, - Where Hope arises but to foster pain; - Ah! lull it's agonies to rest! - Ah! let me never be deceiv'd again! - But callous, in thy deep repose - Behold, in long array, the woes - Of the dread future, calm and undismay'd, - Till I may claim the hope--that shall not fade! - - -The feelings of a mind which could dictate such an address, appeared to -Emmeline so greatly to be lamented, and so unlikely to be relieved, that -the tender and painful compassion she had ever been sensible of for her -unhappy friend, was if possible augmented. Full of ideas almost as -mournful as those by which they had been inspired, she went to bed, but -not to tranquil sleep. Her spirits, worn by her journey, and oppressed -by her concern for Lady Adelina, were yet busy; and instead of the -uneasy images which had pursued her while she waked, they represented to -her others yet more terrifying. She beheld, in her dreams, Godolphin -wildly seeking vengeance of Fitz-Edward for the death of his sister. -Then, instead of Fitz-Edward, Lord Delamere appeared to be the object of -his wrath, and mutual fury seemed to animate them against the lives of -each other. To them, her uncle, in all the phrenzy of grief and despair, -succeeded; overwhelmed her with reproaches for the loss of his only son, -and tore her violently away from Godolphin, who in vain pursued her. - -These horrid visions returned so often, drest in new forms of terror, -that Emmeline, having long resisted the impression they made upon her, -could at length bear them no longer; but shaking off all disposition to -indulge sleep on such terms, she arose from her bed, and wrapping -herself up in her night gown, went to the window. The dawn did not yet -appear; but she sat down by the window, of which she had opened the -shutter to watch it's welcome approach. - -The morning, for it was between three and four, was mild; the declining -stars were obscured by no cloud, and served to shew dimly the objects in -the garden beneath her. She softly opened the sash; listened to the low, -hollow murmur of the sea; and surveyed the lawn and the hill behind it, -which, by the faint and uncertain light, she could just discern. All -breathed a certain solemn and melancholy stillness calculated to inspire -horror. Emmeline's blood ran cold; yet innocence like her's really fears -nothing if free from the prejudices of superstition. She endeavoured to -conquer the disagreeable sensations she felt, and to shake off the -effects of her dreams; but the silence, and the gloominess of the scene, -assisted but little her efforts, and she cast an eye of solicitude -towards the Eastern horizon, and wished for the return of the sun. - -In this disposition of mind, she was at once amazed and alarmed, by -seeing the figure of a man, tall and thin, wrapped in a long horseman's -coat, as if on purpose to disguise him, force himself out from between -the shrubs which bounded one part of the lawn. He looked not towards the -windows; but with folded arms, and his hat over his eyes, was poring on -the ground, while with slow steps he crossed the lawn and came -immediately under the windows of the house. - -When she first perceived him, she had started back from that where she -sat; but tho' greatly surprized, she could not forbear watching him: on -longer observing his figure, she fancied it was that of a gentleman; and -by his slow walk and manner he did not appear to have any design to -attack the house. Her presence of mind never forsook her unless where -her heart was greatly affected; and she had now courage enough to -determine that she would still continue for some moments to observe him, -and would not alarm the servants till she saw reason to believe he had -ill intentions. She sat therefore quite still; and saw, that instead of -making any attempt to enter the house, he traversed the whole side of it -next the lawn, with a measured and solemn pace, several times; then -stopped a moment, again went to the end, and slowly returned; and having -continued to do so near an hour, he crossed the grass, and disappeared -among the shrubs from whence he had issued. - -Had not Emmeline been very sure that she not only heard his footsteps -distinctly as he passed over a gravel walk in his way, but even heard -him breathe hard and short, as if agitated or fatigued, she would almost -have persuaded herself that it was a phantom raised by her disordered -spirits. The longer she reflected on it, the more incomprehensible it -seemed, that a man should, at such an hour, make such an excursion, -apparently to so little purpose. That it was with a dishonest design -there seemed no likelihood, as he made no effort to force his way into -the house, which he might easily have done; and had he come on a -clandestine visit to any of the servants, he would probably have had -some signal by which his confederates would have been informed of his -approach. But he seemed rather fearful of disturbing the sleeping -inhabitants; his step was slow and light; and on perceiving the first -rays of the morning, he 'started like a guilty thing,' and swiftly -stepped away to his concealment. - -Emmeline continued some time at the window after his disappearance, -believing he might return. But it soon grew quite light: the gardener -appeared at his work; and she was then convinced that he would for that -time come no more. - -So extraordinary a circumstance, however, dwelt on her mind; nor could -she entirely divest herself of alarm. A strange and confused idea that -this visitor might be some one not unknown to her, crossed her mind. His -height answered almost equally to that of Bellozane, Godolphin, and -Fitz-Edward. The latter, indeed, was rather the tallest, and to him she -thought the figure bore the greatest resemblance. Yet he had taken leave -of her ten days before she left London, and told her he was going down -to Mr. Percival's, in Berkshire; where, as he was very anxious to hear -of Lady Adelina, he had desired Mrs. Stafford to write to him; (who had -done so, and had received an answer of thanks dated from thence before -the departure of Emmeline from London). That Fitz-Edward, therefore, -should be the person, seemed improbable; yet it was hardly less so that -a night ruffian should be on foot so long, without any attempt to -execute mischief, or even the appearance of examining how it might be -perpetrated. After long consideration, she determined, that lest the -first conjecture should be true, she would speak to nobody of the -stranger she had seen; but would watch another night, before she either -terrified Lady Adelina with the apprehension of robbers, or gave rise to -conjectures in her and the servants of yet more disquieting tendency. -Having taken this resolution, and argued herself out of all those fears -for her personal safety which might have enfeebled a less rational mind, -she met Lady Adelina at breakfast with her usual ease, and almost with -her usual chearfulness: but she was pale, and her eyes were heavy: Lady -Adelina remarked it with concern; but Emmeline, making light of it, -imputed it intirely to the fatigue of her journey; and when their -breakfast was finished, proposed a walk. To this her friend assented; -and while she went to give some orders, and to fetch the crape veil in -which she usually wrapped herself, (for even her dress partook something -of the mournful cast of her mind), Emmeline, already equipped, went into -the lawn, and saw plainly where the stranger had made his way thro' the -thick shrubs, and where the flexible branches of a young larch were -twisted away, a laurel broken, and that some deciduous trees behind them -had lost all their lower leaves; which, having sustained the first -frosts, fell on the slightest violence. She marked the place with her -eye; and determined to observe whether, if he came again, it was from -thence. - -Emmeline now desired that Madelon might come with them to wait on little -William, rather than his own maid; as she understood English so ill, -that she would be no interruption to their discourse. They then walked -arm in arm together towards the sea; and there Lady Adelina, who now -enjoyed the opportunity she had so long languished for, opened to her -sympathizing friend the sorrows of an heart struggling vainly with a -passion she condemned, and sinking under ineffectual efforts to -vindicate her honour and eradicate her love. - -She knew not that Fitz-Edward had ever written to her. Godolphin, well -acquainted with his hand, had kept the letter from her. She knew not -that he had applied to Emmeline: and tho' she had torn herself from him, -and had vowed never again to write to him, to name him, to hear from -him, she involuntarily felt disposed to accuse him of neglect, of -ingratitude, of cruelty, for having never attempted to write to her or -see her; and added the poignant anguish of jealousy to the dreary -horrors of despair. That Fitz-Edward was for ever lost to her, she -seemed to be convinced; yet that he should forget her, or attach himself -to another, seemed a torment so entirely insupportable, that when her -mind dwelt upon it, as it perpetually did, her reason was inadequate to -the pain it inflicted; and when she touched on that subject, Emmeline -too evidently saw symptoms of that derangement of intellect to which she -had once before been a melancholy witness. - -With a mind thus unsettled, and a heart thus oppressed, the consequences -of touching on the application of Fitz-Edward to herself, might, as -Emmeline believed, have the most alarming effect on Lady Adelina. And -she dared not therefore name it unless she had the concurrence of -Godolphin. She only attempted to soothe and tranquillize her mind, -without giving her those assurances of his undiminished attachment, -which, she thought, might in the event only encrease her anguish, if her -brother remained inflexible. On the other hand, she forbore to -remonstrate with her on the necessity there might be to forget him; -being too well convinced that the arguments which were to enforce that -doctrine, would be useless, and perhaps appear cruel, to a heart so -deeply wounded as was that of the luckless, lovely Adelina. - -But in pouring her sorrows into the bosom of her friend she appeared to -find consolation. The tender pity of Emmeline was a balm to her wounded -mind; and growing more composed, she began to discourse on the singular -discovery Emmeline had made, and to enter with some interest into the -affairs depending between her and the Marquis of Montreville; and by -questions, aided by the natural frankness of Emmeline, at length became -acquainted with the happy prospects, which, tho' distant, opened to -Godolphin. - -This was the only information that seemed to have the power of -suspending for a moment the weight of those afflictions which Lady -Adelina suffered. 'My brother then,' cried she--'my dear Godolphin, will -be happy! And you, my most amiable friend, will constitute, while you -share his felicity. Ah! fortunate, thrice fortunate for ye both, was the -hour of your meeting; for heaven and nature surely designed ye for each -other! Fortunate, too, were those circumstances which divided my -Emmeline from Delamere, before indissoluble bonds enchained you for -ever. Had it been otherwise; had _your_ guardian angel slumbered as -_mine did_; you too, all lovely and deserving as you are, would have -been condemned to the bitterest of all lots, and might have discovered -all the excellence and worth of Godolphin, when your duty and your -honour allowed you no eyes but for Delamere. _Your_ destiny is more -happy--yet not happier than you deserve. Oh! may it quickly be fixed -unalterably; and long, very long, may it endure! So shall your Adelina, -for the little while she drags on a reluctant existence, have something -on which to lean for the alleviation of her sorrows; and when she shall -interrupt your felicity no longer by the sight of cureless calamity, she -will, in full confidence, entrust the sole tie she has on earth, the -dear and innocent victim of her fatal weakness, to the compassionate -bosoms of Godolphin and his Emmeline!' - -The tremulous voice and singular manner in which Lady Adelina uttered -these words, made Emmeline tremble. She now tried to divert the -attention of her poor friend, from dwelling too earnestly either on her -own wretchedness or the promised felicity of her brother: but, as if -exhausted by the mingled emotions of pain and pleasure, she soon -afterwards fell into a deep silence; scarce attending to what was said; -and after a long pause, she suddenly called to Madelon, in whose arms -her little boy had fallen asleep, and looking at him earnestly a moment, -took him from the maid, and carried him towards the house. Emmeline, -more and more convinced of her partial intellectual derangement, -followed her, dreading lest she should see it encrease, without the -power of applying any remedy. Before Lady Adelina reached the gate, -which opened from the cliffs to the lawn, she was fatigued by her lovely -burthen and forced to stop. Emmeline would then have taken him; but she -said 'No!' and sitting down on the ground, held him in her lap, till -Barret, who had seen her from a window, came out and took him from her; -to which, as to a thing usual, she consented, and then walked calmly -home with Emmeline, who, extremely discomposed by the wildness of her -manner, was fearful of again introducing any interesting topic, lest she -should again touch those fine chords which were untuned in the mind of -her unhappy friend; and which seemed occasionally to vibrate with an -acuteness that threatened the ruin of the whole fabric. Barret, who -afterwards came to assist her in dressing, told her, that within the -last six weeks her lady had often been subject to long fits of absence, -sometimes of tears; which generally ended in her snatching the child -eagerly to her, kissing him with the wildest fondness, and that after -having kept him with her some time, and wept extremely, she usually -became rational and composed for the rest of the day. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - - -When Emmeline met Lady Adelina at dinner, she had the satisfaction to -find her quite tranquil and easy. As the afternoon proved uncommonly -fine, and Emmeline was never weary of contemplating the scenery which -surrounded them, she willingly consented to Lady Adelina's proposal of -another ramble; that she might see some beautiful cliffs, a little -farther from the house than she had yet been. There, she was pleased to -find, that her fair friend seemed to call off her mind from it's usual -painful occupations to admire the charms, which on one side a very -lovely country, and on the other an extensive sea view, offered to their -sight. - -'You cannot imagine, my Emmeline,' said she, 'how exquisitely beautiful -the prospect is from the point of these rocks where we stand, in the -midst of summer; now the sun, more distant, gives it a less glowing and -rich lustre, and reflects not his warm rays on the sea, and on the white -cliffs that hang over it. Here it was, that indulging that melancholy -for which I have too much reason, I made, while my brother was absent -last summer, some lines, which, if it was pleasant to repeat one's own -poetry, I would read to you, as descriptive at once of the scene, and -the state of mind in which I surveyed it.' - -Emmeline now earnestly pressing her to gratify the curiosity she had -thus raised, at length prevailed upon her to repeat the following - - - SONNET - - Far on the sands, the low, retiring tide, - In distant murmurs hardly seems to flow, - And o'er the world of waters, blue and wide - The sighing summer wind, forgets to blow. - - As sinks the day star in the rosy West, - The silent wave, with rich reflection glows; - Alas! can tranquil nature give _me_ rest, - Or scenes of beauty, soothe me to repose? - - Can the soft lustre of the sleeping main, - Yon radient heaven; or all creation's charms, - 'Erase the written troubles of the brain,' - Which Memory tortures, and which Guilt alarms? - Or bid a bosom transient quiet prove, - That bleeds with vain remorse, and unextinguish'd love! - - -The 'season and the scene' were brought by this description full on the -mind of Emmeline; yet she almost immediately repented having pressed -Adelina to repeat to her what seemed to have led her again into her -usual tract of sad reflection. She fell, as usual, into one of her -reveries, and as they walked homewards said very little. The rest of the -evening, however, passed in a sort of mournful tranquillity--Adelina -seemed to feel encreasing pleasure as she gazed on her friend; and -remembering all her goodness, reflected on the happiness of her brother. -But this satisfaction was not of that kind which seeks to express itself -in words; and Emmeline, sensible of great anxiety for her and Godolphin, -(who would, she knew, be cruelly hurt by the relapse which he feared -threatened his sister) and busied in no pleasant conjectures about the -person whom she had seen in the lawn, was in no spirits for -conversation. Nor did her thoughts, when they wandered to other objects -from those immediately before her, bring home much to appease her -anxiety. That nothing had yet been heard of Lord and Lady Westhaven, was -extremely disquieting. She knew not that the Marquis of Montreville had -received a letter for her under cover to him; and that having sent it to -Mr. Crofts in another, in order to be forwarded to her, the latter had -exercised his political talents, and supposing it related to her claims -on Lord Montreville, and probably contained instructions for pursuing -them, and that therefore his Lordship would be but little concerned if -it never reached the place of its destination, he had very composedly -put it into the fire; and undertook, should it be enquired for, to -account for it's failure without suffering the name of Lord Montreville -to be called in question. - -The Marquis, tho' his conscience had been so long under the direction of -Sir Richard Crofts that it ought to have acquired insensibility as -callous as his own, yet found it sometimes a very troublesome companion; -and it often spoke to him so severely on the subject of his niece, that -he was more than once on the point of writing to her, to say he was -ready to make her the retribution to which his heart told him she had -the clearest pretensions, and which his fears whispered that a court of -justice would certainly render her. - -These qualms and these fears, would inevitably have produced a -restoration of the Mowbray estate to it's owner, had they