PAGE 11
Heart
by
“Your mother’s nursery, Miss Osgood,” he cried, “ought on such an occasion to be tenantless.”
“You think there are enough of us here to make it so,” returned the lady, with an affected sigh.
“I really had not observed the number of your charming family–how many are there of you?”
“A baker’s dozen.” Charlotte laughed, and the youth felt mortified. The laugh was natural, and clearly extorted, without a thought of himself.
“When you are all married,” he said, “you will form a little world in yourselves.”
“When the sky falls we shall catch larks.”
{When the sky…. = an old proverb, found in English, French, and even Latin, meaning that the idea or proposal is absurd}
“Surely, you intend to marry?”
Maria made no reply, but turned her eyes on Delafield, with an affected expression of melancholy that excited another laugh in her friend.
“You certainly have made no rash vow on the subject,” continued Seymour, pretending to a slight interest in her answer.
“My troth is not yet plighted,” said the lady, a little archly.
“But there is no telling how long it will continue so.”
“I am afraid so–thirteen is a dreadful divisor for a small family estate.”
A general movement in the party was gladly seized by Charlotte as an excuse to go, and Delafield handed her to her carriage, with the mortifying conviction that she was utterly indifferent to every thing but the civility of the act.
CHAPTER III.
IT was quite early on the following morning, when Mr. Delafield rung at the door of the house in which the father of Miss Henly resided. The gentleman had obtained the permission of the young lady, the preceding evening, to put himself on the list of her visiting acquaintance, and a casual introduction to both of Charlotte’s parents had smoothed the way to this intimacy. It is certain, that, much as Mr. and Mrs. Henly loved their child, neither of them entertained the selfish wish of monopolizing all of her affections to themselves during life. It was natural, and a thing to he expected, that Charlotte should marry; and among the whole of their acquaintance there appeared no one so unobjectionable as her new admirer. He was agreeable in person, in manners, and in temper; he was intelligent, witty, and a man of the world; and, moreover, he was worth–three hundred thousand dollars! What parent is there whose judgment would remain unbiassed by these solid reasons in favour of a candidate for the hand of his child? or what female is there whose heart could be steeled against such attractions in her suitor? Many were the hours of care that had been passed by the guardians of Charlotte’s happiness, in ruminating on the event that was to yield their charge to the keeping of another; frequent were their discussions on this interesting subject, and innumerable their plans to protect her inexperience against falling into those errors that had blasted the peace of so many around them; but the appearance of Seymour Delafield seemed as the fulfilment of their most sanguine expectations. To his refinement of manners, they both thought that they could yield the sensitive delicacy of their child with confidence; in his travelled experience they anticipated the permanency of a corrected taste; nor, was it a disagreeable consideration to either, that as the silken cord of paternal discipline was to be loosened, it was to be succeeded by the fetters of hymen cast in polished gold. In what manner their daughter regarded the evident admiration of Mr. Delafield will appear, by her conclusion of our tale.
On entering the parlour, Delafield found George Morton seated in a chair near the fire, with his person more than usually well guarded against the cold, as if he were suffering under the effects of a serious indisposition. The salutations between the young men were a little embarrassed on both sides; the face of George growing even paler than before, while the fine colour on Delafield’s cheek mounted to his very temples. After regarding for a moment, with much inward dissatisfaction, the apparent ease with which George was maintaining possession of the apartment by himself, Mr. Delafield overcame the sudden emotion created by the surprise, and spoke.