Part 26 (2/2)
As she uttered these last words, she emphasized them with a decided little gesture of her left hand that betrayed a relentless purpose.
”Ah!” she cried, the next moment, with a start, the movement having attracted her eye to the ring upon her third finger, which until that moment she had entirely forgotten.
With a s.h.i.+ver of repulsion, she s.n.a.t.c.hed it off and tossed it into the lap of her companion.
”Take it back to him,” she said. ”I had forgotten I had it on; I despise myself for having worn it even until now.”
Madam flushed angrily at her act and words.
”You are very hard--you are very obdurate,” she said, sharply.
”Very well; you can put whatever construction you choose upon the stand I have taken, but do not for a moment deceive yourself by imagining that I will ever consent to be known as Emil Correlli's wife; death would be preferable!” Edith calmly responded.
”Most girls would only be too eager and proud to a.s.sume the position--they would be sincerely grateful for the luxuries and pleasures they would enjoy as my brother's wife,” Mrs. G.o.ddard coldly remarked, but with an angry gleam in her eyes.
A little smile of contempt curled the corners of Edith's red mouth; but otherwise she did not deign to notice these boasting comments, a circ.u.mstance which so enraged her companion that she felt, for a moment, like strangling the girl there and then.
But there was far more to be considered than her own personal feelings, and she felt obliged to curb herself for the time.
If scandal was to be avoided, she must leave no inducement untried to bend Edith's stubborn will, and madam herself was too proud to contemplate anything so humiliating; she was willing to do or bear almost anything to escape becoming a target for the fas.h.i.+onable world to shoot their arrows of ridicule at.
”Edith, I beg that you will listen to me,” she earnestly pleaded, after a few moments of thought. ”This thing is done and cannot be undone, and now I want you to be reasonable and think of the advantages which, as Emil's wife, you may enjoy. You are a poor girl, without home or friends, and obliged to work for your living. There is an escape from all this if you will be tractable; you can have a beautiful house elegantly furnished, horses, carriages, diamonds, and velvets--in fact, not a wish you choose to express ungratified. You may travel the world over, if you desire, with no other object in view than to enjoy yourself. On the other hand, if you refuse, there will be no end of scandal--you will ruin the reputation of our whole family--Emil will become the b.u.t.t of everybody's scorn and ridicule. I shall never be able to show my face again in society, either in Boston or New York; and my husband, who has always occupied a high position, will be terribly shocked and humiliated.”
Edith listened quietly to all that she had to say, not once attempting to interrupt her; but when madam finally paused, in expectation of a reply, she simply remarked:
”You should have thought of all this, madam, before you plotted for the ruin of my life; I am not responsible for the consequences of your treachery and crime.”
”Crime! that is an ugly word,” tartly cried Mrs. G.o.ddard, who began to find the tax upon her patience almost greater than she could bear.
”Nevertheless, it is the correct term to apply to what you have done--it is what I shall charge you with--”
”What! do you dare to tell me that you intend to appeal to the courts?” exclaimed madam, aghast.
She had fondly imagined that, the deed once done, the girl having no friends whose protection she could claim, would make the best of it, and gracefully yield to the situation.
”That is what I intend to do.”
Anna G.o.ddard's face was almost livid at this intrepid response.
”And you utterly refuse to listen to reason?” she inquired, struggling hard for self-control.
”I utterly refuse to be known as Emil Correlli's wife, if that is what you mean by 'reason,'” said Edith, calmly.
”Girl! girl! take care--do not try my patience too far,” cried her companion, with a flash of pa.s.sion, ”or we may have to resort to desperate measures with you.”
”Such as what, if you please?” inquired Edith, still unmoved.
”That remains to be seen; but I warn you that you are bringing only wrath upon your own head. We shall never allow you to create a scandal--we shall find a way to compel you to do as we wish.”
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