Violet then began by relating the accident of the incline plane and its frightful consequences; she told how, almost miraculously, she and Wallace were saved; about her illness in his home, and of their growing fondness for each other during her convalescence. When she told of Wallace"s confession of his love for her and hers for him, she bowed her face again upon her hands and went on, in quick, pa.s.sionate tones, as if it was too sacred to be talked about and she was anxious to have the recital over as soon as possible. She spoke of her sister"s opposition to this affection and its consequences, with all the pa.s.sion and trouble it had aroused, and Vane Cameron"s face grew graver, yet very tender and pitiful as she proceeded. It was all told at last--Violet had concealed nothing of her affection for Wallace, nothing of her rebellion against her sister"s wishes regarding her marriage with himself, and having thus unburdened her soul, she still sat with bowed head before him, waiting for his judgment of her.
There was a silence of several minutes after she had concluded, while both seemed to be battling with the emotions which filled their hearts; then Lord Cameron spoke, and the tender cadence of his voice thrilled the young girl as it had never done before.
"Poor child! poor wounded, loving heart!" he said. "I wonder how you have borne your sorrow. I know there is no human sympathy that can heal your wound--only One, who has all power, can do that. But, Violet, I can see, even though you shrink from saying it--even though you have tried to hide as much of the wrong done you by others as you could--I can see that you are unhappy from other causes than the loss of this dear one.
Your heart is starving for sympathy, love, and comfort. Now, just as frankly as you have talked to me, I am now going to talk to you. You have said that the drama of your life is played out--has ended in tragedy; that you have loved and lost--your heart has exhausted itself, and you can never love again. This may be so, Violet; we will a.s.sume that it is"--his lip quivered painfully as he said it, and his face was very pale--"still, in all probability, there are many years of life before you--years which may be filled with much of good for those about you, if not of absolute happiness for yourself. Could you make up your mind to spend them with me? Do not be startled by the proposition, dear," he said, as he saw the quiver that agitated her; "you shall think of it as long as you will, and shall not be urged to anything from which you shrink. I love you--that fact remains unalterable, in spite of all that you have told me, and though your heart may not have one responsive vibration to mine, yet I feel that I would gladly devote all my future to the work of winning you to a more cheerful frame of mind--that I should be happier in doing that than in living without you. Let me take care of you. You have said you were tired of traveling--that you long for home and rest. Come to my home--you shall have all the rest and seclusion you wish--you shall live as you will; only let me give you the protection of my love and my name and throw around you all the comforting influences that I can. Forgive me if I refer to your sad past; but only for this once. The dear one whom you have honored with your love is gone; I do not ask you to forget him, or to violate, in any way, the affection that belongs to him; but, since your life must be lived out somewhere, I ask you to let it be with me. Do not allow your sensitiveness to restrain you--do not feel that you will be "wronging me" as you have expressed it, "by giving me only the ashes of your love;" I shall be content if you will but come. Violet, will you?"
Violet was nearer loving him at that moment than she had ever been.
How grand, how n.o.ble he seemed in his utter self-abnegation--thinking only of her and of the comfort that he might manage to throw around her broken life!
Oh, she thought, if he was only her brother, how gladly she would go with him and give him all the affection that a sister might bestow upon one so worthy.
It was a great temptation as it was, for the barriers that had come between herself and her sister, and which she knew would become stronger and almost intolerable, if she disappointed her in her ambitious schemes, made her feel as if it would be impossible to remain with her, and the world seemed very desolate.
Still, to consent to become the wife of this good man, to accept all the benefits which his position would confer upon her, to be continually surrounded by his care and thoughtful love, seemed the height of selfishness to her, when she had nothing but her broken life to give in return, and she shrank from the sacred bond and the responsibility of its obligations.
"I am afraid--it does not seem right," she faltered, yet she lifted her eyes to him with a wistfulness that was pathetic in the extreme, and which moved him deeply.
"Violet, come," he repeated, earnestly, as he held out his strong right hand to her.
"I dare not," she said, "and yet----"
"You want to--you will!" he cried, eagerly, as, leaning toward her, he clasped the small hand that lay upon the arm of her chair.
It was icy cold, and glancing anxiously into her face, he saw that she had fainted away.
The excitement of the interview, the desolation of her wounded heart, and the longing for home and rest, were too much for her frail strength, and she had swooned, even while he thought she was consenting to be his wife.
He sprang to the bell and rang for a.s.sistance, then gathering her in his arms, he gently laid her upon a sofa, just as the door opened and Mrs.
