Sophia Reeve

“ If you refuse to afford it him—all shall be discovered!"
"All is discovered!" cried Lady Corbet, distractedly. "But never shall Henry triumph over me, in a court of justice! No—sooner shall my own hand plunge me into eternity!"
"Little are you prepared for so serious a change," said Talton. "You may fly from the accusations of a son, but would meet those of a husband, injured in every respect, before a Being from whom there is no escape: and whose justice, though blended with mercy, is equal to his power! ”

“ Sir Henry sprung to embrace her, and in a voice softened by tenderness and grief, breathed a prayer for the continuance of her existence.
"I little thought, Harry," she said, after an internal struggle, "ever to have beholden you again: but retributive justice has overtaken me, and I must submit to my fate!—But where is Louise?" she impatiently continued. "Does she despise the sufferings of a mother; or didst thou enviously wish to deprive her of a blessing?"
"Ah, my mother," answered Sir Henry, "stab not my heart by such a supposition;—in a few hours Louise will be here." ”

“ I have, Edward, from the time I first beheld you, imagined your cheerfulness to be forced. Your mother, too, has observed it; and I have wished for the opportunity, which now offers, of inquiring the cause? Make me your confident; nor think, in unbosoming yourself, it is to a rigid censor, but to a father, whose anxiety for your happiness equals—and perhaps exceeds your own."
"I doubt not your indulgence, my dear Sir," answered Edward, after a slight hesitation: "your heart, I am certain, will afford an excuse for the wanderings of mine. ”

“ But avarice is your mother's motto, as well as Sir Horace's; to that she yielded, and, smothering every softer feeling, abandoned the child to the care of its father; and, appropriating the money to her own use, sent a peasant with the infant Louise to Mallet at Rennes!"
Sir Henry was here interrupted by Louise, who, bursting into tears, said—"Ah the dreaded secret is explained! Oh, Harland, will you not now despise the woman to whom you are united? The conduct of her parents must stamp indelible shame on her name!" ”

“ And now, my Henry, let me mention the subject, which, though sinking to the grave, will still maintain the superiority of hope in my bosom,—that the child of her I once fondly thought to have called my own, may become your wife. With satisfaction, I have perceived your youthful partiality for each other, and cherished every spark of growing attachment. Yet if another should gain your maturer affection, Heaven forbid that I should thwart your inclination, or be the means, however indirectly, of uniting you to a woman you could not prefer to the rest of her sex. ”

“ Talton continued—"Disagreeable is the task I have imposed on myself: but, as I think it my duty to make reparation, as far as lies in my power, for the injuries I have, however unintentionally, committed; your Ladyship must pardon me for espousing a cause, which will prove so detrimental to yourself."
"I cannot comprehend, Mr. Talton," interrupted Lady Corbet, "to what you allude; and will thank you to come, as you said, to the point at once. My son, you inform me, has chosen you his guardian: I would wish to know from what motive; or what induced you to accept the trust?" ”

“ The ensuing morning, on awaking, she perceived Sir Henry and Louise kneeling by her bed; and, regarding them some moments, with a tremulous voice said—"And dost thou, Harry, kneel to Heaven, to intercede for thy guilty parent?—Oh God! accept his prayers, though mine be rejected! and for each ill I have—and would have done him, shower a blessing on his head! But I must be quick. Reason totters, and life beats uncertain at my heart. Talton—Harland—come hither. Pursue not Mallet. The wealth he has taken—let him retain! ”

“ The will my mother produced is forged: think then what must be the consequence, if I commence a process of law against her. No—rather let me rest satisfied with the entailed estates. I would wish to appoint you my guardian, for the remainder of my minority: my mother, at her decease, may perhaps be just: if not—whilst blessed with the friendship of those I so highly esteem, and as I trust with the hand and affection of Eliza, I shall not only have sufficient to fulfil my father's request, but to enjoy every comfort of life: its luxuries I am content to dispense with. ”

