Vellenaux A Novel by Edmund William Edmund William (top non fiction books of all time .TXT) 📖
- Author: Edmund William Edmund William
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Troop Composing It Sent Back To Their Respective Corps, While Our Hero
And His Dragoons Joined Their Regiment, And With It Saw A Great Deal Of
Hard Fighting And Rough Service, And On More Than One Occasion His
Dashing Conduct Had Been Brought To The Notice Of The Indian Government.
The Return Of The Troop From Persia, And The Efficient Manner In Which
The Brigades Under Sir Hugh Rose, Havelock, Mitchell, Whitlock And
Others Were Handled, Proved Too Much For The Mutineers, And After An
Obstinate Contest Which Lasted Over Two Years, During Which Time A Heavy
Loss Of Life Had Been Sustained On Both Sides, The Rebellious Native
Troops Were Beaten At All Points, And Law And Order Once More Restored
Throughout The Country.
Chapter 14
Horace, On Reaching London, Had Taken A House On Berkly Square. Old Mr.
And Mrs. Barton Having Died Some Two Years Previous, As Already Stated,
And The Willows In devonshire Had Been Let. He Found His Sister, Mrs.
Ashburnham, Still Living On Cavendish Square, And Emily Residing With
Her Aunt In Harley Street. Tom And His Bride Were Still Travelling On
The Continent. Mr. And Mrs. Barton Therefore Determined To Remain In
Town Until The Lease, For Which The Country Seat Had Been Let, Should
Expire, Which Would Take Place About The Month Of August In The
Following Year; And Thus It Was That The People Of Vellenaux Knew
Nothing Of Their Return To England. Fond Of Gaiety And Fashionable Life,
Mrs. Barton Determined To Make Up For Time Lost During Their Sojourn In
The Goozeratte, By Being Very Gay, Attending Balls, Parties And Operas,
And Not Unfrequently Giving Stylish Entertainments At Her House At
Berkly Square, In all Of Which Edith Participated, As Her Kind Friend
Would Go No Where And Do Nothing Without Her, And Thus She Passed Her
First Season In London. In The Spring Of The Year She Received The
Welcome Intelligence That Arthur Had Been Promoted To A Troop, And That
If He Could Manage To Obtain Leave Of Absence, He Would Be In england
Early In Summer To Claim His Bride.
"Well, My Dear," Said Mrs. Barton, A Few Days Subsequent To The Receipt
Of The Letter, "Horace, Dear Old Fellow, Has Arranged Everything Nicely
For You. He Has Still Some Interest With The Authorities. He Has Been To
The India Office. Arthur Is To Have Eighteen Months Leave Of Absence,
And Before The Expiration Of That Time His Regiment Will Be Ordered
Home; So You See, My Dear, We Shall Be Able To See A Great Deal Of Each
Other. After You Are Married You Will, Of Course, Remain With Us Until
It Is Time For Arthur To Rejoin His Regiment." Edith Felt Very Grateful
To Her Kind Friends For All They Had Done To Further Her Happiness, And
Looked Forward To The Time When She Should Meet Her Affianced Husband
With Intense Satisfaction And Delight. She Would Not Now Be Called Upon
To Return To India, To Which Country She Had A Strong Aversion; And Well
She Might, For Her Residence There, With The Exception Of Her Episodes
Of Pleasure Derived From The Society Of Arthur, Had Indeed Been Very
Trying.
It Was Summer, Bright, Glorious, Balmy Summer. The Birds Sang And
Chirped Among The Green Leaves, And Wood Pigeons Cooed In The Hollow
Trunks Of The Trees, Beneath Whose Outspreading Branches, Little
Four-Footed Creatures Gamboled And Made Merry Among The Soft Feathery
Grasses That Grew In The Fine Old Beech Woods Of Devon. It Was Pleasant
To Listen To The Cool, Gurgling Sound Of The Brawling Brook, Whose
Bright Waters Skipped, Danced And Glittered, As They Forced Their Way
Over The Pebbles And Other Impediments In Their Serpentine Course Along
The Shady Dell That Skirted The Home Park, Wherein, Under The Venerable
Oaks, The Red And Fallow Deer Rested, Dreamily Sniffing The Delicious
Fragrance That Pervaded The Air, Borne Upon The Light Summer Wind From
The Rich Parterre Which Stretched The Entire Length Of The South Wing At
Vellenaux.
