Chapter II: Lady Greensleeves' Story (2)

'"A very fit place for Master Oliver, to be sure, seeing that he was a boy and had all his old clothes on, just come back from hunting. But to think that Mistress Frances should be found there! and by the strange gentleman too--Mistress Frances, who was going to be married so soon, and, what was more, to marry a lord! Alack! alack!" Nurse could only shake her head despondingly. Her young lady was certainly very far at present from her beau-ideal of "a grand madam." I felt very much humiliated, and consequently very cross and sulky; and when at last I was set free from nurse's hands, I stood in pouting silence watching the sunset out of the nursery window, and wishing that Sir Harry Mountfort and the Earl of Desmond had never been heard of; envying Oliver, who sat eating the dinner that had been kept for him, and holding forth to Miles and Roger on the adventures of Shad and himself during their morning's sport.....

'When I awoke on the morning of my wedding day, with a vague consciousness that something unusual was going to happen, the first thing that met my eyes was a dazzling heap of white satin that completely covered the table; and I had stared dreamily at it for some minutes before the fact that I was looking at my wedding dress dawned upon me. Then suddenly a clear recollection of what was going to take place came with a rush into my mind. I raised myself on my elbow and gazed round the room, which seemed quite spread over with silk and satin, ribbons and lace. And there was nurse bustling about amidst all the finery, herself in more gorgeous array than I had ever seen her wear before.

'"Now, Mistress Frances, my dear," quoth she, when she saw that I was awake, "'tis high time to get up and be dressed. Why, you've slept full an hour later than usual; and I wouldn't wake you, because I heard you tossing about last night, hours and hours after you should have been asleep and dreaming."

'This was true; for I had been in such a feverish state of excitement the night before, that though mamma had sent me to bed earlier than usual, I had heard the church clock strike one before I could go to sleep. And now, though the day to which I had been looking forward for the last month had actually come at last, though my wedding-dress was lying in all its glory before my eyes, I felt far more inclined to sink back on my pillow and fall asleep again, than to get up and be dressed, as nurse proposed.

'"What, sweetheart!" she went on, as I blinked my eyes drowsily; "sure, you haven't forgotten you are going to be married to-day? And there's the young gentleman himself playing in the garden with your brother, and never so much as set eyes on his bride!" These words of nurse's effectually roused me.

'"What!" cried I, wide awake at length; "did he come then, nurse, after all? And was it very late? And what is he like?" I took a flying leap out of bed before I had finished my string of questions, and, mounting on the window-sill, looked out upon the garden and park. You know the window I mean; my bedroom was the same that Christie and Dolly have now--only, in my time the uneven oak boards were not hidden by a carpet, and there was one immense four-post bed hung with green taffeta, instead of two little curtainless French ones. No pretty toilet-table was in existence then, decked out with pink calico and white muslin. That little square table in the library, carved with grapes and vine-leaves, and men with goat's legs, used to stand in the middle of my room in those days, and I used to look at myself in a small oval mirror in an ebony frame that hung on the wall, and the top of which I had ornamented with my fox's brush. Extremely bare and uncomfortable such a room would doubtless seem to you, but it never struck me in that light. Compared to the boy's room, it was extremely well furnished--almost luxurious. However, I must not dwell upon my dear old room and its furniture. I liked it because it was my own, and I kept all my treasures there; but of course I cannot expect you to take the same interest in it--only, I thought perhaps you might like to know how Christie's bedroom looked when I woke there on my wedding morning nearly two centuries ago. It was a lovely morning, though very sharp and wintry. The sky was a pale-blue one, without a single cloud; and a little snow had fallen during the night, but only enough to scatter a few flakes among the dark glossy leaves and red berries of the holly trees, and to sprinkle the country with a light powdery covering that sparkled like diamond-dust in the sun. I could see the boys as I looked from my window: there they were, as nurse had said, careering about the garden--Roger's small wiry figure, Miles' square sturdy one, and Oliver a head and shoulders above them both; and there was also a fourth figure, towards which I strained my eyes with intense interest. But at such a distance very little was to be seen; my curiosity was obliged to be satisfied for the present with the discovery that he was taller and stouter than Oliver, but neither his face nor even the colour of his dress was to be distinguished. This bird's-eye view of my bridegroom was unsatisfactory, being cut short by nurse, who dragged me indignantly down from the window-seat just as Lord Desmond was aiming at Oliver's head with a snow-ball, and I was watching in breathless excitement to see whether it would hit.

