"Good morning," said Mr. Luzerne, entering Mr. Thomas' office. "Are you
busy?"
"Not very; I had just given some directions to my foreman concerning a
job I have undertaken, and had just settled down to read the paper. Well
how does your acquaintance with Miss Harcourt prosper? Have you popped
the question yet?"
"No, not exactly; I had been thinking very seriously of the matter, but
I have been somewhat shaken in my intention."
"How so," said Mr. Thomas, laying down his paper and becoming suddenly
interested.
"You know that I have had an unhappy marriage which has overshadowed all
my subsequent life, and I cannot help feeling very cautious how I risk,
not only my own, but another's happiness in a second marriage. It is
true that I have been thinking of proposing to Miss Harcourt and I do
prefer her to any young lady I have ever known; but there is a
depreciatory manner in which people speak of her, that sorely puzzles
me. For instance, when I ask some young ladies if they know Annette,
they shrug their shoulders, look significantly at each other and say,
'Oh, yes, we know her; but she don't care for anything but books; oh she
is so self conceited and thinks she knows more than any one else.' But
when I spoke to Mrs. Larkins about her, she said Annette makes a fine
appearance, but all is not gold that glitters. By this time my curiosity
was excited, and I asked, 'What is the matter with Miss Harcourt? I had
no idea that people were so ready to pick at her.' She replied, 'No
wonder; she is such a spitfire.'"
"Well," said Mr. Thomas, a little hotly, "if Annette is a spitfire, Mrs.
Larkins is a lot of combustion. I think of all the women I know, she has
the greatest genius for aggravation. I used to board with her, but as I
did not wish to be talked to death I took refuge in flight."
"And so you showed the white feather that time."
"Yes, I did, and I could show it again. I don't wonder that people have
nick-named her 'Aunty talk forever.' I have known Annette for years and
I known that she is naturally quick tempered and impulsive, but she is
not malicious and implacable and if I were going to marry to-morrow I
would rather have a quick, hot-tempered woman than a cold, selfish one,
who never thought or cared about anyone but herself. Mrs. Larkins' mouth
is not a prayer-book; don't be uneasy about anything she says against
Annette."
Reassured by Mr. Thomas, Clarence Luzerne decided that he would ask Dr.
Harcourt's permission to visit his niece, a request which was readily
granted and he determined if she would consent that she should be his
wife. He was wealthy, handsome and intelligent; Annette was poor and
plain, but upright in character and richly endowed in intellect, and no
one imagined that he would pass by the handsome and stylish girls of
A.P. to bestow his affections on plain, neglected Annette. Some of the
girls who knew of his friendship for Annette, but who never dreamed of
its termination in marriage would say to Annette, "Speak a good word for
me to Mr. Luzerne;" but Annette kept her counsel and would smile and
think: I will speak a good word for myself. Very pleasant was the
growing friendship between Annette and Mr. Luzerne. Together they read
and discussed books and authors and agreed with wonderful unanimity,
which often expressed itself in the words:
"I think as you do." Not that there was any weak compliance for the sake
of agreement, but a unison of thought and feeling between them which
gave a pleasurable zest to their companionship.
"Miss Annette," said Luzerne, "do you believe that matches are made in
heaven?"
"I never thought anything about it."
"But have you no theory on the subject?"
"Not the least; have you?"
"Yes; I think that every human soul has its counterpart, and is never
satisfied till soul has met with soul and recognized its spiritual
affinity."
"Affinity! I hate the word."
"Why?"
"Because I think it has been so wrongly used, and added to the social
misery of the world."
"What do you think marriage ought to be?"
"I think it should be a blending of hearts, an intercommunion of souls,
a tie that only love and truth should weave, and nothing but death
should part."
Luzerne listened eagerly and said, "Why, Miss Annette, you speak as if
you had either loved or were using your fine imaginative powers on the
subject with good effect. Have you ever loved any one?"
Annette blushed and stammered, and said, "I hardly know, but I think I
have a fine idea of what love should be. I think the love of a woman for
the companion of her future life should go out to him just as naturally
as the waves leap to the strand, or the fire ascends to the sun."
"And this," said Luzerne, taking her hand in his, "is the way I feel
towards you. Surely our souls have met at last. Annette," said he, in a
voice full of emotion, "is it not so? May I not look on your hand as a
precious possession, to hold till death us do part?"
"Why, Mr. Luzerne," said Annette, recovering from her surprise, "this is
so sudden, I hardly know what to say. I have enjoyed your companionship
and I confess have been pleased with your attentions, but I did not
dream that you had any intentions beyond the enjoyment of the hour."
"No, Annette, I never seek amusement in toying with human hearts. I
should deem myself a villain if I came into your house and stole your
purse, and I should think myself no better if I entered the citadel of a
woman's heart to steal her affections only to waste their wealth. Her
stolen money I might restore, but what reparation could I make for
wasted love and blighted affections? Annette, let there be truth between
us. I will give you time to think on my proposal, hoping at the same
time that I shall find favor in your eyes."