not been -counteracted by the influence of the Marchioness of Montreville and Sir -Richard Crofts. The Marchioness, now in declining health, felt all the -inefficacy of riches, and all the fallacy of ambition; yet could she not -determine to relinquish one, or to own that the other had but little -power to confer happiness. That Emmeline Mowbray, whom she had despised -and rejected, should suddenly become heiress to a large fortune, and -that of that fortune her own children should be deprived; that Lord -Westhaven should be the instrument to assist her in this hateful -transition, and should interfere for this obscure orphan, against the -interest of the illustrious family into which he had married; stung her -to the soul, and irritated the natural asperity of her temper, already -soured by the repeated defection of Delamere, and her own continual ill -health, till it was grown insupportable to others, and injurious to -herself; since it aggravated all her complaints, and put it out of the -power of medicine to relieve her. - -Rather than encrease these maladies by opposition, his Lordship was -content to yield to delay. And while her haughtiness and violence -withheld him on one hand from settling with his niece, Sir Richard -assailed him on the other with cool and plausible arguments; and -together they obliged him to have recourse to such expedients as gained -time, without his having much hope that he could finally detain the -property of his late brother from his daughter, who seemed likely to -establish her right to it's possession. - -At once to indulge his avarice and quiet his conscience, he would -willingly have consented to pay her a considerable portion, and to leave -her right to the whole undecided; but of such an accommodation there -seemed no probability, unless he could win over Lord Westhaven to his -interest. He thought, however, that there could be little doubt of his -re-uniting the Mowbray estate with his own, by promoting the marriage -between Emmeline and Lord Delamere, which he had hitherto so strenuously -opposed. But this, he knew, must be the last resort; not only because he -was ashamed so immediately to avow a change of opinion in regard to -Emmeline, which could have happened only from her change of -circumstances, but because the dislike which Lady Montreville had -originally conceived towards her, now amounted to the most determined -and inveterate hatred. - -Bent on conversing fully with Lord Westhaven before he took any measures -whatever either to detain or to restore the estate, the Marquis was -desirous of seeing him immediately on his arrival in England, and to -precede any conversation he might hold with Emmeline. For this reason he -kept back all information that related to his son-in-law's return; and -tho' he knew that the indisposition of Lord Delamere and his sister had -kept Lord Westhaven at Paris almost three weeks, and that they were -travelling only twenty miles a day, from thence to Calais, he had -withheld even this intelligence from the anxious Emmeline. - -Lady Frances Crofts, never feeling any great disposition to filial -piety, and having lost, in the giddy career of dissipation, the little -sensibility she ever possessed, was soon tired of attending on her -mother at Audley Hall. The fretful impatience or irksome lassitude which -devoured a mind without resources, and weary of itself, in the -melancholy gloom of a sick chamber, soon disgusted and fatigued her; she -therefore left Audley Hall in October, and after staying ten days or a -fortnight in Burlington street, where she made an acquaintance with -Bellozane, she went to pass the months that yet intervened before it was -fashionable to appear in London, at a villa near Richmond; which she had -taken in the summer, and fitted up with every ornament luxury could -invent or money purchase. She retired not thither, however, to court the -sylvan deities: a set of friends of both sexes attended her. Bellozane -was very handsome, very lively, very much a man of fashion: Lady -Frances, who thought him no bad addition to her train, invited him also. -Bellozane became the life of the party; and was soon so much at his ease -in the family, and so great a favourite with her Ladyship, at a very -early period of their acquaintance, that only her high rank there -exempted her from those censures, which, in a less elevated condition, -would have fallen on her, from the grave and sagacious personages who -are so good as to take upon them the regulation of the world. - -Crofts, detained by his office in London, heard more than gave him any -pleasure. But like a wise and cautious husband, he forebore to complain. -Besides the fear of his wife, which was no inconsiderable motive to -silence, he had the additional fear of the martial and fierce-looking -French soldier before his eyes; who talked, in very bad English, of such -encounters and exploits as made the cold-blooded politician shudder. - -When, on Friday evenings, after the business of his office was over, he -went down to Richmond, he now always found there this foreign Adonis; -and beheld him with mingled hatred and horror, tho' he concealed both -under the appearance of cringing and servile complaisance. And when Lady -Frances compared the narrow-spirited and mean-looking Crofts, with the -handsome, animated, gallant Bellozane, the poor husband felt all the -disadvantages of the comparison, and as certainly suffered for it. -Scorning to dissimulate with a man whom she thought infinitely too -fortunate in being allied to her on any terms, and superior to the -censures of a world, the greater part of whom she considered as beings -of another species from the daughter of the Marquis of Montreville, her -Ladyship grew every day fonder of the Chevalier, and less solicitous to -conceal her partiality. She found, too, her vanity and inordinate self -love gratified, in believing that this elegant foreigner did justice to -her superior attractions, and had been won by them, from that -inclination for Emmeline which had brought him to England. A conquest -snatched from _her_, whom she had always considered at once with envy -and contempt, was doubly delightful; and Bellozane, with all the -volatility of his adopted country, saw nothing disloyal or improper in -returning the kind attentions of Lady Frances, _en attendant_ the -arrival of Emmeline; with whom he was a good deal piqued for her having -left London so abruptly without informing him whither she was gone. He -still preferred her to every other person; but he was not therefore -insensible to the kindness, or blind to the charms of Lady Frances; who -was really very handsome; and who, with a great portion of the beauty -inherited by the Mowbray family, possessed the Juno-like air as well as -the high spirit of her mother. In aid of these natural advantages, every -refinement of art was exhausted; and by those who preferred it's -dazzling effects to the interesting and graceful simplicity of unadorned -beauty, Lady Frances, dressed for the opera, might have been esteemed -more charming, than Emmeline in her modest muslin night gown; or than -the pensive Madona, which, in her widow's dress, was represented by Lady -Adelina. - -These two friends, after having passed a calm afternoon together, -retired early to their respective apartments. Emmeline, who had a -repeating watch, given her by Lord Westhaven, wound it up carefully; and -having bolted her chamber door, lay down for a few hours; being sure -that the anxiety she felt would awaken her before the return of that on -which the stranger had appeared the preceding night. Fatigue and long -watching closed her eyes; but her slumber was imperfect; and suddenly -awaking at some fancied noise, she pressed her repeater, and found it -was half past three o'clock. - -This was about the time on which the man had appeared the night before; -and tho' she felt some fear, she had yet more curiosity to know whether -he came again. She arose softly, therefore, and went to the window, -which she did not venture to open. But she had no occasion to look -towards the shrubbery to watch the coming of the stranger; he was -already traversing the length of the house, dressed as before; and with -his arms folded, and his head bent towards the ground, he slowly moved -in the same pensive attitude. - -Emmeline, tho' now impressed with deeper astonishment, summoned -resolution narrowly to observe his air and figure. Had not his hat -concealed his face, the obscurity would not have allowed her to examine -his features. But tho' the great coat he wore considerably altered the -outline of his person, she still thought she discerned the form of -Fitz-Edward. His height and his walk confirmed this idea; and the longer -she observed him, the more she was persuaded it was Fitz-Edward himself. -This conviction was not unaccompanied by terror. She wished to speak to -him; and to represent the indiscretion, the madness of his thus risking -the reputation of Lady Adelina; and his own life or that of one of her -brothers; while the very idea of Godolphin's resentment and danger -filled her mind with the most alarming apprehensions. She determined -then to open the window and speak to him: yet if it should not be -Fitz-Edward? At length she had collected the courage necessary; and -knowing that tho' the whole family was yet fast asleep she could easily -rouse them, if the person to whom she spoke should not be known to her, -and gave her any reason for alarm, she was on the point of lifting up -the sash, when the stranger put an end to her deliberations by hastily -walking away to his former covert among the shrubs; and she saw him no -more. - -Emmeline, wearied alike with watchfulness and uneasiness, now went to -bed; having at length determined to keep Barret (on whose silence and -discretion she could rely) with her the next night; and when the Colonel -appeared (for the Colonel she was sure it was) to send her to him, or at -least make her witness to what she should herself say to him from the -window. The anxiety of her mind made her very low on the early part of -the next day; and Lady Adelina was still more so. They dined, however, -early; and as the evening was clear, and they had not been out in the -morning, Lady Adelina proposed their taking a short walk to the top of -the hill behind the house, which commanded a glorious view that Emmeline -had not seen; but as it was cold, they agreed to leave little William at -home. The grounds of Godolphin behind the house, consisted only of a -small paddock, divided from the kitchen garden by a dwarf wall; and the -copse, which partly cloathed the hill, and thro' which a footpath went -to a village about two miles beyond it. The woody ground ceasing about -half way up, opened to a down which commanded the view. They stood -admiring it a few moments; and then Emmeline, who could not for an -instant help reflecting on what she had seen for two nights, felt -something like alarm at being so far from the house. She complained -therefore that it was cold; and the evening (at this season very short) -was already shutting in. - -The wind blew chill and hollow among the half stripped trees, as they -passed thro' the wood; and the dead leaves rustled in the blast. 'Twas -such a night as Ossian might describe. Emmeline recollected the -visionary beings with which his poems abound, and involuntarily she -shuddered. At the gate that opened into the lawn, Lady Adelina stopped -as if she was tired. She was talking of something Godolphin had done; -and Emmeline, who on that subject was never weary of hearing her, turned -round, and they both leaned for a moment against the gate, looking up -the wood walk from which they had just descended. The veil of Lady -Adelina was over her face; but Emmeline, less wrapped up, suddenly saw -the figure which had before visited the garden, descending, in exactly -the same posture, down the pathway, which was rather steep. He seemed -unknowingly to follow it, without looking up; and was soon so near them, -that Emmeline, losing at once her presence of mind, clasped her hands, -and exclaimed--'Good God! who is this?' - -'What?' said Lady Adelina, looking towards him. - -By this time he was within six paces of the gate; and sprung forward at -the very moment that she knew him, and fell senseless on the ground. - -Emmeline, unable to save her, was in a situation but little better. -Fitz-Edward, for it was really himself, knelt down by her, and lifted -her up. But she was without any appearance of life; and he, who had no -intention of rushing thus abruptly into her presence, was too much -agitated to be able to speak. - -'Ah! why would you do this, Sir?' said Emmeline in a tremulous voice. -'What can I do with her?' added she. 'Merciful Heaven, what can be done? -How _could_ you be so cruel, so inconsiderate?' - -'Don't talk to me,' said he--'don't reproach me! I am not able to bear -it! I suffer too much already! Have you no salts? Have you nothing to -give her?' - -Emmeline now with trembling hands searched her pockets for a bottle of -salts which she sometimes carried. She luckily had it; and, in another -pocket, some Hungary water, with which she bathed the temples of her -friend, who still lay apparently dead. - -She remained some moments in that situation; and Emmeline had time to -reflect, which she did with the utmost perturbation, on what would be -the consequence of this interview when she recovered her recollection. -She dreaded lest the sight of Fitz-Edward should totally unsettle her -reason. She dreaded lest Godolphin should know he had clandestinely been -there; and she concluded it were better to persuade him to leave them -before the senses of Lady Adelina returned. - -'How fearfully long she continues in this fainting fit,' cried she, 'and -yet do I dread seeing her recover from it.' - -'You dread it!--and why dread it?' - -'Indeed I do. When her recollection returns, it may yet be worse; you -know not how nearly gone her intellects have at times been, and the -least emotion may render her for ever a lunatic.' - -'It is the cruelty of her brother,' sternly replied Fitz-Edward, 'that -has driven her to this. His rigid conduct has overwhelmed her spirits -and broken her heart. But _now_, since we _have_ met, we part not till I -hear from herself whether she prefers driving _me_ to desperation, or -quitting, in the character I can now offer her, the cold and barbarous -Godolphin.' - -'Do not, ah! pray do not attempt to speak to her now. Let me try to get -her home; and when she is better able to see you, indeed I will send to -you.' - -'Can you then suppose I will leave her? But perhaps she is already gone! -She seems to be dead--quite dead and cold!' - -Nothing but terror now lent Emmeline strength to continue chafing her -temples and her hands. In another moment or two the blood began to -circulate; and soon after, with a deep sigh, Lady Adelina opened her -eyes. - -'For pity's sake,' said Emmeline in a low voice--'for pity's sake do not -speak to her.' Then addressing herself to her, she said--'Lady Adelina, -are you better?' - -'Yes.' - -'Do you think I can assist you home?' - -'She shall not be hurried,' said Fitz-Edward. - -'Ah! save me! save me!' exclaimed she, faintly shrieking--'save me!' and -clasping her arms round Emmeline, she attempted to rise. - -'Am I then grown so hateful to you,' said Fitz-Edward, as he assisted -and supported her--'that for one poor moment you will not allow me to -approach you. Will no penitence, no sufferings obtain your pity?' - -'Take me away, Emmeline!' cried she, in a hurried manner--'ah! take me -quick away! Godolphin will come, he will come indeed.--Let us go -home--go home before he finds us here!' - -'It is as I said!' exclaimed Fitz-Edward: 'her brother has terrified her -into madness. But----' - -Emmeline, now making an effort to escape falling into a condition as -deplorable as was her friend's, said, with some firmness--'Mr. -Fitz-Edward, I must entreat you to say nothing about her brother. It is -a topic of all others least likely to restore her.' - -Adelina still clung to her; and putting away Fitz-Edward with her hand, -laid her head on the shoulder of Emmeline, who said--'I fancy you can -walk. Shall we go towards home?' - -Lady Adelina, without speaking, and still motioning with her hand to -Fitz-Edward to leave her, moved on. But so enfeebled was she, that in -the very attempt she had again nearly fallen; Emmeline being infinitely -too much frightened to lend her much assistance. - -'She cannot walk,' cried Fitz-Edward, 'yet will not let me support her. -Will _you_, Miss Mowbray, accept my arm; perhaps it may enable you to -guide better the faultering steps of your friend.' - -Emmeline thought that at all events it was better to get her into the -house; and therefore taking, in silence, the arm that Fitz-Edward -offered her, she proceeded across the lawn. Lady Adelina appeared to -exert herself. She quickened her pace a little; and they were soon at a -small gate, which opened in a wire fence near the house to keep the -cattle immediately from the windows. Here Emmeline determined to make -another effort on Fitz-Edward to persuade him to leave them. - -'Now,' said she, 'we shall do very well. Had you not better quit us?' - -He seemed disposed to obey; when Mrs. Barret, who had seen them from the -door, where she had been watching the return of her lady, advanced -hastily towards them, and said to Emmeline--'Dear Ma'am, I am so glad -you and my lady are come in! The Captain is quite frightened at your -being out so late.' - -'The Captain!' exclaimed Emmeline. - -'Yes, Ma'am, the Captain has been come in about two minutes; he is but -just seeing Master Godolphin, and then was coming out to meet you.' - -'Take hold of your lady, Barret,' cried Emmeline. Barret ran forward. -But Lady Adelina (whom the terror of her brother's return at such a -moment had again entirely overcome), was already lifeless in the arms of -Fitz-Edward; and Emmeline, whose first idea was to go in and prevent -Godolphin from coming out to meet them, could get no farther than the -door; where, breathless and almost senseless, she was only prevented -from falling by leaning against one of the pillars. - -'Your lady is in a fainting fit, Mrs. Barret,' said Fitz-Edward; 'pray -assist her.' - -The woman at once knew his voice, and saw the situation of her lady; and -terrified both by the one and the other, screamed aloud. Godolphin, -caressing his nephew in the parlour, heard not the shriek; but a footman -who was crossing the hall ran out; and flying by Emmeline, ran to the -group beyond her; where, as Mrs. Barret still wildly called for help for -Lady Adelina, he proposed to Fitz-Edward to carry her ladyship into the -house, which they together immediately did. - -This was what Emmeline most dreaded. But there was no time for -remonstrance. As they passed her at the door, she put her hand upon -Fitz-Edward's arm, and cried--'Oh! stop! for God's sake stop!' - -'Why stop?' said he. 