In A Large Octagon-Shaped Apartment That Had Been Fitted Up As A
Library, The Most Pleasing Feature Of Which Was Its Southern Aspect,
Were Seated _Tete A Tete_ Two Personages, Who Figured Somewhat
Conspicuously In The Early Part Of Our Story, These Were Mrs. Fraudhurst
And Sir Ralph Coleman. They Had Met Here At The Request Of The Baronet,
For Sir Ralph And The Widow Rarely Met Except By Appointment Or At The
Dinner Table.
Time Had Dealt Kindly With The Lady, And What Was Deficient By Nature
Was Supplied By Art, For She Was One Of Those Who Always Paid The Most
Scrupulous Attention To Their Toilette. If We Were To Describe Her As
Fat, Fair, And Forty, We Should Certainly Wrong Her. Fair And Forty She
Undoubtedly Was, But Fat She Certainly Was Not. There Was A Slight
Tendency To Embonpoint, But This Was Relieved By Her Tall And Not
Ungraceful Figure. She Was What Might Be Termed A Decidedly Handsome
Woman. The Corpulent Lawyer Had Subsided Into The Sleek,
Well-Conditioned Country Gentleman. But There Was At Times A Certain
Restlessness Of The Eye, And A Nervous Twitching At The Corners Of The
Mouth, Which, To A Keen Observer, Would Indicate That He Was Not Always
The Quiet, Self-Possessed Person That He Would Have His Neighbors To
Believe. The Business On Which They Had Met Had Been Interrupted By The
Entrance Of A Servant With A Note To Sir Ralph, But, On His Leaving The
Room, The Conversation Was Resumed By Mrs. Fraudhurst Saying:
"I Would Much Rather, Sir Ralph, That This Subject Be Now Discontinued,
And Never Again Reverted To. The Papers To Which You Allude Are
Perfectly Safe In My Hands, And I Do Not See That Any Good Could Accrue
By My Transferring Them To You, Certainly None To Myself, And It Might
Militate Against Me; For The Great Anxiety You Evince To Get Possession
Of The Documents Leads Me To Believe That You Have Some Particular
Object In View, Something Which Does Not Appear Or, The Surface, And
Which You Desire Should Not Come To My Knowledge."
"But, My Dear Madam, You Surely Do Not Imagine That I Have Any Other
Motive In Requesting You To Hand Over To My Safe Keeping The Deed In
Question Than A Natural Desire To Be Quite Certain That Our Mutual
Interests Should Not Be Imperilled By Any Accidental Circumstance That
Might Disclose The Existence Of Any Such Document."
The Lady Looked Steadily At Him For A Few Seconds, Then In a Clear
Distinct, And Deliberate Tone, Said, "For The Last Seven Years The Will
Of The Late Baronet Has Been In My Possession, During Which, Time You,
Sir Ralph, Have Made Frequent Attempts To Obtain It From Me, Sometimes
On One Pretence, Then On Another. Were I To Agree To Your Request, What
Security Have I That You, Who Have Acted So Vile A Part Against Miss
Effingham, Would Not Act As Treacherously Towards Me, Were I Once In
Your Power? While I Possess That Document, I Hold My Position Here, And
Can Thus Keep You At Bay. And Think You That I Will Thus Surrender My
Advantage To Please The Idle Fancy Of A Man Who Would Not Hesitate To
Stoop To Perform Any Act However Dastardly, So That He Could Effectually
Escape The Penalty Of A Crime He Was Ready To Profit By, But Cowardly
Enough To Shrink From The Consequences It Entailed? You Say That Our
Interest In This Affair Is Mutual,--It Is Not So, And You Know It. You
Gain Nineteen Thousand A Year, I Only One. Again, Should The Will By Any
Mischance Be Found In My Possession, Who Would Believe My Statement
That You Were A Party Concerned In The Abstraction Of The Said Deed, You
Would Deny All Knowledge Of The Transaction And My Unsupported Evidence
Could Not Commit You. Of Course You Would Lose The Estate; But What
Would My Condition Be Then. No! I Have Everything At Stake--You,
Comparatively Nothing. I Will Not Accede To So Absurd A Proposition."
