Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth

“ No; nor ever shall, until I become his slave in marriage!” exclaimed the girl, with a dangerous sparkle in her eyes.
“But that shall never be! Why, Odalite, you speak not only as if you do not like the man, but as if you really hate him; and that being so, you shall not marry him! I will put a stop to that at once! I have the first right to you by a long distance—the only right to you, indeed—and—and I’ll throttle him—confound him!—before he shall have a hair of your head!”
“Oh, Le, hush! hush! You don’t know! You mistake! Le, I must marry him! Do you understand? I must, I say!” ”

“ You only fancy that you do. In reality you know nothing of such a love as that. Le was brought up in the house with you. You have no brother. Le has no sister. You therefore love each other as brother and sister. By and by you both may discover—but not for each other—the higher, deeper, stronger love which unites the husband and the wife in a true marriage—such a love as I could wish might crown my darling’s life with lasting joy—such a love as you might find in a union with Angus Anglesea, if you would but give him the opportunity of winning your heart. ”

“ And yet I need not ask you, for I know.”
“Odalite!” breathed the youth, in low, yet thrilling, tones.
“Ah, would to Heaven, my boy, that none had ever come between you!” sighed Abel Force.
“But the intruder has gone now, and left no trace behind.”
“Ah, would to Heaven he had left no trace behind! But a heart like Odalite’s does not easily recover from such a shock as she has sustained.”
“I know. And yet I think she is already recovering. Pride, duty, honor, all will help her to recover. And of this I wish to speak to you, dear sir.”
“Le, you have the most forgiving soul I ever met! ”

“ Whom are you about to challenge?”
“That miscreant Anglesea.”
“You are not going to fight a duel, Le?”
“I shall fight a duel or do a murder! That’s the alternative!”
“Perhaps you may do both.”
“So much the better! But, if you do not want to take my challenge, say so, and you need not do it. I will get some one else.”
“Of course I will, Le! And I will be your second, and will stand by you, through thick and thin! Jove, if ever a man had a just cause, you have! He supplanted you in the affections of your betrothed, and tried to betray her to ruin!” ”

“ Forget what I have said, Le! Oh, forget it!” 257
“Never, never, never can I forget these words, dear Odalite! Those words that have revealed to me a glimpse of a soul braver, nobler, more self-immolating than I ever believed could live in the form of mortal man, not to say in that of a fragile girl,” said the young man, fervently, earnestly.
“Oh, dear Le, such overpraise humbles me! Let it pass! But, oh, my dear, as you unwittingly surprised my confidence, so respect it. Whisper it to no human being—no, not even to yourself in your moments of deepest solitude!” she pleaded. ”

“ Aunt Elfrida will have no objection. She likes me. She liked our engagement, before any one came between us,” said Le, growing uneasy and very thoughtful.
“Yes, I know she loves you, Le, and liked our engagement. And, of course, all will be right! But, still, I would rather that you should speak to my mother,” persisted the girl, with a dark foreshadowing of evil which she could not shake off.
“Well, love, I will have a talk with Aunt Elfrida to-night,” said Le, with a laugh.
“No, no, not to-night. We shall be in the drawing room, engaged in some Christmas games for the children. ”

“ I cannot help it, I say!”
“But, dear me, Anglesea, you know it is of no sort of use your loving Odalite. She is to marry her cousin, you know.”
“Yes, I know.”
“I am very sorry for this, Anglesea.”
“If it were only myself that is concerned I pledge you my word of honor that I would go away at once and bear my disappointment like a man. But, oh! Force, it is not only myself. I am not the only one whose happiness is at stake in this matter,” said the colonel, solemnly. ”

“ Force received the half-fainting girl in her arms, and guided her to a large, cushioned chair, which Le hastened to push forward.
When Odalite was seated and reclining against the high, cushioned back, Le lifted her hand, pressed it to his lips, and turned to leave the room.
Mrs. Force followed him into the hall.
“Where are you going, Le?” she inquired.
“I don’t know—I don’t know! I feel lost! Like Adam turned out of Eden! And without my Eve—without my Eve!” he groaned.
“Bear it like a man, Le! You are very young, and—there are many lovely girls in the world in your reach.” ”

“ Anglesea to meet you in the duel, were inspired by the spirit of wrath and revenge. In your fierce anger you were not alone. Many shared that madness with you. Neither you nor they could help feeling a frenzy of indignation against the perpetrator of outrageous wrongs. But, though you could not help feeling this frenzy of anger, you could help sinning. You should have remembered the Word of God, ‘Be ye angry, but sin not.’ ‘Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord,’ and, above all, the awful command, ‘Thou shalt do no murder.’ What! shall a man break these laws, and call it honor? ”

