CHAPTER CXCIX.

THE MARCHIONESS OF DELMOUR.

The Marquis of Delmour awoke, as it were from a deep trance; and,

opening his languid eyes, he beheld a female form bending over him. He

attempted to speak: but the lady placed one slender finger on her lips

in token of silence;--and, closing his eyes again, the old nobleman

endeavoured to collect his scattered ideas--or rather, to dispel the

mist which hung over them.

It struck him that the countenance which he had just seen was not

unknown to him;--and as he dwelt upon it in imagination, it gradually

became more familiar,--while, by imperceptible degrees, it awoke

reminiscences of the past--some of pleasure, but most of pain,--until

an idea of the real truth dawned in upon the mind of the Marquis.

Then again he opened his eyes;--and though long years had elapsed

since last he beheld that countenance, each feature--each lineament

was immediately recognised. But so confused were his thoughts that he

could not recollect why a feeling of aversion and repugnance prevented

him from experiencing joy at the presence of her who was standing, in

painful suspense, by his bed-side.

At last, as reason asserted her empire, a knowledge of who she was and

all the incidents associated with her revived in his soul; while, at

the same time and with a species of under-current of the reflections,

a feeling of what had happened to himself and why he was stretched

in his couch came slowly upon him. They he suddenly raised his hand

to his throat; and the bandage _there_ convinced him that the last

reminiscence which had just stolen into his mind, was indeed too true!

Averting his eyes from the mournful and plaintive countenance which was

still bending over him, he groaned aloud in very bitterness:--and then

a deep silence ensued in the chamber.

Several minutes elapsed, during which the burning tears streamed down

the lady’s face: but she subdued the sobs that almost choked her--for

she would not for worlds permit any evidence of her own deep grief to

disturb the meditations of the enfeebled nobleman. On his side, he

was absorbed in profound thought,--the incidents of the past rapidly

becoming more definite and vivid in his memory, until there were few

things left in uncertainty or doubt--and nothing in oblivion.

Slowly turning towards the lady, the Marquis saw that she was

overwhelmed with sorrow--although she hastily wiped away her

tears;--and moved--deeply moved by this spectacle, as well as

influenced by a host of tender recollections, the old man extended his

hand towards her, murmuring, “My wife! is it indeed she who is now

watching by my side?”

“O heaven! he recollects me--he will forgive me!” she exclaimed, in a

tone of the liveliest joy; and carrying her husband’s emaciated hand to

her lips, she covered it with kisses.

“Sophia,” said the old man, in a low voice and speaking with

difficulty, “we meet after a long--long separation. But let us forget

the past----”

“Is it possible that _you_ can forget it?” asked Mrs. Sefton--or rather

the Marchioness of Delmour; and bending her burning face over his hand

which she still retained in both her own, she added in a tone so low

that it seemed as if she feared even to hear her own words, “You have

so much to pardon! But I never viewed my conduct in this light until I

came and beheld you stretched upon the bed of--of----”

“Of death,” said the Marquis, his pale countenance becoming, if

possible, more ghastly pallid still.

“No--no,” exclaimed the Marchioness, with the excitement of voice and

the gesture of despair; “you must not talk nor think thus despondingly!

But tell me, my husband--tell me--oh! say, can you forgive me for the

past?”

“We have much to forgive on either side, Sophia,” responded the

Marquis: “and as I was the first cause of dissension between us--as I

indeed was the author of all your unhappiness, by forcing you into a

marriage which you abhorred--’tis for me to demand pardon first. Tell

me, then, Sophia--tell me that you _can_ pardon me for all the misery I

have been the wretched means of heaping upon your head?”

“Oh! yes--yes!” exclaimed the lady, the tears again pouring in torrents

down her cheeks: “would to heaven that I could prove to you how deeply

sensible I am of this kindness which you now manifest towards me!”

“Then you forgive me!” cried the nobleman, pressing her hand tenderly,

while joy beamed in his eyes hitherto dim with the glazing influence

of a mortal enervation:--“then you forgive me!” he repeated, his voice

becoming stronger.

“Yes--oh! yes--a thousand times _yes_!” she exclaimed; and bending over

him, she pressed her lips upon his cold forehead. “But do you pardon me

likewise?” she asked, after a few moments’ pause.