'No! nothing shall now detain me; I am determined, -and _must_ go on!' She saw, indeed, that Godolphin's being in the house -only made him more obstinately bent to enter it. - -The door of the parlour now opened; and Godolphin saw, with astonishment -inexpressible, his sister, to all appearance dead, in the arms of -Fitz-Edward; and Emmeline, as pale and almost as lifeless, following -her; who silently, and with fixed eyes, sat down near the door. - -'What can be the meaning of this?' exclaimed Godolphin. 'Miss -Mowbray!--my Emmeline!--my Adelina!' - -The child, with whom Godolphin had been at play, reached out his little -arms to Lady Adelina, whom they had placed on a sopha. Godolphin sat him -down upon it; and not knowing where to fix his own attention, he looked -wildly, first at his sister, and then at Emmeline; while Fitz-Edward, -totally regardless of him, knelt by the side of Lady Adelina, and -surveyed her and the little boy with an expression impossible to be -described. - -'For mercy's sake tell me,' Godolphin, as he took the cold and trembling -hands of Emmeline in his--'for mercy's sake tell me what all this means? -Is my sister, my poor Adelina dead?' - -'I hope not!' - -'You are yourself almost terrified to death. Your hands tremble. Tell -me, I conjure you tell me, what you have met with, and to what is owing -the extraordinary appearance of Mr. Fitz-Edward here?' - -'That, or any farther enquiry Mr. Godolphin has to make, which may -relate to me,' said Fitz-Edward sternly, 'I shall be ready at any other -time to answer; but now it appears more necessary to attend to this dear -injured creature!' - -'Injured, Sir!' cried Godolphin, turning angrily towards him--'Do you -come hither to tell me your crimes, or to triumph in their consequence?' - -'Oh! for the love of heaven!' said Emmeline, with all the strength she -could collect, 'let this proceed no farther. Consider,' added she, -lowering her voice, 'the servants are in the room. Reflect on the -consequence of what you say.' - -'Let every body but Barret go out,' said Godolphin aloud. - -The child, whose usual hour of going to rest was already past, had crept -up to his mother, heedless of the people who surrounded her, and had -dropped asleep on her bosom. - -'Should I take Master, Sir?' enquired the nursery maid of Godolphin. - -'Leave him!' answered he, fiercely. - -Excess of terror now operated to restore, in some measure, to Emmeline -the presence of mind it had deprived her of. She found it absolutely -necessary to exert herself; and advancing towards Lady Adelina, by whose -side Fitz-Edward still knelt, she took one of her hands--'I hope,' said -she to Barret, your lady is coming to; she is less pale, and her pulse -is returning. Colonel Fitz-Edward, would it not be better for you now to -leave us?' - -'I must first speak to Lady Adelina.' - -'Impossible! you cannot speak to her to-night.' - -'Nor can I leave her, Madam, unless she herself dismisses me.--Leave -her, thus weak and languid, to meet perhaps on my account reproach and -unkindness!' - -'Reproach and unkindness! Mr. Fitz-Edward,' said Godolphin, in a -passionate tone--'Reproach and unkindness! Do me the favour to say from -whom you apprehend she may receive such treatment?' - -'From the cruel and unrelenting brother, who has persisted in wishing -to divide us, even after heaven itself has removed the barrier between -us.' - -'Sir,' replied Godolphin, with a stern calmness--'in this house, and in -Miss Mowbray's presence, _you_ may say any thing with impunity, and _I_ -may bear this language even from the faithless destroyer of my sister.' - -Fitz-Edward now starting from his knees, looked the defiance he was -about to utter, when Lady Adelina drew a deep and loud sigh, and Barret -exclaimed--'For God's sake, gentlemen, do not go on with these high -words. My lady is coming to; but this sort of discourse will throw her -again into her fits worse than ever. Pray let me entreat of you both to -be pacified.' - -'I insist upon it,' said Emmeline, 'that you are calm, or it will not be -in my power to stay. I must leave you, indeed I must, Mr. Godolphin! if -you would not see _me_ expire with terror, and entirely kill your -sister, you must be cool.' She was indeed again deprived nearly of her -breath and recollection by the fear of their instantly flying to -extremities. - -Lady Adelina now opened her eyes and looked round her. But there was -wildness and horror in them; and she seemed rather to see the objects, -than to have any idea of who were with her. - -The child, however, was always present to her. 'My dear boy here?' cried -she, faintly; 'poor fellow, he is asleep!' - -'Shall I take him from you, Ma'am?' asked her woman. - -'Oh! no! I will put him to bed myself.' She then again reposed her head -as if fatigued, and sighed. 'Twas all,' said she, 'long foreseen. But -destiny, they say, must be fulfilled, and fate will have it's way. I -wish I had not been the cause of his death, however.' - -'Of whose death, dear Madam?' said Barret. 'Nobody is dead; nobody -indeed.' - -'Did I not hear him groan, and see him die? did not he tell me, I know -not what, of my Lord Westhaven? I shall remember it all distinctly -to-morrow!' - -She now rested again, profoundly sighing; and Emmeline beckoning to -Fitz-Edward and Godolphin, took them to the other end of the room, where -the arm of the sopha she reclined on concealed them from her view. -'Pray,' said she, addressing herself to them both, 'pray leave her.' -Then recollecting that she dared not trust them together, she -added--'No, don't both go at once. But indeed it is absolutely -necessary to have her kept quite quiet and got to bed as soon as -possible.' - -'I believe it is,' answered Godolphin. 'Poor Adelina! her dreadful -malady is returned.' - -'It is indeed,' said Emmeline. 'I have seen it too evidently approaching -for some days; and this last shock'--she stopped, and repented she had -said so much. - -'Mr. Fitz-Edward,' cried Godolphin, 'will you walk with me into another -room?' - -'Certainly.' - -'Oh! no! no!' exclaimed Emmeline with quickness. - -They were going out together; but taking an arm of each, she eagerly -repeated 'oh! no! no! not together!' - -The imagination of Lady Adelina was now totally disordered. She had -risen; and carrying the child in her arms, walked towards her brother, -who in traversing the apartment with uneasy steps was by this time near -the door; while Fitz-Edward was at the other end of the room, where -Emmeline was trying to persuade him to quit the house. - -Lady Adelina, supported by her maid, and trembling under the weight of -the infant she clasped to her bosom, stepped along as quickly as her -weakness would allow; and putting her hand on Godolphin's arm, she -cried, in a slow and tremulous manner--'Stay, William! I have something -to say to you before you go. Lord Westhaven, you know, is coming; and -you have promised that he shall not kill _me_. I may however die; and I -rather believe I shall; for since this last sight I am strangely ill. -You and Emmeline will take care of my poor boy, will ye not? Had -Fitz-Edward lived--nay do not look so angry, for now he cannot offend -you--had poor Fitz-Edward lived, he would perhaps have taken him. But -now, I must depend on Emmeline, who has promised to be good to him. They -say she will have a great fortune too, and therefore I need not fear -that you will find my child burthensome.' - -'Burthensome!' cried Godolphin. 'Good God, Adelina!' - -'Well! well! be not offended. Only you know, when people come to have a -family of their own, the child of another may be reckoned an -incumbrance. I know that now you love my William dearly; but then, you -know, it will be another thing.' - -'Gracious heaven!' exclaimed Godolphin, 'what can have made her talk in -this manner?' - -'Reason in madness!' said Fitz-Edward, advancing towards her. 'Her son, -however, shall be an incumbrance to nobody.' - -Emmeline now grasping his hand, implored him not to speak to her. Lady -Adelina neither heard or noticed him: but again addressing herself to -her brother, said, with a mournful sigh--'And now, since I have told you -what was upon my mind, I will go put my little boy to bed. Good night to -you, dear William! You and Miss Mowbray will remember!----' She then -walked out of the room, and calmly took the way to her own, attended by -her maid. - -Emmeline, not daring to leave together these two ardent spirits -irritated against each other, remained, trembling, with them; hoping by -her presence to prevent their animosity from blazing forth, and to -prevail upon them to part. They both continued for some time to traverse -the room in gloomy silence. At length Fitz-Edward stopped, and said--'At -what hour to-morrow, Sir, may I have the honour of some conversation -with you?' - -'At whatever hour you please, Sir--the earlier, however, the more -agreeable.' - -'At seven o'clock, Sir, I will be with you.' - -'If you please; at that hour I will be ready to receive your commands.' - -Fitz-Edward then took his hat, and bowing to Emmeline, wished her a good -night, and left the room. Starting from her chair, she followed him into -the hall, and shut the parlour door after her. - -'Fitz-Edward,' cried she, detaining him, and speaking in an half -whisper--'Fitz-Edward, hear me! Do you design to kill me?' - -'To kill you?' replied he. 'No surely.' - -'Then do not go till you have heard me.' - -'It is unpleasant to me to stay in Godolphin's house after what has just -passed. But as you please.' - -She led him into a little breakfast room; and regardless of being -without light, shut the door. - -'Tell me,' said she, 'before I die with terror--tell me with what -intention you come to-morrow?' - -'Simply to have a positive answer from Mr. Godolphin, if he will, -together with his brother, allow me, when the usual mourning is over, to -address their sister with proposals of marriage; which in fact they have -no right to prevent. And if Mr. Godolphin refuses----' - -'What, if he refuses?' - -'I shall take my son into my own care, and wait till Lady Adelina will -herself exert that freedom which is now her's.' - -'Godolphin doats on the child. Nothing, I am persuaded, will induce him -to part with it.' - -'Not part with it? He must, nay he _shall_!' - -'Pray be calm--pray be quiet. Stay yet a few months--a few weeks.' - -'Not a day! Not an hour!' - -'Good God! what _can_ be done? Mischief will inevitably happen!' - -'I am sorry,' replied Fitz-Edward, 'that you are thus made uneasy. But I -cannot recede; and my life has not been pleasant enough lately to make -me very solicitous about the event of my explanation with Mr. Godolphin. -Conscious, however, that he has some reason to complain of me, I do not -wish to increase it. I mean to keep _my_ temper, _if I can_: but if he -suffers _his_ to pass the bounds which one gentleman must observe -towards another, I shall not consider myself as the aggressor, or as -answerable for the consequences.' - -'But why, oh! why would you come hither? Wherefore traverse the garden -of a night, and suffer appearances to be so much against you, and what -is yet worse, against Lady Adelina?' - -'Who told you I have done so--Godolphin?' - -'No. He was, you well know, absent. But I saw you myself; with terror I -saw you, and meditated how to speak to you alone, when our unhappy -meeting in the wood this evening put an end to all my contrivances.' - -'Yet I had no intention of terrifying you, or of abruptly rushing into -the presence of Adelina. It is true, that for some nights past I have -walked under the window where she and my child sleep: for _I_ could not -sleep; and it was a sort of melancholy enjoyment to me to be near the -spot which held all I have dear on earth. As I pass at the ale house -where I lodge as a person hiding in this island from the pursuit of -creditors, my desire of concealment did not appear extraordinary. I have -often lingered among the rocks and copses, and seen Adelina and my child -with you. Last night I came out in the dusk, and was approaching, to -conceal myself near the house, in hopes, that as you love walking late, -and alone, I might have found an opportunity of speaking to you, and of -concerting with _you_ the means of introducing myself to _her_ without -too great an alarm.' - -'Would to heaven you had! But now, since all this has happened, consent -to put off this meeting with Godolphin. Do not meet, at least, -to-morrow! I entreat that you will not!' - -'On all subjects but this,' said he, as he opened the door--'on all -subjects but this, Miss Mowbray knows she may command me. But this is a -point from which I cannot, without infamy, recede; and in which she must -forgive me, if all my veneration and esteem for her goodness and -tenderness does not induce me to desist.' - -He then went into the hall; and by the lamp which burnt there, opened -himself the door into the garden, and hastily walked away. While the -trembling and harrassed Emmeline, finding him inflexible, went back to -Godolphin, with very little hopes that she should, with him, have better -success. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - - -On entering the room, Emmeline sat down without speaking. - -'How is Adelina, my dearest Miss Mowbray?' - -'I know not.' - -'You have not, then, been with her?' - -'No.' - -'Were it not best to enquire after her?' - -'Certainly. I will go immediately.' - -'But come to me again--I have much to say to you.' - -Emmeline then went up stairs. She found that the composing medicine, -which Barret had been directed to keep always by her, had been liberally -administered; and that her lady was got into bed, and was already -asleep. Barret sat by her. Deep sighs and convulsive catchings marked -the extreme agitation of her spirits after she was no longer conscious -of it herself. With this account Emmeline returned, in great uneasiness, -to Godolphin. - -'I thank Heaven,' said he, 'that she is at least for some moments -insensible of pain! Now, my Emmeline, for surely I may be allowed to say -_my_ Emmeline, sit down and try to compose yourself. I cannot bear to -see you thus pale and trembling.' - -He led her to a seat, and placed himself by her; gazing with extreme -concern on her face, pallid as it was, and expressive only of sorrow and -anxiety. - -'Whence is it,' said she, after a pause of some moments, that I see you -here? Did I not come hither on the assurance you gave me that you would -long be detained in or near London by the business of your sister?' - -'I certainly did say so. But I could not then foresee what happened on -the Sunday after you left London.' - -'Has, then, any thing happened?' - -'The return of Lord and Lady Westhaven, with Lord Delamere.' - -'Are they all well?' - -'Tolerably so. But my brother is very anxious to see Adelina; and -expects _you_ with little less solicitude. He could not think of giving -Lady Westhaven the trouble of such a journey; nor could he now leave her -without being unhappy. I therefore, at his pressing request, came myself -to fetch you both to London.' - -'And do you mean that we should begin our journey to-morrow?' - -'I _meant_ it, certainly, till the events of this evening made me -doubtful how far my sister herself may be in a situation to bear change -of place and variety of objects; or being able, whether she may chuse to -leave to me the direction of her actions.' - -'Ah! impute not to Lady Adelina the meeting with Fitz-Edward; it was -entirely accidental; it's suddenness overcame her, and threw her into -the way in which you saw her.' - -'And what has a man to answer for, who thus comes to insult his victim, -and to rob her of the little tranquillity time may have restored to -her?' - -'Indeed I think you injure poor Fitz-Edward. Fondly attached to your -sister, he has no other wish or hope than to be allowed to address her -when the time of her mourning for Mr. Trelawny is expired. For this -permission he intended to apply to you: but the severity with which you -ever received his advances discouraged him; and he then, in the hope of -hearing that such an application would not be rendered ineffectual by -her own refusal, and languishing to see his son, came hither; not with -any intention of forcing himself abruptly into the presence of Lady -Adelina, but to see _me_ and induce me to intercede with her for an -interview. Accident threw us in his way; your sister fell senseless on -the ground; and when she did recover, endeavoured to avoid him: but she -was too weak to walk home without other assistance than mine, and I was -compelled to accept for her, that which Fitz-Edward offered. On hearing -from Barret that you was returned, the terror which has ever pursued -her, lest you and Fitz-Edward should meet as enemies, again overcame -her, and occasioned the scene you must, with so much astonishment, have -beheld.' - -'Has Adelina had any previous knowledge of the proposals Fitz-Edward -intends to make?' - -'None, I believe, in the world.' - -'Do you know whether they have ever corresponded?' - -'I am convinced they have not.' - -'There are objections, in my mind, _insuperable_ objections, to this -alliance. These, however, I must talk over with the Colonel himself.' - -'Not _hostilely_, I hope. Surely you have too much regard for the -unhappy Adelina, to give way now to any resentment you may have -conceived against him; or if _that_ does not influence you, think of -what _I_ must suffer.' She knew not what she had said; hardly what she -intended to say. - -'Enchanting softness!' exclaimed Godolphin in a transport--'Is then the -safety of Godolphin so dear to that angelic bosom?' - -'You know it but too well. But if _my_ quiet is equally dear to _you_, -promise me that if this meeting to-morrow _must_ take place, you will -receive Fitz-Edward with civility, and hear him with patience. Remember -on how many accounts this is necessary. Remember how many expressions -there are which his profession will not allow him to hear without -resentment, that must end in blood. Your's is _no common_ cause of -enmity; none of those trifling quarrels which daily send modern beaux -into the field. Your characters are both high as military men, and as -gentlemen; and your former intimacy