'"Lack-a-mercy! Mistress Frances, do you want to catch your death of cold on your wedding day, and for all the company to be at church before you are dressed?"

'Not wishing to bring down either of these calamities on my head, I reluctantly allowed myself to be drawn away from the window, and submitted passively to a longer and more elaborate toilet than I had ever undergone in my life before. Meanwhile I consoled myself by asking nurse all manner of questions about the bridegroom,--what he was like, who were his companions, and the time and manner of his arrival. I could not get a great deal of news out of her,--she was too much wrapped up in the splendours of my bridal gear. Only now and then, between her bursts of enthusiasm over each piece of finery in turn, and her pathetic warnings to me to "have a care of such brave, goodly raiment," did she find time to impart in snatches the following information.

'Sir Harry Mountfort had arrived the previous night with his ward the young Lord Desmond, and his little niece Mistress Agnes Blount, who was to be one of my bride-maidens. The house of New Court, Sir Harry's home, was about twenty miles from Horsemandown, and the travellers were nearly half-way upon their road when a report reached them of highwaymen being in the neighbourhood. This rumour, though vague and doubtful, was nevertheless somewhat alarming, as the country through which their journey lay was extremely wild and lonely; especially one part of the road through the Boarhurst woods--those woods where you had your picnic last summer. There were no broad, smooth carriage-drives through them, though, in our time; only a narrow bridle-path, through which Lord Desmond and his companions must ride in single file. So Sir Harry thought it prudent to go back for a larger escort, and it was on that account that they had not reached Horsemandown till ten o'clock in the evening (just an hour after mamma had, much to my indignation, ruthlessly sent me to bed). Thus much I contrived to draw out of nurse, by dint of persistent cross-examination all the time I was being dressed; also, that Lord Desmond was a dark young gentleman, a fair-spoken lad enough, and not ill-favoured, but nought to set beside Master Oliver, with his bonnie blue eyes and yellow locks.

'"As to little Mistress Blount, she was so wearied, poor lamb!" said nurse, "that she scarce kept her eyes open to eat her supper; and when my lady told me to put her to bed, she was not so loth to come as you were yesternight, Mistress Frances."

'I was rather anxious to go down to breakfast in full bridal array, from the rich lace veil to the long white gloves embroidered with silver thread; but nurse was greatly scandalized at such a suggestion.

'"A pretty notion, forsooth!" quoth she with a derisive snort. "What! Mistress Fan, would you have those beautiful lace ruffles dip into the trenchers, and get steeped in honey and conserves? Sure, Master Oliver's basin of milk would be pouring over your fine kirtle, before breakfast was over. No, no; I am going at least to send you to church fit to behold, happen what may afterwards."

'And mamma coming in while we were disputing settled the point instantly in favour of nurse's decree. I could not argue with mamma, so I was silenced as once; and quietly submitted to wear one of the pretty new dresses, which had been made for my wedding outfit. Mamma sent nurse away, saying that she would finish dressing me herself; and I was glad to be alone with her, for I had seen much less of her than usual of late. Ever since Sir Harry had left us, rather more than a fortnight before, there had been a constant bustle of preparation going on in the house. It was not only my approaching wedding that caused this bustle,--the Christmas festivities had also to be prepared for; and mamma had been busy from morning till night. Besides the roast beef and boar's head, the plum-pudding and mince-pies, for our own household, there was Christmas cheer for the poor people of the village to be supplied,--blankets and fuel and clothing to be given away. Then there were my wedding clothes, too, for mamma to think about. Such an ample new wardrobe had been provided for me, that I began to think that my husband and I were to take up our "splendid position at court" at once, after all, instead of waiting till the far-off time of being grown-up. I could not help feeling considerable pride and satisfaction in these new clothes of mine; they were made in such a much less childish way than my old ones, and cut so much more in the fashion of the day. Once, when nurse was asleep after dinner, I gave Oliver a private view of them; but he made such horrible faces of ridicule and contempt, that my own respect for them began to diminish on the spot.

