Leoline

“ Still the noises perseveringly continued; there was the sound of withdrawing bolts, and then a pale ray of moonlight shot between the parted curtains, shoving the shutters had been opened. Whiter and whiter Leoline grew, and she felt herself growing cold and rigid with mortal fear. Softly the window was raised, a hand stole in and parted the curtains, and a pale face and two great dark eyes wandered slowly round the room, and rested at last on her, standing, like a galvanized corpse, as far from the window as the wall would permit. ”

“ At daybreak the next morning, Warbeck was at the convent's gate. He saw Leoline: what a change one night of suffering had made in that face, which was the fountain of all loveliness to him! He clasped her in his arms; he wept; he urged all that love could urge: he besought her to accept that heart which had never wronged her memory by a thought. "Oh, Leoline! didst thou not say once that these arms nursed thy childhood; that this voice soothed thine early sorrows? Ah, trust to them again and for ever. From a love that forsook thee turn to the love that never swerved." ”

“ Leoline, my tale is done. Canst thou not love Otho as he loves thee?"
And now lifting his eyes to Leoline, he saw that she trembled violently, and her cheek was covered with blushes.
"Say," continued he, mastering himself; "is not that flower (his present) a token that he is chiefly in thy thoughts?"
"Ah, Warbeck! do not deem me ungrateful that I wear not yours also: but—"
"Hush;" said Warbeck, hastily; "I am but as thy brother; is not Otho more? He is young, brave, and beautiful. God grant that he may deserve thee, if thou givest him so rich a gift as thy affections." ”

“ Yes, Sir Norman, I do love you!”
Every man hearing that for the first time from a pair of loved lips is privileged to go mad for a brief season, and to go through certain manoeuvers much more delectable to the enjoyers than to society at large. For fully ten minutes after Leoline's last speech, there was profound silence. But actions sometimes speak louder than words; and Leoline was perfectly convinced that her declaration had not fallen on insensible ears. ”

“ But the old nurse shook her head. “Nay,” she said, “stir him now, and he will never again waken into life.”
“Oh, Maiden Leoline, do make haste,” cried the little shepherdess, holding the door ajar.
“Nay, little sister,” answered Leoline, shaking her head, “here shall I remain. Farewell, little friend; I thank thee for the warning.”
Now rose the morning sun in splendor over the shoulder of the mighty mountain, rolling away the mists and revealing the dewy fields, the crags, and the eternal snows in all their bright unsullied loveliness. ”

“ I am commanded to treat you with every respect, but not to let you see where you are borne to.”
“By what right does Count L'Estrange commit this outrage!” began Leoline, almost as imperiously as Miranda herself, and making use of her tongue, like a true woman, the very first moment it was at her disposal. “How dare he carry me off in this atrocious way? Whoever you are, sir, if you have the spirit of a man, you will bring me directly back to my own house.” ”

“ Leoline said no more; her divine errand was fulfilled. She looked long and wistfully after the stately form of the knight of Liebenstein, and then, with a slight sigh, she turned to Otho, "This is the last time we shall meet on earth. Peace be with us all!"
She then, with the same majestic and collected bearing, passed on towards the sisterhood; and as, in the same solemn procession, they glided back towards the convent, there was not a man present—no, not even the hardened Templar—who would not, like Otho, have bent his knee to Leoline. ”

“ Both rats and beetles paused to contemplate the flickering lamp, and Miranda paused to contemplate them, and Sir Norman paused to contemplate her, for an instant or so in silence. Her marvelous resemblance to Leoline, in all but one thing, struck him more and more—there was the same beautiful transparent colorless complexion, the same light, straight, graceful figure, the same small oval delicate features; the same profuse waves of shining dark hair, the same large, dark, brilliant eyes ”

“ Sir Norman is waiting for me in a state of distraction so now, having found you, I will go and relieve his mind by reporting accordingly.”
“And leave me here?” cried Leoline, in affright, “and in the power of Count L'Estrange? Oh! no, no! You must take me with you, Hubert!”
“My dear Leoline, it is quite impossible to do it without help, and without a ladder. I will return to Sir Norman; and when the darkness comes that precedes day-dawn, we will raise the ladder to your window, and try to get you out. Be patient—only wait an hour or two, and then you will be free.” ”

