Ellen Percy; or, The Memoirs of an Actress — page 335: what you’re looking at

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ee 522 ELLEN PERCY; OR, THE MEMOIRS OF AN ACTRESS. But hastily dashing thom away, she gave her hand to Lord Frederick,—who at the instant was quailing beneath the look of mingled indignation and contempt, scorn and menace, whieh I flang upon him, We now all issued forth from the breakfast- parlour and ascended to the drawing-room; and on our way thither we did not happen to meet any one of the servants of the household—al- though they must by this time have begun to suspect that something unuseal was going to take place. We entered the drawing-room; and Mr. Norman at once hastened forward to shake hands with my father, and thereby convey to him the same token of forgiveness which he had al- ready received from Mrs. Norman and Juliet. The clergyman had put on his ecanonieals; his clerk was likewise in attendance, Lord Frederick and Juliet now wore a grave and solemn demeanour, which in each case served as @ mask to veil the real feelings which might be agitating within them; so that neither the minister nor his clerk were likely to notice that there was anything ex- traordinary in the present proeeedings. My father produced the special license which he and Lord Frederick had been to procure before coming to Hunter Street; and the ceremony commenced. It progressed—it concluded —and my friend Julieé was now veritably and beyond all pogsix bility of doubt Lady Frederick Ravenscliffe ! =e CHAPTER LVI. THE BLACK-EDGED LETTER. Yes, Julieé was now @ wife!—the wife of him who in the first instance had so cruelly outraged her—of him to whom in her anguish she had afterwards knelt imploring that he would bestow a father’s name upon her then unborn child—of him who had nevertheless abandoned her and had sought the hand of Lady Cecilia Urban—of him who had treated with cold silence the letter whieh had communicated to him the birth and death of his infant—of him who had only so recently in- sulted Juliet in the Green Room as if she were a licensed object for his libertine freedoms—of him who on the previous evening had been seated lovingly wits Felicia Gower, whose hand in mar. riage he had sought! Yes—of this young man, apparently so heartless and so destitute of all good principle, had Juliet now become the wife; and yet I was rejoiced at the accomplishment of a measure in which for the very best of motives I had taken so large a share! When the ceremony was over, Lord Frederick made a movement to kiss the cheek of his-bride; and she met him as it were half-way,—both thus sustaining appearances in the presence of the clergyman and the clerk. The minister—perceiy- ing that it was altogether a private affair, and no doubt in his own mind accounting for the fact from his knowledge that the bridegroom was a scion of a patrician family and the bride a ballet- dancer—hastened to take his departure so soon as the requisite documents were signed. Those pipers my father at once took up from the table, eld prescuted them to Mr. Norman,—saying in a low but emphatic tone, “ You are the best cus- todian of these proofs of your daughter’s mar. riage.” The clergyman and the clerk having retired, a strange embarrassing silence followed; for Lord Frederick Ravenscliffe, throwing himself upon a sofa, feli into a profound meditation, It was evi- dent to us all that he was reflecting upon the course which he should adopt towards his bride ; and none of us spoke a word. Mrs. Norman, though full of suspense as to what the young nobleman’s decision might be, drew her daughter aside and silently folded her in her arms, in mute but eloquent congratulation on the circumstance which had given her the honourable distinction of wife. Mr, Norman joined his wife and daughter at the extremity of the apartment: my father stood watching the countenance of Lord Frederick Ravenscliffe; and I sat down in a window-recess. Feeling all the awkwardness and constraint of the present scene, I sought for something that might serve for a momentary occupation, so as to avoid having the appearance of an undignified anxiety or curiosity in respect to what might be passing in the bridegroom’s thoughts. It was more me- chanieally than intentionally that I drew forth from my pocket the two letters which I had re. ceived; and returning Mr, Gower’s billet to that pocket, I proceeded to open Mary Gleutworth’s missive. The first fow lines startled me, and then filled me with the deepest afiliction, But my mind was still under the influence of that feeling of restraint which acted with the effect of a solemn awe; and no ejaculation escaped my lips. The tears fell from my eyes: I wiped them away, for they were blinding me; and I continued to read the letter. Then, in consequence of something which it contained, I glanced towards Juliet—and I glanced towards Lord Frederick Ravenscliffe: I was about to speak—I was on the very point of making some communication—when the young nobleman suddenly started to his feet-~and I held my peace. “ My destiny must be accepted !” he exclaimed, with the air of one who had after some delibera- tion made up his mind to a particular cours6; “and I must bend to all these new circumstances by which I am surrounded !” The Normans advanced from the farther ex- tremity of the apartment: my sire’s countenance showed that he was bewildered how to form a con. jecture relative to what Lord Frederick meant; and I was a prey to an equal amount of per- plexity. | “ Juliet,” said the young nobleman, advancing towards the bride, “you are Lady Frederick Ravenscliffe. I have wedded youm—and I acknow- ledge youas such, It is no compliment for me to declare that in many respects you are a wile of whom I need not be ashamed. The wrongs I have done you are immense! That you can ever love me again, is not for an instant to be sup- posed! But answer me one question. If I swear to you that I will behave well and kindly to you~ if I take God to witness that I will never again allude to that coercion whuse pressure has been brought to bear upen me—if in short I propose a general cessation of all rancours and animosities,— answer me, Juliet, will you Jive with me P” I saw that her countenance was changing Connicloool< ¢om