“ Suddenly he started, and threw his hand to his head.
“What’s the matter, Le?” inquired little Elva, while Wynnette stared.
“A remembered dream, or vision, that came to me three times on my homeward voyage,” replied the young man, gravely.
“Oh, tell us!” exclaimed both the children in duet, with all their childish interest in the marvelous excited to the highest pitch.
“It is a vision of midnight on midocean—the blackness of darkness above, below, around, beneath. Suddenly into this opaque darkness glows a spark of red light. It increases, spreads, and shoots upward, revealing—a ship on fire! ”

“ I do not see what honor has to do with it. Or if it has, I should think that honor would be better saved by my keeping faith with Le than by breaking with him! Oh, mother! mother! it will kill me!” moaned Odalite.
“My child, my dear girl, hear me! Listen to reason! Leonidas Force has no claim to be remembered by you. You have never been engaged to him. You were but a little girl of thirteen when he went to sea on his first voyage, three years ago, and you have not seen him since. What possible claim can he have upon you, since no betrothal exists between you?” ”

“ For are you not my own—my very own?” he said, putting his arms around her and drawing her close to his heart.
“Oh, Le, Le! No, no, no! I am no longer your own! No longer your Odalite,” she exclaimed, struggling out of his embrace, and bursting into a tempest of tears and sobs.
“Not my Odalite! Nonsense, dearest dear! Not my own Odalite? Whose else should you be, I wonder? Why, you have been my own Odalite all your little life. What can be the matter with you? I know now! I have read and heard about hysterics in young girls, and that is what has come over you, darling! ”

“ CHAPTER I THE MISTRESS OF MONDREER
“Mother! Oh, mother! it will break my heart!” wailed Odalite, sinking at the lady’s feet, and dropping her head into her hands, face downward to the carpet.
The lady gently raised her child, took her in her arms and tenderly caressed her, murmuring, softly:
“No, my own! hearts never break, or one heart, I know, must have broken long ago. Besides,” she added, in a firmer tone, “honor must be saved, though hearts be sacrificed.”
“‘Honor,’ mother dear? I do not understand. ”

“ It was a large, homely room, with whitewashed walls, bare floor, large open fireplace, and two front windows, shaded with blue paper blinds. It was plainly furnished with a pine table, chip chairs, corner cupboard, tall clock, and all the usual features of the rustic parlor. Its great redeeming point was the glowing fire of oak logs that burned in the broad chimney.
“Come right here and sit down, and get a good warm before you take off your things. Make yourself comfortable, sez I! never mind looks,” said Miss Sibby, drawing chairs close to the hearth for her half frozen guests. ”

“ Now, Le, where are your eyes and your common sense? I tell you disgust and abhorrence take possession of Odalite the minute he approaches her, and stick out all over her like the spikes on a hedgehog. Bah! bah! Tchut! Tchis!” hissed the intense little creature.
“My Lord, if I thought so!”
“You had better think so. I tell you I believe if she is made to marry that beat—I mean that person—something awful will happen.”
“‘Made’ to marry, my dear Wynnette! Why, she wants to do so.”
“She don’t! she don’t! she don’t!” ”

“ Fogs and mists arise from the land and water, condense in clouds, and obscure his glorious face, but they come down in rain or snow, clearing the atmosphere, and we say the sun shines again, when, in truth, he has been shining all the time. And as it is with the sun and earth, dear children, so it is with our Father in heaven and ourselves. We turn away from Him, and our souls grow dark ”

“ I would have her build her hopes of happiness on better foundations. Where can I find her?”
“She is in her own room; but I would not talk to her to-day. She is so shaken. Her little, tender heart is so pained—now that she has decided to please herself—to think of the suffering she may cause Le.”
“Oh, that is what is the matter with her, is it? Well, tell her Le must console himself with Wynnette! Oh, it will all come right! I am quite confident that it will all come right!” happily concluded the honest squire, rising to leave the room. ”

“ Reverend sir, what should a father, in his righteous wrath, do with such a man?” demanded Abel Force, livid with rage.
“Leave him to the divine Providence,” reverently replied the rector. 174
Abel Force ground his teeth; he felt more like becoming a volunteer instrument of the vengeance of divine Providence.
“A Christian would curb his passion and let the evildoer go his way,” continued the rector.
“Then I am a sinner!” exclaimed Le, who had been turning red and white with every ebb and flow of emotion.
“A yielding to anger always tends to make bad worse,” said Dr. Peters. ”

“ You will, when you realize that unless you do, your family peace and honor, your social position and prosperity—all you prize and pride yourself upon—must suddenly fall and bury you and yours under their ruins. ”

“ Suppose the criminal marriage had been consummated before the discovery of the living wife had been made! Elfrida, I should have killed that man! Oh, my dear, it is not only the murderers who are criminally capable of murder! ”

“ Little mistress of Greenbushes! Little lady of the manor! Have they done everything to please you over there? If they have not—if any man has failed to please my little lady—that man must march. How soon will our wedding be? Before Christmas? Let it be before Christmas. Let us keep our Christmas at Greenbushes, and have uncle and aunt and all the family there to keep it with us. Won’t that be jolly? For you and me to entertain our friends at our own home! I was thinking of all this, and a lot more, all the homeward voyage. Odalite, why don’t you answer me? Why, Odalite! Odalite! ”