'It certainly was wearisome work having these things continually tried on. "Pride feels no pain," nurse and Rebecca used to assure me when they pounced upon me just as I was rushing into the garden with the boys to feed the rabbits, or into the kitchen on the chance of getting a stray dainty from the manifold good things in preparation there. Nevertheless my pride generally gave way, on these occasions, to the twofold pain of being obliged to stand still, and of seeing the boys run off without me; and I used to pout and fume and twitch till it became hard to tell which was most out of humour--nurse, Rebecca, or myself.

'"What is the use of my having all these grand new things if I am not to have a house of my own, but to go on living at home just the same as ever?" This question suddenly struck me one day, and I asked nurse; whereupon she shut her eyes and shook her head, remarking that "little ladies shouldn't be curious;" after which she gave vent to a doleful and ominous sigh, and kissed me, muttering something about a "poor thoughtless dear." Now, as mamma was putting the finishing touches to my toilet, arranging my tucker, and smoothing the hair that always seemed to get into disorder if I moved my head, I put the same question to her; but she only smiled a little and stroked my head, telling me that I should know everything in good time. "But, madam," I persisted, "is Lord Desmond going to stay here, and live with us, and play with me, and do lessons like Oliver?"

'"No, my dear Fan," she said, "he will not stay with us, neither will you go away with him; but that is all I can tell you at present. To-morrow we shall have time for a little talk together, and then you shall hear all about your father's--about our plans for you. Now, sweetheart, you shall say your prayers to me this morning; and then we must go down to breakfast, and present you to this little bridegroom of yours." My mother said these last words playfully, and her own bright smile shone in her eyes for a moment; but in the next they were swimming with tears, and her voice sounded very odd and husky when, after I had prayed as usual for her, my father, and my brothers, she bade me pray also that my husband might be blessed, and that when I grew up to be a woman I might keep the promises which I was going to make to-day.

'How well I remember the sudden rush of shyness which came over me as I went down the staircase that morning! Never in my life before had I felt so painfully and intensely shy. Miles and Roger passed us, extremely snowy and wet and rosy, running up to their nursery breakfast, and at that instant I had a strong inclination to burst away from mamma and fly after them.

"I say," whispered Roger confidentially, catching my sleeve as he passed, "your husband wants to know if it makes you angry to be snow-balled."

'"Poor Fan," said Miles with heartfelt commiseration as he glanced at my dress, "I suppose she will never be able to make snow-balls now, or catch carp any more!"

'Mamma drew her hand gently away from me when we reached the door of the breakfast parlour, and I followed her into the room with glowing cheeks, and eyes fixed on the floor. It was in what is now the billiard-room that we used to breakfast, and it seemed to me perfectly full of people. Though Sir Harry Mountfort had not been able to bring his ward till the night before, there had been no lack of guests staying in the house since Christmas-eve. It was the first time for two or three years that my father had been at home at this season; and Horsemandown was fuller of visitors, and more merriment had been going on in the shape of mumming, dancing, and Christmas games, than had ever been the case before in my recollection. When I rose up from the very deep and swimming courtesy with which the young ladies of my time were taught to greet their acquaintances, I was for a few moments only conscious of eyes bent upon me, and voices buzzing confusedly in my ears.

"Ah, here she is at last!" "Here is the little bride!" "Poor child, how shamefaced she is!" "Faith, a well-favoured little maiden too!" were some of the exclamations that greeted my entrance; while my father came toward me at once, kissed my forehead very affectionately, and led me, wavering between shyness and curiosity, up to one of the deep window recesses, in which Sir Harry Mountfort stood talking to a group of gentlemen. He broke off what he was saying, and advanced to meet me, exclaiming:

'"But here comes the heroine of the day--the fair bride herself! And now for the introduction! Faith, Algernon, I should not mind changing places with you a few years hence, if that face performs all that it promises." The last words were said in rather a lower tone, as Sir Harry leant his hand on the shoulder of a boy who was talking eagerly to Oliver, and who had not turned, as most of the other company had done, when mamma and I came into the room. He was obliged to do so now, however, and, with rather an embarrassed smile, came forward at his guardian's bidding, took my hand, and, murmuring a few words of greeting, reluctantly kissed my cheek. I had not the least idea of what I ought to say to him, and apparently he was in the same predicament with regard to me. Mamma was obliged to go and attend to her other guests, so I was left helpless, gazing at my future husband in dead silence for a full minute. I suppose he found this disagreeable, for he coloured intensely, and at length with a great effort managed to say, "Oliver has been showing me your ponies."

