Several days after, Mrs. Carrington received a letter which she supposed
came from Dr. Lacey. In it she was coolly requested not to interfere in
other people's matters, and told that any efforts on her part to engraft
herself into Dr. Lacey's good graces by maligning Julia, would be useless,
and only serve to confirm him in his present low opinion of her, while at
the same time it would increase the high estimation in which he held Miss
Middleton!
After that Mrs. Carrington troubled Dr. Lacey with no more letters, but
busied herself in anticipating the capture of a wealthy gentleman, who
Ashton told her was, in the course of two or three months, coming on from
Charleston, South Carolina.
The scene now changes from Dr. Lacey's to the "Indian Nest," on the lake
shore. It was a charming spot, and looked as if intended only for the
inhabitation of the pure and innocent. Yet even there was crafty ambition
and base deceit. Julia was there, eagerly seeking to wind her coils
securely around her long watched-for prey. To all eyes but her own she
seemed not likely to succeed, for though Dr. Lacey admired her and
possibly treated her with more attention than he did either Mabel or
Florence, yet his heart still turned to Fanny, and for hours he would sit,
talking to Julia of her sister, while she schooled herself to answer all
his questions without one sign of impatience.
Occasionally she would speak to Dr. Lacey of his cousin, young Stanton,
and would tell how much pleasure Fanny seemed to take in his society. But
this produced no effect, for Dr. Lacey had learned from Stanton himself of
his approaching marriage with Miss Ashton. Then Julia pulled another
string and expatiated so largely upon Frank Cameron's sayings and doings
that Dr. Lacey became really uneasy, for recently he had thought seriously
of again writing to Fanny, and now he determined to do so.
Without knowing it, Julia was herself the means of causing this
determination to be carried into effect. One night she and Dr. Lacey had
been strolling for more than an hour through the many delightful walks in
the garden, which lay upon the lake shore. To her great satisfaction, they
were entirely alone, for Mr. Middleton and Florence were engaged in their
favorite game of chess, while Mabel was eagerly listening to Ashton, who
was relating to her some of his India adventures. Mabel had good sense
enough to know that her efforts to win Dr. Lacey would be useless, and
rather reluctantly she had given him up. Now her eyes grew brighter and
her heart beat faster whenever Ashton approached. But, fair Mabel, your
hopes are all in vain.