“You to be sure. why do you ask the question?” “Because you gave so many furtive glances into that mirror that I thought your glowing panegyric must have been designed for the figure therein reflected.”
“Hum I was merely admiring the countenance of a tolerably good- looking monkey which I saw peering through that window at you & which by the bye I have seen before in your company Delisle”
Lady Emily turned to the point indicated but nothing was now visible. She continued to sit for about two hours then becoming weary of a compulsory state of inactivity she ordered the carriage to be called & together with her escort Colonel Percy departed.
CHAPTER THE FOURTH
Clydesdale Castle the Seat of the Marquis of Charlesworth was one of the few mansions which at that period adorned the Glass Town Valley: it was a large and magnificent Structure erected during the time of the Second Twelvs. the architecture was not of the light Grecian cast in which our modern Villas are built but grand & substantial, tall arched windows lighted the lofty turrets & pillared Norman Gateways gave entrance to the numerous vast halls which were contained under its embattled roof.
The Noble Proprietor of this feudal residence was Uncle & Guardian to the beautiful lady Emily Charlesworth whose parents dying when she was yet a child committed her with their last breath to the protection of her only surviving relative.’ This trust the Marquis discharged faithfully as the reader may perceive from the circumstance of his having appointed John Gilford Esquire Tutor to his niece & she in return regarded him with that affection which an amiable mind will always cherish towards those from whom it has received any benefit.
About a week after the time mentioned in my last Chapter Lady Emily was sitting one afternoon in her solitary chamber in the west turret. She was alone . her elbow rested on the little work table beside her & her full dark eyes were fixed with an expression of deep melancholy on the blue & far-distant mountain boundary which appeared through the open lattice. I cannot tell what she was thinking of for I never heard, but soon a few tears trickling down her soft cheek betrayed that her meditations belonged rather to II Penserosa than L’Allegra; these mute monitors seemed to rouse her from her sad reverie, with a deep sigh she turned away from the window & drawing a harp towards her which stood near began to sing in a sweet low voice the following Petit chanson The night fell down all calm and still The moon shone out o’er vale & hill Stars trembled in the sky Then forth into that pale, sad light There came a gentle lady bright With veil & cymar!! spotless white Fair brow & dark blue eye Her lover sailed on the mighty deep The Ocean wild and stern And now she walks to pray & weep For his swift & safe return Full oft she pauses as the breeze Moans wildly through those Giant trees As startled at the tone The sounds it waked were like the sigh Of spirits voice through midnight sky So soft, so sad so drearily That wandering wind swept on And ever as she listened Unbidden thoughts would rise Till the pearly tear-drop glistened All in her star-like eyes She saw her love’s proud battle ship tossed wildly on the storm-dark deep By the roused wind’s destroying sweep A wrecked & shattered hull And as the red bolt burst its shroud And glanced in fires o’er sea & cloud She heard a peal break deep & loud Then sink to echos dull And as that thunder died away She saw amid the rushing spray Her Edwards Eagle plume While thus that deathly scene she wrought And viewed in the dim realms of thought His soul appalling doom A voice through all the forest rang Up like a deer the lady sprang “Tis he ‘tis he” she cried And ere another moments space In time’s unresting course found place By heaven! & by our lady’s grace Lord Edward clasped his bride The Song was ended but her lingers yet lingered among the harp strings from which they drew long wailing notes whose plaintive sound seemed all unsuited to the happy termination of the romance she had just been warbling, the tears she had before checked were now suffered to flow freely & faint sobs were beginning to reveal the secret grief which oppressed her when suddenly the door opened & a servant entered with the intelligence that a gentleman had arrived who wished to see her ladyship.
“A Gentleman!” exclaimed Lady Emily wiping her eyes and trying to assume some degree of composure “What is he like? have you never seen him before?”
“Never my lady, he is a personable young man with a very piercing look”
“Did he not tell you his name?”
“No I asked him what it was but he gave me no answer”
“that is strange. Is he alone or accompanied by servants?”
