第141章

"Oh!"she cried,and turned off so white,and afore I could get to her she had sunk down like a heap of clothes,and fainted away.

Well,then,she came to herself after a time,and said,"Unity,now well go on with our conversation."

"Better not to-day,miss,"I said.

"Yes,we will,"she said."Whom do you think I am going to be married to?"

"I dont know,"I said this time.

"Guess,"she said.

"Tisnt my lord,is it?"says I.

"Yes,tis,"says she,in a sick wild way.

"But he dont come courting much,"I said.

"Ah!you dont know,"she said,and told me twas going to be in October.After that she freshened up a bit--whether twas with the thought of getting away from home or not,I dont know.For,perhaps,I may as well speak plainly,and tell you that her home was no home to her now.Her father was bitter to her and harsh upon her;and though Mrs.Swancourt was well enough in her way,twas a sort of cold politeness that was not worth much,and the little thing had a worrying time of it altogether.About a month before the wedding,she and my lord and the two children used to ride about together upon horseback,and a very pretty sight they were;and if youll believe me,I never saw him once with her unless the children were with her too--which made the courting so strange-looking.Ay,and my lord is so handsome,you know,so that at last I think she rather liked him;and I have seen her smile and blush a bit at things he said.He wanted her the more because the children did,for everybody could see that she would be a most tender mother to them,and friend and playmate too.And my lord is not only handsome,but a splendid courter,and up to all the ways ot.So he made her the beautifullest presents;ah,one I can mind--a lovely bracelet,with diamonds and emeralds.

Oh,how red her face came when she saw it!The old roses came back to her cheeks for a minute or two then.I helped dress her the day we both were married--it was the last service I did her,poor child!When she was ready,I ran upstairs and slipped on my own wedding gown,and away they went,and away went Martin and I;and no sooner had my lord and my lady been married than the parson married us.It was a very quiet pair of weddings--hardly anybody knew it.Well,hope will hold its own in a young heart,if so be it can;and my lady freshened up a bit,for my lord was SO handsome and kind.

How came she to die--and away from home?murmured Knight.

Dont you see,sir,she fell off again afore theyd been married long,and my lord took her abroad for change of scene.They were coming home,and had got as far as London,when she was taken very ill and couldnt be moved,and there she died.

Was he very fond of her?

What,my lord?Oh,he was!

VERY fond of her?

VERY,beyond everything.Not suddenly,but by slow degrees.

Twas her nature to win people more when they knew her well.Hed have died for her,I believe.Poor my lord,hes heart-broken now!

The funeral is to-morrow?

Yes;my husband is now at the vault with the masons,opening the steps and cleaning down the walls.

The next day two men walked up the familiar valley from Castle Boterel to East Endelstow Church.And when the funeral was over,and every one had left the lawn-like churchyard,the pair went softly down the steps of the Luxellian vault,and under the low-groined arches they had beheld once before,lit up then as now.

In the new niche of the crypt lay a rather new coffin,which had lost some of its lustre,and a newer coffin still,bright and untarnished in the slightest degree.

Beside the latter was the dark form of a man,kneeling on the damp floor,his body flung across the coffin,his hands clasped,and his whole frame seemingly given up in utter abandonment to grief.

He was still young--younger,perhaps,than Knight--and even now showed how graceful was his figure and symmetrical his build.He murmured a prayer half aloud,and was quite unconscious that two others were standing within a few yards of him.

Knight and Stephen had advanced to where they once stood beside Elfride on the day all three had met there,before she had herself gone down into silence like her ancestors,and shut her bright blue eyes for ever.Not until then did they see the kneeling figure in the dim light.Knight instantly recognized the mourner as Lord Luxellian,the bereaved husband of Elfride.

They felt themselves to be intruders.Knight pressed Stephen back,and they silently withdrew as they had entered.

Come away,he said,in a broken voice.We have no right to be there.Another stands before us--nearer to her than we!

And side by side they both retraced their steps down the grey still valley to Castle Boterel.