There Was A Short Pause, The Widow Resumed Her Embroidery With An Air Of
Apparent Indifference. The Baronet Sat Abstractedly Gazing Out Of The
Window, Evidently Turning Over Something In His Mind. As She Had Stated
He Had Tried To Wheedle Her Out Of The Papers, But She Had Hitherto, By
Great Tact, Adroitly Managed To Shift The Conversation To Some Other
Subject, In a Quiet And Playful Manner. He Was Therefore Not Prepared
For This Vehement Outburst; She Had Not Only Refused To Comply With His
Demand, But Taunted Him With Stinging Words For His Pusillanimous
Conduct. He Knew Her Great Ambition, And That The Sole Object Of Her
Life Was To Become Mistress Of Vellenaux, And To Gain This She Would
Risk Everything. It Was Her Weak Point, The Only Vulnerable Part He
Could Attack With Any Hope Of Success. He Had For Months Pondered Over
This; It Had This Advantage, It Is True, He Thought A Marriage Would
Secure Him In The Possession Of Both The Will And Her Silence; But Then
He Hated Her With A Cordial Hate. He Had Been For Years In Her Power.
During Her Residence At Vellenaux She Had Every Want Supplied, And Was
Safe In Her Position. With The Only Evidence Of The Fraud That Had Been
Practiced In Her Own Keeping; She Had Outwitted Him And Had In Reality
Obtained The Best Of The Bargain. The Knowledge Of This Cut Him To The
Quick And He Detested Her In consequence.
Yet His Only Chance Of Obtaining That Which He So Coveted Was By An
Offer Of Marriage, Not That He Intended To Fulfil Any Such Promise,
Quite The Reverse, It Would Be A Lie, A Villainous Deception, But Had He
Not Willingly Defrauded Miss Effingham Out Of Her Property? And What Was
One Lie, More Or Less, It Would Be But Diamond Cut Diamond, And Turning
The Tables On Mrs. Fraudhurst. All These Thoughts Flashed Through His
Mind As He Sat Gazing Out Upon The Sunny Landscape Below Him, If It Must
Be Done, As Well Now As At Any Other Time, Perhaps Better. He At Length
Arose, And After Taking Two Or Three Turns Up And Down The Apartment In
Order To Nerve Himself For Action, Stopped Beside The Chair Of The Fair
Widow.
"Eleanor," Said He, Laying His Hand On Her Arm. She Looked Up Quickly,
For He Had Never Before So Addressed Her. "Eleanor, You Are Unjust To Me
And To Yourself, Ask Yourself Have I Ever Deceived Or Broken Faith With
You Since Our Compact After Sir Jasper'S Death, And The Answer Must Be
In My Favor. You May Say That I Have Acted Coldly And Kept Aloof From
You: This I Grant Is True, But It Has Been Forced Upon Me; I Felt That
The Eyes Of The World Were Upon Us, Watching Our Actions. Your Constant
Residence Here Has Been Talked Of And Cavelled At By Some Of The
Neighboring Families, Who Have Not Recovered From The Surprise They Felt
On Hearing That Sir Jasper Had Died Intestate And Left His Orphan Niece
Unprovided For. It Was To Prevent Exposure That I Have Thus Acted
Towards You, And I Believe That I Have Effectually Succeeded, And Now I
Acknowledge That The Charm Of Your Society Has Become Almost
Indispensable To Me, And I Will No Longer Be Held Back By The World'S
Opinion. Listen To My Proposal, Accept It Or Reject It As You Will, I
Make It With All Sincerity. Place The Will Of The Late Baronet In My
Hands, And Before This Day Month You Shall Be My Wife And Mistress Of
The The Manor."
"And Should I Survive You," She Said, "Vellenaux And Its Broad Lands--"
"Reverts To Miss Effingham On Condition That She Allows You Five
Thousand Per Annum And A Suite Of Apartments In The West Wing, During
The Remainder Of Your Life, Which You Can Have Fitted Up To Suit Your
Taste And Convenience Without Delay, In case The Contingency You Mention
Should Arise Sooner Than I Anticipate."
"And This You Swear To Fulfil
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