I gave him the desired assurance;he said:'It is well--I am satisfied--we have nothing more,I believe,to say upon either side,and my presence must be a restraint upon you,I shall therefore bid you farewell.'
I then left the apartment,scarcely knowing what to think of the strange interview which had just taken place.
On the next day my uncle took occasion to tell me that Edward had actually sailed,if his intention had not been interfered with by adverse circumstances;and two days subsequently he actually produced a letter from his son,written,as it said,ON BOARD,and despatched while the ship was getting under weigh.This was a great satisfaction to me,and as being likely to prove so,it was no doubt communicated to me by Sir Arthur.
During all this trying period,I had found infinite consolation in the society and sympathy of my dear cousin Emily.
I never in after-life formed a friendship so close,so fervent,and upon which,in all its progress,I could look back with feelings of such unalloyed pleasure,upon whose termination I must ever dwell with so deep,yet so unembittered regret.In cheerful converse with her I soon recovered my spirits considerably,and passed my time agreeably enough,although still in the strictest seclusion.
Matters went on sufficiently smooth,although I could not help sometimes feeling a momentary,but horrible uncertainty respecting my uncle's character;which was not altogether unwarranted by the circumstances of the two trying interviews whose particulars I have just detailed.The unpleasant impression which these conferences were calculated to leave upon my mind,was fast wearing away,when there occurred a circumstance,slight indeed in itself,but calculated irresistibly to awaken all my worst suspicions,and to overwhelm me again with anxiety and terror.
I had one day left the house with my cousin Emily,in order to take a ramble of considerable length,for the purpose of sketching some favourite views,and we had walked about half a mile when Iperceived that we had forgotten our drawing materials,the absence of which would have defeated the object of our walk.Laughing at our own thoughtlessness,we returned to the house,and leaving Emily without,Iran upstairs to procure the drawing-books and pencils,which lay in my bedroom.
As I ran up the stairs I was met by the tall,ill-looking Frenchwoman,evidently a good deal flurried.
'Que veut,madame?'said she,with a more decided effort to be polite than I had ever known her make before.
'No,no--no matter,'said I,hastily running by her in the direction of my room.
'Madame,'cried she,in a high key,'restez ici,s'il vous plait;votre chambre n'est pas faite--your room is not ready for your reception yet.'
I continued to move on without heeding her.She was some way behind me,and feeling that she could not otherwise prevent my entrance,for I was now upon the very lobby,she made a desperate attempt to seize hold of my person:she succeeded in grasping the end of my shawl,which she drew from my shoulders;but slipping at the same time upon the polished oak floor,she fell at full length upon the boards.
A little frightened as well as angry at the rudeness of this strange woman,Ihastily pushed open the door of my room,at which I now stood,in order to escape from her;but great was my amazement on entering to find the apartment preoccupied.
The window was open,and beside it stood two male figures;they appeared to be examining the fastenings of the casement,and their backs were turned towards the door.One of them was my uncle;they both turned on my entrance,as if startled.The stranger was booted and cloaked,and wore a heavy broad-leafed hat over his brows.He turned but for a moment,and averted his face;but I had seen enough to convince me that he was no other than my cousin Edward.My uncle had some iron instrument in his hand,which he hastily concealed behind his back;and coming towards me,said something as if in an explanatory tone;but I was too much shocked and confounded to understand what it might be.He said something about 'REPAIRS--window--frames--cold,and safety.'
I did not wait,however,to ask or to receive explanations,but hastily left the room.As I went down the stairs Ithought I heard the voice of the Frenchwoman in all the shrill volubility of excuse,which was met,however,by suppressed but vehement imprecations,or what seemed to me to be such,in which the voice of my cousin Edward distinctly mingled.
I joined my cousin Emily quite out of breath.I need not say that my head was too full of other things to think much of drawing for that day.I imparted to her frankly the cause of my alarms,but at the same time as gently as I could;and with tears she promised vigilance,and devotion,and love.I never had reason for a moment to repent the unreserved confidence which I then reposed in her.She was no less surprised than I at the unexpected appearance of Edward,whose departure for France neither of us had for a moment doubted,but which was now proved by his actual presence to be nothing more than an imposture,practised,I feared,for no good end.
The situation in which I had found my uncle had removed completely all my doubts as to his designs.I magnified suspicions into certainties,and dreaded night after night that I should be murdered in my bed.The nervousness produced by sleepless nights and days of anxious fears increased the horrors of my situation to such a degree,that I at length wrote a letter to a Mr.Jefferies,an old and faithful friend of my father's,and perfectly acquainted with all his affairs,praying him,for God's sake,to relieve me from my present terrible situation,and communicating without reserve the nature and grounds of my suspicions.