Thus the days wore on, until one evening just as the family were sitting down to tea they were surprised by a call from the captain, who had returned that afternoon, and who, with the freedom of an old friend, unceremoniously entered the supper-room, appropriating to himself the extra plate which Mrs. Livingstone always had upon the table. Simultaneously with him came Caesar, who having been to the post-office, had just returned, bringing, besides other things, a paper for Carrie, from her old admirer, Tom Lakin, who lived in Rockford, at which place the paper was printed. Several times had Tom remembered Carrie in this way, and now carelessly glancing at the first page, she threw it upon the floor, whence it was taken by Anna, who examined it more minutely glancing, as a matter of course, to the marriage notices.
Meantime the captain, who was sitting by "Lena, casually remarked, "Oh, I forgot to tell you that I saw Mr. Everett in Washington."
"Mr. Everett--Malcolm Everett?" said "Lena, quickly.
"Yes, Malcolm Everett," answered the captain.
"He is there spending the honeymoon with his bride!"
"Lena"s exclamation of astonishment was prevented by a shriek from Anna, who had that moment read the announcement of Mr. Everett"s marriage, which was the first in the list. It was Malcolm H. Everett--there could be no mistake--and when "Lena reached her cousin"s side, she found that she had fainted. All was now in confusion, in the midst of which the Captain took his leave, having first managed to speak a few words in private with Mrs. Livingstone.
"Fortune favors us," was her reply, as she went back to her daughter, whose long, death-like swoon almost wrung from her the secret.
But Anna revived, and with the first indication of returning consciousness, the cold, hard woman stifled all her better feelings, and then tried to think she was acting only for the good of her child. For a long time Anna appeared to be in a kind of benumbed torpor, requesting to be left alone, and shuddering if Mr. Everett"s name were mentioned in her presence. It was in vain that "Lena strove to comfort her, telling her there might be some mistake. Anna refused to listen, angrily bidding "Lena desist, and saying frequently that she cared but little what became of herself now. A species of recklessness seemed to have taken possession of her, and when her mother one day carelessly remarked that possibly Captain Atherton would claim the fulfillment of her promise, she answered, in the cold, indifferent tone which now marked her manner of speaking, "Let him. I am ready and willing for the sacrifice."
"Are you in earnest?" asked Mrs. Livingstone, eagerly.
"In earnest? Yes--try me and see," was Anna"s brief answer, which somewhat puzzled her mother, who would in reality have preferred opposition to this unnatural pa.s.siveness.
But anything to gain her purpose, she thought, and drawing Anna closely to her side, she very gently and affectionately told her how happy it would make her could she see her the wife of Captain Atherton, who had loved and waited for her so long, and who would leave no wish, however slight, ungratified. And Anna, with no shadow of emotion on her calm, white face, consented to all that her mother asked, and when next the captain came, she laid her feverish hand in his, and with a strange, wild light beaming from her dark blue eyes, promised to share his fortunes as his wife.
""Twill be winter and spring," said she, with a bitter, mocking laugh, ""Twill be winter and spring, but it matters not."
Many years before, when a boy of eighteen, Captain Atherton had loved, or fancied he loved, a young girl, whose very name afterward became hateful to him, and now, as he thought of Anna"s affection for Malcolm, he likened it to his own boyish fancy, believing she would soon get over it, and thank him for what he had done.
That night Anna saw the moon and stars go down, bending far out from her window, that the damp air might cool her burning brow, and when the morning sun came up the eastern horizon, its first beams fell on the golden curls which streamed across the window-sill, her only pillow the livelong night. On "Lena"s mind a terrible conviction was fastening itself--Anna was crazed. She saw it in the wildness of her eye, in the tones of her voice, and more than all, in the readiness with which she yielded herself to her mother"s schemes, "But it shall not be," she thought, "I will save her," and then she knelt before her aunt, imploring her to spare her daughter--not to sacrifice her on the altar of mammon.