'I said, "Oh!" and then by a sudden inspiration added, "Which did you think the prettiest?"

'"Oh! Oliver's, without doubt."

'"_I_ think Hebe the prettiest," I said with decision. Silence fell on us once more, and I really thought this time it would last for ever. Never did I feel more grateful to Sir Harry than when he brought up his little niece to me, saying he hoped we should be great friends and see a good deal of each other.

'Agnes Blount set us at our ease directly. She was not at all shy; she found it possible to smile and answer prettily when my father politely hoped that she had recovered from the fatigues of her arduous journey. She told us all about the adventures she and her companions had met with the day before, appealing to Lord Desmond to confirm her accounts of the dreadful danger they were in from highwaymen, the darkness of Boarhurst woods, and the horrible state of the roads, until she set him talking as unrestrainedly as any of us. She won Oliver's heart by saying she was fond of rabbits, and mine by the interest she showed in hearing about the bridal preparations. The great banquet which had been preparing for so many days I described minutely, as indeed I was well qualified to do; for Miles and I had cried over the slaughter which had taken place in my mother's poultry-yard, and had only been comforted by watching the troops of red-armed cooks and scullions as they rushed hither and thither in endless bustle; while huge pasties, delicate cakes, mince-pies, and good things of all sorts, multiplied under their hands as if by magic. I whispered that the wassail bowl was to be thrice as large as usual, in my honour; and, finally, I imparted the important intelligence, that at the dance which was to conclude the day's festivities I was to appear in my bridal attire and open the ball. I don't think I had a very clear idea of how I was to manage this operation; but on that point Agnes managed to enlighten me, without showing any unfeeling superiority over my ignorance. She could do everything, I gradually discovered; at least a great many things that I could not, and which, therefore, I looked upon with respectful admiration. Sir Harry made her sing to us, in the afternoon, a dainty little song, with a harp accompaniment, which charmed everybody; and the graceful way in which she glided through the mazes of a minuet with one of our guests so delighted my father, that he paid her a formal and elaborate compliment on the elegance of her dancing. I remember being very much surprised at the time, to see him take so much notice of a little girl; but I found out afterwards why he took such an interest in Agnes Blount's accomplishments. Well, but I am getting on too fast. Of course you want to know all about my wedding, from the smoothing of the last crease in my voluminous satin train (the care of which was a source of dreadful anxiety to Agnes and her fellow bridesmaids) to the moment when Lord Desmond put upon my finger the tiniest gold wedding-ring in the world. It is a most bewildering scene to look back upon, even after all these years; and at the time I was so confused by what I had to do, so encumbered by the grandeur of my apparel, that I had but vague and indistinct ideas of what was going on around me. I remember the lines of eager faces which startled me when I stepped out of the coach at the churchyard gate. I recollect experiencing a sort of shock on seeing that the familiar path up to the church porch was covered with crimson cloth; but I think what struck me most of all with a sense of the solemnity of the occasion, was that Master Waynefleet whose thin locks I had contemplated for many a Sunday, combed back and tied with a piece of ribbon, was on this day resplendent in a curled and flowing wig, and wore a surplice literally crackling with starch. I believe I clung to my father's hand in a most undignified manner as he led me up the aisle. I have a vision of a rainbow-coloured crowd of people on either side of the altar; of mamma, a shade paler than usual, but trying to smile, in order to reassure me; of Oliver, in difficulties with his sword (which was only worn on state occasions, and was a source of mingled pride and embarrassment to its owner); of Roger, in the background, struggling desperately with nurse, in order to attain a lofty post of observation on the tomb of a crusading Dalrymple. But beyond this I saw nothing, and can only repeat what nurse told me afterwards, that "it was a gallant show, and did her old eyes good to look at it. I'd have gone ten miles barefoot any day to see you in all your bravery, Mistress Francis, dear, and that sweet young gentleman, my Lord Desmond, a-holding your hand so prettily, and your mamma, and all the grand ladies shedding tears for joy, as indeed it was most befitting they should."

