Life at Miss Carleton's and life at Thorpe Castle were very different.
Marion had not been there very long before she began to feel most
perfectly happy, and to wonder how she endured the monotonous routine of
school.
The parting from Allan had really been terrible to her, his love had
for so long been her chief comfort and her only pleasure. She said to
herself that she should miss him most terribly; yet, if she had looked
into her own heart, she would have seen it was not so much him she
should miss as it was the novelty of his letters, his plotting, his
poetry, the stolen interviews, the hidden romance that she thought so
beautiful.
"You will not forget me, darling?" he said, pleadingly. "You will write
to me, and you will let me sometimes see you?" She promised faithfully.
She wept over leaving him, yet in some unaccountable way her spirits
rose when she came away; she felt more free, more at ease than she had
done for a long time.
"You must make the best use of the sunny days," said Lady Ridsdale.
"There is one advantage in having been so long at school--you will be
perfectly fresh to the world, and that is always a charm in itself. You
must give yourself up entirely to my guidance for a time."
Marion did so most willingly. Lady Ridsdale engaged a pretty, quick
Parisian as lady's maid; she invited young ladies of her own rank and
position to stay at the castle; she obtained every possible enjoyment
and pleasure for the girl.
This was something like. The hours seemed to fly like golden moments,
the very atmosphere was different. Here all was refinement, grace,
courtesy and kindness. Lady Ridsdale knew some delightful people, and
nothing pleased her so much as filling Thorpe Castle with visitors.
One and all were delighted with the young heiress. Her beauty, her
brilliant accomplishments, her simplicity, her frankness of character
and sweetness of temper made her a general favorite. She soon made up
for lost time. She learned to drive, to ride, to row, to do all the
hundred and one pretty things that mark the young lady of the world.
The gentlemen admired her exceedingly, she was so lovely, so candid. She
was never left alone. If she entered the drawing-room she was instantly
surrounded with a little court of admirers. When she wished to ride or
walk there was always some little contention as to who should accompany
her. It was very pleasant. Before she had been at Thorpe Castle long
Marion Arleigh was queen of the new world. In the midst of all her
happiness the first letter from Allan Lyster came like a thunderbolt.
She was naturally so frank, so candid, that the keeping of a secret was
most difficult to her. Her first impulse was to go to Lady Ridsdale and
tell her everything. Then she remembered that she had given a solemn
pledge of secrecy, and that she must not say one word.
It made her very unhappy. She did not like the sense of concealment. She
did not like having a secret of so much importance that she could share
with no one. Then it struck her, too, that the tone of the letter was
not quite what she liked; it was in some vague way different from the
tone of the people she was living with. She did not like that reiterated
petition, for secrecy was weighing heavily on her heart and soul. She
waited two days before answering that letter. She said to herself that
she ought to be very pleased to receive it, and that she was pleased;
yet something weighed on her mind and shadowed the perfect happiness she
had expected to feel.
Then she answered him, and again, for the first time in her life, she
sat with her pen in her hand, hardly knowing what to say. She had been
accustomed to writing page after page and never pausing. Since then
something seemed to have arisen in her life and to stand between them.
She did not care to tell him of the luxury of Thorpe Castle, the number
of visitors, the splendor of the entertainments.
"That will not interest him," she said; "his life is so different." A
strange sensation of uneasiness came over her as she remembered how
different it was. So she wrote a letter full of commonplaces, and when
Allan Lyster read it he bit his lips in fierce, hot anger.
"She is learning not to care for me already," he said. "She has never
written so coldly to me before."
Adelaide bade him to be of good cheer.
"I shall go to the castle at Christmas," she said, "and, rely upon it,
Allan, I will find an opportunity of sending for you. You need not be
anxious; there is no possible plea on which she can escape you now. If
you will take my advice you will not draw the chain too tightly; let her
feel that she is free."
Allan took her advice. He did not persecute her with letters; he wrote,
and filled his pages with love and flattery so sweet it could not tease
her.
And then when Christmas came around Adelaide filled the grand purpose of
her life--she went to Thorpe Castle. Her behavior there might have been
taken as a model. She was quite sure of Marion's affection, so she
devoted herself entirely to Lady Ridsdale; she waited upon her, she
solicited her advice, she administered to her the most delicate doses of
flattery. In short, she set herself to work to win Lady Ridsdale's
heart; but she did not succeed.
The mistress of Thorpe Castle did not like Miss Lyster; she merely
tolerated her, and that was for Marion's sake. With Lord Ridsdale she
succeeded better. Her subtle flattery and constant attentions made some
impression on him. He told his wife that Miss Lyster was a very amiable
girl, and he hoped she would often pass her vacation at Thorpe Castle.
My lady smiled suavely, and made no reply.
Adelaide wrote to her brother that he had no cause for fear.
"The first morning of my arrival," she said, "Marion took me to her
room, and we had a long talk about you. Have no fear; she is quite true
to you, and I have a scheme in my mind for getting you invited to the
castle."
One morning when Lady Ridsdale and Miss Arleigh were engaged with
visitors Adelaide asked if she might go through the picture-gallery.
Lord Ridsdale, flattered by the request, offered to go with her and show
her some of his especial favorites.
Miss Lyster was all enthusiasm, and she was tolerably well acquainted
with the first principles of art. She made some remarks that pleased and
interested his lordship. Then she was quite silent for some minutes,
and afterward sighed deeply. Lord Ridsdale looked at her. The sigh had
been such a profound one that he could not help taking some notice of
it.
"Are you tired?" he asked.
"No," she replied. "You are so kind, Lord Ridsdale, that I may tell you
of what I was thinking. I was wishing that this great privilege I now
enjoy could be given to my brother instead of me."
Lord Ridsdale looked benevolently interested, and she continued:
"I have but one relative in the world, an only brother, and he is an
artist. He lives on his art, and I was thinking what a privilege he
would consider it of what benefit it would be to him, if he could see
those pictures."
"Your brother is an artist! I see no reason why he should not profit by
this really beautiful collection of pictures. Would he like to visit
Thorpe Castle, do you think?"
"You are too kind, Lord Ridsdale. I should say it would be a glimpse of
paradise to him."
"Then by all means. Miss Lyster, write and ask him. I cannot extend the
invitation for any lengthened period, as we have so many visitors, but
if he will come for a week I shall be delighted to see him."
She thanked him until his lordship was in a perfect glow of benevolence
to think what a kind and generous action he had performed. His wife did
not look quite so pleased when he told her; but then, my Lord Ridsdale
was not a man of great observation.