“It was I who provoked all that has occurred--I who was the unhappy

means of blighting the pure affections of your youth,” returned the

Marquis; “and therefore--whatever may have been the consequences--I am

bound to pardon and forget. Alas! Sophia, often and often--and with

feelings of ineffable pain and anguish--have I thought of that fatal

day when, long years ago, I levelled at you a terrible accusation. But

I was a coward--and I was cruel thus to have taxed you with a fault

which at that period my jealous suspicions alone----”

“To what do you allude?” demanded the Marchioness, inwardly shocked,

and with her heart bleeding as she asked the question: for she divined

too well to what her husband _did_ allude--and she was almost crushed

with a devouring sense of shame.

“Oh! if you can have forgotten that fatal day,” exclaimed the Marquis,

whose sight was too dim, and whose mental powers of perception were

too weak to enable him to understand rightly his wife’s present

emotions,--“then are you happy indeed! For, alas! I referred to the day

on which we separated, sixteen or seventeen years ago--I cannot now

remember accurately how many have passed since then----”

“And why allude to that unhappy epoch?” asked the lady, in a low and

tremulous tone.

“Because I wish to convince you that I am indeed repentant for all the

share which I took in sealing our misery,” replied the nobleman. “On

that memorable day, I accused you of infidelity towards me--and yet

subsequent reflection has convinced me that you were innocent _then_!

Oh! never--never shall I forget that tone in which you breathed the

fatal words--‘_All is now at an end between you and me! We part--for

ever!_’ I have thought since--aye, and I have said that you resembled

what would be a sculptor’s or an artist’s conception of _Injured

Innocence_; and then, when I adjured you in the name of your infant

daughter to stay, you uttered a wild cry and fled! That cry rings in my

ears now--has vibrated in my brain ever since----”

“Oh! in the name of heaven, proceed not thus!” murmured the

Marchioness, covering her face with her hands and sobbing bitterly.

But wherefore, did she thus weep?--wherefore were her emotions so

powerful? Why was her heart thus wrung until every fibre appeared to

be stretched to its utmost power of tension? It was because on the

occasion to which the Marquis referred, _guilt_ and not _innocence_

had made her voice hollow and thick as she breathed the words which

decreed an eternal separation!--it was because that wild cry had been

wrung from her by the appeal that was made in the name of the infant

child whom she knew to be the offspring of her amour with Sir Gilbert

Heathcote! But there are times when _Conscious Guilt_ so much resembles

_Injured Innocence_, that the most keen observer may be deceived;--and

such was the fact in the case now alluded to.

A long pause ensued--during which the Marquis, still totally ignorant

of the real nature of his wife’s emotions, gazed upon her with an

affectionate interest that was rapidly growing into a resuscitated love.

“Weep not, dearest,” he at length said;--“weep not, I implore you!”

“I weep, because I feel that I am so completely unworthy of your

present kindness,” responded the Marchioness, withdrawing her hands

from her face, and bending her tearful eyes with an expression of such

mournfulness and such profound penitence upon her husband, that had he

the power to raise himself in the bed, he would have snatched her to

his bosom.

“It is now my turn to implore you not to dwell longer upon the past,”

he said, taking one of her hands and conveying it to his lips. “We

have promised mutual forgiveness. You have pardoned me for forcing you

into a marriage which caused all your unhappiness: and I have pardoned

you for your connexion with Sir Gilbert Heathcote since the period of

our separation. This is the understanding between us, Sophia--and now

we are friends again. But tell me, my dear wife--tell me how long I

have been stretched on this bed, and how you came thus to be here to

minister unto me?”

“Four days have elapsed since you--since--” began the Marchioness,

hesitating how to allude to the dreadful attempt at suicide which her

husband had committed.

“Oh! name not the horrible deed!” he groaned forth, writhing in anguish.

“But it is not known--save to three or four persons,” hastily observed

his wife, well aware that this assurance would prove consolatory.

“Heaven be thanked!” murmured the old nobleman, clasping his hands

fervently. “And now tell me, my dear Sophia, how you came to learn the

shocking intelligence?”

“If you will compose yourself as much as you can, and speak but little,

I will explain every thing to you,” she answered, assuming, with

captivating tenderness of tone and manner, the position of wife and

nurse.

“One word first!” exclaimed the Marquis. “Agnes--”

“Is here--beneath your roof,” was the reply.

“My daughter again near me!” he murmured, joy animating his

countenance: but in another moment a cloud overspread his features, as

he said hesitatingly, “Does she know of the dreadful attempt that I

made upon my life?”