But Mrs. Livingstone turned angrily away, telling her to mind her own affairs. Then "Lena sought her cousin, and winding her arms around her neck, besought of her to resist--to burst the chain which bound her, and be free. But with a shake other head, Anna bade her go away. "Leave me, "Lena Rivers," she said, "leave me to work out my destiny. It is decreed that I shall be his wife, and I may not struggle against it. Each night I read it in the stars, and the wind, as it sighs through the maple trees, whispers it to my ear."
"Oh, if my aunt could see her now," thought "Lena but as if her mother"s presence had a paralyzing power, Anna, when with her, was quiet, gentle, and silent, and if Mrs. Livingstone sometimes missed her merry laugh and playful ways, she thought the air of dignity which seemed to have taken their place quite an improvement, and far more in keeping with the bride-elect of Captain Atherton.
About this time Mr. Livingstone returned, appearing greatly surprised at the phase which affairs had a.s.sumed in his absence, but when "Lena whispered to him her fears, he smilingly answered, "I reckon you"re mistaken. Her mother would have found it out--where is she?"
In her chamber at the old place by the open window they found her, and though she did not as usual spring eagerly forward to meet her father, her greeting was wholly natural; but when Mr. Livingstone, taking her upon his knee, said gently, "They tell me you are to be married soon," the wildness came back to her eye, and "Lena wondered he could not see it. But he did not, and smoothing her disordered tresses, he said, "Tell me, my daughter, does this marriage please you? Do you enter into it willingly?"
For a moment there was a wavering, and "Lena held her breath to catch the answer, which came at last, while the eyes shone brighter than ever--"Willing? yes, or I should not do it; no one compels me, else I would resist."
"Woman"s nature," said Mr. Livingstone, laughingly, while "Lena turned away to hide her tears.
Day after day preparations went on, for Mrs. Livingstone would have the ceremony a grand and imposing one. In the neighborhood, the fast approaching event was discussed, some p.r.o.nouncing it a most fortunate thing for Anna, who could not, of course, expect to make so eligible a match as her more brilliant sister, while others--the sensible portion--wondered, pitied, and blamed, attributing the whole to the ambitious mother, whose agency in her son"s marriage was now generally known. At Maple Grove closets, chairs, tables, and sofas were loaded down with finery, and like an automaton, Anna stood up while they fitted to her the rich white satin, scarcely whiter than her own face, and Mrs. Livingstone, when she saw her daughter"s indifference, would pinch her bloodless cheeks, wondering how she could care so little for her good fortune.
Unnatural mother!--from the little grave on the sunny slope, now gra.s.s-grown and green, came there no warning voice to stay her in her purpose? No; she scarcely thought of Mabel now, and with unflinching determination she kept on her way.
But there was one who, night and day, pondered in her mind the best way of saving Anna from the living death to which she would surely awake, when it was too late. At last she resolved on going herself to Captain Atherton, telling him just how it was, and if there was a spark of generosity in his nature, she thought he would release her cousin. But this plan required much caution, for she would not have her uncle"s family know of it, and if she failed, she preferred that it should be kept a secret from the world. There was then no alternative but to go in the night, and alone. She did not now often sit with the family, and she knew they would not miss her. So, one evening when they were as usual a.s.sembled in the parlor, she stole softly from the house, and managing to pa.s.s the negro quarters un.o.bserved, she went down to the lower stable, where she saddled the pony she was now accustomed to ride, and leading him by a circuitous path out upon the turnpike, mounted and rode away.
The night was moonless, and the starlight obscured by heavy clouds, but the pale face and golden curls of Anna, for whose sake she was there alone, gleamed on her in the darkness, and "Lena was not afraid. Once--twice--she thought she caught the sound of another horse"s hoofs, but when she stopped to listen, all was still, and again she pressed forward, while her pursuer (for "Lena was followed) kept at a greater distance. Durward had been to Frankfort, and on his way home had stopped at Maple Grove to deliver a package. Stopping only a moment, he reached the turnpike just after "Lena struck into it. Thinking it was a servant, he was about to pa.s.s her, when her horse sheered at something on the road-side, and involuntarily she exclaimed, "Courage, Dido, there"s nothing to fear."