“He has one little page with him but that is all”
“Well, show him into my drawing room & say I will be down directly.”
the Servant bowed & withdrew. Lady Emily now hastened to remove the traces of recent tears, she bathed her face in water, carefully arranged her dress & smoothed her dishevelled ringlets. Having thus discharged the duties of the toilette she proceeded to attend the unknown visitor. with a light tread she glided from her appartment down the staircase & through a portion of the corridor till she reached the drawing room, its rose-wood folding doors rolled back noiselessly at her touch on their well polished hinges & she entered unobserved by the stranger whose tall & kingly form stood before her opposite the great arched window through which he was gazing with folded arms, for an instant she paused to admire the statue-like dignity of his attitude. her heart she could not tell why beat wildly as she looked at him. But fearing that he might turn suddenly & take her unawares she proclaimed her presence by a gentle cough, he started & turned round. Their eyes met. the pensive expression which had dwelt in lady Emily’s vanished like magic & a brilliant ray of animation sparked in its stead.
“Leslie, dear Leslie” cried she springing joyfully toward him. “Is it you? How long have you been in Verdopolis? Why did you not return long since? Oh, how often I have thought & cried about you since you went away”
She was going on, but observing that a cold & haughty bow was the only return her cordial welcome met with stopped in embarrasment. A mutual silence of some moments followed which was at length broken by Leslie who stood with his arms still folded gazing earnestly at her.
“Beautiful Hypocrite” said he & paused again while his finely cut lip quivered with the strongest emotion.
“What is the matter” asked lady Emily faintly “have I been too forward, too ardent in my expressions of pleasure at seeing you again after so long an absence?”
“Cease this unworthy acting” said her lover sternly “& do not think so meanly of me as to immagine I can be deceived by pretensions so flimsy, you have been too well employed during my absence to think much of me, another & doubtless in your opinion a higher prize has been ensnared by your false though incomparable loveliness & now I am come to cast you from me as a perjured woman though my heart-strings should burst in agony with the effort. But” he continued m a voice of thunder, while all the lightnings of jealousy gleamed in his fierce dark eyes “I will not tamely give you up to the scoundrel who has dared to supplant me. No he shall have an even struggle, he shall wade through blood to obtain his stolen reward”
Leslie, Leslie” replied Lady Emily in a soft soothing tone “You have indeed been deceived, but not by me. sit down now calmly & tell me all you have heard to my disadvantage, you see I am not angry notwithstanding this is a far different reception to what I had ever expected to meet with from you”
“Syren” said Her yet unappeased lover “Who would imagine that so sweet a voice could be employed in the utterance of falsehoods or that such a lovely countenance should be a mere mask to conceal the hollow insincerity of a coquette’s heart”
Lady Emily whose fortitude was unequal to sustain this continued severity now burst into tears. Leslie deeply moved by her distress whether real or apparent, began to reflect what right he had to upbraid her in such haughty terms & to ask himself whether the reports which had awakened his suspicions might not be in themselves destitute of foundation. Under the influence of these thoughts he approached the Sofa on which she had thrown herself when unable to stand from ex
cess of agitation & sitting down beside her took her hand, but she withdrew it with becoming pride.
“Mr Leslie” said she starting up “your words show the regard you once pretended to entertain for me is no more, you desire that we should part & be assured that whatever pain I may experience in renouncing one whom I have hitherto looked upon as my dearest friend, yet I shall not hesitate a moment to take this necessary though painful step. Farewell then, I trust that the bitterness of remorse for wrongs inflicted upon others will never be added to your portion of this world’s evils.”
As she spoke the blood rushed back to her terror blanched cheek her tearful eye shone like a meteor & her slender form seemed dilated with the swell of justly aroused pride. Leslie sat silent till she turned to depart then springing from his seat he hastily placed himself between her & the door.
“You shall not go” said he, “I am convinced that I was mistaken, the man who could hear your words & look on your countenance would be more or less than human if he could still doubt that you were innocent” Lady Emily continued to advance with an irresolute step but a smile now began to dimple her fair cheek.