'Nurse's praises and congratulations were the forerunners of a great many more to which I had to listen that day. At first I liked them, and thought it grand to be complimented on the "way in which I had borne myself on such a trying occasion;" but at last I grew very tired of hearing the same thing over and over again. The stiff, set speeches which people vied with each other in making, the perpetual allusions to my "tender years," and the hopes "that the union which had commenced under such propitious circumstances might hereafter be a source of great happiness to me, and of satisfaction to my parents," were very tiresome; and to all this I had to reply, as mamma had carefully impressed on me beforehand, "Madam, you do me much honour," or, "I thank you, sir, for your good wishes," while I made a profound courtsey to the lady or gentleman who addressed me. Things were not much better at the long, formal, wearisome entertainment which ensued, and which I thought never would be over. People made speeches and proposed toasts with every glass of wine they drank, and some of them drank a great many--so many that at last it was not quite easy to make out whose health they did propose; and when this point was settled, others seemed affronted at the toasts they had chosen.

'I thought it all very uninteresting, after the health of Lord and Lady Desmond had been drunk, and did not listen to what was going on. I only know that the noise got louder and louder; so that, by the time it was considered fitting that the ladies should retire to the withdrawing-room, the clamour was so great that it was almost impossible to distinguish what any one said. The last thing I saw, as we left the room, was Sir Harry Mountfort standing up, flushed and excited, holding a bumper of wine in one hand, while he brought down the other clenched fist with violence on the table, and called upon all present to fill their glasses and drink to the health of the Duke of York, the true heir to the throne.

'"What were they quarrelling about?" I asked Agnes Blount when the uproar had died away in the distance, and we had found a quiet corner to ourselves at the end of the long drawing-room.

'"Oh, politics, of course," she replied. "We always know at home, whenever the gentlemen get very much excited over their wine, and all speak at once, and don't seem to listen at all to what other people are saying, that they are talking about politics."

'"Well, but what are politics?" said I. "We don't ever hear anything about them here."

'"Oh, don't you know? They are all about the King, and the Parliament, Rochester, Halifax, and Godolphin, and a great many names I can't remember, for I never listen. But I should have thought you must have heard of them, for I know Sir Bernard Dalrymple always has more to say about all those people than anyone else who comes to my uncle's house."

"Then I suppose you have often seen my father before you came here?" I asked.

'"Oh yes; he has been there a great many times lately--I suppose to settle about your marriage. Algernon and I used to wonder what they could be talking about when we saw them pacing up and down the terrace by the hour together; till at last one day, just as we were going to the fish-ponds with some bread and honey to feed the carp, my uncle called Algernon to him and said, 'Come and shake hands with this gentleman, Algernon; he is going to give you his daughter to be your little wife.'"

'"Well, and what did Algernon say?" I asked eagerly; for, when Agnes arrived at this interesting point in the story, she hesitated.

'"I don't think he quite liked the idea at first. You see, he had not seen you then; and it seemed so strange and sudden an idea," said Agnes rather reluctantly.

'"But tell me exactly what he said," I persisted, with a not unnatural desire to know how my bridegroom had received the news which had excited me so much.

'"Why, he said, 'When I am grown-up, I suppose, sir?' 'Oh no,' replied Sir Harry; 'we will not put your constancy to so severe a trial. In six weeks' time your marriage is to take place.' Then Algernon grew very red, and looked at his piece of bread and honey so hard, that I thought he was making up his mind where he would take the first bite; but at last he looked up and said, 'If I must be married, sir, I would rather marry Agnes, because she knows where to find my fishing-tackle, and can always undo my line when it gets into a tangle.' My uncle burst into a great fit of laughter when he heard this, and Sir Bernard laughed a little too; but I grew very hot and uncomfortable, and thought I should like to run away. So I pulled Algernon's sleeve; but just then my uncle left off laughing and said, 'No, no, Algernon, I have no doubt that Agnes is much obliged for your good opinion of her; but, as her guardian as well as yours, I am afraid I must decline your kind proposal. And when you have seen your future bride, who is about the prettiest little damsel I know, you will, I trust, apologize to her father for having made such a proposition in his very presence.' Sir Bernard said no apology was needed. He shook hands with Algernon, and called him a fine fellow, and, turning to me, said he hoped to have the pleasure of seeing me at Horsemandown, and trusted I would be kind enough to impart to his daughter that knowledge of fishing operations which Lord Desmond thought so necessary in a wife. He looked very grave all the time, but I felt sure he must be laughing at me, and I had much ado to make my reverence and thank him without beginning to cry. That is how it was settled; and when Algernon found out that you had brothers, and that he was to have a week's holiday in honour of his wedding, he began to like the idea very much. For you know, when I am at school he has no companions at all at New Court, and his tutor and Lady Mountfort are so very strict and severe that he has but a dreary life of it."