Instantly he recognized her voice, and was about to overtake and speak to her, but thinking that her mission was a secret one, or she would not be there alone, he desisted. Still he could not leave her thus. Her safety might be endangered, and reining in his steed, and accommodating his pace to hers, he followed without her knowledge. On she went until she reached the avenue leading to "Sunnyside," as Captain Atherton termed his residence, and there she stopped, going on foot to the house, while, hidden by the deep darkness Durward waited and watched.
Half timidly "Lena rang the door-bell, dropping her veil over her face that she might not be recognized. "I want to see your master," she said to the woman who answered her ring, and who in some astonishment replied, "Bless you, miss, Mas"r Atherton done gone to Lexington and won"t be home till to-morry."
"Gone!" repeated "Lena in a disappointed tone. "Oh, I"m so sorry."
"Is you the new miss what"s comin" here to live?" asked the negro, who was Captain Atherton"s house keeper.
Instantly the awkwardness of her position flashed upon "Lena, but resolving to put a bold face on the matter, she removed her veil, saying, playfully, "You know me now, Aunt Martha."
"In course I do," answered the negro, holding up both hands in amazement, "but what sent you here this dark, unairthly night?"
"Business with your master," and then suddenly remembering that among her own race Aunt Martha was accounted an intolerable gossip, she began to wish she had not come.
But it could not now be helped, and turning away, she walked slowly down the avenue, wondering what the result would be. Again they were in motion, she and Durward, who followed until he saw her safe home, and then, glad that no one had seen her but himself, he retraced his steps, pondering on the mystery which he could not fathom. After "Lena left Sunnyside, a misty rain came on, and by the time she reached her home, her long riding-dress was wet and drizzled, the feathers on her cap were drooping, and to crown all, as she was crossing the hall with stealthy step, she came suddenly upon her aunt, who, surprised at her appearance, demanded of her where she had been. But "Lena refused to tell, and in quite a pa.s.sion Mrs. Livingstone laid the case before her husband.
"Lena had been off that dark, rainy night, riding somewhere with somebody, she wouldn"t tell who, but she (Mrs. Livingstone) most knew if was Durward, and something must be done."
Accordingly, next day; when they chanced to be alone, Mr. Livingstone took the opportunity of questioning "Lena, who dared not disobey him, and with many tears she confessed the whole, saying that "if it were wrong she was very sorry."
"You acted foolishly, to say the least of it," answered her uncle, adding, dryly, that he thought she troubled herself altogether too much about Anna, who seemed happy and contented.
Still he was ill at ease. "Lena"s fears disturbed him, and for many days he watched his daughter narrowly, admitting to himself that there was something strange about her. But possibly all engaged girls acted so; his wife said they did; and hating anything like a scene, he concluded to let matters take their course, half hoping, and half believing, too, that something would occur to prevent the marriage. What it would be, or by what agency it would be brought about, he didn"t know, but he resolved to let "Lena alone, and when his wife insisted upon his "lecturing her soundly for meddling," he refused, venturing even to say, that, "she hadn"t meddled."
Meantime a new idea had entered "Lena"s mind. She would write to Mr. Everett. There might yet be some mistake; she had read of such things in stories, and it could do no harm. Gradually as she wrote, hope grew strong within her, and it became impressed upon her that there had been some deep-laid, fiendish plot. If so, she dared not trust her letter with old Caesar, who might be bribed by his mistress. And how to convey it to the office was now the grand difficulty. As if fortune favored her plan, Durward, that very afternoon, called at Maple Grove, being as he said, on his way to Frankfort.
"Lena would have died rather than ask a favor of him for herself, but to save Anna she could do almost any thing. Hastily securing the letter, and throwing on her sun-bonnet, she sauntered down the lawn and out upon the turnpike, where by the gate she awaited his coming.
""Lena--excuse me--Miss Rivers, is it you?" asked Durward, touching his hat, as in evident confusion she came forward, asking if she could trust him.
"Trust me? Yes, with anything," answered Durward, quickly dismounting, and forgetting everything save the bright, beautiful face which looked up to him so eagerly.