“Well Leslie” she said “you are like a true artist one of the most capricious of men, but this moment you were so angry with me that I was almost afraid to remain in the room & now you will not let me leave me but” she continued while the arch smile more fully lit up her face, “Perhaps I shall not choose to remain now. I really am very angry & feel a great mind to tell Colonel Percy next time he comes (for I suppose he is the person you are jealous of) that I have cut his rival & shall marry him forthwith.”
“Hush Emily” replied Leslie leaving his post near the door “I cannot bear to hear you speak thus even in jest but Come let us sit down & tell me seriously who & what is the wretch whose name has just passed your lips.”
“He is a very handsome & accomplished man” she replied provok- ingly “and my uncle says one of the bravest soldiers in the army”
Leslie’s eye flashed & his brow darkened again “Am I still to think” he asked “that you entertain a partiality for the infamous villain?”
“Goodness” exclaimed the lady “jcan’t I like two people at once? how monopolizing you are” the convulsive grasp with which her lover seized her hand & the flush which rose suddenly to his cheek warned her that she had trifled long enough, she proceeded in an altered tone “but though the Colonel is all I have described him yet I assure you, you have nothing to fear for I detest him most thoroughly & nothing on earth should either tempt or compel me to change my name from Emily Charlesworth to Emily Percy”
“Bless you” Exclaimed the enthusiastic Leslie “for that assurancef! it has relieved me of a mighty load but tell me dearest how these vile reports by which I have been misled arose, Colonel Percy I presume visited you?”
“He did & made proposals to me but I remembered the absent & peremptorily rejected him. he then applied to my uncle who as ill- luck would have it behaved like all guardians & commanded me forthwith to receive him as my husband elect. I demurred, my Uncle insisted, the Colonel implored, hints of compulsion were thrown out. this only served to render me more restive, the chaplain was sent for. I then had recourse to tears, the Colonel seeing me so far softened became a little insolent, he said that instead of crying & pouting I might think myself very highly honoured by the preference of one whom all the ladies in Verdopolis would be glad of. this effectually awoke my spirit. I got up for I had been kneeling to both the oppressors & told him that he was the object of my scorn & hatred & that he never need hope to obtain any interest in a heart that was entirely devoted to another. When he heard this he stormed & frowned just as you did just now. my Uncle asked who the favoured suitor was. I said instantly that he was neither lord nor knight but a young & gifted artist, if you had seen the fit of astonishment that seized them both. they stood with mouths gaping & eyes staring like two images of surprisef. the effect was perfectly ludicrous & despite of the fears which filled me I laughed outright, this only irritated them still more, the Colonel swore that he would compel me to marry him or die & my Uncle took oath on belt & brand that no man from king to beggar from Duke to Artist should be my husband except Colonel Percy. I smiled but said nothing. Well for a while after this I was confined to my room & not suffered to cross the threshold lest I might run away, this rigour injured my health: I grew pale & thin. My Uncle (who I know loves me notwithstanding his harshnessf) perceived the change & commanded that I should be set at liberty on condition of my consenting to accompany the Colonel for the purpose of having my portrait taken, the first time I went to De Lisle’s in order to sit Colonel Percy told me that he had discovered who my lover was & had even seen him several times, this frightened me a little but I consoled myself with the knowledge that you were at present absent from Verdopolis & therefore out of his reach but now you are returned I fear greatly that he will never rest till he has accomplished your destruction by some means”