'My feelings had varied to and fro during Agnes's recital. Sir Harry's complimentary remarks hardly made up for Algernon's indifference; but when she ended, I forgot his offences in pity for one whose only companions were a tutor and Lady Mountfort, whose stiff figure and severe expression of countenance had filled me with awe and dislike the moment I saw her. "How dreadful!" I exclaimed. "What should Oliver and I do if we had to live like that?"

'"Hush!" said Agnes; "don't speak so loud, or my aunt will hear you. She says children ought never to speak when they are in the same room as their elders, unless they are spoken to."

'"Oh! but to-day surely she would not mind. Mamma does not allow us, in general, to speak when any one is here; but on my wedding day"--and I drew up my head a little higher than usual--"things are different."

'"I don't know," replied Agnes, looking uneasily in the direction of Lady Mountfort; "she is so very particular. Perhaps I ought not to have told you all this, Frances."

'"I am very glad you have. Oliver and I have so often wanted to know something about Algernon, but mamma could not tell us much; and we never think of asking my father any questions."

'"What has Agnes been telling you?" asked Lord Desmond, who at that moment joined us with Oliver.

'"About New Court," interposed Agnes hastily, apparently afraid I should relate the whole of our conversation. "I was telling Frances how very, very strict my aunt is, and how quiet we are obliged to be in her presence. I am sure school is almost better, if it were not for the lessons."

'"Ah!" said Algernon with a heartfelt sigh, "I shall think it duller than ever, now I have been here. Only imagine, Agnes: they go out with the hounds once or twice a week here, with a groom who lets them do whatever they like! Why, when I go out riding at home, or whatever I do, there is always Master Hewling, with his starched countenance and croaking voice, saying, 'It is not fitting, my lord, that you should do this,' or, 'My duty to Sir Harry will not permit me to allow your lordship to do the other!' I have never been allowed to do what I liked since I came to Sir Harry's house--never!"

'"But I thought," said I with some dismay, remembering the brilliant castles in the air which Oliver and I had indulged in,--"I thought you had a fine house of your very own, with beautiful gardens, and park, and fishponds, and great stables as big as our whole house. That is what nurse told me!"

'"Ah!" said Algernon, looking so sad that I was quite sorry I had said anything about it, "that was where we lived when my father was alive. But it is of no use, for Sir Harry says I have not money enough to live there; and besides, it is sold--no, not sold--what is the word?--to somebody else."

'"Oh, but I heard something!" said Agnes, and then she stopped short and coloured, while we all looked very much interested.

'"Well, what did you hear?" asked Algernon eagerly. "I will know, Agnes."

'"I don't think I ought to tell," she said, faltering and looking very irresolute.

'"Did you promise you would not?" demanded Algernon. "No? Then tell me directly."

'And Agnes, who, as I found out afterwards, always did what everybody asked her, said: "It was only that I chanced to be in the room when my aunt was talking to Father Freeling about you, and she said, 'My husband has arranged a match for Algernon, which will put all these unfortunate money matters straight again. The young lady will have an ample fortune when she comes of age; and, what is better still, her father has undertaken to pay down, on her wedding day, a sum sufficient to clear off all those mortgages (wasn't that the word you meant, Algernon?) which Sir Harry's imprudent management rendered necessary.' 'Indeed!' Father Freeling said, 'I think Sir Harry has managed excellently well for the interests of his ward; and I suppose, on the lady's side, the title is considered'--I couldn't quite hear what; for just then my sampler frame dropped down, which I think reminded my aunt that I was in the room, for she spoke in a much lower tone after that, and I could only hear something about 'political considerations,' and the vote of Sir Harry being required for some 'parliamentary bill,' and so on. I could not quite understand what they meant, but I could see they thought you would be much richer for marrying Frances; so perhaps you will be able to go and live at your old home again. You would like that, Algernon?"