must, I know, impress more deeply on -the mind of each the injury or offence that either suppose they receive. -Be careful then, Godolphin; promise me you will be careful!' - -'Ah! lovely Emmeline! more lovely from this generous tenderness than -from your other exquisite perfections; can I be insensible of the value -of a life for which _you_ interest yourself? and shall I suffer any -other consideration to come in competition with your peace?' - -'You promise me then?' - -'To be calm with Fitz-Edward, I do. And while I remember his offence -(for can I forget while I suffer from it) I will also recollect, that -_you_, who have also suffered on the same account, think him worthy of -compassion; and I will try to conquer, at least to stifle, my -resentment. But what shall we do with Adelina?' - -'That must depend on her situation in the morning. I have greatly -apprehended an unhappy turn in her intellects ever since my first -coming. The death of Trelawny, far from appearing to have relieved her -by removing the impediment to her union with Fitz-Edward, seems rather -to have rendered her more wretched. Continually agitated by contending -passions, she was long unhappy, in the supposition that Fitz-Edward had -obeyed her when she desired him to forget her. Since Trelawny's decease, -as she has more fearlessly allowed her thoughts to dwell on him, she has -suffered all the anxiety of expecting to hear from him, and all the -bitterness of disappointment. And I could plainly perceive, that she was -still debating with herself, whether, if he _did_ apply to her, she -should accept him, or by a violent effort of heroism determine to see -him no more. This conflict is yet to come. Judge whether, in the frame -of mind in which you see her, she is equal to it; and whether any -additional terror for you and for him will not quite undo her. Alas! far -from aggravating, by pursuing your resentment, anguish so poignant, try -rather to soothe her sorrows and assist her determination. And whatever -that determination may be, when it is once made she may perhaps be -restored to health and to tranquillity.' - -'Indeed I will do all you dictate, my loveliest friend! Surely I should -ill deserve the generosity you have shewn to me, were I incapable of -feeling for others, and particularly for my sister. But wherefore that -air of defiance which Mr. Fitz-Edward thought it necessary to assume? He -seemed to come more disposed to _insult_ than to conciliate the family -of Lady Adelina.' - -'Alas! do you make no allowance for the perturbed situation of his mind, -when he saw the woman he adores to all appearance dead, and for the -first time beheld the poor little boy? He looked upon you as one who -desires to tear from him for ever these beloved objects; and forgetting -that he was the aggressor, thought only of the injury which he supposed -you intended.' - -'There is, indeed, some apology for the asperity of his manner; and -perhaps I was in some measure to blame. Generous, candid, considerate -Emmeline! how does your excellent heart teach you to excuse those -weaknesses you do not feel, and to pity and to forgive errors which -your own perfect mind makes it impossible for you to commit! Ah! how -heavily is your tenderness perpetually taxed: _here_, it is suffering -from the sight of Adelina--in town, it will have another object in the -unfortunate Delamere.' - -'Did you not tell me he was in tolerable health?' - -'Alas! what is bodily health when the mind is ill at ease? The anxiety -of Delamere to see you, to hear his destiny from yourself, is uneasy -even to me, who feel my own exquisite happiness in knowing what that -destiny must be. I look with even painful commiseration on this singular -young man. Yet from passions so violent, and obstinacy so invincible, I -must have rejoiced that Miss Mowbray has escaped; even tho' her -preference of the fortunate Godolphin had not rendered his lot the most -happy that a human being can possess.' - -'Since you are so good,' said Emmeline faintly, for she was quite -exhausted, 'to compassionate the situation of mind of Delamere, you -will, I think, see the humanity of concealing from him--that--' She -could find no term that she liked, to express her meaning, and stopped. - -'That he has a fortunate rival?' said Godolphin. 'No, dearest Emmeline, -I hope I am incapable of such a triumph! 'Till poor Delamere is more at -ease, I am content to enjoy the happiness of knowing your favourable -opinion, without wishing, by an insulting display of it, to convince him -he has for ever - - - 'Thrown a pearl away richer than all his tribe!' - - -'Yet I am sure you will think it still more cruel to give him hope. I -will tell you all my weakness. While I see you here, all benignity and -goodness to me, I feel for Lord Delamere infinite pity; but were you to -receive him with your usual sweetness, to give him many of those -enchanting smiles, and to look at him with those soft eyes, as if you -tenderly felt his sorrows, I am not sure whether the most unreasonable -jealousy would not possess me, and whether I should not hate him as much -as I now wish him well.' - -'That were to be indeed unreasonable, and to act very inconsistently -with your natural candour and humanity. I will not think so ill of you -as to believe you. You know I must of course often see Lord Delamere: -but after the avowal you have extorted from me, surely I need not repeat -that I shall see him only as my friend.' - -Godolphin then kissed her hands in rapture; and for a few moments forgot -even his concern for Lady Adelina. Emmeline now wished to break off the -conversation; and he at length allowed her to leave him. After having -enquired of Barret after her mistress, who was happily in a calmer -sleep, she retired to her own room, where she hoped to have a few hours -of repose: but notwithstanding the promises of Godolphin, she felt as -the hour of the morning approached on which he was to meet Fitz-Edward, -that anxiety chased away sleep, and again made her suffer the cruellest -suspense. - -The heart of Godolphin, glowing with the liveliest sense of his own -happiness, yet felt with great keenness the unfortunate situation of his -sister. He began to doubt whether he had any right to perpetuate her -wretchedness; and whether it were not better to leave it to herself to -decide in regard to Fitz-Edward. The delicacy of his honour made him see -an infinity of objections to their marriage, which to common minds might -appear chimerical and romantic. To that part of his own family who were -yet ignorant of her former indiscretion, as he could not urge his -reasons, his opposition of Fitz-Edward must seem capricious and unjust. -Lord Westhaven must therefore either be told that which had hitherto -with so much pains been concealed from him, or he must determine to -refer Fitz-Edward entirely to Lady Adelina herself; and on this, after -long deliberation, he fixed. - -Exactly as the clock struck seven, Fitz-Edward was at the door; and was -introduced into Godolphin's study, who was already up and waiting for -him. Emmeline, still full of apprehension, had arisen before six, and -hearing Lady Adelina was still asleep, had gone down stairs, and waited -with a palpitating heart in the breakfast room. - -She was glad to distinguish, at their first meeting, the usual -salutations of the morning. She listened; but tho' the rest of the house -was profoundly silent, she could not hear their conversation or even the -tone in which it was carried on. It was not, however, loud, and she drew -from thence a favourable omen. Near two hours passed, during which -breakfast was carried in to them; and as the servant passed backwards -and forwards, she heard parts of sentences which assured her that then, -at least, they were conversing on indifferent subjects. - -Now, therefore, the agitation of her spirits began to subside; and she -dared even to hope that this meeting would prove the means of -reconciliation, rather than of producing those fatal effects she had -dreaded. - -In about a quarter of an hour, however, after they had finished their -breakfast, they went out and crossed the lawn together. Then again her -heart failed her; and without knowing exactly what she intended, she -took the little boy, whom the maid had just brought to her, and walked -as quickly as possible after them. Before she could overtake them, they -had reached the gate; and in turning to shut it after him, Godolphin saw -her, and both together came hastily back to meet her. At the same -moment, the child putting out his hands to Godolphin, called him papa! -as he had been used to do; and Fitz-Edward, snatching him up, kissed him -tenderly, while his eyes were filled with tears. - -Godolphin took the hand of Emmeline. 'Why this terror? why this haste?' -said he, observing her to be almost breathless. - -'I thought--I imagined--I was afraid--' answered she, not knowing what -she said. - -'Be not alarmed,' said Godolphin--'We go together as friends.' - -'And Godolphin,' interrupted Fitz-Edward, 'is again the same noble -minded Godolphin I once knew, and have always loved.' - -'Let us say then,' cried Emmeline, 'no more of the past.--Let us look -forward only to the future.' - -'And the happiness of that future, at least as far as it relates to me, -depends, dearest Miss Mowbray, on you.' - -'On me!' - -'Godolphin wishes me not now to see his sister. I have acquiesced. He -wishes me even to refrain from seeing her till she has been six months a -widow. With this, also, I have complied. But as it is not in my power to -remain thus long in a suspence so agonizing as that I now endure, he -allows me to write to her, and refers wholly to herself my hopes and my -despair. Ah! generous, lovely Emmeline! _you_ can influence the mind of -your friend. When she is calm, give her the letter I will send to you; -and if you would save me from a life of lingering anguish to which death -is preferable, procure for me a favourable answer.' - -Emmeline could not refuse a request made by Fitz-Edward which Godolphin -seemed not to oppose. She therefore acquiesced; and saw him, after he -had again tenderly caressed the child, depart with Godolphin, who -desired her to return to the house, in order to await Lady Adelina's -rising; where he would soon join her. With an heart lightened of half -the concern she had felt on this melancholy subject, she now went to the -apartment of her poor friend, who was just awakened from the stupor -rather than the sleep into which the soporifics she had taken had thrown -her. With an heavy and reluctant eye she looked round her, as if -hopeless of seeing the image now always present to her imagination. -Emmeline approached her with the child. She seemed happy to see them; -and desiring her to sit down by the bed side, said--'Tell me truly what -has happened? Have I taken any medicine that has confused my head, or -how happens it that I appear to have been in a long and most uneasy -dream? Wild and half formed images still seem to float before my eyes; -and when I attempt to make them distinct, I am but the more bewildered -and uneasy.' - -'Think not about it, then, till the heaviness you complain of is gone -off.' - -'Tell me, Emmeline, have I really only dreamed, or was a stranger here -yesterday? I thought, that suddenly I saw Fitz-Edward, thin, pale, -emaciated, looking as if he were unhappy; and then, as it has of late -often happened, I lost at once all traces of him; and in his place -Godolphin came, and I know not what else; it is all confusion and -terror!' - -Emmeline now considered a moment; and then concluded that it would be -better to relate distinctly to her, since she now seemed capable of -hearing it, all that had really passed the preceding evening, than to -let her fatigue her mind by conjectures, and enfeeble it by fears. She -therefore gave her a concise detail of what had happened; from the -accidental meeting with Fitz-Edward, to the parting she had herself just -had with him in the garden. She carefully watched the countenance of -Lady Adelina while she was speaking; and saw with pleasure, that tho' -excessively agitated, she melted into tears, and heard, with a calmer -joy than she had dared to hope, the certainty of Fitz-Edward's tender -attachment, and the unhoped for reconciliation between him and her -brother. Having indulged her tears some time, she tenderly pressed the -hand of Emmeline, and said, in a faint voice, that she found herself -unable to rise and meet Godolphin till she had recovered a little more -strength of mind, and that she wished to be left alone. Emmeline, -rejoiced to find her so tranquil, left her, and rejoined Godolphin, who -was by this time returned; and who read, in the animated countenance of -Emmeline, that she had favourable news to relate to him of his sister. - -While they enjoyed together the prospect of Lady Adelina's return to -health and peace, of which they had both despaired, the natural -chearfulness of Emmeline, which anxiety and affection had so long -obscured, seemed in some degree to return; and feeling that she loved -Godolphin better than ever, for that generous placability of spirit he -had shewn to the repentant Fitz-Edward, she no longer attempted to -conceal her tenderness, or withhold her confidence from her deserving -lover. They breakfasted together; and afterwards, as Lady Adelina still -wished to be alone, they walked over the little estate which lay round -the house, and Emmeline allowed him to talk of the improvements he -meditated when she should become it's mistress. The pleasure, however, -which lightened in her eyes, and glowed in her bosom, was checked and -diminished when the image of Delamere, in jealousy and despair, intruded -itself. And she could look forward to no future happiness for herself, -undashed with sorrow, while he remained in a state of mind so -deplorable. When they returned into the house, Barret brought to -Godolphin the following note.-- - - - 'Dearest and most generous Godolphin! I find myself unequal to - the task of _speaking_ on what has passed within these last twenty - four hours. I wish still to see you. But let our conversation turn - wholly on Lord Westhaven, of whom I am anxious to hear; and spare - me, for the present, on the subject which now blinds with tears - your weak but grateful and affectionate - - ADELINA.' - - -Godolphin now assured her, by Emmeline, that he would mention nothing -that should give her a moment's pain, and that she should herself lead -the conversation. - -He soon after went up to her and Emmeline, in her dressing room; and -found her still calm, tho' very low and languid. The name of Fitz-Edward -was carefully avoided. But in the short time they were together, -Godolphin observed that the eyes of Lady Adelina seemed, on the entrance -of any one into the room, fearfully and anxiously to examine whether -they brought the letter she had been taught to expect from Fitz-Edward. -It was easy to see that she deeply meditated on the answer which she -must give; and that she felt an internal struggle, which Godolphin -feared might again unsettle her understanding. She was too faint to sit -up long; and desirous of being left entirely alone, Godolphin had for -the rest of the day the happiness of entertaining Emmeline apart. He -failed not to avail himself of it; and drew from her a confession of her -partiality towards him, even from the first day of their acquaintance; -and long before she dared trust her heart to enquire into the nature of -those sentiments with which it was impressed. - -Late in the evening, a messenger arrived with the expected letter from -Fitz-Edward. To convince Godolphin of the perfect integrity with which -he acted, he sent him a copy of it; adding, that he was then on his road -to London, where he should await, in painful solicitude, the decision of -Lady Adelina. It was determined that Emmeline should give her the letter -the next morning; and that if after reading it she retained the same -languid composure which she had before shewn, they should go in the -evening to Southampton, and from thence proceed the following day to -London, where Lord and Lady Westhaven so anxiously expected their -arrival. - -When Emmeline delivered the letter, Lady Adelina turned pale, and -trembled. She left her to read it; and on returning to her in about half -an hour, Emmeline found her drowned in tears. She seemed altogether -unwilling to speak of the contents of the letter; but assured Emmeline -that she was very well able to undertake the journey her brother -proposed, and she believed it would be rather useful than prejudicial to -her. 'As to the letter,' added she, with a deep sigh, 'it will not for -some days be in my power to answer it.' - -Every thing was, by the diligence of Godolphin, soon prepared for their -departure. Lady Adelina, her little boy, Emmeline and Godolphin, -attended by their servants, went the same evening to Southampton; from -whence they began their journey the next day; and resting one night at -Farnham, arrived early on the following at the house Lord Westhaven had -taken in Grosvenor street. