The next day brought a pleasing change to the current of Emma's
thoughts. She was walking slowly under the old trees on the lawn, and
was not aware of any one's approach until an arm was suddenly clasped
round her waist, and she found herself obliged to submit to several very
unceremonious kisses from her lover, who had contrived as usual thus
unexpectedly to meet her.
"How you do startle one," cried she struggling to release herself. "I
will have you indicted for assault."
"_Tears_, Emma," said he looking at her attentively; "what are those red
eyes for?"
"You had better not ask questions," replied she, "lest you should hear
unpleasant truths."
"But I will ask questions, and you must answer me!" said he earnestly;
"I cannot let you cry without knowing the reason."
"But suppose there is none, what then?" suggested she playfully.
"Then I shall feel under the necessity of effacing the marks of your
tears in the best way I can," replied he.
She then relieved her mind and his feelings by telling him the whole
history of their yesterday's excursion and its termination, which led of
course to almost interminable references to past events, explanations
and details relative to Mr. Morgan himself, of all which until this
moment he had been profoundly ignorant. The slanders circulated relative
to Emma, the expedition of Lord Osborne to rebut them, and the trouble
he had taken on her account made a great impression on him, and he took
a vehement dislike to Croydon and everything connected with a place
where Emma had been exposed to such misrepresentations. Of course he
would not admit that she was in the least degree to blame for past
events, or that she had showed any undue severity towards Mr. Morgan—on
the contrary, he thought she had throughout been too lenient towards
him; but this was an error arising from the rare goodness of disposition
which led her in so remarkable a degree to tolerate the imperfections
and weaknesses of those around her, of which her attachment to himself
was a conspicuous example.
He had some news to communicate in return for hers, which though not of
quite so tragical a nature, was to him a great disappointment.
The rectory house at Carsdeane proved to be in so extremely dilapidated
a state that, in order to make it at all a comfortable residence, Lord
Osborne proposed to rebuild it entirely. In the meantime there was no
suitable home for Emma, and he feared their marriage must be delayed at
least for some months, instead as he had hoped of taking place
immediately.
This was a very great disappointment to them both. Emma had ventured to
hope that the Autumn would have seen her installed in a settled home, of
which she would be the mistress, and they tried very hard to persuade
themselves and each other, that it would not be more prudent and
advisable, to wait till Mr. Howard had a house to receive his bride.
They might have succeeded perhaps in thinking so themselves, but they
could not induce their friends to agree in the decision. On the
contrary, like most friends when two young people wish to marry, they
all concurred in considering it a very great advantage that they should
wait a little.
And I am far from supposing them wrong in the idea. Taking into
consideration Emma's youth, for she was not yet quite twenty, and the
shortness of their acquaintance, which had as yet lasted barely six
months, I am of opinion that the delay even of a whole year would have
been by no means detrimental to their future happiness. It was perfectly
natural that both Mr. and Miss Bridge should adopt this idea, and I
trust equally so that since they urged it, Emma should yield to their
prudent persuasions: the more especially as appearing to yield at this
time and agreeing to wait a twelvemonth, would by no means preclude them
from entirely changing their minds in a couple of months time, in case
they should see any occasion for so doing.
As to any difficulty about Emma's home in the meantime, Miss Bridge
declared it could not exist, since her house was always open to her, and
she could regard her in no other light than as her adopted child. In
vain Mr. Howard remonstrated. Miss Bridge was so firm in her conviction
that Emma had better spend the next year in her house, and professed so
much satisfaction at the idea, that he at last declared, in despair, he
was certain it was for the sake of securing her company that Miss Bridge
interposed to prevent the marriage.
Before however the two disputants could settle their conflicting claims
on Emma's society, a new turn was given to the affair by the
intervention of her youngest brother. He should want a companion at
Chichester, and it had always been an understood thing he declared, that
Emma was to live with him till she married. She readily admitted the
fact, and so it was settled; she was to accompany him to Chichester
immediately after Elizabeth's wedding, and remain there as he said,
"until they were tired of one another."
Howard yielded this point much more readily than the other. Carsdeane
was much nearer Chichester than Burton, and he could easily visit her
there. Besides his penetration led him to surmise that Sam would be soon
desirous of placing another person at the head of his establishment;
that a sister's society would not long content him, and that when this
change took place, he would probably be thankful to be relieved from the
charge he was undertaking. He thought it likewise a great advantage that
she should be removed entirely from Croydon for a time, and from the
painful impressions which he observed seemed still to haunt her. She had
suffered so much there, as he now began to understand, that he could not
help wishing that she should see the place no more; a wish in which she
certainly did not concur when she remembered it would be Elizabeth's
future home.
The wedding that week was a very quiet one: the death of Mr. Morgan had
thrown a damp over the whole town from which it could not at once
recover, and no one felt inclined to indulge in festivities where he
would be so much missed. Accordingly everything was conducted in the
simplest manner, to the great disappointment of Mrs. Watson, who vowed
it was hardly worth putting on her new and handsome clothes, when there
would be no one to see her at Church.