"Then," answered "Lena, "take this letter and see it deposited safely, will you?"
Glancing at the superscription, Durward felt his face crimson, while he instantly remembered what Mrs. Livingstone had once said concerning "Lena"s attachment to Mr. Everett.
"Sometime, perhaps, I will explain," said "Lena, observing the expression of his countenance, and then adding, with some bitterness, "I a.s.sure you there is no harm in it."
"Of course not," answered Durward, again mounting his horse, and riding away more puzzled than ever, while "Lena returned to the house, which everywhere gave tokens of the approaching nuptials.
Already had several costly bridal gifts arrived, and among them was a box from the captain, containing a set of diamonds, which Mrs. Livingstone placed in her daughter"s waving hair, bidding her mark their effect. But not a muscle of Anna"s face changed; nothing moved her; and with the utmost indifference she gazed on the preparations around her. A stranger would have said "Lena was the bride, for, with flushed cheeks and nervously anxious manner, she watched each sun as it rose and set, wondering what the result would be. Once, when asked whom she would have for her bridesmaid and groomsman, Anna had answered, "Nellie and John!" but that could not be, for the latter had imposed upon himself the penance of waiting a whole year ere he spoke to Nellie of that which lay nearest his heart, and in order the better to keep his vow, he had gone from home, first winning from her the promise that she would not become engaged until his return. And now, when he learned of his sister"s request, he refused to come, saying, "if she would make such a consummate fool of herself, he did not wish to see her."
So Carrie and Durward were subst.i.tuted, and as this arrangement brought the latter occasionally to the house, "Lena had opportunities of asking him if there had yet come any answer to her letter; and much oftener than he would otherwise have done, Durward went down to Frankfort, for he felt that it was no unimportant matter which thus deeply interested "Lena. At last, the day before the bridal came, Durward had gone to the city, and in a state of great excitement "Lena awaited his return, watching with a trembling heart as the sun went down behind the western hills. Slowly the hours dragged on, and many a time she stole out in the deep darkness to listen, but there was nothing to be heard save the distant cry of the night-owl, and she was about retracing her steps for the fifth time, when from behind a clump of rose-bushes started a little dusky form, which whispered softly, "Is you Miss "Leny?"
Repressing the scream which came near escaping her lips, "Lena answered, "Yes; what do you want?" while at the same moment she recognized a little hunch back belonging to General Fontaine.
"Marster Everett tell me to fotch you this, and wait for the answer," said the boy, pa.s.sing her a tiny note.
"Master Everett! Is he here?" she exclaimed, catching the note and re-entering the house, where by the light of the hall lamp she read what he had written.
It was very short, but it told all--how he had written again and again, receiving no answer, and was about coming himself when a severe illness prevented. The marriage, he said, was that of his uncle, for whom he was named, and who had in truth gone on to Washington, the home of his second wife. It closed by asking tier to meet him, with Anna, on one of the arbor bridges at midnight. Hastily tearing a blank leaf from a book which chanced to be lying in the hall, "Lena wrote, "We will be there," and giving it to the negro, bade him hasten back.
There was no longer need to wait for Durward, who, if he got no letter, was not to call, and trembling in every nerve, "Lena sought her chamber, there to consider what she was next to do. For some time past Carrie had occupied a separate room from Anna, who, she said disturbed her with her late hours and restless turnings, so "Lena"s part seemed comparatively easy. Waiting until the house was still, she entered Anna"s room, finding her, as she had expected, at her old place by the open window, her head resting upon the sill, and when she approached nearer, she saw that she was asleep.
"Let her sleep yet awhile," said she; "it will do her good."
In the room adjoining lay the bridal dress, and "Lena"s first impulse was to trample it under her feet, but pa.s.sing it with a shudder, she hastily collected whatever she thought Anna would most need. These she placed in a small-sized trunk, and then knowing it was done, she approached her cousin, who seemed to be dreaming, for she murmured the name of "Malcolm."