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - - -The transports with which Lord Westhaven received his sister, were -considerably checked by her melancholy air and faded form. The beauty -and vivacity which she possessed when he last saw her, were quite gone, -tho' she was now only in her twenty second year; and tears and sighs -were the only language by which she could express the pleasure she felt -at again seeing him. Imputing, however, this dejection entirely to her -late unfortunate marriage, his Lordship expressed rather sorrow than -wonder. He admired the little boy, whom he believed to be the son of -Godolphin; and he met Emmeline with that unreserved and generous -kindness he had ever shewn her. - -Lady Westhaven, with the truest pleasure, again embraced the friend of -her heart; and with delight Emmeline met her; but it was soon abated by -the sanguine hopes she expressed that nothing would now long delay the -happiness of Lord Delamere. - -'My Emmeline,' said she, 'will now be indeed my sister! Lord Montreville -and my mother can no longer oppose a marriage so extremely advantageous -to their son. _She_ will forgive them for their long blindness; and -pardoning poor Delamere for the involuntary error into which he was -forced, will constitute the happiness of him and of his family.' - -To this, Emmeline could only answer that she had not the least intention -of marrying. Lady Westhaven laughed at that assertion. And she foresaw a -persecution preparing for her, on behalf of Delamere, which was likely -to give her greater uneasiness than she had yet suffered from any event -of her life. - -Lord Westhaven, as soon as they grew a little composed, took an -opportunity of leaving the rest of the party; and went into his dressing -room, where he sent for Emmeline. - -'Well, my lovely cousin,' said he, when she was seated, 'I have seen -Lord Montreville on your business. I cannot say that his Lordship -received me with pleasure. But some allowances must be made for a man -who loves money, on finding himself obliged to relinquish so large an -estate, and to refund so large a sum as he holds of yours.' - -'I hope, however, you, my Lord, have had no dispute on my account with -the Marquis?' - -'Oh! none in the world. What he _thought_, I had no business to enquire; -what he said, was not much; as he committed the arguments against you to -Sir Richard Crofts, who talked very long, and, as far as I know, very -learnedly. He spoke like a lawyer and a politician. I cut the matter -short, by telling him that I should attend to nothing but from an honest -man and a gentleman.' - -'That was severe, my Lord.' - -'Oh! he did not feel it. Wrapped in his own self-sufficiency, and too -rich to recollect the necessity of being honest, he still persisted in -trying to persuade me that nothing should be done in regard to restoring -your estate 'till all the deeds had been examined; as he had his doubts -whether, allowing your father's marriage to be established, great part -of the landed property is not entailed on the heirs male. In short, he -only seemed desirous of gaining time and giving trouble. But the first, -I was determined not to allow him; and to shorten the second, I took Mr. -Newton with me the next day, and desired Sir Richard, if he could prove -any entail, to produce his proofs. For that, he had an evasion ready--he -had not had _time_ to examine the deeds; which I find are all in his -hands. _We_, however, were better prepared. Mr. Newton produced the -papers that authenticate your birth; he offered to bring a witness who -was present when Mr. Mowbray was married to Miss Stavordale; nay even -the clergyman who performed the ceremony at Paris, and who is found to -be actually living in Westmoreland. The hand writing of your father is -easily proved; and Mr. Newton, summing up briefly all the corroborating -testimonies that exist of your right to the Mowbray estate, concluded by -telling Lord Montreville, that at the end of two days he should wait -upon his Lordship for his determination, whether he would dispute it in -a court of law or settle it amicably with me on behalf of his niece. -Newton then left us; and I desired your uncle to allow me a few moments -private conversation; which, as he could not refuse it, obliged old -Crofts, and that formal blockhead his son, to leave us alone together. I -then represented to him how greatly his character must suffer should the -affair become public. That tho' I believed myself he was really ignorant -of the circumstances which gave you, from the moment of your father's -death, an undoubted claim to the whole of his fortune, yet that the -world will not believe it; but will consider him as a man so cruelly -insatiable, so shamefully unjust, as to take advantage of a defenceless -orphan to accumulate riches he did not want, and had no right to enjoy. -I added, that if notwithstanding he chose to go into court, he must -excuse me if I forgot the near connection I had with him, and appeared -publicly as the assertor of your claim, and of course as his enemy. - -'The Marquis seemed very much hurt at the peremptory style in which I -thought myself obliged to speak. He declined giving any positive answer; -saying, only, that he must consult his wife and his son. What the former -said, I know not; but the latter, generous in his nature, and adoring -_you_, protested to his father that he would himself, as your next -nearest relation, join in the suit against him, if the estate was not -immediately given up. This spirited resolution of Lord Delamere, and the -opinions of several eminent lawyers whom Sir Richard was sent to -consult, at length brought Lord Montreville to a resolution before the -expiration of the two days; and last night I received a letter from him, -to say that he would, on Monday next, account with you, and put you in -possession of your estate; the management of which, however, and the -care of your person, he should reserve to himself 'till you were of -age.' - -'Good God!' exclaimed Emmeline; trembling, 'am I to meet my uncle on -Monday on this business?' - -'Yes; and wherefore are you terrified?' - -'At the idea of his anger--his hatred; and of being compelled to live -with the Marchioness, who always disliked me, and now must detest me.' - -Lord Westhaven then assured her that he would be there to support her -spirits. That her uncle, whatever might be his feelings, would not -express them by rudeness and asperity; but would more probably be -desirous of shewing kindness and seeking reconciliation. Yet that it was -improbable he should propose her residing with Lady Montreville; 'whose -present state of health,' said he, 'makes her incapable of leaving her -room, and for whose life the most serious apprehensions are entertained -by her physicians.' - -Emmeline, thus reassured by Lord Westhaven on that subject, and -extremely glad to hear there would be no necessity for proceedings at -law against her uncle, returned with some chearfulness to the company; -where it was not encreased by the entrance of Lord Delamere, which -happened soon afterwards. - -The very ill state of health indicated by his appearance, extremely hurt -her. Nor was she less affected by his address to her, so expressive of -the deepest anguish and regret. She could not bear to receive him with -haughtiness and coldness; but mildly, and with smiles, returned the -questions he put to her on common subjects. His chagrin seemed to wear -off; and hope, which Emmeline as little wished to give, again reanimated -in some degree his melancholy countenance. - -The next day, and again the next, he came to Lord Westhaven's; but -Emmeline cautiously avoided any conversation with him to which the whole -company were not witnesses. Godolphin too was there: her behaviour to -him was the same; and she would suffer neither to treat her with any -degree of particularity. Godolphin, who knew her reason for being -reserved towards _him_, was content; and Delamere, who suspected not how -dangerous a rival he had, was compelled to remain on the footing only of -a relation; still hoping that time and perseverance might restore him to -the happiness he had lost. - -Monday now arrived, and Emmeline was to wait on her uncle in -Berkley-square. At twelve o'clock Lord Westhaven was ready. Emmeline was -led by him into the coach. They took up Mr. Newton in Lincolns-inn; and -then went to their rendezvous. Emmeline trembled as Lord Westhaven took -her up stairs: she remembered the terror she had once before suffered in -the same house; and when she entered the drawing-room, could hardly -support herself. - -The Marquis, Sir Richard Crofts, his eldest son, and Lord Delamere, with -two stewards and a lawyer, were already there. Lord Montreville coldly -and gravely returned his niece's compliments; Sir Richard malignantly -eyed her from the corners of his eyes, obscured by fat; and Crofts put -on a look of pompous sagacity and consequential knowledge; while Lord -Delamere, who would willingly have parted with the whole of his paternal -fortune rather than with her, seemed eager only to see a business -concluded by which she was to receive benefit. - -The lawyer in a set speech opened the business, and expatiated largely -on Lord Montreville's great generosity. - -Lord Westhaven looked over the accounts: they appeared to have been made -out right. The title deeds of the estate were then produced; the usual -forms gone thro'; and papers signed, which put Emmeline in possession of -them. All passed with much silence and solemnity: Lord Montreville said -very little; and ineffectually struggled to conceal the extreme -reluctance with which he made this resignation. When the business was -completed, Emmeline advanced to kiss the hand of her uncle: he saluted -her; but without any appearance of affection; and coldly enquired how -she intended to dispose of herself? - -'I propose, my Lord, wholly to refer myself to your Lordship as to my -present residence, or any other part of my conduct in which you will -honour me with your advice.' - -'I am sorry, Miss Mowbray, that the ill state of health of the -Marchioness prevents my having the pleasure of your company here. -However my daughter, Lady Westhaven, will of course be happy to have you -remain with her till you have fixed on some plan of life, or till you -are of age.' - -'Not only till Miss Mowbray is of age, my Lord, but ever, both Lady -Westhaven and myself should be gratified by having her with us,' said -Lord Westhaven. - -To this no answer was given; and a long silence ensued. - -Emmeline felt distressed; and at length said--'I believe, my Lord, Lady -Westhaven will expect us.' - -They then rose; and taking a formal leave of the Marquis, were allowed -to leave the room. Lord Delamere, however, took Emmeline's hand, and as -he led her to the coach implored her to indulge him with one moment's -conversation at any hour when they might not be interrupted. But with -great firmness, yet with great sweetness, she told him that she must be -forgiven if she adhered to a resolution she had made to give no audience -on the topic he wished to speak upon, for many months to come. - -'Almost two years!' exclaimed he--'almost two long years must I wait, -without knowing whether, at the end of that time, you will hear and pity -me! Ah! can you, Emmeline, persist in such cruelty?' - -'A good morning to your Lordship,' said she, as she got into the coach. - -'Will you dine with us, Delamere?' asked Lord Westhaven. - -'Yes; and will go home with you now, and dress in Grosvenor street.' He -then gave some orders to his servants, and stepped into the coach. - -'I never was less disposed in my life,' said he, 'to rejoin a party, -than I am to go back to those grave personages up stairs: it is with the -utmost difficulty I command my temper to meet those Crofts' on the most -necessary business. My blood boils, my soul recoils at them!' - -'Pooh, pooh!' cried Lord Westhaven, 'you are always taking unreasonable -aversions. Your blood is always boiling at some body or other. I tell -you, the Crofts' are good necessary, plodding people. Not too refined, -perhaps, in points of honour, nor too strict in those of honesty; but -excellent at the main chance, as you may see by what they have done for -themselves.' - -Delamere then uttered against them a dreadful execration, and went on to -describe the whole family with great severity and with great truth, -'till he at length talked himself into a violent passion; and Lord -Westhaven with difficulty brought him to be calm by the time they had -set down Mr. Newton and stopped at his own door. At the same instant -Lord Westhaven's coach arrived there, a splendid chariot, most elegantly -decorated, came up also. Delamere, struck with its brilliancy, examined -the arms and saw his own: looking into it, he changed countenance, and -said to Lord Westhaven--'Upon my word! Crofts' wife and your Swiss -relation, de Bellozane!' - -'Crofts' wife?' - -'Aye. I mean the woman who was once Fanny Delamere, my sister.' - -'Come, Delamere, forget these heartburnings, and remember that she is -your sister still.' - -'I should be glad to know (if it were worth my while to enquire) what -business Bellozane has with _her_?' - -By this time they were in the house, where Lady Frances and the -Chevalier arrived also. - -Lord Westhaven met them with his usual politeness; but Delamere only -slightly touched his hat to Bellozane, and sternly saluted his sister -with 'your servant, Lady Frances Crofts!' He then passed them, and went -into Lord Westhaven's dressing room; while her Ladyship, regardless of -his displeasure, and affecting the utmost gaity, talked and laughed with -Lord Westhaven as she went up stairs. Emmeline followed them, listening -to the whispered compliments of Bellozane with great coldness; and Lady -Frances, entering with a fashionable flounce the drawing room where her -sister was, cried--'Well child! how are you? I beg your pardon for not -coming to enquire after you sooner: but I have had such crowds of -company at Belleville Lodge, that it was impossible to escape. And -here's this animal here, this relation of your Lord's, really haunts me; -so I was forced at last to bring him with me.' This speech was -accompanied by a significant smile directed to Bellozane. - -Lady Westhaven, checked by such an address from flying into the arms of -her sister, now expressed, without any great warmth, that she was glad -to see her. Something like general conversation was attempted. But Lady -Frances, who hoped to hide, under the affectation of extravagant -spirits, the envy and mortification with which she contemplated the -superior happiness of her sister, soon engrossed the discourse entirely. -She talked only of men of the first rank, or of _beaux esprits_ their -associates, who had been down in parties to Belleville Lodge (the name -she had given to her villa near Richmond); and she repeated compliments -which both the Lords and the wits had made to her figure and her -understanding. When she seemed almost to have exhausted this interesting -topic, Lady Westhaven said, as if merely for the sake of saying -something--'Mr. Crofts has been so obliging as to call here twice since -we came to London; but unluckily was not let in. Pray how does he do?' - -'Mr. Crofts? Oh! I know very little of him. At this time of the year we -never meet. _He_ lives, you know, in Burlington street, and _I_ live at -Belleville; and if he comes thither, as he sometimes does of a Friday or -Saturday, he finds me too much engaged to know whether he is there or -not. I believe, tho', he is very well; and I think the last time I saw -him he was nearly as lively and amusing as he usually is. Don't you -think he was, Bellozane?' - -'_O! assurement oui_,' replied the Chevalier, sneeringly, '_Monsieur -Croff a toujours beaucoup de vivacite_.--_C'est un homme fort amusant ce -Monsieur Croff._'[43] - -Lady Westhaven, disgusted, shocked, and amazed, had no power to take any -share in such a dialogue; and Lady Frances went on. - -'Well! but now I assure you, Augusta, I'm going to be most uncommonly -good; and am coming, tho' 'tis a terrible heavy undertaking, to pass a -whole week, without company, with _mon tres cher Mari_, in -Burlington-street. Nay, I will go still farther, and make a family party -with you to the play, which I generally detest of all things.' - -'That is being really very kind,' said Lady Westhaven. 'But since you -are so tenderly disposed towards your own family, would it not be well -if you were to enquire after my mother? You know, I suppose, how very -ill she is; how much worse 'tis feared she may be?' - -'Yes, I shall certainly call,' replied Lady Frances with the utmost -_sang froid_, 'before I go home. But as to her illness, you are -frightened at nothing: she has only her old complaints.' - -'Her old complaints! And are not they enough? If _I_ were in a situation -to be useful to her; or even as it is, if Lord Westhaven would permit -me, I should certainly think it my duty constantly to attend her.' - -'Probably you might. And it is equally probable that it would be of no -use if you did. She has Brackley, and all her own people about her; and -no more _could_ be done for her, even tho' you were to hazard your -_precious_ life, or if _I_, (who you know would not risk by it that of -an heir to an Earldom) should sacrifice _my_ ease and _my_ friends to -attend her.' - -The unfeeling malignity of this speech was so extremely distressing to -Lady Westhaven, that she could hardly command her tears. - -Lord Westhaven saw her emotion, and said, 'Augusta, my love, your sister -is too brilliant for you. You have not acquired that last polish of high -life, which quite effaces all other feelings; nor will you, perhaps, -ever arrive at it.' - -'God forbid that I ever should!' cried Lady Westhaven, unable to conceal -her indignation. - -'Poor thing!' said Lady Frances, with the most unblushing -assurance--'You have curious ideas of domestic felicity: and it's a -thousand pities, that instead of being what you are, destiny had not -made you the snug, notable wife of a country parson, with three or four -hundred a year--You would have been pure and happy, to drive about in a -one horse chaise, make custards, walk tame about the house, and bring -the good man a baby every year: but really, you are now quite out of -your element.' She then rang the bell for her carriage; which being soon -ready, she gaily wished her sister good day, and the Chevalier handed -her down stairs; where, as she descended, she said, loud enough to be -heard, '_S'il y'a une chose au monde que je deteste plus qu'un notre, -c'est la tristesse d'une societe comme cela_.'