'"And we will all come and stay with you," cried Oliver, rather louder than prudence warranted; for we had been talking hitherto almost in whispers, in order to avoid the attention of our elders. I looked at Algernon to see what he thought of this proposal. He looked rather grave and puzzled; I think he understood a little better than we did the meaning of all those long words which Agnes had repeated so accurately, and which conveyed no idea to my mind at all, except that Agnes thought I was very rich; which struck me as being decidedly curious--my ideas of riches in those days being limited to the amount of money I had in an old china cup up-stairs in the nursery. I was just going to say that I had only at present one silver piece there, when the stiff rustle of Lady Mountfort's gown was heard approaching, and we all sank into silence. I should most probably have forgotten all about this conversation, so little did I understand the meaning of Agnes's words, had not Algernon much later in the evening said to me in a low voice:

'"Perhaps, Frances, you had better not talk about what Agnes told us to any one. She was not intended to hear it; and--and--somehow I fancy that your father and my guardian would not be over-pleased if we said anything about it."

'"Very well, I will not," I replied, wondering very much what part of Agnes's communication it could be which was likely to make the good-humoured Sir Harry angry.

'"You can keep a secret, I suppose?" said Algernon, surveying me, as I thought, rather contemptuously.

'"Of course," said I in an offended tone; "I keep all Oliver's. But" (my curiosity here becoming too much for my dignity) "I wish you would tell me why."

'"I can't," replied Algernon, "for I don't quite know myself; but I shall find out some day all about what they were saying. I wish I had heard it before; it has something to do with the reason you and I were married,--that is quite clear."

'"When you are grown-up, you will understand, I suppose," said I.

'"O yes; long before that."

'"But it won't make any difference," said I decidedly. "We can't be unmarried again, however we may wish it, I know; for mamma told me so."

'"Well, I didn't say I wished to be unmarried, did I?" demanded my bridegroom not very graciously, and colouring very much as he spoke.

'"Oh no," I said, feeling guiltily conscious of what Agnes had told me. "And I daresay we shall like it very much when we are grown-up."

'"Of course," replied Algernon. "And in the meantime it does not much matter, because I don't suppose we shall see each other very often."

'"Oliver thought you would come here and stay with us sometimes," I remarked. "He is always wishing for a boy of his own age for a companion, because Miles and Roger are so little."

'"Ah! I should like that," said Algernon, who evidently regarded a brother-in-law as a much more interesting and valuable acquisition than a wife. "But Sir Harry told me a little while ago that he was going to present me at court as soon as Parliament met, and that it had already been settled that I should be appointed one of the Duchess of York's pages."

'"Oh," said I, rather struck by this piece of intelligence. "Shall you like that? what will you have to do?"

'"I don't know exactly; but there are a great many pages--boys of my own age; so it is sure to be better than New Court at any rate, where there is no one at all to talk to when Agnes is away. And she is only a girl, after all."

'This remark was so exactly what Oliver would have made under similar circumstances, that I did not feel offended, and only asked whether Agnes always came to New Court in her holidays.

'"Yes; she has nowhere else to go. Her father and mother are dead, and Sir Harry is her guardian; and he promised her father that she should never be made a Roman Catholic; so that is why he sends her to school at Madame St. Aubert's. You know"--and Algernon lowered his voice to a mysterious whisper--"Lady Mountfort is a Papist, and she is always trying to convert people."

'"And is Sir Harry one too?" inquired I in a tone of horror; for to be a Papist in those days meant to belong to a religion proscribed by Act of Parliament, and hated by all good Church of England people.

'"I don't know exactly," said Algernon, "but he always does whatever she likes."

'Poor Sir Harry! I pitied him from my heart; and wondered more than ever how it happened that he should be the husband of such a sour-faced, disagreeable dame as Lady Mountfort.

'"I daresay she would like to make a Papist of me," he continued; "but she never shall; for my father was a Protestant, and I mean to be just like him."

