The Seamstress; or, The White Slave of England — page 73: what you’re looking at

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

66 THE SEAMSTRESS. On the morrow the lovers met again ;—and Vir- ginia, without alluding in words to the generous conduct of her intended husband, nevertheless showed him by her manner and her looks how fully she appreciated the generous consideration of which she was the object. Day after day, during the next fortnight, did they meetin the park ;—and on every occasion did they observe in each other fresh traits to demand their admiration and strengthen their love. At last Charles induced Virginia to accom- pany him as far as one of the fashionable streets at the West End; and there he delicately hinted his desire that she .should select at some jeweller’s establishment the ornaments which she fancied for her bridal. But to this proposal the maiden re- “turned a decided negative,—assuring her lover that he would only cause her pain by placing her in a position that would tend any farther to remind her of her dependence upor his generosify. The Mar- quis persisted not for another moment: and ere they parted that day, he succeeded in winning from her an assent that their marriage should take place at the expiration of another fortnight. if Trivial as the little incident of the walk to the West End may now appear to the reader, it will shortly prove to have been not altogether unim- portant. For while the Marquis of Arden and Vir- ginia Mordaunt were proceeding along the fashion- able street aboye alluded to, they were observed by Mademoiselle Clementine, the Duchess of Bel- mont’s French lady’s-maid;—and this prying abi- gail had no difficulty in recognizing the young |} seamstress whom she had seen on one occasion in Grosvenor Square. A feeling of rancorous jealousy took possession of Clementine: for she herself, even from her comparatively humble and dependent con- dition, had not only conceived a profound passion for the handsome Marquis, but had ventured to cherish the most exalted hopes and soaring aspi- rations with regard to this secret love of her’s! '/ To be brief, Mademoiselle Clementine followed _ the youthful lovers at a distance which enabled her to watch their movements without being observed by them:—and her quick eye speedily convinced her that the delicate attention and respectful admi- ration paid by the Marquis to the seamstress, were not the traits of that conduct which a man would observe towards a pensioned mistress. Clementine therefore concluded that something more important than a mere passing amour was upon the tapis;— and she continued to follow the young couple, who were too much absorbed in their own affairs to dream for an instant of the possibility of being thus ob- served and pursued. - She saw them take leave of each other;—and when they had parted, she continued to follow Vir- ginia until she discovered the place where the maiden resided. CHAPTER XX, THE DUKE’S DAUGHTERS. THE reader will be pleased to remember that nearly three months had elapsed since the splendid enter- tainment which closed in so sad and shocking a manner at Belmont House. During this interval the young, handsome, and accomplished Earl of Mostyndale had been a constant visitor at the ducal mansion; and his addresses were assiduously paid to Lady Mary Melcombe. Nor was this beautiful and amiable being indifferent to the many good qualities of her suitor;—and when he seized the golden opportunity to whisper the tale of love in her ear, her blushes confirmed the hopes which he had ventured to entertain. Yes—she loved him in return—and as there appeared to be no earthly bar- rier in the way of their happiness, Lord Mostyn. dale solicited and obtained the young lady’s per- mission to communicate with her father upon the subject. We may as well here pause to remark that the Earl was not the only frequent visitor at Belmont House during the last few weeks. Mr. Collinson nad suddenly grown into a close intimacy with the Duke, and appeared to have what might be called “the run of the mansion.” That is to say, he called when he chose—remained as long as he liked —and often stayed to dinner without any express invita- tion. The Duke treated him as a familiar friend ;— and the ladies of the family dared not therefore dis- play any annoyance at the frequency of ‘his visits. Lord Mostyndale was however invariably cold, haughty, and distant towards the attorney ;—for the Earl, naturally generous and strietly honourable, could not endure the society of a man whom report declared to have amassed a fortune by all kinds of slimy ways, aud who frequently displayed in his discourse the utter selfishness of his character. But Collinson did not appear to trouble himself about the frigid reserve with which the Earl of Mostyndale treated him. He seemed perfectly con- tented with the familiar footing which he had gained in the ducal mansion, and from which he was very well assured that neither the Earl nor any one else could dislodge him. If he called when the sisters and Lord Mostyndale were seated together in the drawing-room, he would not appear to feel that he was not wanted: but, behaving just as if he knew that he was a welcome guest, he would draw a chair close to either Lady Clarissa, or Lady Mary, as the phantasy might seem to strike him, and begin to converse with all the ease in the world upon the current topics of the day. Sometimes, if he saw . that Lord Mostyndale was particularly attentive to the junior sister, he would actually thrust himself as it were in between them, and compel the young lady to listen to him: and this manceuvre he prac- tised with an art so well glossed over, that it could neither be viewed with offended looks nor yet be denominated downright rudeness. On other occa-. sions he would seem to take a pleasure in engrossing Lady Clarissa’s attention, without paying any par- ticular notice to Lady Mary ;—and thus he appeared to arrogate to himself the right of monopolising the society of either sister according to his own good will and pleasure. The Duchess of Belmont was very rarely pre- sent in the drawing-room when these little scenes took.place. Since her recovery she had courted the solitude of her own suite of apartments during a considerable portion of each day ;—and indisposi- tion was likewise pleaded frequently as the apology for her absence from the dining-table. As for the Marquis of Arden, he seldom or never courted the society of his sisters: for when he was not walking with his beloved Virginia in the Regent’s Park, he DOOkKS () : 0) im