[44] The Chevalier assented -with his lips; but his heart and his wishes were fled towards Emmeline. -He was, however, so engaged with her proud and insolent rival, that he -no longer dared openly to avow his predilection for her: and Lady -Frances seemed so sure of the strength of that attachment which was her -disgrace, that she brought him on purpose where Emmeline was, to shew -how little she apprehended his defection. - -Lord Westhaven, after pausing a second, ran down stairs after them; and -just as Bellozane was stepping into the chariot, took him by the arm, -and begged to speak to him for two minutes. - -He apologized to Lady Frances, and they went together into a room; where -Lord Westhaven, with all the warmth which his relationship authorized, -remonstrated against his stay in England; represented the expence and -uneasiness it must occasion to the good old Baron; and above all, -exhorted him to fly immediately from the dangerous society of Lady -Frances Crofts. - -Bellozane received this advice from his cousin with a very ill grace. He -said, that he could not discover why his Lordship assumed an authority -over him, or pretended either to blame his past conduct or dictate his -future. That he came to England a stranger; brought thither by his -honourable passion for Miss Mowbray, which he had a right to pursue; but -that Mr. Godolphin, who was his only relation then in England, had -either from accident or design shewn him very little attention; while -Lady Frances had, with the most winning _honetete_, invited him to her -house, and supplied the want of _that_ hospitality which his own family -had not afforded him. And that infinitely obliged as he was to her, he -should ill brook any reflection on a woman of honour who was his friend. - -'But my Lord,' added he, 'if your Lordship will allow me to visit here -as Miss Mowbray's favoured lover, I will not only drop the acquaintance -of Lady Frances, but will put myself entirely under your Lordship's -direction.' - -Lord Westhaven, piqued and provoked, answered--'that he had no power -whatever to direct Miss Mowbray; and if he had, should never advise her -to receive him. Be assured, Monsieur le Chevalier, that you have no -chance of ever being acceptable to her, and you must think no more of -her.' - -Bellozane, equally impatient of advice and contradiction, burst from -him; and went back to Lady Frances in a very ill humour. - -Delamere, who had been dressing while his eldest sister remained, now -joined Lady Westhaven and Emmeline in the drawing room. Thither also -came Lady Adelina; who, during the five days they had been in town had -not been well enough till this day to dine below. - -She was now languid and faint, and obliged to retire, as soon as the -cloth was removed, to her own room. Emmeline attended her; and when they -were alone together, she complained of finding herself every day more -indisposed. 'The air of London,' said she, 'is not good for my child: I -cannot help fancying he droops already. And the noise of a house where -there are unavoidably so many visitors, and such a multitude of -servants, is too much for my spirits. As Lord Westhaven is desirous of -my staying in London till my sister Clancarryl arrives, that we may meet -all together after being so many years divided, I will not press my -return to East Cliff; but I wish he would allow me to go to some village -near London, where I may occasionally enjoy solitude and silence; for I -have that upon my heart, Emmeline, that demands both.' - -Emmeline communicated her wish to Godolphin the same evening; who -undertook to settle it with Lord Westhaven as his sister desired; and -the next day Lady Adelina and her little boy removed to Highgate, where -her brother had procured her a handsome lodging; and he, quitting those -he usually occupied in town, went to reside with her. - -After having been there a few days, she sent to Emmeline the following -letter, which she desired might be delivered by her own hand. - - - '_To the Honourable George Fitz-Edward._ - - 'I have thus long forborne to answer your letter, because I have - not 'till now been able to collect that strength of mind which is - necessary, when I am to obey the inexorable duty that tears me from - you for ever! - - 'That you yet _love_ me well enough to solicit my hand, is I own - most soothing and consolatory: but where, Fitz-Edward, is the - Lethean cup, without which you cannot _esteem_ me?--without which, I - cannot esteem myself? No! I am not worthy the honour of being your - wife! It is fit my fault be punished--punished by the cruel - obligation it lays me under of renouncing the man I love! - - 'Fitz-Edward, I will not dissemble! I cannot, if I would! My - affection for you is become a part of my existence, and can end - but in the grave. Under the dread of your infidelity or your - danger, my reason was too weak to support me: now that I have no - longer any apprehensions of either, my reason is returned--it is - returned to shew me all my wretchedness, and to afford me that - light by which I must plunge a dagger into my own bosom. - - 'Had I, however, no objections on my own account, there is one - that on another appears insuperable. Were the marriage you solicit - to take place, and to be followed by a family, could I bear that my - William, the delight and support of my life, should be as an alien - in his father's house, and either appear as the son of Godolphin or - learn to blush for his mother! - - 'We must part, Fitz-Edward! Indeed we must! Or if we are obliged - to meet, do you at least forget that we ever met before. - - 'I know that the daughter of Lord Westhaven, in youth, beauty, and - innocence, would not have been, however portionless, unworthy of - you. But what would you receive in the widow of Trelawny? A mind - unsettled by guilt and sorrow; spirits which have lost all relish - for felicity; a blemished, if not a ruined reputation, a faded - person, and an exhausted heart--exhausted of almost every sentiment - but that so fatally predominant; which now forces me to blot my - paper with tears, as I write this last farewel! - - 'Farewel! most beloved Fitz-Edward!--Ah! try if it be possible to - be happy! Be assured I wish it; even tho' it be necessary for that - end to drive from your memory, for ever, the lost - - ADELINA TRELAWNY.' - - -Emmeline, to whom this letter was sent open, could not but approve the -sentiments it contained, while her heart bled for the pain it must have -cost Lady Adelina, and for that which it must inflict on Fitz-Edward. - -When she had dispatched a note to his lodgings, to name an early hour -the next day for speaking to him, she went down into the drawing room, -where a large party of company were already assembled. Emmeline, to -avoid a particular conversation with Lord Delamere, which he incessantly -solicited, placed herself near one of the card tables; when, at a late -hour of the evening, dressed in the utmost exuberance of fashion, -blazing in jewels and blooming in rouge, entered Mrs. James Crofts, -followed by the two eldest of her daughters; one, drest in the character -of Charlotte in the Sorrows of Werter; and the other, as Emma, the nut -brown maid. Their air and manner were adapted, as they believed, to the -figures of those characters as they appear in the print shops; and their -excessive affectation, together with the gaudy appearance of their mama, -nearly conquered the gravity of Emmeline and of many others of the -company. - -While Mrs. Crofts paid her compliments to Lady Westhaven and Emmeline, -and gave herself all those airs which she believed put her upon an -equality with the circle she was in, the two Misses anxiously watched -the impression which they concluded their charms must make on the -gentlemen present. Their mama had told them that most likely all of them -were Lords, or Lords sons at least; and the girls were not without -hopes, that among them there might be some of that species of men of -quality, whom modern novelists describe as being in the habit of -carrying forcibly away, beautiful young creatures, with whom perchance -they become enamoured, and marrying them in despite of all opposition. -They longed above all things to meet with such adventures, and to be -carried off by a Lord, or a Baronet at least; whose letters afterwards, -to some dear Charles or Harry, could not fail to edify the world. After -Mrs. Crofts had displayed her dress, and convinced the company of her -being quite in a good style of life; and when her daughters had -committed hostilities for near an hour upon the hearts of the gentlemen, -they sailed out in the same state as they entered; nor could all -Emmeline's good humour prevent her smiling at the satyrical remarks made -on them by some of the company; nothing more strongly exciting the -ridicule and contempt of people of real fashion than awkward and -impotent efforts to imitate them. - -The next day, Fitz-Edward attended at the hour Emmeline appointed, and -received from her the letter of Lady Adelina, with a degree of anguish -which gave great pain to Emmeline and Godolphin. Still, however, he was -not quite deprived of hope; but flattered himself that the persuasions -of her sister, Lady Clancarryl (who was now every day expected, with her -husband and family, to pass the rest of the winter in London) added to -those of Lord Westhaven, and the good offices of Emmeline, would -together prevail on Lady Adelina to alter a resolution which rendered -them both wretched. - -Some weeks, however, passed, and she still adhered to it; while the -melancholy conversation which Emmeline frequently had with Fitz-Edward, -and the importunity and unhappiness of Delamere, deprived her of much of -that tranquillity she might otherwise have enjoyed; particularly after -the recovery of Lady Westhaven (who presented her Lord with a son), and -the arrival of Mrs. Stafford and her family from France. - -Lord Westhaven, who held a promise particularly sacred when made to the -unfortunate, had procured for Mr. Stafford a lucrative employment in the -West Indies. Thither he immediately went; and his wife, whose spirits -and health were greatly hurt, was happy to accept the offer Emmeline -made her of going down with her children to Mowbray Castle. The Marquis -of Montreville had presented his niece with the furniture he had sent -thither, being in truth ashamed to charge it; there was therefore every -thing necessary; and there Emmeline intended Mrs. Stafford should reside -'till she should be established in some residence agreeable to her; -which she intended to fix if possible near her own; and she now felt all -the advantages of that fortune, which enabled her to repay the -obligations she owed to her earliest friend. - -[Footnote 43: Oh! certainly, Mr. Crofts is always very sprightly. A most -entertaining personage.] - -[Footnote 44: If there is any thing in the world I utterly detest, 'tis -such dismal society as that.] - - - - -CHAPTER XV - - -The rank, and extensive connections of Lady Westhaven, led her -unavoidably into a good deal of company; but it was among persons as -respectable for their virtues as their station. Emmeline, of course, -often accompanied her: but almost all her mornings, and frequently her -evenings, were dedicated to Lady Adelina; who hardly saw any body but -her, Lady Westhaven, her brothers, and her sister; and never went out -but for the air. - -Godolphin passed with her much of his time: to the love and pity he had -before felt for her, was added veneration and esteem, excited by the -heroism of her conduct. At her lodgings, too, he could see Emmeline -without the restraint they were under in other places. There, he could -talk to her of his love; and there, she consented to hear him. - -Lady Westhaven went constantly every morning to visit her mother, who -had lately been rather better, and whose health her physicians -entertained some hopes of re-establishing. Her own unhappy temper seemed -to be the chief impediment to her recovery; her violent passions, -unsubdued by sickness and disappointment; and her immeasurable pride, -which even the approach of death could not conquer, kept her nerves -continually on the stretch; and allowed her no repose of mind, even when -her bodily sufferings were suspended. That her favourite project of -uniting the only surviving branches of her own family, by the marriage -of Lord Delamere and Miss Otley, was now for ever at an end, was a -perpetual source of murmuring and discontent. And tho' Emmeline had as -splendid a fortune, with a person and a mind infinitely more lovely, her -Ladyship could not yet prevail upon herself to desire, that the name for -which she felt such proud veneration, and the fortune of her own -illustrious ancestors, should be enjoyed, or carried down to posterity -by her, who had become the object of her capricious but inveterate -dislike. - -Emmeline was very glad that the Marchioness thro' prejudice, and her -uncle thro' shame, forbore to persecute her in favour of their son: but -tho' perfectly aware of the antipathy Lady Montreville entertained -towards her, she yet shewed her all the attention she would receive; and -would even constantly have waited on her, had she not expressed more -pain than pleasure in her presence. - -Lady Frances Crofts, by this time fixed in Burlington street for the -winter, called now and then on her mother; but her visits were short and -cold. It unfortunately happened, that the Marchioness, whose amusement -was now almost solely confined to reading the daily prints, had found in -one of them a paragraph evidently pointed at the intimacy subsisting -between Lady Frances and the Chevalier de Bellozane, which had long been -the topic of public scandal. - -Lady Frances called upon her while her mind was under the first -impression of this disgraceful circumstance; and she spoke to her -daughter of her improper attachment to that young foreigner with more -than her usual severity. Lady Frances, far from hearing her remonstrance -with calmness, retorted, with rudeness and asperity, what she termed -unjust reproaches; and asserted her own right to associate with whom she -pleased. The Marchioness grew more enraged, and they parted in great -wrath: in consequence of which, Lady Montreville, in the inconsiderate -excess of her anger, sent for her husband and her son; and exclaiming -with all her natural acrimony against the shameful conduct of Lady -Frances, insisted upon their obliging Crofts to separate his wife from -her dangerous and improper acquaintance, and forcing her immediately -into the country. - -Lord Montreville, who had already heard too much of his daughter's -general light conduct, and her particular partiality to Bellozane, now -saw new evils gathering round him, from which he knew not how to escape. -The fiery and impatient Delamere, already irritated against Bellozane -for his pretensions to Emmeline, broke forth in menace and invective; -and nothing but his father's anguish, and even tears, prevented his -flying directly to him to execute that vengeance which his mother had -dictated. She herself, in the violence of her passion, had overlooked -the consequence of putting this affair into the hands of the -inconsiderate and headlong Delamere; but when she saw him thus inflamed, -terror for _him_, was added to resentment against her daughter; and -altogether produced such an effect on her broken constitution, that in a -few days afterwards her complaints returned with great violence, and all -remedies proving ineffectual, she expired in less than a fortnight. Lady -Westhaven and Emmeline attended on her themselves for the last four or -five days; but she was insensible; and knew neither of them. Delamere, -very fond of his mother, and whose feelings were painfully acute, -suffered for many days the most violent paroxysms of grief; yet it was a -considerable alleviation to reflect that he had not finally been the -cause of her death. Lord Montreville bore it with more composure: and -the softer, tho' deep sorrow of Lady Westhaven, found relief in the -constant and tender attention of her Lord, and the sympathy of Emmeline. - -Lady Frances Crofts, not insensible to remorse, but resolutely stifling -it, affected to hear the news with proper concern, yet as what had been -for many months expected. She sent constantly to enquire after her -father; and the Marquis hoping that while her mind was softened by such -a mournful event his remonstrance might make a deeper impression, -determined to go to her; therefore the day after the remains of the -Marchioness had been carried to the family vault of the Delameres, he -took his chair, and went to Burlington street. - -On entering the house, the servants, who concluded he came to Mr. -Crofts, were taking him into those apartments below which their master -occupied: but his Lordship told them he must speak to their lady. Her -own footman said her Ladyship had given orders to be denied. - -'To her father, puppy?'--said Lord Montreville. 'Where is she?' - -'In her dressing room, my Lord.' - -He then passed alone up stairs--As he went, he heard the voice of -laughter and gaiety, and was more shocked than surprised, when, on -opening the door, he saw Lady Frances in a morning dishabille, and the -Chevalier de Bellozane making her tea. At the entrance of her father -thus unexpectedly, she changed colour; but soon assuming her usual -assured manner, said she was glad to see his Lordship well enough to -come out. - -'Dismiss this young man,' said he sternly. 