'I thought this resolution sounded heroic, especially as I believed Lady Mountfort quite capable of inflicting a dungeon, bread and water, and perhaps even the rack, upon any unfortunate person whom she wished to convert; and I respected Algernon accordingly. He and I became very good friends before the evening was over, though I must say I infinitely preferred my first friend, Sir Harry, who danced with me several times--helped me out when I made mistakes, or appeared not to observe them--called me "Madame la Countesse"--and made himself so amusing, that I found myself many times regretfully wishing that I could have been married to him instead of to Algernon.

'Ah! well. People are not always quite so charming as one fancies they are; and I never liked Sir Harry so well after I discovered that it was he who brought about what I then considered as the greatest misfortune that could happen to me. He persuaded my father that I ought to be sent to school.

'Dear me! what floods of tears I shed when this dreadful fact was first announced to me. It was after all our guests had gone--when the gaieties of that exciting Christmas-time were over and done with--when I was, to all intents and purposes, only little Frances Dalrymple again, with all my short-lived splendour put away out of sight, like that wedding gown which nurse had packed so carefully in the great walnut chest, with dried lavender sprinkled between its shining folds.

'To be sent to school!--till the way to Taunton! I thought I might almost as well be sent to prison at once; and said so, in the midst of my tears, to mamma.

'"I shall never be allowed to run about, or play in the garden, or ride! Oh mamma, what will Hebe do without me?"

'Mamma almost smiled when I reached this climax, though she had looked grave enough just before; and seeing the smile, I went on in a more melancholy voice than ever:

'"Oh mamma, I didn't think _you_ wanted me to go away."

'"Frances, Frances, you don't know what you are talking of," said my mother, taking me on her lap (great girl as I was), and holding me very tight in her arms. "Do you really suppose I shall not miss you a great deal more than Hebe will?"

'"Then why do you let me go?" I whispered, after a good many more tears at the idea of mamma thinking I cared more for Hebe than her.

'"Because your father thinks it best for you," was the answer--the answer with which mamma used to silence us even in our most rebellious moods. No one ever thought of disobeying his commands; and my hopes sank lower and lower.

'"But, mamma," I said despairingly, looking down at the little gold ring I was so proud of being allowed to wear, "surely married ladies don't go to school. I thought they did whatever they liked."

"Indeed they don't always, even when they are grown-up, Frances," she said with a little sigh. "If I did exactly what I liked, I should keep you at home with me, instead of sending you to school; but you see I have to trust to some one else to know what is best for you, and so must you. Why, it is just because you are Lord Desmond's wife, that your father thinks you ought to learn a great many things that I cannot teach you properly. If you were going to live down here in the country all your life, perhaps it would not matter so much; but when you are grown-up, you will most likely have to go out a great deal more into the world, and mix with a great many more people than I ever did; and you would find it very inconvenient to be ignorant of things which every one else knows quite well. For instance, you would like to be able to sing and dance as well as Agnes Blount."

'"I am sure I never could," I said, feeling as if Agnes's attainments were far beyond me, but beginning to have some glimmering perception of what mamma meant.

'"You must ask her to help you. You are to go to the school where she is now--Madame St. Aubert's. So you see you have one friend there already; and I have no doubt you will soon make many more. So cheer up, my foolish little Fan. You look as woebegone as if you were going to be sent to the Tower."

'Mamma's words were more cheerful than her face when she said this; and, as she put me down from her knee with a kiss, I began to see that the parting was as hard for her as it was for me; and I managed to say, though not without a deep sigh:

'"I don't suppose they will be half such good playmates as Oliver and the others; but I will try and bear it; and I will learn everything as quickly as I can, that I may come back sooner."

'"That's my good child," said mamma, patting my head approvingly. "And remember, there are always the holidays to look forward to. How you will enjoy them!"

'But the holidays seemed too far off for me to have much pleasure as yet in looking forward to them; and I crept away, in extremely low spirits, to tell Oliver of the fate that was in store for me.

'I need not tell minutely of all the days which followed before the time of my departure arrived. They seemed to me to be few enough, and to fly past with a rapidity that was quite dreadful. I spent most of them in visiting all my favourite spots in the park and garden--in saying good-bye to everybody, high and low, around Horsemandown--and in giving Oliver minute directions as to the health and treatment of my many pets. I will leave you to imagine my farewells, and take up my story six months after my arrival at that dreaded school, where happened all the adventures which make my history worth hearing.'