“Heaven forbid!” ejaculated the Marchioness, shocked at the bare idea.

“That circumstance has been religiously withheld from her. She is

however now aware that she is the daughter of the Marquis of Delmour,

and not of plain Mr. Vernon; and she believes you to be dangerously

ill. She has indeed been my companion for hours together by your

bed-side----”

“Dearest Agnes!” exclaimed the nobleman, with an effusion of tenderness

in his tone. “I will see her presently--when I am more composed,” he

added. “And now give me the promised explanations relative to all I

have asked you.”

“Listen, then, my dear husband--and do not interrupt me. Yon have

already spoken too much, considering your depressed and enfeebled

state; and Sir John Lascelles, when he calls again, will be angry

with me for permitting you to use such exertions. Oh! you know not

how kind--how attentive he has been! But you will shortly have an

opportunity of thanking him with your own lips--for he will be here in

an hour. Though the room be darkened, it is now about eleven o’clock in

the morning; and he will call at noon. Compose yourself, therefore; and

I will give you all the details you require.”

The Marchioness arranged her husband’s pillows--kissed his forehead

once more--and then, seating herself by his bed-side, proceeded as

follows:--

“That excellent young nobleman, Lord William Trevelyan, called upon me

a few days ago, in consequence of an interview which he had had with

you. It was relative to Agnes. I assured him that Sir Gilbert Heathcote

and myself had come to an understanding that we should see each other

no more; and I likewise informed Lord William that it was my intention

to repair with Agnes to the Continent. But after he had taken his

departure, I reflected profoundly upon the plans I had somewhat too

hastily determined to adopt;--and another project suggested itself.

For you may believe me when I solemnly avow that all my solicitude was

relative to Agnes. Her present happiness and her future welfare in the

world alone occupied my attention. Thus was it that the thought stole

into my mind, of how unfortunate it was for her to be separated from

the father whom she loved so well, and how prejudicial to her interests

the equivocal position of her mother was likely to become. Then I

resolved to see _you_--to throw myself upon your mercy--to implore

forgiveness for the past--and to beseech you that we might all dwell

once again beneath the same roof! For I reflected that as you had shown

so much forbearance in never appealing to the courts of justice to

divorce me legally--and as you had rather manifested every inclination

to envelope in secrecy the causes of our unfortunate differences,--the

conviction gained upon my mind that you were generous enough to be

capable of still farther sacrifices for the sake of Agnes. Oh! you can

comprehend a mother’s solicitude, my dear husband----”

“Yes--yes: proceed!” exclaimed the Marquis, powerfully affected.

“Well--animated with the hopes inspired by all these considerations,”

resumed the Marchioness, “I passed the night in meditating upon the

best course to adopt in order to procure an interview with you,--an

interview after so long a separation! At length I determined to pen a

brief note, stating that family affairs of the utmost importance to us

both had induced me to take this step; and a letter to that effect did

I accordingly write on the following morning. But when I had completed

this much of my task, another idea struck me,--which was to become the

personal bearer of my own note. I will now candidly admit that I shrank

from undertaking a task which might appear to you to evince a matchless

audacity and presumption; but when I thought of Agnes, I resolved to

risk any mortification or shame which could possibly be inflicted upon

me.”

“Oh! no mortification--no shame!” cried the nobleman. “Would to heaven

that you had only come in time to----to----”

“Hush!” exclaimed the Marchioness, placing her finger upon her lip:

“you promised that you would listen, without exerting yourself to

speak.”

“Proceed, dearest,” said the Marquis, who all this while had one of his

wife’s hands locked in his own.

“Summoning all my courage to my aid,” she resumed, “I resolved on

presenting myself at your abode. I arrived--I sent up the letter by

your valet: but in a few minutes he came rushing down the stairs

with a countenance that had horror depicted in every lineament. I

shall not however dwell upon this portion of my adventure. You may

probably conjecture how dreadful was my alarm--how great my grief,

when I learnt from the broken sentences in which the man spoke, the

frightful intelligence of the condition in which he had found you. Then

I revealed to him who I was; and, recovering my presence of mind, bade

him place a seal on his lips with regard to every one save the doctor,

whom I dispatched him to fetch. In a few moments I was with you: I

stanched the blood--I did all that an unassisted and inexperienced

woman could do in such a case. Sir John Lascelles arrived--and the

information he gave me, after inspecting the wound, was reassuring. I

then resolved to remain with you; and I sent the valet to fetch Agnes.