"He is here, love--he has come to save you," she whispered, while Anna, only partially aroused, gazed at her so vacantly, that "Lena"s heart stood still with fear lest the poor girl"s reason were wholly gone. "Anna, Anna," she said, "awake; Malcolm is here--in the garden, where you must meet him--come."
"Malcolm is married," said Anna, in a whisper--married--and my bridal dress is in there, all looped with flowers; would you like to see it?"
"Our Father in heaven help me," cried "Lena, clasping her hands in anguish, while her tears fell like rain on Anna"s upturned face.
This seemed to arouse her, for in a natural tone she asked why "Lena wept. Again and again "Lena repeated to her that Malcolm had come--that he was not married--that he had come for her; and as Anna listened, the torpor slowly pa.s.sed away--the wild light in her eyes grew less bright, for it was quenched by the first tears she had shed since the shadow fell upon her; and when "Lena produced the note, and she saw it was indeed true, the ice about her heart was melted, and in choking, long-drawn sobs, her pent-up feelings gave way, as she saw the gulf whose verge she had been treading. Crouching at "Lena"s feet, she kissed the very hem of her garments, blessing her as her preserver, and praying heaven to bless her, also. It was the work of a few moments to array her in her traveling dress, and then very cautiously "Lena led her down the stairs, and out into the open air.
"If I could see father once," said Anna; but such an act involved too much danger, and with one lingering, tearful look at her old home, she moved away, supported by "Lena, who rather dragged than led her over the graveled walk.
As they approached the arbor bridge, they saw the glimmering light of a lantern, for the night was intensely dark, and in a moment Anna was clasped in the arms which henceforth were to shelter her from the storms of life. Helpless as an infant she lay, while "Lena, motioning the negro who was in attendance to follow her, returned to the house for the trunk, which was soon safely deposited in the carriage at the gate.
"Words cannot express what I owe you," said Malcolm, when he gave her his hand at parting, "but of this be a.s.sured, so long as I live you have in me a friend and brother." Turning back for a moment, he added, "This flight is, I know, unnecessary, for I could prevent to-morrow"s expected event in other ways than this, but revenge is sweet, and I trust I am excusable for taking it in my own way."
Anna could not speak, but the look of deep grat.i.tude which beamed from her eyes was far more eloquent than words. Upon the broad piazza "Lena stood until the last faint sound of the carriage wheels died away; then, weary and worn, she sought her room, locking "Anna"s door as she pa.s.sed it, and placing the key in her pocket. Softly she crept to bed by the side of her slumbering grandmother, and with a fervent prayer for the safety of the fugitives, fell asleep.
CHAPTER x.x.x.
THE RESULT.
The loud ringing of the breakfast-bell aroused "Lena from her heavy slumber, and with a vague consciousness of what had transpired the night previous, she at first turned wearily upon her pillow, wishing it were not morning; but soon remembering all, she sprang up, and after a hasty toilet, descended to the breakfast-room, where another chair was vacant, another face was missing. Without any suspicion of the truth, Mrs. Livingstone spoke of Anna"s absence, saying she presumed the poor girl was tired and sleepy, and this was admitted as an excuse for her tardiness. But when breakfast was over and she still did not appear, Corinda was sent to call her, returning soon with the information that "she"d knocked and knocked, but Miss Anna would not answer, and when she tried the door she found it locked."
Involuntarily Mr. Livingstone glanced at "Lena; whose face wore a scarlet hue as she hastily quitted the table. With a presentiment of something, he himself started for Anna"s room; followed by his wife and Carrie, while "Lena, half-way up the stairs, listened breathlessly for the result. It was useless knocking for admittance, for there was no one within to bid them enter, and with a powerful effort Mr. Livingstone burst the lock. The window was open, the lamp was still burning, emitting a faint, sickly odor; the bed was undisturbed, the room in confusion, and Anna was gone. Mrs. Livingstone"s eye took in all this at a glance, but her husband saw only the latter, and ere he was aware of what he did, a fervent "Thank heaven," escaped him.
