CHAPTER VII.
"THE TRAIL OF THE SERPENT."
"Your roses are fading in the hot sunshine, dear. Let us get some freshones," said Love to Dainty, anxious to draw her out of sight of theothers, that he might seal their betrothal with a lover's kiss.
They moved away toward the rose-garden, followed by the angry, enviousglances of Olive and Ela, who hated Dainty with jealous hate, now thatthey saw how little all their arts had availed to change her lover.
But Love and Dainty had forgotten their existence. They were in Arcady.
--"Love must kiss that mortal's eyes Who hopes to see fair Arcady, No gold can buy your entrance there, But beggared Love may go all bare-- No wisdom won with weariness; But Love goes in with Folly's dress-- No fame that wit could ever win, But only Love may lead Love in; To Arcady, to Arcady."
All around them the flowers bloomed in lavish profusion; the tender-eyedpansies, the golden-hearted lilies, the fragrant roses, shaking outperfume on the warm summer air, while the bees and the butterflieshurried from flower to flower, and overhead the blue sky of June smiledon the happy lovers--so happy, dreaming not of the darkened future.
Where some luxuriant shrubbery formed a convenient screen, Love drewDainty aside, crying, ardently:
"I am dying to kiss you, my own little darling! May I?"
Without waiting for consent, he clasped her in his arms, and kissed herlips again and again, with the ardor of the honey-bee rifling theflowers of their sweets, till she struggled bashfully from him, crying:
"But the roses!"
"Come, then, we will get them;" and they sauntered on along the graveledpath in a sort of silent ecstacy, until suddenly Dainty recoiled with ahorrified cry:
"Oh, see that hideous viper!"
Love looked down and saw a large viper crawling across their path, itshideous head upraised in defiance, hissing venomously at their advance.
"See how angry it is! What a wicked glare in its eyes! See how its redforked tongue darts at us in rage! Oh, is it not an evil omen to ourlove?" half sobbed Dainty, drawing back and regarding the serpent withfearful interest mixed with unwilling fascination.
"Stand aside, darling, and I will make short work of the evil omen!"Love answered, gayly, as with two sharp blows of the racquet he carriedin his hand he destroyed the ominous intruder on their peace, and kickedit aside, saying, soothingly: "Take that as an omen, darling, that Iwill always thrust aside whatever interferes between us and happiness."
"Oh, you are so strong, so brave! I am not afraid of anything while youare with me!" Dainty cried, clinging to the arm of her bold, handsomelover, who smiled on her so lovingly as he gathered the beautiful rosesto replace those he had sent her that morning, and that were nowwithering at her waist.
He took some of the fading flowers, kissed them, and placed them verycarefully in his pocket-book, saying:
"I will always keep them in memory of the happiest day of my life!"
Dainty's heart thrilled with joy at the words; then she shuddered at thethought of how angry Olive and Ela would be because he loved her sowell.
"Perhaps they will hate me, although I have not done them any wrong. Idid not make him love me. It was God put it into his heart. But I canguess how they will sneer and say I was bold and forward, trying to geta rich husband. I wish he were poor--almost as poor as I am--so that Icould tell them I love him for himself alone, which is true, though theywill pretend never to believe it, in their jealous spite," ran herperturbed thoughts; for she could not get Olive and Ela quite out of hermind.
The dread of their spite and anger trailed its venom through herhappiness as the hideous viper had trailed across the sunny path, makingher cry out that it was evil-omened. Alas! that spite and jealousy weredestined to work her as deadly ill as the serpent's fangs.
It was this subtle dread tugging at Dainty's heart-strings that made hermurmur wistfully, as they retraced their steps:
"Let us keep our secret awhile yet, lest Olive and Ela should say I wastoo easily won."
"What do you care for their opinion!" cried her lover, disdainfully.
"Oh, but you do not know how cruel they would be, what cutting thingsthey would say to me!" she cried.
And he laughed.
"Dainty, I believe you are an arrant coward, after all, as your cousinOlive told me this morning."
"Did she say so?"--angrily, the blue eyes flashing.
"Yes; she said you were the most cowardly girl on earth--afraid of yourown shadow--and always in hysterics over something, so that she and Elawere sorry you came, dreading that you would annoy your aunt."
"Oh, it is false!" she cried, indignantly. "She only said it to turnyour heart against me. And I--I will show her after this whether I am acoward or not!"
"That is right, my little sweetheart. I adore bravery in women, and Iwant you to prove Olive's story false," he cried, encouragingly; adding:"Of course, if you wish to keep our engagement secret awhile, I willconsent to it; but it seems rather cruel to two of our visitors, who arealready palpably jealous of me. But I warn you, Dainty, not to flirtwith them, for I am the most jealous of men."
"You need not be afraid of me. I can think of no one but you, dearLove!" she whispered, with the loveliest blush in the world.
They rejoined their companions, and Love forced himself to obey thedemands of conventionality by showing some attention to the otherguests; but his heart was not in his courtesies. He could think only ofthe bonny sweetheart he had won by such headlong wooing.
"And it is only yesterday that I saw her first, my darling!" he mused,tenderly. "It was love at first sight with us both, it seems, and I takethat for a sure sign that Heaven intended us for each other."