It was some alleviation to her distress of mind however to remember that
they would be equally handsome and more interesting after the wedding
was over, and she should be able to appear in uncommon splendour, when
returning all the congratulatory visits on some subsequent occasion.
When all was over, and Mrs. George Millar and her husband had set out
from Croydon to make a short visit to London, which the bride had never
seen, Emma took an affectionate leave of Annie Millar, and returned to
the Rectory to prepare for her journey.
Sam remained a few minutes behind; it was only to ask Annie if she still
thought marriages as foolish as she had always declared them to be.
"Twenty times worse," said she, "they are not only foolish but sad, and
I shall consider myself particularly fortunate when this miserable day
is fairly over."
"What do you consider the worst part of the affair," enquired he, still
lingering.
"Oh the leave takings," said Annie hastily, "if Elizabeth had never
married you would all have stayed on here waiting for it, and we have
been so happy for this last week. Now you are going, and you must take
Emma too!"
"And will you give me leave to flatter myself that you are sorry at my
going."
"I dare say you would not wait for my leave; men always take it for
granted that women sit down and cry when they leave them," said she
saucily.
"I should certainly entertain no such expectation Miss Millar; I am
aware my profession renders me too unpleasant in your eyes for you to do
otherwise than rejoice at my departure."
"Upon my word you make me out to be a very rational young woman,"
replied she; "when did I ever find fault with your profession, or
express a wish that you were other than what you are? Because I should
never have chosen the surgical profession myself is that any reason that
I should detest a man who did—or so long as you do not exercise your
skill on me, or in my presence, do you imagine I object to your
exhibiting it elsewhere?"
"I had much rather you should detest my profession than consider it with
indifference, Miss Millar."
She only looked down and blushed, then holding out her hand, said in a
hurried manner,
"Good bye, I must go!" and left him, to his great disappointment.
If Sam felt discouraged by this sudden termination to his interview, the
feeling lasted no longer than till the receipt of Annie's first letter
to his sister after they were settled at Chichester; for there the
allusions and reminiscences were of a most flattering kind, and the
frequent mention of his name, and the manner in which it was introduced
gave him very great pleasure.
Emma became reconciled to Penelope's marriage when she saw how well she
was suited to her situation in life, and though she did not greatly
admire her brother-in-law, he was so very superior to Tom Musgrove, that
she thought her sister quite fortunate in comparison with Margaret. To
forget everything that had passed of an unpleasant nature previous to
her marriage was the wisest source which her friends could adopt; and it
is so exceedingly common that there should be something which requires
forgetting, that if the relatives of all married couples acted in the
same way, there would be a great deal more of unity in the world than at
present.
Before she had been resident at Chichester three months, two events
occurred, which effected a change in her plans. One, as Mr. Howard and
many others had foreseen, was the engagement of Sam and Annie, and
preparations for their speedy marriage. The other was more unexpected.
Her aunt, whose sudden and ill-advised marriage had originally deprived
her of her home, exasperated by the unkind and unprincipled conduct of
her young husband, quitted him abruptly; procured a separation, and as
she still retained the control of her income, he was left very much as
he deserved to be, no better off than when he made his mercenary
marriage. She returned to England, wrote to Emma, then came to her; was
delighted with Sam, with Mr. Howard, and with everything she learnt of
their doings, past, present, or future. She made Emma a magnificent
wedding present, both in money and clothes, and declared her
determination of ultimately dividing her fortune between her youngest
nephew and niece. In the meantime, she took an elegant mansion in the
parish of Carsdeane, and insisted on the marriage taking place
immediately, and the young couple taking up their residence with her,
until the rectory house was prepared for them.
This advice was much too agreeable to be long resisted, and before Emma
and Mr. Howard had seen the anniversary of their first meeting, they
were man and wife.
Whether they ever repented the interference of Miss Bridge to delay, or
of Mrs. MacMahon to hurry the union, I leave entirely to the
imaginations of my readers to settle; satisfied with having done my duty
in detailing events as they really occurred.
There is but one more circumstance of any importance to relate; but that
is, that Lord Osborne, after Emma's marriage, joined a regiment abroad
as a volunteer—fought for some years in the Peninsular, and returned to
England about ten years after he had been refused by Emma, accompanied
by his wife, a very charming young Spanish lady, with whom he fell in
love, because her dark eyes reminded him of Mrs. Howard's.
He had forgotten the likeness long before he reached Osborne Castle; and
no one who saw Mrs. Howard when visiting the young bride, or watched his
devotion to Lady Osborne, could, for a moment, have imagined that Lord
Osborne's love could have had such a foundation.
I have nothing more to say of any of the party, and only trust that all
who read my tale, may be convinced, as I am, that prudence, gentleness,
and good sense, will secure friends under the most disadvantageous
circumstances; but that marriage alone, unless undertaken with right
feelings and motives, cannot be considered a certain recipe for worldly
happiness.
THE END.
T. C. NEWBY, Printer, 30, Welbeck-street, Cavendish-sq.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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● Transcriber's Notes:
○ A few cases of inconsistent spelling were regularized.
○ p. 223: Rosa changed to Fanny ("You give me more credit than I
deserve a great deal, Fanny;)