Love and Life | Page 8

our father received at Belgrade that terrible
wound which closed his military career. Meantime, Urania had married
Sir Jovian Belamour, and Lord Delavie seemed to have forgotten my
father's offence, and gave him the management of the estate, with this

old house to live in, showing himself glad of the neighbourhood of a
kinsman whom he could thoroughly trust. All went well till my Lady
came to visit her father. Then all old offences were renewed. Lady
Belamour treated my mother as a poor dependant. She, daughter to a
noble line of pedigree far higher than that of the Delavies, might well
return her haughty looks, and would not yield an inch, nor join in the
general adulation. There were disputes about us children. Poor Archie
was a most beautiful boy, and though you might not suppose it, I was a
very pretty little girl, this nose of mine being then much more shapely
than the little buttons which grow to fair proportions. On the other hand,
the little Belamours were puny and sickly; indeed, as you know, this
young Sir Amyas, who was not then born, is the only one of the whole
family who has been reared. Then we had been carefully bred, could
chatter French, recite poetry, make our bow and curtsey, bridle, and
said Sir and Madam, while the poor little cousins who had been put out
to nurse had no more manners than the calves and pigs. People were the
more flattering to us because they expected soon to see my father in his
Lordship's place; and on the other hand, officious tongues were not
wanting to tell my Lady how Mrs. Delavie contrasted the two sets of
children. Very bitter offence was taken; nor has my Lady ever truly
forgiven, whatever our dear good father may believe. When the old
Lord died, a will was found, bequeathing all his unentailed estates to
his daughter, and this was of course strong presumption that he
believed in the existence of a deed of entail; but none could ever be
found, and the precedents were not held to establish the right."
"Did he leave my father nothing?" asked Harriet.
"He left him three hundred pounds and made him joint executor with
Sir Jovian. There was no mention of this house, which was the original
house of the family, the first Lord having built the Great House; and
both my father and Sir Jovian were sure the Lord Delavie believed it
would come to him; but no proofs were extant, and my Lady would
only consent to his occupying it, as before, as her agent."
"I always knew we were victims to an injustice," said Harriet, "though I
never understood the matter exactly."
"You were a mere child, and my father does not love to talk of it. He
ceased to care much about the loss after our dear Archie died."
"Not for Eugene's sake?"

"Eugene was not born for two years after Archie's death. My dear
mother had drooped from the time of the disappointment, blaming
herself for having ruined my father, and scarce accepting comfort when
he vowed that all was well lost for her sake. She reproached herself
with having been proud and unconciliatory, though I doubt whether it
made much difference. Then her spirit was altogether crushed by the
loss of Archie, she never had another day's health. Eugene came to her
like Ichabod to Phinehas' wife, and she was soon gone from us," said
Betty, wiping away a tear.
"Leaving us a dear sister to be a mother to us," said Aurelia, raising her
sweet face for a kiss.
Harriet pondered a little, and said, "My Lady is not at enmity with us,
since my father keeps the house and agency."
"We should be reduced to poverty indeed without them," said Betty;
"and Sir Jovian, an upright honourable man, the only person whom my
Lady truly respected, insisted on his continuance. As long as my Lady
regards his memory we are safe, but no one can trust to her caprice."
"She never comes here, nor disturbs my father."
"No, but she makes heavy calls on the estate, and is displeased if he
refuses to overpress the tenants or hesitates to cut the timber."
"I have heard say," added Harriet, "that her debts in town and her losses
at play drove her to accept her present husband, Mr. Wayland, a
hideous old fellow, who had become vastly rich through some
discovery about cannon."
"He is an honourable and upright man," said Betty. "I should have
fewer anxieties if he had not been sent out to Gibraltar and Minorca to
superintend the fortifications."
"Meantime my Lady makes the money fly, by the help of the gallant
Colonel Mar," said Harriet lightly.
"Fie! Harriet!" returned the elder sister;