This is all the explanation that I have to give;--unless indeed I

should add that I communicated with Lord William Trevelyan, who, as a

generous friend and as the intended husband of Agnes----”

“Has he visited this chamber?” asked the old nobleman, hastily.

“Yes,” was the reply. “Considering that he was alike in your

confidence and in mine, I did not think it either grateful or prudent

to leave him unacquainted with all that had occurred. The secret

therefore rests with him, the good physician, the valet, and myself;

and the household generally believes that you were found in a fit,

which has been followed by a dangerous illness.”

“My dearest wife,” said the Marquis, after a long pause, “were there

no circumstances which compelled me, as an honest man, to ask _your_

pardon for the past, in the same way as you have demanded and obtained

my forgiveness,--all that you have now told me would efface from my

memory every thing that it had ever cherished to your prejudice. The

delicacy you have displayed--your generosity--your watchfulness----”

“Nay--I cannot permit you thus to exert yourself,” interrupted the

Marchioness, placing her hand upon his mouth.

“But you _must_ permit me to declare how deep is the gratitude that

I experience for your conduct towards me,” he said. “Oh! my beloved

wife--for so I must again call you--I was mad at the time when I laid

violent hands upon myself!”

“Oh! speak not of _that_!” exclaimed the lady. “My God! was it in

consequence of that last interview which you had with Trevelyan----”

“No--no,” interrupted the Marquis: “do not blame yourself in any way!

It was _not_ on account of the determination which you had expressed,

and which he explained to me, to retain Agnes in your care. No--alas! a

far less worthy cause----But tell me,” he exclaimed, suddenly checking

himself, as an idea struck him: “has there been any communication made

from my bankers----”

“Do not harass yourself with matters of business,” said the

Marchioness, in a tone expressive of the deepest solicitude.

“Nay--if I am to endure the tortures of suspense, I shall never

recover,” exclaimed the nobleman, with strong emphasis. “Besides, I see

by your manner that something _has_ occurred, Sophia----”

“Well--I will explain every thing,” said the Marchioness; “and then

your mind will be relieved: for I see that it is useless to expect you

to compose yourself while any cause of vexation or excitement exists.

Tranquillise your mind, therefore, relative to the matter which is now

uppermost in your thoughts. Your honour has been duly cared for--no

exposure has given existence to shame or humiliation.”

“Oh! again--again I thank you, my generous wife,” cried the Marquis.

“But pray give me an explanation of all this!”

“I will do so without farther preface,” she said. “In the course of the

day following the mournful one whose chief incident made me an inmate

of the house to which I only came in the first instance as a visitor,

the principal partner in the banking firm in the Strand called with

an earnest request to see you immediately. In pursuance of certain

orders which I had given to the servants relative to any visitors who

might come upon business, I was immediately made acquainted with the

banker’s presence; and I hastened to the room where he was waiting.

I assured him that you had been seized with a sudden fit, and were

unable to see any one; and, as I had already made myself known in

the house as your wife, I informed him that I was the Marchioness

of Delmour. He said that it was of the greatest consequence for him

to see you; and I replied that you were insensible to all that was

passing around you. He appeared much annoyed--indeed bewildered by

this announcement; and I conjured him to be candid with me. He then

stated that a forgery had been committed upon the bank, your name

having been already used to procure the sum of sixty thousand pounds;

that the legitimate owner of the cheque had just called to obtain the

cash, and was actually waiting at the bank at that instant; and that

he himself had come to require final instructions from _you_, as the

lady was resolute in enforcing her demand. Pardon me, my husband,”

continued the Marchioness, “if I tell you I suspected that the affair

was one which you would be unwilling to have exposed; and, indeed, on

a little farther conversation with the banker, I heard sufficient to

convince me that such was the fact. I accordingly took it upon myself

to desire him to effect a compromise with the lady in question: but she

being obstinate, he paid the entire amount. This result he subsequently

called to communicate to me; and I hope that you will at least approve

of my motives, if not of the instructions that I gave.”

“I approve of both,” answered the Marquis; “and I again thank you,

Sophia, for the delicacy which you have exhibited in my behalf.”

At this moment a knock at the door of the chamber was heard; and Sir

John Lascelles immediately afterwards made his appearance.

