CHAPTER V.
"ONLY A DREAM."
"Ah, sweet, thou little knowest how I wake and passionate watches keep; And yet while I address thee now, Methinks thou smilest in thy sleep. 'Tis sweet enough to make me weep, That tender thought of love and thee, That while the world is hushed in sleep, Thy soul's perhaps awake to me."
It was almost midnight, yet Love Ellsworth's lamp still burned dimly ashe sat by his open window in the flood of white moonlight, going overand over in his mind the events of the day, unable to turn his thoughtsfrom the artless little beauty who had charmed him so.
He was five-and-twenty, and he had had his little fancies andflirtations, like most young men of his age, but this was the first timethat his heart had been really touched.
Love's glamour was upon him, and he could not rest or sleep for thinkingof shy, winsome Dainty, whose charms had wiled the heart from hisbreast, so that it was with difficulty he had refrained from declaringhis love and begging for her heart in return.
He mused, tenderly:
"How it would have startled her--shy little dove--if I had followed myimpulse to tell her of my love during that blissful drive over from thestation! But I must be patient, and woo her fondly a little while ere Idare to speak."
How vexed he was at his step-mother's selfishness in keeping Dainty byher side the whole evening, and leaving him to be entertained by theother two girls, whom he secretly despised for their meanness to Dainty.
It made him smile sarcastically to remember how palpably each girl hadangled for his heart, giving him the sweetest smiles and most honeyedwords, while expressing their chagrin at missing his company on theirjourney.
"If they could have guessed how glad I was of their absence, they wouldnot have seemed so complaisant," he thought, recalling the happy day hehad spent with Dainty; while he resolved to make sure of more like it byinviting some other fellows to Ellsworth, so that Olive and Ela might beprovided with escorts, and not keep him from Dainty's side.
Before long, say a week at furthest, he would tell Dainty of his love,and ask her to be his wife. No use putting off his happiness, hethought; and if he could win the little darling, the wedding shouldfollow soon--as soon as he could persuade her to name the day.
So, lost in these happy reveries, he sat at the open window tillmidnight, when he suddenly rose, stretched his full length, andexclaimed:
"Heigh-ho! I must not dream here all night, for--ah, _what_ was that?"
For down the length of the broad corridor a piercing shriek was waftedto his ears, followed by the patter of flying feet, and a body washurled violently against the door, while an anguished voice cried,entreatingly:
"For God's sake, let me in!"
He sprang to the door, tore it open, and the fainting form of Daintyfell forward into his arms.
"Good heavens!" he cried, in wonder and alarm; and at the same moment heheard the opening of doors and the sound of excited voices outside, asMrs. Ellsworth, Olive, and Ela, in dressing-gowns, appeared on thescene, wearing faces of lively consternation.
"What is the meaning of these shrieks and this strange scene, Love?"demanded his step-mother, harshly--and suspiciously, it seemed to him.
Still holding Dainty's unconscious form most tenderly in his arms, hereplied, haughtily:
"I know no more than you do, madame. I heard a frightened shriek in thecorridor, then flying footsteps, and just as I flew to the door, andwrenched it open, Miss Chase fell fainting into my arms."
"Very romantic!" cried Olive, with an irrepressible sneer.
"Very!" echoed Ela, mockingly.
The young man flashed them an indignant glance, and added:
"The young lady must have been frightened badly, to judge by hercondition; and I hope no one has been playing any silly pranks to makeher unhappy."
The remark was so pointed that both girls colored angrily; and Mrs.Ellsworth cried, testily:
"Who would want to frighten her, I'd like to know? You're talkingnonsense, Love Ellsworth; so please carry her to her room as quickly aspossible, so that we can bring her out of that faint, and find out whatwas the matter."
Love obeyed in silence, holding the drooping form close to his heart,and longing to kiss the roses back to the pale lips and cheeks, but notdaring to venture on such a boldness under the fire of the coldlydisapproving eyes that watched him till he dropped the dear form on thesoft bed, and withdrew, saying:
"I will send for a doctor, if you think it necessary."
"Oh, no, not at all," Mrs. Ellsworth answered, shortly; and he seatedhimself on a chair in the corridor, waiting impatiently for news ofDainty's recovery.
But it was a long time--almost an hour--before the door opened again,and Mrs. Ellsworth came out with Olive, saying:
"She gave us quite a turn, she was so long coming out of her swoon; butshe is getting on all right now, and Ela will remain with her the restof the night."
