The Mysteries of the Court of London Vol. 4 — page 221: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

awww 6 = oF Pmw te » = y= -_ L 208 Through the eldest sister's frame, however, did @ sudden thrill of horror sweep, as she recalled to mind Mrs. Ranger’s injunction relative to Loftus and Lady Prescott. “Jf they are to live, then must you find the opportunity of breathing the word to Maravelii: but if they are to die, then nothing need be said and the doctor will do his work !” Such were the words Mrs, Ranger had whispered to Agatha during their interview of the evening: but the word had xot beer breathed in Maravelli’s oar, and he therefore would do his work! Ali! if Agatha only knew that Lady Prescott was alregdyno more—that the poison had been used by suicide lips—and that Maravelli no longer dieamt of new crimes, but only thought of shield- ing the past ones,—she would have been spared, this fresh piroxysm of horror and dismay which now seized upon her. But stricken speechless thereby, she gave no audible vent to her feelings: and as she thus walked with her two sisters in silence, they in the obscurity of night observed not the ghastly workiogs of her couutenanee. CIIAPTER CLXIII. THE LAST ACT OF THE NIGAT'S TRAGEDY. It is here necessary to remind the reader that when Bergami had absented himself from the din- ner-table at the villa, under pretence of dining with { a friend, it was for the purpose of hastening to Dr. ' Maravelli’s house and making Jocelyn Loftus ac- quainted with all that had taken place during the | few hours since they parted in the middle of | the day. Thus Bergami had informed our hero of ' all the strange and startling revelations which he | had wrung fiom Mrs. Hubbard, and all that had | taken place between himself and the three sisters | on the shore of the lake. He had also explained to Loftus word for word what he had said aud done when Jeft alone with Emma Owen; and ere they parted, it was,thgn agreed that Loftus should re- ' pir to the villa during the night, immediately aiter hs interview should have taken place with the three young ladies at Dr. Maravelii’s. It was iu pursuance of this understanding, with Bergami, that Jocelyn Lofius was now wending his way from the physician’s house towards the valla; and wile the three sisters were returning thither by the most direct route, our hero was taking the more circuitous path across the field. Dut then, as he proceeded at a much quicker pace than the Misses ' Owens he arrived at the point of destination before, | them. . Ou reaching the private door in the garden wall, he knocked three times; and it was immediately opened by Bergami, who had been there awaiting his coining for the last half-hour. In a few hurried words Jocelyn related to the royal equerry all the dreadful tunings that had occurred, and how the drama of the night had episodically merged into a 4 terrific tragedy iu respect to Lady Prescott and the Countess of Curzon. Bergami was horror-atricken on hearing of these frizhtful incidente: but as there was now / ttle leisure for comment, he proceeded . without loss of time to conduct Jocelyn into the ' villa, Ascending the back staircase together, they tred noiselessly, go as not to attract attention iu case the sisters should have already entered or Mrs. Lenore a 2 el a nn ne nn eee — ee ee eee 2 oe eee See Pe Oe coe = ~~ _ THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. q— = 5 Ranger should be upon the alert. But all was atill— no one appeared—and Bergami led the way to his own chamber. “T have come,” said Jocelyn, as he off his cloak and hat, “ hecause of the appointment which we made: but I should scarcely think that Emma will have the hafdihood to perform the part which she promised you, cousidering everything that has occurred.” ° « “ But methought you said in the garden ere now,” observed Bergami, “ that you concealed the crowning tragedy from the sisters in consideration of their state of mind 2?” “TI did so,” answered Loftus. “But the specta- cle of her murdered paramour——” “ Mardered did you say?” Cried Bergami, start- ing with horror. “Yes: Colonel Malpas and also the Euarl of Curzon were most foully murdered,” rejoined our hero. “The marks of the fatal wounds were upou them——-Ah! and must we not associate the sui- cide of those ladies with the dread crime of mur- der comunitted upon these two men ?” “ Heavens!” ejaculated Bergami, “* what horrors are growing out of these adventures wherein we aie engaged! But did the spectacle of her mur- dered paramour produce so very powerful an im- pression upon Emma?” “ Rather of horror than of grief,” rejoined Loftus, “I noticed moreover that she was the first to re- sume her fortituade——” * Then depend upon it Be will keep her appoint- ment with me to-night,” interrupted Bergamu. “You speak with ocomfidence, Baron,” said Lof.us; “aud I hope that it wid prove as youd oun. | jecture. For if thia one point be clearel up, thea | are uur investigations complete in alltheir details. Agatha confessed, as I ere now told you in the garden, that she was the mother of the babe: she moreover admitted in her ravings that it was her sisters whu personated the Priucess in the ermine cloak and the green silk hood, which they had been enabled by their position about the royal person to borrow for the specific occasions when they were uscd———"” “Oh! what refinement, of atrocious perfidy!’ exclaimed the Buron, trembling with indiguatiun. “Let our consolation be that we have uuravelled the complicated skein so sucessfully,” observed GLofdis: “and now it is the last kuot which we are about to unt&—that is to pay, if Emma should really come.” “] am convinced of it,” said Bergami, with the same alr of eonfidenco as before. “That young woman is devoured wit! iusatiable passions: she is a perfect Mes alina in her desires. Ah! Me. Loftus, you can understand me when I assure you that never, never did I du such vivlence to my feelings in every respect as when affecting to fall | into the snare wuich that syren spread fur mal [ | hated the hypocrisy of the part whien I was play- | ing—hated 3st all the more bit:erly because I was compelled to assume the passion of love where [ in reality experienced naught but loathing aud aversion! For beattifal as that young oreature ia, yet did her very touch send a cold shudder through me as if from the contact uf a reptile. At the time that I was playing that hypocritical pars and forcing myseif to enaét the character of a yross — 2 2 on ee Oe ge oe sensualist, it secmed to me as if I were committing & ECOMNIE OG O) cS) CO