"She"s gone--run away--dead, maybe," exclaimed Mrs. Livingstone, wringing her hands in unfeigned distress, and instinctively drawing nearer to her husband for comfort.
By this time "Lena had ventured into the room, and turning toward her, Mr. Livingstone said, very gently, ""Lena, where is our child?"
"In Ohio, I dare say, by this time, as she took the night train at Midway for Cincinnati," said "Lena, thinking she might as well tell the whole at once.
"In Ohio!" shrieked Mrs. Livingstone, fiercely grasping "Lena"s arm. "What has she gone to Ohio for? Speak, ingrate, for you have done the deed--I am sure of that!"
"It was Mr. Everett"s wish to return home that way I believe," coolly answered "Lena, without quailing in the least from the eyes bent so angrily upon her.
Instantly Mrs. Livingstone"s fingers loosened their grasp, while her face grew livid with mingled pa.s.sion and fear. Her fraud was discovered--her stratagem had failed--and she was foiled in this, her second darling scheme. But she was yet to learn what agency "Lena had in the matter, and this information her husband obtained for her. There was no anger in the tones of his voice when he asked his niece to explain the mystery, else she might not have answered, for "Lena could not be driven. Now, however, she felt that he had a right to know, and she told him all she knew; what she had done herself and why she had done it; that General Fontaine, to whom Malcolm had gone in his trouble, had kindly a.s.sisted him by lending both servants and carriage; but upon the intercepted letters she could throw no light.
""Twas a cursed act, and whoever was guilty of it is unworthy the name of either man or woman," said Mr. Livingstone, while his eye rested sternly upon his wife.
She knew that he suspected her, but he had no proof, and resolving to make the best of the matter, she, too, united with him in denouncing the deed, wondering who could have done it, and meanly suggesting Maria Fontaine, a pupil of Mr. Everett"s, who had, at one time, felt a slight preference for him. But this did not deceive her husband--neither did it help her at all in the present emergency. The bride was gone, and already she felt the tide of scandal and gossip which she knew would be the theme of the entire neighborhood. Still, if her own shameful act was kept a secret she could bear it, and it must be. No one knew of it except Captain Atherton and Caesar, the former of whom would keep his own counsel, while fear of a pa.s.sport down the river, the negroes" dread, would prevent the latter from telling.
Accordingly, her chagrin was concealed, and affecting to treat the whole matter as a capital joke, worthy of being immortalized in romance, she returned to her room, and hastily writing a few lines, rang the bell for Caesar who soon appeared, declaring that "as true as he lived and breathed and drew the breath of life, he"d done gin miss every single letter afore handin" "em to anybody else."
"Shut your mouth and mind you keep it shut, or you"ll find yourself in New Orleans," was Mrs. Livingstone"s very lady-like response, as she handed him the note, bidding him take it to Captain Atherton.
For some reason or other the captain this morning was exceedingly restless, walking from room to room, watching the clock, then the sun, and finally, in order to pa.s.s the time away, trying on his wedding suit, to see how he was going to look! Perfectly satisfied with his appearance, he was in imagination going through the ceremony, and had just inclined his head in token that he would take Anna for his wife, when Mrs. Livingstone"s note was handed him. At first he could hardly believe the evidence of his own eyes.
Anna gone!--run away with Mr. Everett! It could not be, and sinking into a chair, he felt, as he afterwards expressed it, "mighty queer and shaky."
But Mrs. Livingstone had advised him to put a bold face on it, and this, upon second thought, he determined to do. Hastily changing his dress, now useless, he mounted his steed, and was soon on his way toward Maple Grove, a new idea dawning upon his mind, and ere his arrival, settling itself into a fixed purpose. From Aunt Martha he had heard of "Lena"s strange visit, and he now remembered the many times she had tried to withdraw him from Anna, appropriating him to herself for hours. The captain"s vanity was wonderful. Sunnyside needed a mistress--he needed a wife, "Lena was poor--perhaps she liked him--and if so there might be a wedding, after all. She was beautiful, and would sustain the honors of his house with a better grace, he verily believed, than Anna! Full of these thoughts, he reached Maple Grove, where he found Durward, to whom Mrs. Livingstone had detailed the whole circ.u.mstance, dwelling long upon "Lena"s meddling propensities, and charging the whole affair upon her.