"But what was it that frightened her so?" he demanded, eagerly.
"Oh, it is too long a story for to-night. She can tell you herselfto-morrow," replied Mrs. Ellsworth, vanishing into her own room, whileOlive Peyton quickly followed her example.
There was nothing left him but to return to his own room and retire, andwait till morning for relief from his anxiety.
Sleep came after an hour's weary tossing, and in dreams of Dainty thebrief night passed, and brought the beautiful summer morning with songof birds and perfume of flowers.
Making a hasty toilet, he left his room, and went into the grounds,where he gathered a large bunch of deep-red roses, and sent them toDainty's room by a maid.
At breakfast she wore them at the waist of her simple white gown, andthey contrasted with the pallor that lingered on her cheeks from lastnight's experience.
"I hope you are well this morning?" he said to her, anxiously; and shesmiled pensively, as she answered:
"I am better, thank you. The sunlight has chased away all the terrors ofthe night, and I am wondering if indeed I could have dreamed thathorrible thing, as Aunt Judith declares."
"So, then, you were frightened by something!" he exclaimed, tenderly."Would you mind telling me all about it?"
"Perhaps you will think me very silly," she replied, dubiously, liftingher large eyes with a wistful look that thrilled his heart.
"No, indeed. Let me hear it," he cried; while the others waited inmalicious joy, knowing how angry it always made him to hear anyreference to the family ghost.
Dainty drew a long, quivering sigh, and began:
"There isn't much to tell, after all; only that while I was dressing fordinner, I heard in the next room the sound of a terrible hacking cough,several times repeated, as of some one in the last stages ofconsumption. When the maid came in I inquired about it, and she crossedherself piously, looking behind her as if in fear, while she muttered toherself about 'the old monk.' When I pressed her for an explanation, shedenied that there was any sick person in the next room, or even in thehouse."
She paused timidly, wondering why his brow had grown gloomy as athunder-cloud; but he said, with a kind of impatient courtesy:
"Well, go on."
Dainty's hands began to tremble as they toyed with the richly chasedsilver knife and fork; but she continued, falteringly:
"Afterward, when I was going back to my room, I told Ela what I hadheard; and she laughed, and said that the family ghost of Ellsworth wasa wicked old monk who had died of consumption."
"Ah!" he cried, with a keen look at Ela; but she was too much absorbedin her dainty broiled chicken to meet his glance.
Then Dainty resumed:
"I retired to my room, but I was nervous and restless, having neverslept away from my mother before. I threw on a dressing-gown, and satdown beside the window to watch the moonlit scenery, and to museon--mamma, wondering if she missed her child, and felt as lonely anddepressed as I did. So I fell asleep in my chair, and was awakenedsuddenly by the touch of an icy hand, and a
rasping cough in my ear. Istarted up. Oh, heavens! I was not alone! Beside me stood the figure ofan old monk with a ghastly white face and glassy dead eyes!"
Her face went dead white, even to the lips, at the remembrance, and hervoice sank almost to a whisper as she added:
"I shrieked aloud in my fear, and fled wildly from the room, meaning toseek refuge with Olive and Ela in their rooms; but--they tell me I madea mistake--and--and--disturbed you. I am very sorry. I hope you willforgive me."
But his face was stern and cold, and his voice had a strained tone as heanswered:
"There was no disturbance. Pray don't mention it. I am only sorry thatsome one has played a mischievous prank on you--a servant, doubtless.Madame," sternly, looking at his step-mother. "I insist that you shallinvestigate the matter, and discharge the offender."
He looked back, still gloomily, at Dainty, saying:
"Since you are so nervous over the parting from your mother, let one ofthe maids sleep in your room at night; but pray do not give credence toany silly stories that are told you by any one regarding the mythicalold monk. Ellsworth has never possessed a family ghost, and I am notsuperstitious enough to believe in the existence of spirits at all. Soset your fears at rest. You doubtless dreamed it all, as your auntdeclares."
"Of course she did," averred Mrs. Ellsworth, smoothly. And then theconversation turned to other things, while Dainty's heart sank like astone in her breast, for she felt a subtle premonition that LoveEllsworth was displeased with her, and considered her weak and silly,else why those cold, disapproving looks, so different from yesterday'sardent glances, that told her throbbing heart so plainly that she wastenderly and passionately beloved!
Dainty's Cruel Rivals; Or, The Fatal Birthday Page 5