After Mr. Luzerne left, Annette, sat alone by the fireside, a delicious
sense of happiness filling her soul with sudden joy. Could it be that
this handsome and dignified man had honored her above all the girls in
A.P., by laying his heart at her feet, or was it only a dream from
which would come a rude awakening? Annette looked in the glass, but no
stretch of imagination could make her conceive that she was beautiful in
either form or feature. She turned from the glass with a faint sigh,
wishing for his sake that she was as beautiful as some of the other
girls in A.P., whom he had overlooked, not thinking for one moment that
in loving her for what she was in intellect and character he had paid
her a far greater compliment than if she had been magnificently
beautiful and he had only been attracted by an exquisite form and lovely
face. In a few days after Mr. Luzerne's proposal to Annette he came for
the answer, to which he looked with hope and suspense.
"I am glad," he said, "to find you at home."
"Yes; all the rest of the family are out."
"Then the coast is clear for me?" There was tenderness and decision in
his voice as he said, "Now, Annette, I have come for the answer which
cannot fail to influence all my future life." He clasped the little hand
which lay limp and passive in his own. His dark, handsome eyes were bent
eagerly upon her as if scanning every nook and corner of her soul. Her
eye fell beneath his gaze, her hand trembled in his, tears of joy were
springing to her eyes, but she restrained them. She withdrew her hand
from his clasp; he looked pained and disappointed. "Have I been too
hasty and presumptuous?"
Annette said no rather faintly, while her face was an enigma he did not
know how to solve.
"Why did you release your hand and avert your eyes?"
"I felt that my will was succumbing to yours, and I want to give you an
answer untrammeled and uncontrolled by your will."
Mr. Luzerne smiled, and thought what rare thoughtfulness and judgment
she has evinced. How few women older than herself would have thought as
quickly and as clearly, and yet she is no less womanly, although she
seems so wise.
"What say you, my dear Annette, since I have released your hand. May I
not hope to hold this hand as the most precious of all my earthly
possessions until death us do part?"
Annette fixed her eyes upon the floor as if she were scanning the
figures on the carpet. Her heart beat quickly as she timidly repeated
the words, "Until death us do part," and placed her hand again in his,
while an expression of love and tender trust lit up the mobile and
expressive face, and Annette felt that his love was hers; the most
precious thing on earth that she could call her own. The engagement
being completed, the next event in the drama was preparation for the
wedding. It was intended that the engagement should not be long.
Together they visited different stores in purchasing supplies for their
new home. How pleasant was that word to the girl, who had spent such
lonely hours in the home of her uncle. To her it meant one of the
brightest spots on earth and one of the fairest types of heaven. In the
evening they often took pleasant strolls together or sat and chatted in
a beautiful park near their future home. One evening as they sat quietly
enjoying themselves Annette said, "How happened it that you preferred me
to all the other girls in A. P.? There are lots of girls more stylish
and better looking; what did you see in poor, plain me?" He laughingly
replied:
"I chose you out from all the rest,
The reason was I loved you best."
"And why did you prefer me?" She answered quite archly:
"The rose is red, the violet's blue,
Sugar is sweet and so are you."
"I chose you because of your worth. When I was young, I married for
beauty and I pierced my heart through with many sorrows."
"You been married?" said Annette with a tremor in her tones. "Why, I
never heard of it before."
"Did not Mr. Thomas or Mrs. Lasette tell you of it? They knew it, but it
is one of the saddest passages of my life, to which I scarcely ever
refer. She, my wife, drifted from me, and was drowned in a freshet near
Orleans."
"Oh, how dreadful, and I never knew it."
"Does it pain you?"
"No, but it astonishes me."
"Well, Annette, it is not a pleasant subject, let us talk of something
else. I have not spoken of it to you before, but to-day, when it pressed
so painfully upon my mind, it was a relief to me to tell you about it,
but now darling dismiss it from your mind and let the dead past bury its
dead."
Just then there came along where they were sitting a woman whose face
bore traces of great beauty, but dimmed and impaired by lines of sorrow
and disappointment. Just as she reached the seat where they were
sitting, she threw up her hands in sudden anguish, gasped out,
"Clarence! my long lost Clarence," and fell at his feet in a dead faint.
As Mr. Luzerne looked on the wretched woman lying at his feet, his face
grew deathly pale. He trembled like an aspen and murmured in a
bewildered tone, "has the grave restored its dead?"
But with Annette there was no time for delay. She chaffed, the rigid
hands, unloosed the closely fitting dress, sent for a cab and had her
conveyed as quickly as possible to the home for the homeless. Then
turning to Luzerne, she said bitterly, "Mr. Luzerne, will you explain
your encounter with that unfortunate woman?" She spoke as calmly as she
could, for a fierce and bitter anguish was biting at her heartstrings.
"What claim has that woman on you?"
"She has the claim of being my wife and until this hour I firmly
believed she was in her grave." Annette lifted her eyes sadly to his;
he calmly met her gaze, but there was no deception in his glance; his
eyes were clear and sad and she was more puzzled than ever.
"Annette," said he, "I have only one favor to ask; let this scene be a
secret between us as deep as the sea. Time will explain all. Do not
judge me too harshly."
"Clarence," she said, "I have faith in you, but I do not understand you;
but here is the carriage, my work at present is with this poor,
unfortunate woman, whose place I was about to unconsciously supplant."