Agnes, or, Beauty and Pleasure — page 194: what you’re looking at

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| mm a me me ee ee ae eae a eee eee ee ewe we wee oe —— ee ee a ee eee —_——_—— ee )3 186 AGNES; OR, BEAUTY AND PLEASURE. ‘oe nearer and nearer to each other—placing it in my | niary assistance; but it was with the greatest dif. | power to save your life—rendering me as it were | ficulty he could induce Winifred to accept auy- — ' ject of notoriety I necessary to you,—when I contemplate all these 4 things , “Yes,” interrupted Winifred, “there have in- deed been strange coincidences; and you Lave had it in your power to render me immense services. But never can I regard you otherwise than as a friend. Indeed, I will be candid with you, Mr. Dalbam,” continued Winifred, with blushing cheeks and downcast looks: “there bas been a love in my heart—perhaps if still lingers there—though I am endeavouring to stifle it——a love for an- other—one who is absent—who has himself suf- fered deeply 2 “You mean your cousin Gustarns,” said Ro- derick Dalham. “ Well, it is natural, Winifred; and may you both he happy together! Yet why did you speak of stifling this love of your’s ?” “Alas! because I know that the happiness which you so generously hope that we may enjoy, is an impossibility! If love be not dead in my heart, it must at least be triumphed over by the effort of my own strong will. Never will I ae- company Gustavus to the altar! never will I be- stow this hand upon bim! LI believe that he loves me yes, [am confident of it—and that he went forth into the great world with the hope that happier days would come when we should be united, never again to separate, And I too have dreamt the same !—but that dream can now never be realized !” “ Good heaven, Winifred!” ejaculated Roderick Daiham, “why do you speak in this desponding tone ?” ““Do you forget, sir,” asked the young girl, with a voice and look of melancholy sweetness, “that to your generosity I am indebted for the rescue of my life from the bangman’s loathsome touch and the halter’s hideous pressure? Have I pot passed through the ordeal of Newgate? have I not breathed the contaminating atmosphere of feionry ? Has not a horrible accusation been made against me ?—and though yesterday acquitted, yet is there no lingering degradation attaching itself to my name? Ina word, I have become an ob- ” “No, no — of sympathy!” ejaculated Dalham. | “The whole world now locks upon you as inno- cent !” “It may be so, sir—and I hope it is,” answered Winifred: but her look and her voice both alike inficated doubt and mistrust upon the point to which she was alluding. “At all events I feel that one who has passed through the dread ordeal from which I have just issuec, is not a fitting bride for a noble-minded, generous-hearted young man such as Gustavus.” “ Your mind, Winifred, has received a terrible | shock from recent circumstances,” responded Mr. | Dalham: “and you contemplate everything | through this morbid medium. Rest assured that you will think differently when your spirits ac- quire their wonted healthy tone. Yes—believe | we, you will yet be happy with your cousin Gus- | tarus !” Winifred shook her head mournfully ; and Ro- derick Dalham, fearing to pursue a topic which | was evidently painful, turned the discourse into | another channel, He delicately proffered pecu- thing from the contents of his purse—and then it 5% was only a small sum which she would take, so as ; Roderick Dalham departed, full of a tender admi- | to meet her expenses until her own industry with the needle should once more become productive. ration for the young girl; and she ascended to her o own chamber to reflect upon everything that had | passed at this interview. CHAPTER XXXIE CICELY’S NEW PLOT. Tr has been seen that Cicely, on her return from Edinburgh, continued to exercise the completest coercion over her uncle Mr. Timperley. This gen- tleman was only too glad to possess himself of the letter which bis niece had displayed to him, at the enormous cost of thirty thousand pounds. The sum was duly paid; for Mr. Timperley was very rich, and was accustomed to hold the chief portion of bis fands in a manner that should be readily available at a few hours’ notice. Hector Hardress —although in a measure prepared for any pro- ceeding however extraordinary on the part of his bride — was nevertheless as much astonished as pleased when he found that she had kept her word, and that her dower was so handsome. She now stipulated that the marriage ceremony should be duly performed according to the rites of the Eng- lish Church; and Hardress offered no objection. She was already his wife in point of law; and it could make but little difference to him that she should become his wife in point of religious cere- mony also, The marriage was accordingly solem- nized with the utmost privacy,—Mr. and Mrs. Timperley being the only witnesses. A marriage settlement had previously been drawn up by Mr. Timperley, in virtue of which Cicely exercised ab- solute control over her fortune: but she assured Hardress that so long as he conducted himself in a becoming manner towards her, he should be sup- plied with the means of enjoying all the pleasures of life and living according to his rank and sta- tion. “Mr. Timperley was careful to conceal any spite or vexation which he might cherish towards his niece for the coercive power which she had exer- cised over him. He was one of those men who always make the best of a bad job—he saw that Cicely’s marriage with a scion of the aristocracy would greatly increase his own consequence—and it was moreover his interest to keep on friendly terms with Cicely, for reasons which cannot be af present explained. Mrs. Timperley was so de- lighted at the brilliant alliance contracted by her niece, that she highly approved of what she be- © lieved to be her husband’s spontansous bequest of the thirty thousand pounds —although she mar- velled that he should have been so generous in ré= spect to the young lady’s dower. Immediately after the solemnization of the pri- vate marriage, the Hon. Mr. and Mrs. took a genteel house at Bayswater; and they fur- nished it elegantly, but not too expensively — otherwise a considerable encroachmeat would have ~ Gomichbooks