“ Most young girls of green and tender years, suffering from “Love's young dream,” and that sort of thing, have just that soft, shy, brooding look, whenever their thoughts happen to turn to their particular beloved; and there are few eyes so ugly that it does not beautify, even should they be as cross as two sticks. You should have seen Leoline standing in the centre of her pretty room, with her bright rose-satin glancing and glittering, and flowing over rug and mat; with her black waving hair clustering and curling like shining floss silk ”

“ I'll tell your lordship how it was,” said Ormiston, who forthwith commend and related the story of their finding Leoline; of the resuscitation at the plague-pit; of the flight from Sir Norman's house, and of the delirious plunge into the river, and miraculous cure.
“A marvelous story,” commented the earl, much interested. “And Leoline seems to have as many lives as a cat! Who can she be—a princess in disguise—eh, Ormiston?”
“She looks fit to be a princess, or anything else; but your lordship knows as much about her, now, as I do.” ”

“ A tall figure, all in black, with its sweeping velvet robes spangled with stars of golden rubies, a perfect figure of incomparable grace and beauty. It had worn a cloak that had dropped lightly from its shoulders, and lay on the floor and the long hair streamed in darkness over shoulder and waist. The face was masked, the form stood erect and perfectly motionless, and the scream of surprise and consternation that arose to Leoline's lips died out in wordless terror. ”

“ Then Christabel stretched forth her hand And comforted fair Geraldine: O well bright dame may you command The service of Sir Leoline; And gladly our stout chivalry Will he send forth and friends withal To guide and guard you safe and free Home to your noble father’s hall. She rose: and forth with steps they passed That strove to be, and were not, fast. Her gracious stars the lady blest, And thus spake on sweet Christabel; All our household are at rest, The hall as silent as the cell, Sir Leoline is weak in health And may not well awakened be, But we will move as if in stealth ”

“ She stopped for a moment, and fixed her dark, gloomy eyes on the swarming floor, and shook off, with out a shudder, the hideous things that crawled over her rich dress. She had scarcely looked at Sir Norman since she began to speak, but he had done enough looking for them both, never once taking his eyes from the handsome darkening face. He thought how strangely like her story was to Leoline's—both shut in and isolated from the outer world. Verily, destiny seemed to have woven the woof and warp of their fates wonderfully together, for their lives were as much the same as their faces. ”

“ Life would be a little humiliating were it not for its power of secrecy. As Bute Churton’s big figure disappeared along the narrow street to the town, Leoline looked after him and guessed nothing of the irony of their relations with each other, for he was thinking that worthless fellows like Lewin were blessed with wives like this, while she shrank from a consciousness of thoughts disloyal to her husband. ”

“ We must suppose some time to have elapsed, and Otho and Leoline were not yet wedded; for, in the first fervour of his gratitude to his brother, Otho had proclaimed to his father and to Leoline the conquest Warbeck had obtained over himself; and Leoline, touched to the heart, would not consent that the wedding should take place immediately. "Let him, at least," said she, "not be insulted by a premature festivity; and give him time, amongst the lofty beauties he will gaze upon in a far country, to forget, Otho, that he once loved her who is the beloved of thee." ”

“ Will you reject the king as you did the count?”
“Pardon, your majesty!”, said Leoline, scarcely daring to look up; “but I must!”
“So be it! You are a perfect miracle of troth and constancy, and I think I can afford to be generous for once. In fifteen minutes, we start for Oxford, and you must accompany us as Lady Kingsley. A tiring woman will wait upon you to robe you for your bridal. ”

“ And said in courtly accents fine,
"Sweet maid, Lord Roland's beauteotis dove,
With arms more strong than harp or song,
Thy sire and I will crush the snake!"
He kiss'd her forehead as he spake,
And Geraldine, in maiden wise,
Casting down her large bright eyes,
With blushing cheek and courtesy fine,
She turn'd her from Sir Leoline ”

