Part 15 (1/2)
CHAPTER VIII.
AN EPISODE OF THE EMIGRATION.
On the first Sunday in the month of September, 1793, about ten o'clock in the morning, a young girl clad in mourning emerged from the doorway of a pretty cottage in the suburbs of London. She slowly descended the broad and handsome steps that led up to the dwelling, pa.s.sed through the garden, and having opened the gate, gazed anxiously in the direction of the city.
She was a brunette, rather fragile in appearance, and pet.i.te in stature; and though she was not really beautiful, hers was a sympathetic and altogether charming face. The air of elegance that characterized her person and her attire, the whiteness of her hands, and her delicate and refined features, all indicated that she was a person of gentle birth.
She did not appear to be more than twenty years of age. By the anxiety with which her large blue eyes scanned the horizon, it was easy to divine that she was expecting some loved one; but it was also evident that he did not come quickly enough to suit her desires, for she seemed restless and impatient.
”What if he should not come?” she murmured. As if these words had been heard, a voice responded:
”Do not be impatient, dear Antoinette. M. Philip said he would be here to-day, but did not mention the hour; and the day has scarcely begun.
You will see him, never fear.”
The lady who had just spoken had used the English language. She was a kind, motherly looking person, past middle age. Understanding the young girl's anxiety, she had joined her with the desire to appease it.
Antoinette replied, not without some bitterness:
”I am quite sure that we shall see him, dear Mrs. Reed; but have I not a right to be impatient? Has it not been three weeks since he was here?”
”You do not know what important interests may have detained him in London.”
Antoinette shook her head; then, after casting another glance at the deserted road, she sadly returned to the house. Mrs. Reed followed her, trying to divert her mind and make her forget the sorrow and anxiety caused by Philip's long absence. The two ladies entered a small, but prettily furnished parlor and seated themselves at a round table, upon which a servant had just deposited a smoking tea-urn, some empty cups and some bread and b.u.t.ter. Just then, a very stout man entered the room.
It was Mr. Reed, the master of the house. He strongly resembled his wife; there was the same age, the same corpulence, the same kind and benevolent expression of countenance.
”Ah, well! mademoiselle,” he remarked to the young girl, pouring out a cup of tea, ”this is a fete day, is it not? You are expecting Monsieur Philip?”
Antoinette made no response. Mrs. Reed answered for her.
”Mademoiselle Antoinette is afraid her cousin will not keep his word.”
”She is wrong then,” quietly remarked Mr. Reed, who was now standing by the window, sipping his tea, ”she is wrong, for here he is!”
Antoinette sprang up, uttering a cry of joy. She was about to rush out to meet Philip, but the latter did not give her time. He entered almost immediately, and Antoinette flew to his arms. All her doubts, all her griefs were forgotten! Ah! If the hour of separation is cruel when it sounds in the ears of those who love, how sweet is the hour that reunites them! Antoinette clung rapturously to Philip's breast, and Mr.
and Mrs. Reed, wis.h.i.+ng to allow the young people to enjoy each other's society undisturbed, left the room; but before he went, Mr. Reed said to Philip:
”You will spend the day and dine with us, will you not?”
”Ah! how gladly would I do so! But I shall be obliged to leave in an hour!”
Mr. Reed stood motionless for a moment, actually stupefied with astonishment.
”What! you are going to leave me so soon?” cried Antoinette, despairingly.
”I will explain my reasons,” replied Philip.
Mr. Reed bowed and followed his wife, who had just disappeared.
Two years had pa.s.sed since Philip fled with Antoinette from the burning chateau and from the bedside of his dying father. On quitting the scene of the catastrophe that destroyed the home of his childhood, Philip accompanied by Mlle. de Mirandol repaired to Valence. There, a friend of the Chamondrin family furnished them with the means to pursue their journey to England, which country they gained after many perils and vicissitudes.
London served as a refuge for many of the emigres, but Philip had chosen the capital of Great Britain as a retreat for Antoinette, princ.i.p.ally because he knew that a portion of Mlle. de Mirandol's fortune was in the hands of a banker in that city, and because it would be easy there to obtain news from Louisiana, where the heiress of M. de Mirandol still owned considerable property.