The worthy physician was much delighted at the sudden and unexpected

improvement which had manifested itself in his patient: and, after a

few inquiries of a purely professional nature, he turned towards the

Marchioness, saying, “To her ladyship, my lord, are you indebted for

your life. Her prompt attention and the singular presence of mind

with which she adopted the proper--indeed, the only effectual course,

immediately after the discovery of your alarming condition--saved

your lordship from a speedy death. During the four days and four

nights which have elapsed since the occurrence,” continued Sir John

Lascelles, alluding as delicately as he could to the attempted suicide,

“her ladyship has been constant and unwearied in her attendance at

your bed-side. In order to retain the sad secret within as narrow a

circle as possible, her ladyship would not even permit a nurse to

be engaged;--but, unassisted, she has sustained all the cares--all

the anxieties--and all the fatigues inevitably associated with daily

watchings and long vigils. Pardon me, madam, for speaking thus

enthusiastically; but, throughout my experience, which embraces a

lengthened series of years, I never--never beheld such devotion.”

“I thank you, doctor,” said the nobleman, “for dwelling with

such emphasis upon conduct as noble as it is generous. Certain

differences--trifling in reality, and all in consequence of faults on

_my_ side,” continued the Marquis, “had long kept us apart. But we are

now reunited, never again to separate until Death shall lay his hand

upon me, Doctor,” added the nobleman, after a short pause,--while the

Marchioness was weeping through deep emotion,--“should you ever hear

any one allude to our protracted separation, I beg--I implore you to

declare, upon the authority of my own avowal, that I alone was the

offending party, and that her ladyship has generously forgiven me every

thing.”

“I shall not wait to hear people allude to this matter, ere I myself

broach the subject, in order to volunteer that explanation,” said Sir

John Lascelles, who, firmly believing all that the Marquis had uttered,

naturally considered that the most ample justice should be done towards

a lady who had exhibited such a noble devotion to her husband under

such peculiar circumstances.

When the physician had taken his leave, after prescribing certain

medicines and giving the instructions necessary in the case,

the Marchioness bent over her husband, and with deeply blushing

countenance, said, “If there were anything at all deserving of praise

in my conduct, yours is beyond all commendation: for I have merely

performed a duty--whereas you have proved yourself to be the most

generous of men. Oh! how can I ever sufficiently thank you, my dear

husband, for having thus disarmed scandal of its weapons--thereby

saving my honour even from the faintest breath of suspicion? And in

order to do this, you have taken upon yourself the odium which attaches

itself to the separation of man and wife.”

“I need--I deserve no thanks,” said the Marquis. “You have saved my

life--you have recalled me to existence: to you am I indebted for

that leisure which, by God’s mercy, may yet be afforded me wherein to

repent of the heinous crime I have committed in laying violent hands

upon myself. Sir John Lascelles goes much into society--he is intimate

in all the first houses at the West End: and he will be careful to

propagate the intelligence which I gave him. You may therefore hold up

your head proudly, Sophia: for _your_ secret is also retained within as

narrow a circle as my own. And now as you have eased my mind on so many

points, let me relieve you from any shadow of uncertainty that may hang

over yours, in respect to the cause of this dreadful deed, the fatal

results of which were averted only by your timely aid. It was through

disappointment in respect to that very lady who presented herself at my

bankers’----”

“Enough!” exclaimed the Marchioness: “we have already had too many

painful revelations this day,” she added, in a low and affectionate

tone. “If you are now strong enough to see her, I will fetch Agnes to

remain with us for a few minutes.”

The Marquis joyfully assented; and Sophia, having arranged the collar

of his linen in such a manner that the bandage on the throat could not

be observed, quitted the room. She however almost immediately returned,

followed by her daughter, who was overwhelmed with delight to find him

whom she believed to be her father so much improved.

But when the Marchioness contemplated the heart-felt joy with which her

husband welcomed Agnes to his arms, she was stricken with remorse at

the deceit she was practising upon him,--permitting him to regard that

beauteous girl as his own offspring! Could she, however, destroy an

illusion which gave him so much delight, and was the source of so much

happiness?--will our readers blame her for cherishing this secret in

her own breast, instead of uselessly destroying the fabric of domestic

peace which had once more been built up in that lordly mansion?

After this interview with Agnes, the Marquis shortly fell into a deep

and refreshing slumber, which continued until the evening.

On the following morning he was so much farther improved, that when

Trevelyan called, he insisted upon seeing that good young nobleman,

who was delighted beyond measure to find that such a signal change had

taken place in his condition.