“ The lady gazed at the man with eyes slowly dilating with horror.
“Odalite!” she gasped, under her breath.
“Yes, if you please. I hear that the girl is considered marriageable. I hear also a rumor to the effect that she may possibly be married to that young midshipman who is expected home at Christmas—unless I supplant him, which I hope to do, for she cannot care for him really, you know, since they parted when they were boy and child.”
“But she does care for him. She loves him as he loves her. They have always been devoted to each other,” indignantly retorted Elfrida Force. ”

“ I intend to put on Le’s cap and be a gentleman, and ask one of your sisters to dance with me.”
“Why, Miss Wynnette, how strange!”
“There’s no help for it; there are not gentlemen enough in the company, so I must be one! Why, just see, here are fourteen ladies and only seven gentlemen. And always about the same proportion in this neighborhood, whether it be a ball, or a dinner party, or a tea-drinking, or a little dance like this. It is always the same—about twice as many ladies as gentlemen! Oh, I don’t know what is to become of us all, unless we go out as missionaries to the heathen!” ”

“ But—try not to mind me; try not to care for me at all. I am not worth it, Le. Not worth a regret—not worth a thought. I am such a poor thing! Such a very poor thing! And I shall not last long. That is the best of it.” She breathed these last words out in a low, long-drawn sigh, dropping her head upon her bosom and her arms upon her lap.
“Oh, my dear Odalite, what is the meaning of all this? What ails you? What misfortune has happened to you? Have you lost your health? Oh, my own, own darling! is it so? You are so pale and cold and faint! That must be it. You have lost your health. ”

“ You know that he has sailed for England.”
“Yes, thank Heaven! But, oh, Aunt Elfrida, if there should be any foundation for your fears that Anglesea has any claim on Odalite, then Uncle Abel should see to it at once and have her freed from such a monster by course of law,” vehemently exclaimed Le.
“And so he should, if there were any certainty about that claim; but there is none. Odalite may be free or she may not be. We cannot be sure until we know more of the man’s antecedents. Le, you must be patient, and very prudent. Odalite’s position is a very delicate one. ”

“ Sweet, dear, darling Le! won’t you please carry off Odalite, just like Young Lochinvar did fair Ellen? Oh, please, Le! It would be so easy! You could have George saddled and brought round to the front door. George is the fastest and the strongest horse in the stables, and you could snatch her up and run out with her and be in the saddle and away before folks could get over their surprise. And she would be glad afterward! I know she would! Weren’t the Sabine women glad afterward that the Roman youth had carried them away?” argued Elva, fresh from her school history. ”

“ But understand this—Odalite must be my wife before that young midshipman returns home to make trouble. And the marriage must be made to appear to everybody to be her own choice. You may give the girl as much or as little of your confidence as you see fit, only make her clearly comprehend the consequences of her refusal. When she accepts, as she must accept, my proposal, let her know and feel the absolute necessity of her seeming to wish the marriage, especially when in the presence of her father. You understand. It is useless to prolong a painful interview. ”

“ To-morrow will do quite as well. You can talk to her after breakfast,” pleaded Odalite, with a shudder she could not control.
“You are cold,” said Le. “I have kept you out too long. Come, let us go home. I will speak to Aunt Elfrida in the morning.”
They turned and walked homeward under the moonlight, wintry sky, along the shore, then up the wooded hill, through the lawn and on to the house, the whole front of which was brilliantly lighted from within in honor of the holy, festive season.
They entered, and threw off their wraps in the hall, just as the tea bell rang. ”

“ Disregarding the presence of others in the room, the impetuous little lady struck at once into the middle of her subject.
“Odalite! It is not true—it cannot be true—that you are going to throw over your own dear true love—our own darling Le, whom we have known all our lives—just to marry that foreign beat, whom nobody knows anything about—I mean that British colonel, who is almost a stranger to us?” ”

“ Now, however, that I have come back, the old-time love has revived, and you are sorry that you mistook your heart and engaged yourself to this brilliant stranger. Is it not so? Tell me, Odalite. If it is so—as I feel sure it must be—then I will put in my prior claim and stop the marriage, send the interloping foreigner back to his own country, and you and I will marry and go to housekeeping at Greenbushes, according to our lifelong engagement. That is, if the old love has revived, as of course it has,” he concluded, looking eagerly in her face. ”

“ Hear me out, my darling! Hi! look at that rise of blue necks! If Anglesea were only here with his gun and dogs! He is a famous shot, my dear! Where was I? Oh! I say, as for myself, I am quite satisfied to receive 71 Anglesea as my son-in-law. He is of noble race—there is a marquisate in the family, though too far removed to do him much good, except in the honor of the connection. He is of moderate fortune, very moderate; but wealth should not be the first consideration, you know! He is a fine, noble, generous, chivalrous fellow, and I like and admire him. ”