“ I want not grandeur in my establishment for life; but will never marry, to involve the man I esteem in difficulties, which may destroy—instead of securing—his happiness."
"Such were my hopes, and such the answer of my Hannah!" said Lieutenant Booyers, entering from an inner apartment, "May your fate, my children, prove more fortunate than hers and mine! Frederick, I esteem and respect you; nor know I the man, on whom I would sooner bestow my Ellen—the only treasure I now can boast. ”

“ I shall respect your feelings, my amiable young friends, nor forget that she is your mother: but these proofs of her duplicity, have raised a sentiment of indignation, perhaps not altogether excusable, against the woman for whom I so lately avowed an ardent attachment: but sooner will I tear the dearest hope, the richest prospect of happiness my fancy could pourtray from my heart, than be an accomplice in wronging her already too much injured offspring!
"Misled by her insinuations, I regarded the late Sir Henry as a tyrant, and her son, as a youth of sordid unsocial principles! ”

“ Talton, I had better retire."
"Louise, my love," said Harland, "let me conduct you to your apartment. Your pallid looks convince me, an interview with your mother ought not now to take place."
"No, Harland," answered Louise, "let me stay. Long have I ardently wished to be blessed with the sight of her who gave me being; to hear the voice of a parent, though circumstances forbid my hoping to receive a blessing: then, I entreat you, let me stay. Believe me, if I tremble, it is for her; unprepared to answer so serious an accusation; to meet those she has so greatly injured!" ”

“ Rejoice then in my fall—exult over my ashes—and, in the torments I now endure, be fully revenged!"
"Far be revenge from my heart," replied Talton: "to pity and relieve are its dictates; but never to triumph over the fallen or afflicted!"
"Well—well!" said Lady Corbet, with quickness, "I believe thee! Though were revenge thy wish, thou hast it—in its utmost extent! Mallet,—the ungrateful Mallet, has deserted me!—Struck with Louise, and her behaviour on the evening of his detection, he wished the restoration of her fortune ”

“ But, for your sake, I buried my sorrows in my own bosom; enduring every species of behaviour studiously calculated to drive me to a separation; and, could I have been assured you would have enjoyed the property after her decease, I would not have hesitated a moment in my determination; but too well did I know her principles to place the power in her hands.
"The return of my Ellenor and her infant, increased the anxiety which preyed on my mind; though I trust, she will do justice to her brother, in believing his heart never for an instant coincided with the will of her father. ”

“ A charge of lunacy may screen the action from the knowledge of the world; but there is an all-seeing eye, Lady Corbet, that would mark it, and make you for ever dread to meet the face of Heaven!'
"She regarded me with an agitation, that too plainly showed the state of her mind, then cast me from her with violence, and hurled the knife to the further part of the room. I was hastening to secure it, when Mallet, either for the purpose of assisting her to search for the will, or from a motive of a darker nature, entered the chamber. ”

“ On your second emigration, my Henry, your mother, not being able to discover you, turned the effects of her rage against us, and sent a peremptory demand, by Mr. Talton, for the back-rents. This message, which portended our ruin, threw us into the utmost consternation; though, had I entertained a suspicion the lover of Lady Corbet was the former friend of my Howard, I should not have hesitated a moment in discovering myself to him, and appealing to the rectitude of his own principles against the injustice and inhumanity of the claim. ”

“ Joseph silently acquiesced; his heart was unengaged, and, as I before observed, my grandfather's will was a law he had never dared to dispute.—Satisfied with his tacit compliance, Sir Horace left him, and went to Miss Elvyn, who was little prepared for the peremptory command he gave her to marry Joseph."
"I must retire, Henry;" said Mrs. Blond, in vain endeavouring to suppress the obtrusive tear; "recollection is too painful to let me listen to the relation. I will rejoin you by and by." ”