"But she knew what she was about--she had an object in view, undoubtedly," she added, glad of an opportunity to give vent to her feelings against "Lena.
"Pray, what was her object?" asked Durward, and Mrs. Livingstone replied, "I told you once that "Lena was ambitious, and I have every reason to believe she would willingly marry Captain Atherton, notwithstanding he is so much older."
She forgot that there was the same disparity between the captain and Anna as between him and "Lena, but Durward did not, and with a derisive smile he listened, while she proceeded to give her reasons for thinking that a desire to supplant Anna was the sole object which "Lena had in view, for what else could have prompted that midnight ride to Sunnyside. Again Durward smiled, but before he could answer, the bride-groom elect stood before them, looking rather crestfallen, but evidently making a great effort to appear as usual.
"And so the bird has flown?" said he, "Well, it takes a Yankee, after all, to manage a case, but how did he find it out?"
Briefly Mrs. Livingstone explained to him Lena"s agency in the matter, omitting, this time, to impute to her the same motive which she had done when stating the case to Durward.
"So "Lena is at the bottom of it?" said he, rubbing his little fat, red hands. "Well, well, where is she? I"d like to see her."
"Corinda, tell "Lena she is wanted in the parlor," said Mrs. Livingstone, while Durward, not wishing to witness the interview, arose to go, but Mrs. Livingstone urged him so hard to stay, that he at last resumed his seat on the sofa by the side of Carrie.
"Captain Atherton wishes to question you concerning the part you have taken in this elopement," said Mrs. Livingstone, sternly, as "Lena appeared in the doorway.
"No, I don"t," said the captain, gallantly offering "Lena a chair. "My business with Miss Rivers concerns herself."
"I am here, sir, to answer any proper question," said "Lena, proudly, at the same time declining the proffered seat.
"There"s an air worthy of a queen," thought the captain, and determining to make his business known at once, he arose, and turning toward Mrs. Livingstone, Durward and Carrie, whom he considered his audience, he commenced: "What I am about to say may seem strange, but the fact is, I want a wife. I"ve lived alone long enough. I waited for Anna eighteen years, and now"s she gone. Everything is in readiness for the bridal; the guests are invited; nothing wanting but the bride. Now if I could find a subst.i.tute."
"Not in me," muttered Carrie, drawing nearer to Durward, while with a sarcastic leer the captain continued: "Don"t refuse before you are asked, Miss Livingstone. I do not aspire to the honor of your hand, but I do ask Miss Rivers to be my wife--here before you all. She shall live like a princess--she and her grandmother both. Come, what do you say? Many a poor girl would jump at the chance."
The rich blood which usually dyed "Lena"s cheek was gone, and pale as the marble mantel against which she leaned, she answered, proudly, "I would sooner die than link my destiny with one who could so basely deceive my cousin, making her believe it was her betrothed husband whom he saw in Washington instead of his uncle! Marry you? Never, if I beg my bread from door to door!"
"n.o.ble girl!" came involuntarily from the lips of Durward, who had held his breath for her answer, and who now glanced triumphantly at Mrs. Livingstone, whose surmises were thus proved incorrect.
The captain"s self-pride was touched, that a poor, humble girl should refuse him with his half million. A sense of the ridiculous position in which he was placed maddened him, and in a violent rage he replied, "You won"t, hey? What under heavens have you hung around me so for, sticking yourself in between me and Anna when you knew you were not wanted?"
"I did it, sir, at Anna"s request, to relieve her--and for nothing else."
"And was it at her request that you went alone to Sunnyside on that dark, rainy night?" chimed in Mrs. Livingstone.
"No, madam," said "Lena, turning toward her aunt. "I had in vain implored of you to save her from a marriage every way irksome to her, when in her right mind, but you would not listen, and I resolved to appeal to the captain"s better nature. In this I failed, and then I wrote to Mr. Everett, with the result which you see."