Vellenaux A Novel - Edmund William Forrest (best book club books of all time txt) 📗
- Author: Edmund William Forrest
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Exciting The Notice Of The Insurgents, Through The Subterraneous Passage
Before Alluded To Into The Fort, And The Whole Party Were Soon Ensconced
Within The Ruins Of The Old Palace, Without The Garrison Having The
Least Idea Of Their Presence In That Quarter. On Gaining This Position,
The Signal Agreed On, A Blue Light, Was Burned For One Minute, Then The
Whole Force In Camp Turned Out, And A Demonstration Was Made From Every
Available Cannon And Musket, As If The Storming Of The Fort Had
Commenced In Earnest. The Consternation Of The Mutineers At Finding
Themselves So Suddenly Attacked Was Very Great, And Imagine Their Dismay
On Rushing To The Walls, To Find The Ramparts Lined With Our Men. Unable
To Account Their Appearance There, And Believing Treachery To Be At Work
Among Themselves, And That The Gates Had Been Opened To Admit The Foe,
Threw Down Their Arms And Surrendered At Discretion.
Search Was Immediately Made For The Begum, And While Looking For This
Mutiness Princess In One Of Her Apartments, Carlton Took Up From A
Teapoy Or Dressing Table, A Small But Curiously Carved Steel Casket.
Supposing It To Contain Cosmetics, Or What Was More Probable, Chinaum
And Beetle Nut, Hurriedly Slipped It Into His Sabretache; But Not
Succeeding In Finding The Begum, Who Had Evaded The Pursuit, Arthur,
With His Dragoons, Returned To Camp. The Same Evening The Three Villains
Already Condemned Were Executed.
But The Youth Who Had Acted As Guide Was Permitted To Escape, Which He
Lost No Time In Doing. The Little Force Was Then Broken Up, And The
Troop Composing It Sent Back To Their Respective Corps, While Our Hero
And His Dragoons Joined Their Regiment, And With It Saw A Great Deal Of
Hard Fighting And Rough Service, And On More Than One Occasion His
Dashing Conduct Had Been Brought To The Notice Of The Indian Government.
The Return Of The Troop From Persia, And The Efficient Manner In Which
The Brigades Under Sir Hugh Rose, Havelock, Mitchell, Whitlock And
Others Were Handled, Proved Too Much For The Mutineers, And After An
Obstinate Contest Which Lasted Over Two Years, During Which Time A Heavy
Loss Of Life Had Been Sustained On Both Sides, The Rebellious Native
Troops Were Beaten At All Points, And Law And Order Once More Restored
Throughout The Country.
Chapter 14 Pg 86Horace, On Reaching London, Had Taken A House On Berkly Square. Old Mr.
And Mrs. Barton Having Died Some Two Years Previous, As Already Stated,
And The Willows In Devonshire Had Been Let. He Found His Sister, Mrs.
Ashburnham, Still Living On Cavendish Square, And Emily Residing With
Her Aunt In Harley Street. Tom And His Bride Were Still Travelling On
The Continent. Mr. And Mrs. Barton Therefore Determined To Remain In
Town Until The Lease, For Which The Country Seat Had Been Let, Should
Expire, Which Would Take Place About The Month Of August In The
Following Year; And Thus It Was That The People Of Vellenaux Knew
Nothing Of Their Return To England. Fond Of Gaiety And Fashionable Life,
Mrs. Barton Determined To Make Up For Time Lost During Their Sojourn In
The Goozeratte, By Being Very Gay, Attending Balls, Parties And Operas,
And Not Unfrequently Giving Stylish Entertainments At Her House At
Berkly Square, In All Of Which Edith Participated, As Her Kind Friend
Would Go No Where And Do Nothing Without Her, And Thus She Passed Her
First Season In London. In The Spring Of The Year She Received The
Welcome Intelligence That Arthur Had Been Promoted To A Troop, And That
If He Could Manage To Obtain Leave Of Absence, He Would Be In England
Early In Summer To Claim His Bride.
"Well, My Dear," Said Mrs. Barton, A Few Days Subsequent To The Receipt
Of The Letter, "Horace, Dear Old Fellow, Has Arranged Everything Nicely
For You. He Has Still Some Interest With The Authorities. He Has Been To
The India Office. Arthur Is To Have Eighteen Months Leave Of Absence,
And Before The Expiration Of That Time His Regiment Will Be Ordered
Home; So You See, My Dear, We Shall Be Able To See A Great Deal Of Each
Other. After You Are Married You Will, Of Course, Remain With Us Until
It Is Time For Arthur To Rejoin His Regiment." Edith Felt Very Grateful
To Her Kind Friends For All They Had Done To Further Her Happiness, And
Looked Forward To The Time When She Should Meet Her Affianced Husband
With Intense Satisfaction And Delight. She Would Not Now Be Called Upon
To Return To India, To Which Country She Had A Strong Aversion; And Well
She Might, For Her Residence There, With The Exception Of Her Episodes
Of Pleasure Derived From The Society Of Arthur, Had Indeed Been Very
Trying.
It Was Summer, Bright, Glorious, Balmy Summer. The Birds Sang And
Chirped Among The Green Leaves, And Wood Pigeons Cooed In The Hollow
Trunks Of The Trees, Beneath Whose Outspreading Branches, Little
Four-Footed Creatures Gamboled And Made Merry Among The Soft Feathery
Grasses That Grew In The Fine Old Beech Woods Of Devon. It Was Pleasant
To Listen To The Cool, Gurgling Sound Of The Brawling Brook, Whose
Bright Waters Skipped, Danced And Glittered, As They Forced Their Way
Over The Pebbles And Other Impediments In Their Serpentine Course Along
The Shady Dell That Skirted The Home Park, Wherein, Under The Venerable
Oaks, The Red And Fallow Deer Rested, Dreamily Sniffing The Delicious
Fragrance That Pervaded The Air, Borne Upon The Light Summer Wind From
The Rich Parterre Which Stretched The Entire Length Of The South Wing At
Vellenaux.