“ The servant obeyed, and an elderly countryman entered the room. He advanced with an humble bow to Sir Henry, and, in simple language, informed him, he rented the principal part of the Cornwall estate, belonging to Lady Corbet; who was then at the old Mansion-house, confined by a fractured arm; and as the surgeon who attended her, apprehended she was in danger, he thought it requisite to acquaint Sir Henry; more especially as Lady Corbet, who, he acknowledged, was sometimes delirious, had once expressed a wish to see him and a gentleman of the name of Talton. ”

“ Talton, alight at the inn.—Not doubting but that you were in pursuit of us, we ordered a carriage from the adjoining village, and prepared again for flight. On Booyers' return with Ellen, being made acquainted with the emergency of our situation, he consented to accompany us, and we thus set out—Providence our guide—to seek a future habitation. Heaven conducted us to this spot, where happiness has once more become an inmate of my bosom; and where justice, I hope, by the hand of my Howard, will re-establish Sir Henry in the possessions of which he has been defrauded. ”

“ The real will of the late Sir Henry is found, and now in my possession: from whence it will pass to that of the Lord Chancellor; together with a packet, likewise of your husband's writing, containing an account of your proceedings and conversations with your favourite, Mallet; which he overheard, by means of a closet in the private room adjoining your apartment; and by which means, the present Sir Henry is likewise well informed of every artifice you have used to make him appear insane, and your intentions to have destroyed the will, could you have discovered it! ”

“ Nature revolted at the idea, and revived, with additional poignancy, the remembrance of his last moments.
"'And Blond too is gone!' I cried, rising, and wildly pacing the room: 'and she who should prove the friend and guardian of her son, too surely seeks his destruction!—But, perhaps, the will is not destroyed: no one but Blond knew where it was placed.'
"My mother had secured my father's keys; but some months prior to his decease, he had presented me with one of the private room; which had my mother known, she would, most probably, have chosen another apartment for my confinement. ”

“ Believe me, you injure me, if you imagine that for the sake of regaining those possessions, I should ever wish to expose you to the censure of the world. Far from my heart be such a thought! I want not superfluous wealth; for me the fortune inherited from my forefathers, is amply sufficient. Freely then enjoy what you have obtained; by me you shall never be molested. All I ask is the restoration of Blond's property, and the society of my friends.'
"'Wretches!' she exclaimed. ”

“ Worthy, affectionate Blond! dear to my memory, must ever be thy behaviour in that awful hour; when suppressing thy own sorrow, which oft and oft obtruded to thine eye, thou spakest comfort to the heart of thy expiring friend, and supportedst the affliction of a son! Rest ye in peace, beloved pair! Together ye trod the rugged path of life: pure and sincere was your friendship ”

“ My humble affection will not be rejected, and the approving blessing of a mother may yet reward the years of anxious solicitude, I have experienced."
"You could not, my dear girl," answered Sir Henry, "support the fatigue of travelling, at the rate I wish to go. Yet follow us—Harland will escort you." Harland readily consented, and a chaise was prepared, in which they departed, in less than an hour after Sir Henry.
In the mean time, Sir Henry and Mr. Talton travelled with the utmost expedition to Llaugharne, and, crossing the Channel, proceeded towards the ancient seat of Lady Corbet. ”

“ Howard, Ellen, and Eliza. Mr. Talton's agitation, which he in vain strove to conquer, prevented his immediately proceeding; but, the Captain perceiving Lady Corbet recovering from her surprise, said,
"I believe, Madam, you will no longer wonder at Mr. Talton's becoming, with me, the guardian of your son; who, at length, has consented to commit his cause to the decision of justice: and, the ensuing term, will commence a suit, which, I am afraid, will render you an object of abhorrence in every worthy heart." ”

“ Frederick, as his father had desired, passed a considerable part of his time at Howard Hall. Sir Arthur's regard for him appeared daily to increase, and on Frederick expressing a wish that he would honour the nuptials with his presence, he instantly complied; and, with Lady Howard and Theodosia, accompanied him to Sir Henry's. The arrival of Harland and Louise, with the St. Ledger family, added to the pleasure of their society. ”