'I must speak to you alone.' - -'_Va mon ami_,' cried Lady Frances, with the utmost ease, '_pour -quelques moments_.' - -Bellozane left the room; and then Lord Montreville, with paternal -affection, tried to move her. But she had conquered her feelings; and -answered with great calmness--'That conscious of her own innocence, she -was quite indifferent to the opinion of the world. And that tho' she -certainly wished to be upon good terms with her own family, yet if any -part of it chose to think ill of her, they must do so entirely from -prejudice, which it was little worth her while to attempt removing.' - -Lord Montreville, now provoked beyond all endurance, gave way to the -indignation with which he was inflamed, and denounced his malediction -against her, if she did not immediately dismiss Bellozane and regulate -her manner of life. She heard him with the most callous insensibility; -and let him depart without making any attempt to appease his anger or -calm his apprehensions. From her, he went down to Crofts; to whom he -forcibly represented the necessity there was for putting an immediate -stop to the scandal which the conduct of his wife occasioned. -Pusillanimous and mean-spirited, Crofts chose neither to risk his -personal safety with the Chevalier, nor the diminution of his fortune by -attempting to procure a divorce, which would compel him to return what -he loved much better than honour. - -He saw many others do extremely well, and mightily respected, whose -wives were yet gayer than his own; and convinced that while he had money -he should always obtain as much regard as he desired, he rather excused -to Lord Montreville the conduct of Lady Frances than shewed any -disposition to resent it. The Marquis left him with contempt, and -ordered his chair to Lord Westhaven's. As he went, he could not forbear -reflecting on the contrast between his eldest and youngest daughter, and -between his eldest daughter and his niece. He grew extremely anxious for -Lord Delamere's marriage with Emmeline: sure of finding, in her, an -honour to his family, which might console him for his present -misfortunes: and he deeply regretted that infatuation which had blinded -him to her superior merit, and hazarded losing her for ever. Disgusted -already with the Crofts, he remembered that it had been in a great -measure owing to them, and he thought of them only with repentance and -dislike. - -He saw Lord Westhaven alone; and relating to him all that had passed -that morning, besought him to consider what could be done to divide -Bellozane from Lady Frances Crofts. - -Lord Westhaven had seen and heard too much of the intimacy between them. -He was extremely hurt that so near a relation of his own should occasion -such uneasiness in the family of his wife; but as he had not invited him -over, and always discouraged his stay, he had on that head nothing with -which to reproach himself. And all he could now do, was, to promise that -he would speak again to Bellozane, and write to the Baron de St. Alpin, -entreating him to press the return of his son to Switzerland. His -Lordship entered warmly into the apprehensions of Lord Montreville; and -undertook to use all his influence with Delamere to prevent his running -rashly into a quarrel with a young man as passionate and as violent as -himself. - -Lord Montreville then spoke of Emmeline; and expressed his wishes that -the union between her and his son might speedily be accomplished: but on -this subject Lord Westhaven gave him very little hopes. Tho' Emmeline -had done her utmost to conceal even from Lord and Lady Westhaven the -true state of her heart, his Lordship had, in their frequent conferences -on her affairs, clearly perceived what were her sentiments. But since -they were in favour of his brother, he could not think of attempting to -alter them, however sorry for Delamere; and could only determine to -observe an absolute neutrality. - -He did not communicate to the Marquis all he thought, but told him in -general, that Emmeline seemed at present averse to every proposal of -marriage, and firm in the resolution she had made, to remain single -'till she had completed her twenty-first year. Lord Westhaven sent for -Bellozane; who had lately been less frequent in his visits at -Grosvenor-street, and who seemed to resent the coldness with which his -cousins received him, and to have conceived great anger at the reserve -and even aversion with which Emmeline treated him. The servant whom his -Lordship dispatched with a note to Bellozane, returned in about ten -minutes, and said that the Chevalier was gone to Bath. Lord Westhaven -now hoped that for some time the intercourse which had given such -offence, and occasioned such misery, would be at an end: in the -afternoon, however, Crofts came in; and on Lady Westhaven's enquiry -after her sister, he told her that she was going that afternoon to -Speenhamland in her way to Bath. Conduct, so glaringly improper and -unfeeling, a defiance so bold to the opinions of the world and the -common decencies of society, extremely hurt both her Ladyship and her -Lord. The latter, however, found some satisfaction in reflecting that at -least Delamere and Bellozane could not immediately meet. - -Above a month now passed with as much tranquillity as the ardent -supplications of Delamere to Emmeline would admit. Lord and Lady -Clancarryl, with their family, arrived in London to pass the rest of the -winter; and Lady Adelina, insensibly won from her retirement by the -pleasure of meeting at once her sister and her two brothers, seemed to -be in better health, and sometimes in better spirits. As she was now -frequently induced to join these charming family parties, she was -obliged to see Fitz-Edward among them; and he entertained new hopes that -she would at length conquer her scruples and accept his hand: she -carefully, however, avoided all conversation with him but in mixed -company; and Emmeline being continually with her, they were equally -prevented from hearing, with any degree of particularity, Godolphin or -Fitz-Edward. - -The Marchioness of Montreville had now been dead almost two months; and -Lady Westhaven, who from respect to her memory had hitherto forborne to -appear in public, was prevailed upon to go to a new play; for the author -of which, a nobleman, one of her friends, being particularly interested, -he prevailed on all the people of fashion and taste whom he knew to -attend on the third night of it's representation. Lady Westhaven, Lady -Clancarryl, and Emmeline, were by his earnest entreaties induced to be -among them: but as Lord Westhaven, Lord Clancarryl, Godolphin, and -Fitz-Edward, were absent, being gone all together to the seat of the -former, in Kent, for a few days, they foresaw but little pleasure in the -party; and Lady Westhaven expressed even a reluctance for which she knew -not how to account. The eagerness of Lord----to serve his friend at -length over-ruled her objections; his Lordship himself and Lord Delamere -were to attend them; and they were to be joined by some other ladies -there. The stage box had been retained for them; and they proceeded to -the playhouse, where they were hardly seated, before Lady Westhaven saw, -with infinite mortification and alarm, her sister, Lady Frances Crofts, -enter the next box, handed by the Chevalier de Bellozane, and -accompanied by a lady, of fashion indeed, but of very equivocal -character, with whom she had lately contracted a great intimacy. All -attention to the play was now at an end. Incapable of receiving -amusement, Lady Westhaven would instantly have returned home; and -Emmeline, who saw rage and fierceness in the countenance of Lord -Delamere, was equally anxious to do so: but they knew not how to account -for such a wish to their party without making their fears public; and -while they deliberated how to act, the play went on. Lady Frances, as if -quite unconscious of any impropriety in her conduct, spoke to them and -to Delamere. They forced themselves to answer her with civility; but her -brother, turning from her, darted an angry look at Bellozane, and went -to the other side of the house. He from thence watched with indignation -the familiar whispers which passed between her and the Chevalier; and -reflecting on the recent death of his mother, which had been hastened if -not occasioned by this connection; remembering how greatly the -sufferings of her last hours had been embittered by it, and recalling to -his memory a thousand other causes of anger against Bellozane, he heated -his imagination with the review of these injuries, till he raised -himself into an agony of passion, which it was soon impossible for him, -had he been so disposed, to restrain. - -A very few minutes after the play ended, Lady Westhaven, impatient to -get away before her sister, beckoned to Delamere; and finding her -servants ready, told her party she was too much tired to stay the -entertainment, and rose with Emmeline to go. Lord----led her Ladyship, -and Delamere took the hand of Emmeline: the two former walked hastily -thro' the lobby; but as the two latter followed, they were suddenly -stopped by Rochely, who, making one of his solemn bows, advanced close -to Emmeline, and with great composure congratulated her in his usual -slow and monotonous manner, on her late acquisitions; assured her of his -great respect and esteem; and added, that as he understood she would, -when she came of age, be possessed of a large sum of money, he flattered -himself she would allow him to manage it for her, as Lord Montreville at -present did; declaring that nobody could be more attentive to the -interest of his customers. The profound gravity with which, in such a -place, he made such a request; the sordid meanness of spirit, which -could induce a man already so very rich, to solicit custom with the -avidity of a mechanic beginning business; and the uncouth and formal -figure of the person himself; would have excited in Emmeline ridicule as -well as contempt, at any other time: but now, distrest at the delay this -meeting occasioned, she hurried over some answer, she hardly knew what, -and hastened towards the door. Just, however, before they reached it, -Bellozane, with Lady Frances Crofts hanging on his arm, overtook and -passed them: the Chevalier slightly touched his hat to Emmeline; and -Lady Frances, nodding familiarly, said--'Good night! good night!' Lady -Frances and Bellozane went on; and Emmeline, who saw fury in the eyes of -Delamere, now wished as much to linger behind as she had before done to -hurry forward. But Delamere quickening his pace, overtook them as they -descended the steps, and rushed so closely and with so much intended -rudeness by Bellozane, that it was with the utmost difficulty he could -avoid falling and dragging his fair associate with him. The fiery -Frenchman recovering his footing, turned fiercely to Delamere, and -asked, in French, what he meant? Lord Delamere, in the same language, -replied, that he meant to tell him he was a scoundrel! Instantly a -mutual blow was exchanged: the shrieks of Emmeline brought the -sentinels; who, together with the croud which immediately gathered, -forced them from each other. - -Lord----who had taken care of Lady Westhaven to her coach, alarmed at -Emmeline's not joining them, and at the noise he heard, now came back to -see what was the matter. He met her, more dead than alive, coming -towards him, attended by a stranger; and she had just breath enough to -implore him not to think of _her_, but to find Lord Delamere, and try to -prevent the fatal consequence of what had just happened. - -Leaving her to the care of the gentleman he had found her with, who -almost supported her to the coach, his Lordship went forward in quest -of Delamere, whom he met with two or three other gentlemen. Bellozane, -after stating to them the affront he had received, and giving Lord -Delamere a card, had returned back into the lobby with Lady Frances and -her friend; from whence it was supposed he had gone out with them across -the stage, as Lady Frances appeared in great alarm. Lord----now -entreated Delamere to go with him to the coach, where he told him his -sister was in the utmost terror for his safety. But enquiring eagerly -whether Miss Mowbray was safe with her, and hearing she was, he said he -would be in Grosvenor-street to supper, and desired they would go home. -Lord----then very warmly remonstrated on the cruelty of terrifying his -sister, and insisted on his going with him to the coach: but they were -by this time among the croud at the door, where people began to go out -fast; and Delamere, whose passions were now inflamed to a degree of -madness, broke violently away from his Lordship; and rushing into the -street, instantly disappeared. Every attempt which himself, his -servants, or some gentlemen who were witnesses to the transaction, made -to find him, being ineffectual, Lord----now returned to the coach, -where Lady Westhaven was fainting in the arms of Emmeline; who, equally -alarmed, and hardly able to support herself, was trying to assist and -console her. Lord----, instead of returning to his own family, now sent -a footman to desire they would go home without him; and remaining in -Lady Westhaven's carriage, directed it to be driven with the utmost -speed to Grosvenor street. As they went, he attempted to appease the -agonizing fears of them both, by persuading them that they might find -Lord Delamere at home before them; but they knew too well the ferocity -with which he was capable of pursuing his vengeance when it was once -awakened; and arrived at home in such disorder, that neither could -speak.--The coach, however, no sooner stopped than somebody ran out. -They had no power to ask who; but the voice was that of Godolphin; who -finding his brother likely to be detained two days longer, and existing -only while he could see Emmeline every hour, had returned alone to town, -and now waited their arrival from the play. He was astonished at the -situation he found them in, as he assisted them out of the carriage. He -received, however, a brief account of the cause from Lord----; while -Lady Westhaven, a little recovered by the sight of Godolphin and the -hartshorn and water she had taken, found her voice. - -'For God's sake! dear Godolphin, lose not a moment, but go after my -brother. We dread lest he went immediately in search of Bellozane--Oh! -fly! and endeavour to prevent the horrid effects that may be expected -from their meeting!' - -'Pray go!' said Emmeline. 'Pray go instantly!' - -Godolphin needed not entreaty. He took his hat, and ran away directly, -without knowing whither to go. He thought, however, that it was possible -Delamere might go to Berkley square, and send from thence an appointment -to Bellozane. Thither therefore he hastened; but heard that Lord -Delamere had not been at home since he dressed to dine in Grosvenor -street, and that the Marquis was gone to Lord Dornock's, where he was to -stay some days; news, which encreased the alarm of Godolphin, who had -hoped that his influence might be used to prevent the rashness of his -son. He ordered Millefleur, and Delamere's coachman, footmen, and -grooms, to run different ways in search of their master, while he went -himself to the lodgings of Bellozane. Bellozane, he learnt, came from -Bath only that morning, and had dressed at his lodgings, but had not -been there since. - -He now flew to the house of Lady Frances Crofts. Mr. Crofts was gone -down to his father's; and Lady Frances, who had come from Bath the same -day, had dined with her friend, and was to be set down by her carriage -after supper. Eagerly asking the name of this friend, he was directed to -Charlotte street, Oxford street; where on hastening he found Lady -Frances, who was vainly attempting to conquer the terrors that possessed -her. Bellozane, he heard, had procured chairs for her and the lady with -her, at the stage door, and had there wished them a good night, tho' -they had both intreated of him to go home with them. They added, that -they had refused to let him look for their carriage, which was driven -off in the croud, lest he should meet with Delamere; but were greatly -afraid he had gone back to the avenues of the playhouse with that -design. Godolphin, however unpromising his search yet appeared, -determined not to relinquish it. But while he continued running from -place to place, Lady Westhaven and Emmeline sat listening to every noise -and terrifying themselves with conjectures the most dreadful. Almost as -soon as Godolphin was gone, they had conjured Lord----to go on the same -search: but he returned not; and of Godolphin they heard nothing. Even -the late hours when fashionable parties break up, now passed by. Every -coach that approached made them tremble between hope and fear; but it -rolled away to a distance. Another and another passed, and their -dreadful suspence still continued. Emmeline would have persuaded Lady -Westhaven to go to bed; but nothing could induce her to think of it. She -sometimes traversed the room with hurried steps; sometimes sat listening -at the window; and sometimes ran out to the stair case, where all the -servants except those who had been dispatched in pursuit of Lord -Delamere were assembled. - -The streets were now quiet; the watch called a quarter past five; and -convinced that if something fatal had not happened some body would have -returned to them by this time, their terror grew insupportable. A quick -rap was now heard at the door. Emmeline flew to the stairs--'Is it Lord -Delamere?' 'No, Madam,' replied a servant, 'it is Captain Godolphin.' -Afraid of asking, yet unable to bear another moment of suspence, she -flew down part of the stairs. Godolphin, with a countenance paler than -death, caught her in his arms--'Whither would you go?' cried he, -trembling as he spoke. - -'Have you found--Delamere?' - -'I have.' - -'Alive and well?' - -'Alive--but--' - -'Oh! God!--but what?' - -'Wounded, I fear, to death. Keep his sister from knowing it too -suddenly.' - -That was almost impossible. Lady Westhaven had at first sat down in the -drawing room in that breathless agony which precluded the power of -enquiry; then losing her weakness in desperation, she ran down, -determined to know the worst, and was already on the stairs. - -Emmeline, white and faint, leaned on Godolphin--'Where is he, where is -my brother?' cried Lady Westhaven. - -Godolphin beckoned to the servants to assist him in getting her up -stairs. After a moment, they were all in the drawing room. - -'Tell me,' cried she, with an accent and look of despair--'Tell me for I -will know! You have seen my brother; he is killed! I know he is killed!' - -'He is alive,' answered Godolphin, hardly bearing to wound her ears -with such intelligence as he had to deliver--'at least he _was_ alive -when I left him.' - -'_Was_ alive! He is wounded then--and dying!' - -'It were useless and cruel to deceive you. I greatly fear he is.' - -Uttering a faint shriek, Lady Westhaven now sprung towards the door, and -protested she would go to him wherever he was. Emmeline clung about her, -and besought her to be patient--to be pacified. - -'Perhaps,' cried she, 'his situation may not be so desperate. Let us -rather enquire what can be done for him, than indulge the extravagance -of our own despair.' - -'Ah! tell me, then, where?