"I shall think of my Kate when I am passionate, and so keep the peace."
"'I shall think of my Kate.' Grant me patience with all young husbands.
They ought to remain in seclusion until the wedding-fever is over. By
the Lord Harry! If Jack Capel had spoken of me in such fashion, I would
have given him the best of reasons for running some pretty fellow
through the heart. Hush! Here comes Arabella, and I am anxious you
should make a figure in her eyes."
Arabella came in very quietly, but she seemed to take possession of the
room as she entered it. She had a bright, piquant face, a tall, graceful
form, and that air of high fashion which is perhaps quite as
captivating.
She was "delighted to meet cousin Dick. Oh, indeed, you have been the
town talk!" she said, with an air of attention very flattering. "Such a
passionate encounter was never heard of. The clubs were engaged with it
for a week. I was told that Lord Paget and Sir Henry Dutton came near
fighting it over themselves. Was it really about a bow of orange ribbon?
And did you wear it over your heart? And did the Scotchman cut it off
with his sword? And did you run him through the next moment? There were
the most extraordinary accounts of the affair, and of the little girl
with the unpronounceable Dutch name who"-"Who is now my wife, Lady Suffolk."
"Certainly, we heard of that also. How romantic! The secret marriage,
the midnight elopement, and the man-of-war waiting down the river with a
broadside ready for any boat that attempted to stop you."
"Oh, my lady, that is the completest nonsense!"
"Say 'cousin Arabella,' if you please. Has not grandmother told you that
I, not the Dutch girl, ought to have been your wife? It was all arranged
years ago, sir. You have disappointed grandmother; as for me, I have
consoled myself with Sir Thomas."
"Yes, indeed," said Lady Capel; "though Dick was entirely out of the
secret of the match, my son Will and I had agreed upon it. I don't know
what Will thinks of a younger son like Dick choosing for himself."
Then Arabella made Hyde a pretty, mocking courtesy, and he could not
help looking with some interest at the woman who might have been his
wife. The best of men, and the best of husbands, are liable to speculate
a little under such circumstances, and in fancy to put themselves into a
position they have probably no wish in reality to fill. She noticed his
air of consideration; and, with a toss of her handsome head, she spread
out all her finery. "You see," she said, "I am dressed so as to make a
tearing show." She wore a white poudesoy gown, embroidered with gold,
and the prettiest high-heeled satin slippers, and a head-dress of
wonderful workmanship. "For I have been at a concert of music, cousin
Dick, and heard two overtures of Mr. Handel's and a sonata by Corella,
done by the very best hands."