James Fenimore Cooper Precaution, Volume 2

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which was returned by Emily with a look of archness and pleasure, that would
have graced her happiest moments of juvenile joy.
There was such an interchange of looks, and such a visible alteration in the
appearance of her guests, that it could not but attract the notice of Lady
Chatterton; after listening to the conversation between them for some time in
silence, and wondering what could have wrought so sudden a change below
stairs, she broke forth with saying,
Upon my word, you are an incomprehensible party to me--I left you ladies
alone, and find a beau with you. I left you grave-- if not melancholy--and
find you all life and gayety. I find you with a stranger, and you talk with
him about walks and rides, and scenes and acquaintances; willyou, madam,
oryou, my lord, be so kind as to explain these seeming inconsistencies?
No, cried the Earl gayly, to punish your curiosity, I will keep you in
ignorance; but Marian is in waiting for me at your neighbour s, Mrs. Wilmot,
and I must hasten to her--you will see us both by five, and rising from his
seat he took the offered hand of Mrs. Wilson, and pressed it to his lips: to
Emily, he also extended his hand, and received hers in return, though with a
face suffused with the colour of the rose. Pendennyss held it to his heart for
a moment with fervor, and kissing it, precipitately left the room to hide his
emotions. Emily concealed her face with her hands, and dissolving in tears,
sought the retirement of an adjoining apartment.
All these unaccountable movements, filled Lady Chatterton with an amazement;
that would have been too painful for further endurance; and Mrs. Wilson
knowing that concealment with so near a connection would have been impossible,
if not unnecessary, entered into a brief explanation of the Earl s masquerade,
(although ignorant herself of its cause, or the means of supporting it,) and
his present relation with her niece.
I declare it is provoking, cried Lady Chatterton gayly, but with a tear in
her eye, to have such ingenious plans as Derwent and I had made, all lost
from the want of necessity of putting them in force. Your demure niece, has
deceived us all handsomely; and my rigid cousin too--I will rate him soundly
for his deception.
I believe he already repents sincerely of his having practised it, said
Mrs. Wilson with a smile, and is sufficiently punished for his errors by its
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consequence--a life of misery to a lover, for four months, is a serious
penalty.
Yes, said the other archly in reply, I am afraid his punishment was not
confined to himself alone; he has made others suffer from his misconduct. Oh!
I will rate him famously, depend upon it I will.
If any thing, the interest felt by Lady Chatterton for her friend, was
increased by this discovery of the affections of Pendennyss, and a few hours
were passed by the three, in, we will not say sober delight, for transport
would be a better word--Lady Chatterton declared she would rather see Emily
the wife of the Earl than her brother, forhe alone was good enough for
her---and Mrs. Wilson felt an exhiliration of spirits in this completion of
her most sanguine wishes, that neither her years, her philosophy or her
religion even, could entirely restrain: the face of Emily was a continued
blush, her eye sparkled with the lustre of renewed hope, and her bosom was
heaving with the purest emotions of happiness.
At the appointed hour the rattling of wheels announced the approach of the
Earl and his sister, to fulfil their engagements.
Pendennyss came into the room with a young woman of great personal beauty,
and extremely feminine manners, leaning on his arm. He first announced her to
Mrs. Wilson as his sister, Lady Marian Denbigh, who received with a frank
cordiality that made them instantly acquainted. Emily, although confiding in
the fullest manner, in the truth and worth of her lover, had felt an
inexplicable sensation of pleasure, as she had heard the Earl speak of his
sister by the name of Marian---love is such an unquiet, and generally such an
engrossing passion, that few avoid unnecessary uneasiness while under its
influence, unless so situated as to enjoy a mutual confidence.
As this once so formidable Marian approached to salute her, and with an
extended hand, Emily rose from her seat, with a face illumined with pleasure,
to receive her---Marian viewed her for a moment intently, and folding her arms
around her, whispered softly as she pressed her to her heart, my sister, my
only sister.
Our heroine was affected to tears, and Pendennyss gently separating the two
he loved best in the world--they soon became calm and attentive to the society
they were in.
Lady Marian was extremely like her brother, and had a family resemblance to
her cousin Harriet, but her manners were softer and more retiring, and she had
a slight tinge of a settled melancholy--when her brother spoke, she was
generally silent, not in fear but in love--she evidently regarded him amongst
the first of human beings, and all her love was amply returned.
Both the aunt and niece studied the manners of the Earl closely, and found
several shades of distinction between what he was, and what he had been--He
was now the perfect man of the world, without having lost the frank sincerity,
which inevitably caused you to believe all he said.--Had Pendennyss once told
Mrs. Wilson with his natural air and manner, I am innocent, she would have
believed him, and an earlier investigation would have saved them months of
misery--but the consciousness of his deception had oppressed him with the
curse of the wicked--to whatever degree we err, so it be proportionate in any
manner to our habits and principles--a guilty conscience; and imagining her
displeasure to arise from a detection of his real name by the possession of
his pocket book--his sense of right would not allow him to urge his defence.
He had lost that air of embarrassment and alarm, which had so often startled
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the aunt, even in her hours of greatest confidence, and which had their
original in the awkwardness of disguise--But he retained his softness --his
respect, his modest diffidence of his opinions--although somewhat corrected
now, by his acknowledged experience and acquaintance with man.
Mrs. Wilson thought the trifling alterations in manner to be seen were great
improvements; but it required some days and a few tender speeches to reconcile
Emily to any change in the appearance of the Earl, from what she had been fond
to admire in Denbigh.
Lady Marian had ordered her carriage early, as she had not anticipated the
pleasure she had found, and was engaged to accompany her cousin, Lady Laura,
to a fashionable route that evening. Unwilling to be torn from his newly found
friends, the Earl proposed the three ladies should accompany his sister to
Annerdale House, and then accept himself as an escort to their own residence.
To this, Harriet assented, and leaving a message for Chatterton, they entered
the coach of Marian, and Pendennyss mounting the dickey, they drove off. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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