In A Large Octagon-Shaped Apartment That Had Been Fitted Up As A
Library, The Most Pleasing Feature Of Which Was Its Southern Aspect,
Were Seated _Tete A Tete_ Two Personages, Who Figured Somewhat
Conspicuously In The Early Part Of Our Story, These Were Mrs. Fraudhurst
And Sir Ralph Coleman. They Had Met Here At The Request Of The Baronet,
For Sir Ralph And The Widow Rarely Met Except By Appointment Or At The
Dinner Table.
Time Had Dealt Kindly With The Lady, And What Was Deficient By Nature
Was Supplied By Art, For She Was One Of Those Who Always Paid The Most
Chapter 14 Pg 87Scrupulous Attention To Their Toilette. If We Were To Describe Her As
Fat, Fair, And Forty, We Should Certainly Wrong Her. Fair And Forty She
Undoubtedly Was, But Fat She Certainly Was Not. There Was A Slight
Tendency To Embonpoint, But This Was Relieved By Her Tall And Not
Ungraceful Figure. She Was What Might Be Termed A Decidedly Handsome
Woman. The Corpulent Lawyer Had Subsided Into The Sleek,
Well-Conditioned Country Gentleman. But There Was At Times A Certain
Restlessness Of The Eye, And A Nervous Twitching At The Corners Of The
Mouth, Which, To A Keen Observer, Would Indicate That He Was Not Always
The Quiet, Self-Possessed Person That He Would Have His Neighbors To
Believe. The Business On Which They Had Met Had Been Interrupted By The
Entrance Of A Servant With A Note To Sir Ralph, But, On His Leaving The
Room, The Conversation Was Resumed By Mrs. Fraudhurst Saying:
"I Would Much Rather, Sir Ralph, That This Subject Be Now Discontinued,
And Never Again Reverted To. The Papers To Which You Allude Are
Perfectly Safe In My Hands, And I Do Not See That Any Good Could Accrue
By My Transferring Them To You, Certainly None To Myself, And It Might
Militate Against Me; For The Great Anxiety You Evince To Get Possession
Of The Documents Leads Me To Believe That You Have Some Particular
Object In View, Something Which Does Not Appear Or, The Surface, And
Which You Desire Should Not Come To My Knowledge."
"But, My Dear Madam, You Surely Do Not Imagine That I Have Any Other
Motive In Requesting You To Hand Over To My Safe Keeping The Deed In
Question Than A Natural Desire To Be Quite Certain That Our Mutual
Interests Should Not Be Imperilled By Any Accidental Circumstance That
Might Disclose The Existence Of Any Such Document."
The Lady Looked Steadily At Him For A Few Seconds, Then In A Clear
Distinct, And Deliberate Tone, Said, "For The Last Seven Years The Will
Of The Late Baronet Has Been In My Possession, During Which, Time You,
Sir Ralph, Have Made Frequent Attempts To Obtain It From Me, Sometimes
On One Pretence, Then On Another. Were I To Agree To Your Request, What
Security Have I That You, Who Have Acted So Vile A Part Against Miss
Effingham, Would Not Act As Treacherously Towards Me, Were I Once In
Your Power? While I Possess That Document, I Hold My Position Here, And
Can Thus Keep You At Bay. And Think You That I Will Thus Surrender My
Advantage To Please The Idle Fancy Of A Man Who Would Not Hesitate To
Stoop To Perform Any Act However Dastardly, So That He Could Effectually
Escape The Penalty Of A Crime He Was Ready To Profit By, But Cowardly
Enough To Shrink From The Consequences It Entailed? You Say That Our
Interest In This Affair Is Mutual,--It Is Not So, And You Know It. You
Gain Nineteen Thousand A Year, I Only One. Again, Should The Will By Any
Mischance Be Found In My Possession, Who Would Believe My Statement
That You Were A Party Concerned In The Abstraction Of The Said Deed, You
Would Deny All Knowledge Of The Transaction And My Unsupported Evidence
Could Not Commit You. Of Course You Would Lose The Estate; But What
Would My Condition Be Then. No! I Have Everything At Stake--You,
Comparatively Nothing. I Will Not Accede To So Absurd A Proposition."
There Was A Short Pause, The Widow Resumed Her Embroidery With An Air Of
Apparent Indifference. The Baronet Sat Abstractedly Gazing Out Of The
Window, Evidently Turning Over Something In His Mind. As She Had Stated
He Had Tried To Wheedle Her Out Of The Papers, But She Had Hitherto, By
Great Tact, Adroitly Managed To Shift The Conversation To Some Other
Subject, In A Quiet And Playful Manner. He Was Therefore Not Prepared
For This Vehement Outburst; She Had Not Only Refused To Comply With His
Demand, But Taunted Him With Stinging Words For His Pusillanimous
Conduct. He Knew Her Great Ambition, And That The Sole Object Of Her
Life Was To Become Mistress Of Vellenaux, And To Gain This She Would
Risk Everything. It Was Her Weak Point, The Only Vulnerable Part He
Could Attack With Any Hope Of Success. He Had For Months Pondered Over
This; It Had This Advantage, It Is True, He Thought A Marriage Would
Chapter 14 Pg 88
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