--how?' Lady Westhaven could say no more. -Godolphin thought it best to satisfy her. - -'I will not relate the first part of my search. It was fruitless. At -length I saw a croud before the door of the Bedford. I asked what was -the matter? and heard that two gentlemen had fought a duel, by -candlelight, with swords; that one was killed and the other had escaped. -This was too much like what I expected to hear: I forced my way into the -room. Lord Delamere was bleeding on the ground. Two surgeons were with -him. I cleared the room of all but them, and the necessary attendants. I -saw him carefully conveyed to bed. I left them with him; and came to -tell you. Now I must hasten back to him. I will not flatter you; the -surgeons gave me very little--indeed no hope of his life.' - -'Oh! my father! my father!' exclaimed Lady Westhaven, 'what will become -of him when he hears this?' - -'I would go to him,' said Godolphin, 'but that I must return to poor -Delamere. What little he said was to request that I would stay with -him.' - -'Go then,' said Emmeline--'we must do without you. Let him not miss the -comfort of your presence.' - -'Yes,' answered he, 'I must indeed go.' Emmeline, leaving Lady Westhaven -a moment to her woman, followed him out, and he said to her--'Try, I -conjure you, my Emmeline, to exert yourself for the sake of your poor -friend. Keep her as tranquil as you can; and may ye both acquire -fortitude to bear what is, I fear, inevitable!' - -'Oh! my father!' loudly exclaimed Lady Westhaven, with a dreadful -shriek--'Who shall dare to announce these tidings to you?' - -'Send,' continued Godolphin, 'an express to Lord Montreville. He is at -Lord Dornock's; and dispatch another to my brother. Pray take care of -your own health. It is now impossible for me to stay--the poor -languishing Delamere expects me.' He then ran hastily away; and -Emmeline, struggling with all her power against her own anguish, was -obliged to commit her friend to the care of her servants, while she sat -down to write to Lord Montreville. Her letter contained only two lines. - - - 'My dear Lord, - - 'Your son is very ill. We are much alarmed; and Lady Westhaven - begs you will immediately come hither. Do not go to Berkley-square. - - EMMELINE MOWBRAY.' - _Grosvenor-street, - April 5th._ - - -This note, short as it was, she had the utmost difficulty to make -legible. A servant was sent off with it, who was ordered to answer no -questions; and in another short and incoherent note she told to Lord -Westhaven the melancholy truth, and sent it by express into Kent. - -Having thus obeyed Godolphin as well as she could; she returned to Lady -Westhaven, who could not be prevailed upon to go to bed, but insisted on -being allowed to see her brother. Emmeline, dreadfully terrified by her -obstinacy, now sent for the two physicians who usually attended the -family. One of them had been taken by Godolphin to Delamere; but the -other instantly attended the summons. Every argument he could use -failing entirely of effect, he was obliged to administer to her a -remedy, which soon acting on her fatigued and exhausted spirits, threw -her for a short time into insensibility. While poor Emmeline, who -expected soon the arrival of the unhappy father, and who waited with -torturing anxiety for news from Godolphin, could not even sit down; but -wandered about the house, and walked from room to room, as if change of -place could shorten or lessen her dreadful suspence. - -No news, however, came from Godolphin. But a little before eight -o'clock, the Marquis's chaise stopped at the door. - -He got out; asked faulteringly of the servants for his son. Their looks -imported sad tidings; but they were ordered to profess ignorance, and it -was the excruciating task allotted to Emmeline to inform this wretched -parent that his only son, the pride and support of his life, had -fallen; and what made it still more horrid, by the hand of his -daughter's paramour. Lord Montreville entered the drawing room; and the -wild and pallid looks of his niece struck him with such horror, that he -could only pronounce with trembling lips the name of Delamere: and then -throwing himself into a chair, seemed to expect she should tell him what -he was unable to ask. - -She approached him; but words failed her. - -'Delamere!--my son!' cried he, in a voice hollow and tremulous. - -'He is not dead, my Lord.' - -'Not dead! wherefore is it then that you look thus? Oh! what is it I am -to know?' - -Emmeline then briefly related his situation, as she had heard it from -Godolphin. She had only said, that tho' desperately wounded he yet -lived, when Lord Montreville, gazing on her with eyes that bespoke the -agony of his soul, and seizing her violently by the hand, said--'Come, -then, with me! come to him with me, now, this instant!' - -He then burst out of the room, still taking her with him. She knew not -why he wished her to follow; but went, unequal to resistance or enquiry. - -His chariot was at the door. They both got in, and just as it was -driving away, Millefleur ran up to it. - -'Your master?--your master?--' said Lord Montreville. - -'Ah! my Lord, he is--yet living!' - -'_Yet_ living!' - -'And Captain Godolphin sent me to see if you was come, in hopes that you -might see him.' - -'Go on!' cried Lord Montreville, with a degree of fierceness that made -Emmeline shudder. The horses flew. He continued in dreadful and gloomy -silence, interrupted only by deep groans. Emmeline had no comfort to -offer, and dared not speak to him. At length they arrived at the place. -The servants assisted their lord to leave the chariot. Just as he got -out of it, Dr. Gardner came out; but too much shocked to be able to -speak, he waved his hand to say that all was over; and almost instantly, -Godolphin, with a countenance most expressive of what he felt, came out -to him also. - -'My dear Lord, your going up will be of no use; spare yourself so great -a shock, and suffer me to attend you home.' - -'He is dead then?' - -Deep and mournful silence told him it was so. - -'I will see him, however,' said he, pushing by those who would have -detained him. - -'No, no,' cried Emmeline. 'Pray, my Lord! pray, my dear uncle!' - -'Uncle!' exclaimed he. 'Have I deserved to be your uncle? But I am -punished--dreadfully, dreadfully punished!' - -A croud was now gathering; and Godolphin was compelled to let him -proceed; while he himself approached Emmeline, who was left half dead in -the chariot. - -'Ah! attend not to me!' said she. 'Go, I beg of you, with my poor -uncle!' - -Dreadful was the scene when the miserable father beheld the body of his -son. In that bitter anguish which is incapable of tears, he reproached -himself for the obstinacy with which, even against his own judgment, he -had opposed his marriage with Emmeline.--'Instead of seeing thus my -hopes blasted for ever, I might have grown old among his children and -the children of my brother's daughter! But I drove her to France; and in -consequence of that, the scourge, the dreadful scourge has fallen upon -me! I and my house are low in the dust! Weak and wretched infatuation! -Dreadful sacrifice to vain and empty ambition; Oh! my poor murdered -boy!' Then, after a moment's pause, he turned suddenly to Godolphin, -whose manly countenance was covered with tears. 'Tell me, Sir! did he -not wish to see his misjudging father? did he leave me nothing--not even -his forgiveness?' - -'Lord Delamere,' said Godolphin, 'was wounded in the lungs, and every -effort to speak threatened his immediate dissolution. He expressed a -wish to see you and Miss Mowbray; but said very little else.' - -'I brought her, because I knew he must wish to see her. But he will see -her no more!' A deep and hollow groan now burst from him: his sorrow -began to choak him; and exclamation was at an end; yet struggling a -moment with it, he said quickly to Godolphin--'Do you think he suffered -great pain?' - -'I believe very little, my Lord.' - -'And he had every assistance?' - -'He had instantly every assistance that skill could offer. Two surgeons -of eminence were at supper with company in the house; and they were with -him before I was, which was not ten minutes after the accident. I never -left him afterwards, but to run to Lady Westhaven.' - -'Excellent young man! you will still, I know, remain with him, and do -what _I_ cannot do.' He then paused a moment, and his anguish seemed to -gather strength--while with a look of deep and gloomy despair he -approached the bed; slowly and sternly invoked the vengeance of heaven -on his eldest daughter; and then continued with glazed and motionless -eyes to gaze on the body. From this dreadful torpor it was necessary to -rouse him, and to remove him from the room. The united efforts of -Godolphin and the surgeons, with difficulty effected it. He was however -at length placed in the chariot; and with Emmeline, who was more dead -than alive, was conveyed to Grosvenor-street. Godolphin, dreading the -scene he was to encounter when they got thither, followed them on foot; -and assisted Lord Montreville to his chamber, where he entreated the -servants not to allow him to see Lady Westhaven, till they were both -better able to bear the interview. He then returned to Emmeline; who, -quite overcome by excessive terror and fatigue, had hardly strength to -speak to him; and unable to support herself longer, retired to bed, -where a violent fever seized her; and for near a week she was so -alarmingly ill, that Godolphin, in the wildest distraction, believed he -saw her snatched from him by the inexorable hands of death. Lady Adelina -came to her the evening after Delamere's decease, and never left her bed -side while there was the least appearance of danger; Godolphin continued -whole days in the little dressing room that adjoined to it; and -Fitz-Edward, who insisted on attending him during these hours of -torturing suspence, was unavoidably frequently in the presence of Lady -Adelina, whose every sentiment was for the time absorbed in her fear for -a life so dear to them all. - -At length Emmeline, tho' yet too ill to leave her room, was no longer in -danger; and Lord Westhaven, who returned instantly to town on hearing -the mournful news helped to appease the violent grief of his wife. But -on the more settled and silent anguish of her wretched father, his good -offices made not the least impression. He seemed to abhor all thoughts -of consolation: and when the remains of poor Delamere were carried to be -deposited with those of his mother, he shut himself up in total -darkness, and refused to admit even Lady Westhaven to participate his -sorrows. When she was allowed to pay her duty to him, he conjured her to -keep from him the sight of any of the Crofts', and that she would -prevent even their name being repeated in his presence. With their -visits there was no danger of his Lordship's being offended; for as he -had, in consequence of this family calamity, resigned all the places he -held, Sir Richard and his two sons were already eagerly paying their -court to his successor; and had entered into new views, and formed new -political connections, with an avidity which made them equally forgetful -of their patron's personal afflictions and of that favour to which they -owed their sudden and unmerited elevation. Amidst all the misery which -the guilty and scandalous conduct of his wife had brought upon the -family of his benefactor, the point on which Mr. Crofts felt the most -solicitude, was to know what portion of the Delamere estate was -irrevocably settled in equal divisions on the daughters, if the Marquis -of Montreville died without a son. The physicians now advised Lord -Westhaven to carry the Marquis into the country as soon as possible; -where he might enjoy the solitude he so much desired, without being -excluded from the air, as he was in town, by being confined entirely to -his bed chamber and dressing room. The sight of any of his own seats; -places which he had so lavishly embellished for the residence of him who -was now no more, he could not yet endure; and Lord Westhaven with some -difficulty prevailed upon him to remove to _his_ house in Kent. Thither, -therefore, the Marquis and Lord Westhaven's family removed, at the end -of a fortnight; but Emmeline, tho' pretty well recovered, desired Lady -Westhaven not to insist on her being of the party; being convinced, that -tho' he tried to see her with fortitude, and to behave to her with -tenderness, the sight of her was painful to her uncle, and perpetually -brought to his mind his own fatal misconduct in regard to his son. - -Lady Westhaven yielded reluctantly to her reasons, and departed without -her: but as her health made her immediate departure from London -necessary, she went with Lady Adelina to Highgate; who now remained -there only for the purpose of taking leave of Lord and Lady Clancarryl, -as they were within a fortnight to return to Ireland. - -In this interval, they heard that Lady Frances Crofts, infatuated still -with her passion for Bellozane, had followed him to Paris, whither he -had fled after his fatal encounter with her brother. Bellozane, stung -with guilt, and pursued by remorse, hurried from her with detestation; -and concealing himself in Switzerland, saw her no more. For some time -she continued to live in France in a style the most disgraceful to her -family and herself. Nobody dared name her to her unhappy father. But -Lord Westhaven at length interposed with Crofts, who, influenced by his -authority, and still more by his own desire to lessen her expences, went -over, and found no great difficulty in procuring a _lettre de cachet_, -which confined her during pleasure to a convent. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - - -To fix some plan for her future life, Emmeline now thought absolutely -and immediately necessary. To go to Mowbray Castle seemed the properest -measure she could adopt; and on that she appeared to determine. But tho' -she still meant to adhere to her resolution of remaining single until -she became of age, the tender importunity of her lover, the pressing -entreaties of her friends, and her own wishes to make them happy, were -every hour more powerfully undermining it. Her mind, softened by grief -for the death of poor Delamere, and more fondly attached than ever to -the generous Godolphin; whose noble qualities that unhappy event had -served to call forth anew, was rendered less capable than ever of -resisting his prayers; and Delamere, on whose account her determination -had been originally made, could now no longer suffer by her breaking it. -Still, however, she insisted upon it, that a term little short of what -she had named should elapse before her marriage should take place; as a -compliment to the memory of her unfortunate lover, and to the deep -sorrow of her uncle and Lady Westhaven. - -Here, then, she rested her last defence. And when their encreasing -solicitations obliged her to consent to shorten the term to three -months, Godolphin undertook to make it the particular request of Lord -Montreville and his daughter, that their marriage should take place -within three weeks. Animated by the hopes of hastening the period, he -went himself into Kent; where he pleaded so successfully to Lady -Westhaven, that she not only wrote pressingly to Emmeline, but prevailed -on the Marquis to give him a letter also; in which, after deploring, in -terms expressive of anguish and regret, that unfortunate infatuation -which had eventually robbed him of his son, he told her that he had -very little more now to wish, dead as he was to the world, than to see -her happily married. That the tender attention of the generous Godolphin -to that beloved son, in the last hours of his life, had endeared him to -him above all other men; that his character, connections and conduct -were unexceptionable; and therefore, his Lordship added, that tho' he -did not know that he could himself bear to see it, he wished she would -not hesitate to complete his happiness; observing, that if she thought -it too early after the loss of so near a relation, she might have the -ceremony performed with such privacy, that only the respective families -need know of its celebration. Emmeline, having now no longer a -subterfuge, was obliged to let Godolphin take his own way. He exerted -himself so anxiously to get the deeds completed, that before the end of -three weeks they were finished. Lord and Lady Clancarryl prolonged their -stay on purpose; and they, together with Lady Adelina and Fitz-Edward, -were present at the ceremony. When it was over, Lord and Lady Clancarryl -took an affectionate leave of the bride and bridegroom, and set out for -Ireland, accompanied by Fitz-Edward; who, with the most painful -reluctance tearing himself from Lady Adelina by her express desire, was -yet allowed to carry with him the hope, that at the end of her mourning -she would relent, and accede to the entreaties of all her family. - -Godolphin, his Emmeline, his sister and her little boy, took immediately -afterwards the road to East Cliff. They continued there the months of -May and June; where, about six weeks after their marriage, they were -visited by Lord and Lady Westhaven; the latter having never left her -father 'till then, and being impatient to return to him, tho' she -assured Mrs. Godolphin that he was much calmer and more composed than -they had at first expected. In the filial attention of his youngest -daughter he found all the consolation his misfortunes would admit of on -this side the grave; and Emmeline, who had deeply lamented the lingering -and hopeless anguish to which her uncle was condemned, heard with -satisfaction that resignation was, however slowly, blunting the anguish -he had endured; and that having relinquished for ever all those -ambitious pursuits to which he had sacrificed solid happiness, he -thought only of rewarding the piety and tenderness of his youngest -daughter; and heard of the happiness of his niece with pleasure. When -Lord and Lady Westhaven left East Cliff, Mr. and Mrs. Godolphin and -Lady Adelina went to Mowbray Castle; where Mrs. Stafford received them -with transport, and where they were surrounded by numberless tenants and -dependants, who blessed the hour of it's restoration to it's benevolent -and lovely mistress, as well as that which had given her to a man, who -had a heart as nobly enlarged, and a spirit generously liberal, as her -own. - -The comfortable establishment of Mrs. Stafford at Woodfield, was a point -which Emmeline had much at heart; and Godolphin, who knew it was now -almost her first wish, took his measures with so much success, that it -was soon accomplished. Mrs. Stafford, however, at their united request, -consented to stay with them while they remained at Mowbray Castle; and -Emmeline had the delightful assurances of having made her happy, as well -as of having greatly contributed to the restored tranquillity of Lady -Adelina. - -Mowbray Castle, ever so peculiarly dear to Mrs. Godolphin, and where she -was now blessed with her beloved husband and her charming friends, -brought however to her mind the mournful remembrance of poor Delamere; -and the tears of rapture with which the greatness of her own happiness -sometimes filled her eyes, were mingled with those of sorrow for his -untimely death. She considered him as the victim of his mother's fatal -fondness and his father's ambition: yet that his early death was not -immediately owing to his violent passion for her, was a great -consolation; and with only the one source of regret which his premature -fate occasioned, and which being without remedy yielded inevitably to -time; she saw an infinite deal for which to be grateful, and failed not -to offer her humble acknowledgments to that Providence, who, from -dependance and indigence, had raised her to the highest affluence; given -her, in the tenderest of husbands, the best, the most generous and most -amiable of men; and had bestowed on her the means and the inclination to -deserve, by virtue and beneficence, that heaven, where only she can -enjoy more perfect and lasting felicity. - - - FINIS - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EMMELINE*** - - -******* This file should be named 41646.txt or 41646.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/1/6/4/41646 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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