“ It was still a matter of some scornful marvel to Leoline Lewin that every one round her openly lamented their lot in being bound to Key Island, for she did not realise that her own vitality was being kept up by a vivid interest. She was living much more actively in a mental fashion than she had ever done in her life before, and the island itself, that she thought the object round which her forces gathered, was in reality only a background. ”

“ In vain Warbeck pleaded; in vain he urged all that passion and truth could urge; the springs of earthly love were for ever dried up in the orphan's heart, and her resolution was immovable—she tore herself from his arms, and the gate of the convent creaked harshly on his ear.
A new and stern emotion now wholly possessed him; though naturally mild and gentle, he cherished anger, when once it was aroused, with the strength of a calm mind. Leoline's tears, her sufferings, her wrongs, her uncomplaining spirit, the change already stamped upon her face, all cried aloud to him for vengeance. ”

“ When this hazy view of things passed away, her new sensation was, the intensely uncomfortable one of being on the verge of suffocation. She made one frantic but futile effort to free herself and scream for help, but the strong arms held her with most loving tightness, and her cry was drowned in the hot atmosphere within the shawl, and never passed beyond it. Most assuredly Leoline would have been smothered then and there, had their journey been much longer ”

“ One only of the sisterhood recognized that majestic face; one bathed his parched lips; one held his dying hand; and in Leoline’s presence passed away the faithful spirit of the last lord of Liebenstein!
“Oh!” said Gertrude, through her tears; “surely you must have altered the facts,—surely—surely—it must have been impossible for Leoline, with a woman’s heart, to have loved Otho more than Warbeck?”
“My child,” said Vane, “so think women when they read a tale of love, and see the whole heart bared before them ”

“ You see he is so handsome, and looks so much like Leoline, that I could not help thinking so.”
“He is Leoline's twin brother—that accounts for it. When does she become your wife?”
“This very morning, God willing!” said Sir Norman, fervently.
“Amen! And may her life and yours be long and happy. What becomes of the rest?”
“Since Hubert is her brother, he shall come with us, if he will. As for the other, she, alas! is dead.”
“Dead!” cried La Masque. “How? When? She was living, tonight!” ”

“ They passed the hall, that echoes still,
Pass as lightly as you will!
The brands were flat, the brands were dying,
Amid their own white ashes lying;
But when the lady passed, there came
A tongue of light, a fit of flame
And Christabel saw the lady's eye,
And nothing else saw she thereby,
Save the boss of the shield of Sir Leoline tall,
Which hung in a murky old niche in the wall. ”

“ I have seen Leoline—I have conversed with her—nay, start not—she loves thee! she is thine!"
"Generous—generous Warbeck!" exclaimed Otho, and he threw himself on his brother's neck. "No, no," said he, "this must not be; thou hast the elder claim—I resign her to thee. Forgive me my waywardness, brother, forgive me!"
"Think of the past no more," said Warbeck; "the love of Leoline is an excuse for greater offences than thine. And now, be kind to her; her nature is soft and keen. I know her well; for I have studied her faintest wish. Thou art hasty and quick of ire ”

“ She had withdrawn herself beyond reach of his immediate influence, and he dared not force her to an encounter. Twice he had been at Port Albert, and had found Vohitra closed to him—by Mrs. Lewin’s own request he paid her no visit of condolence. He could not realise that the tie between them was not endangered by absence, or that material things had no influence upon Leoline’s feelings for him. A man loves with his five senses; but a woman with all her instincts and a few over. ”

“ The action disturbed Otho; he bit his lip, and changed colour; at length he said, with a forced laugh:
"It must be confessed, brother, that you carry your affection for our fair cousin to a degree that even relationship seems scarcely to warrant."
"It is true," said Warbeck, calmly: "I love her with a love surpassing that of blood."
"How!" said Otho, fiercely: "do you dare to think of Leoline as a bride?"
"Dare!" repeated Warbeck, turning yet paler than his wonted hue.
"Yes, I have said the word! Know, Warbeck, that I, too, love Leoline; I, too, claim her as my bride ”