CHAPTER X.
_Evening Stroll_.
IN SPITE of his perilous situation, an indefinable sensation ofhappiness pervaded the soul of Ferdinand Armine, as he made his hurriedtoilet, and hastened to the domestic board of Ducie, where he was nowthe solitary guest. His eye caught Miss Temple's as he entered the room.It seemed to beam upon him with interest and kindness. His courteousand agreeable host welcomed him with polished warmth. It seemed that afeeling of intimacy was already established among them, and he fanciedhimself already looked upon as an habitual member of their circle.All dark thoughts were driven away. He was gay and pleasant, and dulymaintained with Mr. Temple that conversation in which his host excelled.Miss Temple spoke little, but listened with evident interest to herfather and Ferdinand. She seemed to delight in their society, and to begratified by Captain Armine's evident sense of her father's agreeablequalities. When dinner was over they all rose together and repaired tothe salon.
'I wish Mr. Glastonbury were here,' said Miss Temple, as Ferdinandopened the instrument. 'You must bring him some day, and then ourconcert will be perfect.'
Ferdinand smiled, but the name of Glastonbury made him shudder. Hiscountenance changed at the future plans of Miss Temple. 'Some day,'indeed, when he might also take the opportunity of introducing hisbetrothed! But the voice of Henrietta Temple drove all care from hisbosom; he abandoned himself to the intoxicating present. She sang alone;and then they sang together; and as he arranged her books, or selectedher theme, a thousand instances of the interest with which she inspiredhim developed themselves. Once he touched her hand, and he pressed hisown, unseen, to his lips.
Though the room was lit up, the windows were open and admitted themoonlight. The beautiful salon was full of fragrance and of melody;the fairest of women dazzled Ferdinand with her presence; his heart wasfull, his senses ravished, his hopes were high. Could there be such ademon as care in such a paradise? Could sorrow ever enter here? Was itpossible that these bright halls and odorous bowers could be pollutedby the miserable considerations that reigned too often supreme in hisunhappy breast? An enchanted scene had suddenly risen from the earthfor his delight and fascination. Could he be unhappy? Why, if all wentdarker even than he sometimes feared, that man had not lived in vain whohad beheld Henrietta Temple! All the troubles of the world were follyhere; this was fairy-land, and he some knight who had fallen from agloomy globe upon some starry region flashing with perennial lustre.
The hours flew on; the servants brought in that light banquet whoseentrance in the country seems the only method of reminding our gueststhat there is a morrow.
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''Tis the last night,' said Ferdinand, smiling, with a sigh. 'One moresong; only one more. Mr. Temple, be indulgent; it is the last night. Ifeel,' he added in a lower tone to Henrietta, 'I feel exactly as I didwhen I left Armine for the first time.'
'Because you are going to return to it? That is wilful.'
'Wilful or not, I would that I might never see it again.'
'For my part, Armine is to me the very land of romance.'
'It is strange.'
'No spot on earth ever impressed me more. It is the finest combinationof art and nature and poetical associations I know; it is indeedunique.'
'I do not like to differ with you on any subject.'
'We should be dull companions, I fear, if we agreed upon everything.'
'I cannot think it.'
'Papa,' said Miss Temple, 'one little stroll upon the lawn; one little,little stroll. The moon is so bright; and autumn, this year, has broughtus as yet no dew.' And as she spoke, she took up her scarf and woundit round her head. 'There,' she said, 'I look like the portrait of theTurkish page in Armine Gallery.'
There was a playful grace about Henrietta Temple, a wild and brilliantsimplicity, which was the more charming because it was blended withpeculiarly high breeding. No person in ordinary society was more calm,or enjoyed a more complete self-possession, yet no one in the moreintimate relations of life indulged more in those little unstudiedbursts of nature, which seemed almost to remind one of the playful childrather than the polished woman; and which, under such circumstances,are infinitely captivating. As for Ferdinand Armine, he looked upon theTurkish page with a countenance beaming with admiration; he wished itwas Turkey wherein he then beheld her, or any other strange land, wherehe could have placed her on his courser, and galloped away in pursuit ofa fortune wild as his soul.
Though the year was in decay, summer had lent this night to autumn, itwas so soft and sweet. The moonbeam fell brightly upon Ducie Bower, andthe illumined salon contrasted effectively with the natural splendourof the exterior scene. Mr. Temple reminded Henrietta of a brilliant fetewhich had been given at a Saxon palace, and which some circumstances ofsimilarity recalled to his recollection. Ferdinand could not speak,but found himself unconsciously pressing Henrietta Temple's arm to hisheart. The Saxon palace brought back to Miss Temple a wild melody whichhad been sung in the gardens on that night. She asked her father if herecollected it, and hummed the air as she made the enquiry. Her gentlemurmur soon expanded into song. It was one of those wild and naturallyrics that spring up in mountainous countries, and which seem to mimicthe prolonged echoes that in such regions greet the ear of the pastorand the huntsman.
Oh! why did this night ever have an end!