“Emily” said Leslie as she concluded her brief narrative “You have acted generously & truly, you have been faithful to a poor & friendless artist or one whom you thought such & have rejected a man whose birth expectations & personal accomplishments render him an object of the highest admiration to every other individual of your own sex. I now know with a degree of certainty which admits no shadow of doubt that you love me for myself & that nothing of a selfish nature mingles with your regard. I owe it therefore to your disinterested affection to reveal my real rank & station in life. I am not what I seem a servile minion of fortune a low born son of Drudgery. No the Head of Clan Albyn, the Earl of St Clair, the Cheiftain of the wild children of the mist’ Descends from a line of ancestors as illustrious as any whose brows were ever encircled by the coronet of nobility. Alliance with me will not bring you to want & beggary but pure blood will be mingled, broad lands joined & loving hearts united in bonds dissoluble only by death. Come with me then Emily shake of at once the shackles which restrain you. free yourself from the importunities of a villain I will take you to my mountainous lands in the north & you shall be at once Countess of Saint Clair & Lady of seven thousand of the bravest warriors that ever gathered round a chieftain’s banner, my castle on Elimbos is larger than your uncle’s here & my brave clan will pay their lovely & gentle mistress the adoration due to a divinity”
As Leslie or as we must now call him Ronald Lord St Clair revealed his rank & power, the proud blood mounted to his forehead his eye flashed like that of one of his own wild eagles & the majesty of his step & bearing as he slowly paced the appartment proclaimed the descendant of a hundred Earls. Lady Emily caught the lofty enthusiasm which infused a higher beauty into his noble countenance & rising from her seat she frankly extended her hand towards him & said “Accept the pledge of my inviolable faith though the whole earth should unite against me I will never love another. “True till death “ shall be my chosen motto. I cannot love you more than I did but I rejoice for your own sake that you can vie in rank with the proudest nobles of Africa.’ “Do you consent to go with me?” asked he “I do. at what time must I depart”
“this night at twelve o’clock meet me in the chestnut avenue” “I will be punctual” said the lady. “And now my lord tell me what your reason was for playing the incognito in Verdopolis.”
“Why Emily you must know that I was educated in England. After leaving Oxford I resided some time in London, there I was of course admitted into the highest circles of society; being young & rich great attention was paid me. the ladies in particular treated me very graciously but I suspected that much of this especial favour was owing rather to my rank & fortune than to my personal qualities, this idea having once entered my head I could not by any means drive it out. So I determined to take a voyage to Africa & try what luck would befall an unknown & apparently friendless stranger. In Verdopolis I met with De Lisle, his manners & address pleased me while his merits & poverty excited my warmest sympathy. Enjoining the strictest secrecy I told him who I was & m
y motives for wishing to remain unknown. Having some knowledge of painting I determined to assume the character of an artist & accordingly placed my self under De lisle’s tuition. At his house I met with you for you used to come there ocasionally under the protection of your worthy tutor Mr Gif- ford to purchase copies & drawing materials, the consequence of these interviews I need not relate, in a short time we became firmly attached to each other & when I was about to declare my rank & formally to solicit your hand of Lord Charlesworth I was suddenly called away to my northern estates among the Branni mountains. Legal affairs & business connected with the clan unavoidably detained me for nearly twelve months & now I have returned to Verdopolis for the double purpose of claiming you as my bride & when that is accomplished joining the Duke of Wellingtons standard against the rebellious Ashantees”
“I have but one more question to ask” said lady Emily “How did the Colonel become acquainted with your person?”
“I know not except it be by having seen me at Delisle’s house. I remember a gentleman strongly resembling him entering the studio one day while you were conversing with me & regarding us with an eye of the strictest scrutiny but the circumstance had slipped my memory until your question recalled it.”
“there still remains a single point on which I wish to be satisfied” said Lady Emily smiling as if a sudden thought had struck her. “were you present at the Olympic Games in disguise?” “I was”
“what dress did you wear?” “the costume of my clan.”
“then you were the gallant archer whose arrow shivered the white wand when every other failed.”
“you have guessed cleverly Emily it is as you say.” “Then Depend upon it my lord” said she seriously “Colonel Percy recognized you. His eye is keener than a hawk’s & I saw him glance sharply at you when you half lifted your vizor to speak, could I have heard your voice I should have remembered it I am certain & doubtless he did so. Oh I fear his revengeful spirit will never rest till it has accomplished your destruction.”
Delphi Complete Works of the Brontes Page 237