Mencke entered.
"I am afraid that I have overtaxed her strength," Lord Cameron said, in a tone of self-reproach, as he lifted a rueful face to her.
"Have you won?" she asked, eagerly.
"I think so, but----"
Mrs. Mencke waited for nothing more.
"She will soon recover from this," she interrupted, a triumphant ring in her tone, as she began to sprinkle Violet"s face with water from a tumbler which she seized from a table. "Leave her with me now, and I will call you again when she is better."
The young girl was already beginning to revive, and fearing that his presence might agitate her again, Lord Cameron stole softly from the room, but looking strangely sad for a man who believed he had prospered in his wooing.
"You are better, Violet," Mrs. Mencke said, with unwonted tenderness, as her sister opened her eyes and looked around the room as if in search of some one.
She brought a gla.s.s of wine to her, and putting it to her lips, bade her drink.
She obeyed, and the stimulating beverage soon began to warm her blood and restore her strength.
"Has he gone?" she asked, glancing toward the door.
"Lord Cameron? Yes; he thought you had had excitement enough for one day, and as soon as you began to come to yourself he stole away. Do you wish me to call him back?" her sister inquired, regarding her curiously.
"No," but there was a perplexed look upon her fair face.
"He tells me that you are going to make him happy, Vio," pursued her sister, anxious to learn just how matters stood, "that you will marry him. I am delighted, dear, and I know that he will do all in his power to make your life a perfect one."
"Did he tell you that? Did I promise?" Violet cried, with a startled look and putting her hand to her head in a dazed way.
"Violet Huntington! what a strange child you are! Here you have just given a man to understand that you have accepted him and yet, when you are congratulated upon the fact, you affect not to know what you have done!" cried Mrs. Mencke, pretending to be entirely out of patience with her.
She meant to carry things with a high hand now. She saw that there had been a momentary yielding upon Violet"s part, though there was some doubt as to just what she had intended to do, and she was determined to make it count if she could do so by any means, legitimate or otherwise.
"Don"t be cross with me, Belle," Violet pleaded, with a quivering lip, "for I really cannot remember. Lord Cameron was so kind, so generous, and I began to say something to him--I don"t know what--when I felt queer and knew nothing more until I awoke and found you here."
Mrs. Mencke saw her advantage in all this, and did not fail to make the most of it.
"Well, you must have given him to understand that you accepted him, for he told me that he had won you, and now I hope we shall not have any more nonsense about the matter. Lord Cameron is too good to be trifled with. You have given your promise, and must stand by it," she concluded, in an authoritative tone.
"Yes, if I have promised, I suppose--I must," gasped unhappy Violet, and then fainted away again.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE DAY IS SET FOR VIOLET"S MARRIAGE.
Mrs. Mencke privately informed Lord Cameron that Violet had acknowledged the engagement, and would see him again when she was a little stronger.
His lordship thanked her with a beaming face, and tried to think that he was the happiest man on the Continent, but there was, nevertheless, an aching void in his heart that could not be fully satisfied with the result of his wooing.
The morning following his betrothal he sent Violet an exquisite bouquet composed of blue and white bell-flowers, cape jasmine, and box, which breathed to the young girl, who was versed in the language of flowers, of grat.i.tude, constancy, and joyfulness of heart.
She turned white and faint again at the sight of them, and a broken-hearted sob burst from her lips.
"Did I promise? did I promise?" she moaned. "I do not remember; but if he says I did, it must be so, for I know that he is too n.o.ble to deceive me. I wish I could die! for it seems like sacrilege to become Lord Cameron"s wife when my heart is so filled with the image of another."
Mrs. Mencke came in and found her in tears, and was secretly very much annoyed, besides being a trifle conscience-smitten over the strategy which she had employed to bring about this longed-for marriage. But she exerted herself to amuse her troublesome invalid, while she told herself that she should consider it a lucky day when she got her off her hands altogether.
The second morning after matters had been thus settled, Vane Cameron was told that he might pay his betrothed another visit.
This he was, of course, only too glad to do, and his face lighted with positive joy when, upon entering her presence, he saw a cl.u.s.ter of bluebell flowers fastened upon her breast among the folds of her dainty white _robe-de chambre_.
He went forward and took both her hands in his, pressing his lips first to one and then the other, in a chivalrous, reverent way that touched Violet deeply, and smote her, too, with a sense of guilt and shame.
"G.o.d is good to me in granting my heart"s desire," he said, in a low, earnest tone. "May His richest blessings be yours in the future, my Violet."