For Woman's Love Part- 2 by Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth (i love reading books txt) 📕
- Author: Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth
Book online «For Woman's Love Part- 2 by Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth (i love reading books txt) 📕». Author Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth
From My Birth, Almost! I Had No Evil Designs Against Anybody. I Only
Wanted To Be Happy And To See People Happy. I Honestly Believed I Was
Lawfully Married To Captain Stillwater. He Took Me To The Wirt House And
Registered Our Names As Mr. And Mrs. Stillwater. And We Were Very Happy
Until His Ship Sailed. He Gave Me Plenty Of Money Before He Went Away;
But I Was Heartbroken To Part With Him, And Could Take No Pleasure In
Anything Until I Got A Little Used To His Absence."
"I Think You Told Me That You Met Him Once More Before Your Final
Separation. When Was That Meeting? Eh?"
"Fabian Rockharrt, Are You Trying To Catch Me In A Falsehood? You Know
Very Well That I Never Told You Anything Of The Sort I Told You That I
Never Saw Him Again After He Sailed Away That Autumn Day! I Waited All
The Autumn And Heard Nothing From Him, I Wrote To Him Often, But None
Of My Letters Were Answered. At Length I Longed So Much To See Him That
I Grew Wild And Reckless And Resolved To Follow Him. I Took Passage In
The Second Cabin Of The Africa And Sailed For Liverpool, Where I Arrived
About The Middle Of December. I Went To The Agency Of The Blue Star
Line, To Which His Ship Belonged, And Inquired Where He Was To Be Found.
They Told Me He Had Sailed For Calcutta And Had Taken His Wife With Him!
It Turned Me To Stone--To Stone, Fabian--Almost! I Remember I Sat Down
On A Bench And Felt Numb And Cold. And Then I Asked How Long He Had Been
Married--Hoping, If It Was True, That My Own Was The First And The
Lawful Union. They Told Me, For Ten Years, But As They Had No Family,
His Wife Usually Accompanied Him On All His Voyages. So She Had Now Gone
With Him To Calcutta."
"I Suspect The People In That Office Were Pretty Well Acquainted With
The Handsome Skipper's 'Ways And Manners,' And That They Understood Your
Case At Once."
"I Do Really Believe They Did," Said Rose; "For They Looked At Me So
Strangely, And One Man, Who Seemed To Be A Porter Or A Messenger, Or
Part 2 Chapter 22 (Fabian And Rose) Pg 65Something Of That Sort, Said Something About A Sailor Having A Wife At
Every Port."
"So After That You Came Back To New York, And Did, At Last, What You
Should Have Done At First--You Wrote To Me."
"There Was No One On Earth To Whom, Under The Peculiar Circumstances, I
Could Have Written But To You. Oh, Fabian! To Whom Else Could I Appeal?"
"And Did I Not Respond Promptly To Your Call?"
"Indeed You Did, Like A True Knight, As You Were. And I Did Not Deceive
You By Any False Story, Fabian. I Told You All--Even Thing--How Basely I
Had Been Deceived--And You Soothed And Consoled Me, And Told Me That,
As I Had Not Sinned Intentionally, I Had Not Sinned At All; And You
Brought Me With You To The State Capital, And Established Me Comfortably
There."
"But You Were Very Ungrateful, My Dear. You Took Everything; Gave
Nothing."
"I Would Have Given You Myself In Marriage, But You Would Not Have Me.
You Did Not Think Me Good Enough For You."
"But, Bless My Wig, Child! For Your Age You Had Been Too Much Married
Already--A Great Deal Too Much Married! You Got Into The Habit Of
Getting Married."
"Oh! How Merciless You Are To Me!" Rose Said, Beginning To Weep.
"No; I Am Not. I Have Never Been Unkind To You--As Yet. I Don't Know
What I May Be! My Course Toward You Will Depend Very Much Upon Yourself.
Have I Not Always Hitherto Been Your Best Friend? Ungrateful,
Unresponsive Though You Were At That Time, Did I Not Procure For You An
Invitation From My Mother To Accompany Her Party On That Long,
Delightful Summer Trip?"
"I Had An Impression At The Time That I Owed The Invitation To Your
Father, Who Suggested To Your Mother To Write And Ask Me To Accompany
Them."
Mr. Fabian Looked Surprised, And Said--For He Never Hesitated To Tell A
Fib:
"Oh! That Was Quite A Mistake. It Was I Myself Who Suggested The
Invitation. I Thought It Would Be Agreeable To You. Was It Not I Myself
Who Sent You Forward In Advance To The Wirt House, Baltimore, There To
Await The Arrival Of Our Party, And Join Us In Our Summer Travel? And
Didn't You Have A Long, Delightful Tour With Us Through The Most Sublime
Scenery In The Most Salubrious Climates On Earth? Didn't You Return A
Perfect Hebe In Health And Bloom?"
"I Acknowledge All That. I Acknowledge All My Obligations To Your
Family; But At The Same Time I Declare That I Also Did My Part. I Was As
Part 2 Chapter 22 (Fabian And Rose) Pg 66A White Slave To Your Parents. I Was Lady's Maid To Your Mother, Foot
Boy To Your Father. I Don't Know, Indeed, What The Old People Would Have
Done Without Me, For No Hired Servant Could Have Served Them As
Faithfully As I Did."
"Oh, Yes; You Were Grateful And Devoted To All The Family Except To Me,
Your Best Friend--To Me, Who Gave You The Use Of A Lovely Home, And A
Liberal Income, And A Faithful Friendship; And Then Trusted In Your
Sense Of Justice For My Reward."
"I Would Have Given You All I Possessed In The World--My Own Poor Self
In Marriage--And You Led Me On To Believe That You Wished To Marry Me,
But, Finally, You Would Not Have Me. You Went Off And Married Another
Woman."
"Bah! We Are Talking Around In A Circle, And Getting Back To Where We
Began. Let Us Come To The Point."
"Very Well; Come To The Point," Said Rose, Sulkily.
"Listen, Then: It Is Not For Your Reckless Elopement With Your
Step-Father's Pupil, When You Were Driven From Home By Cruelty; It Is
Not For Your False Marriage With Stillwater, When You Yourself Were
Deceived; But Because With All These Antecedents Against
You--Antecedents Which Constituted You, However Unjustly, A Pariah, Who
Should Have Lived Quietly And Obscurely, But Who, Instead Of Doing So,
Took Advantage Of Kindness Shown Her, And Betrayed The Family Who
Sheltered Her By Luring Into A Disgraceful Marriage Its Revered Father,
And Bringing To Deep Dishonor The Gray Head Of Aaron Rockharrt, A Man Of
Stern Integrity And Unblemished Reputation--You Should Be Denounced And
Punished."
"Oh, Fabian, Have Mercy! Have Mercy! You Would Not Now, After Years Of
Friendship, You Would Not Now Ruin Me?"
"Listen To Me! You Checkmated Me In That Matter Of The Cottage And The
Income. Yes, Simple As You Seem, And Sharp As I May Appear, You
Certainly Managed To Take All And Give Nothing. And When You Found But
That You Could Not Take My Hand And My Name, You Waylaid Me At The
Railway Station, When I Was On My Wedding Tour, And You Swore To Be
Revenged. I Laughed At You. I Advised You To Be Anything Rather Than
Dramatic. I Never Imagined The Possibility Of Your Threatened Revenge
Taking The Form Of Your Marriage. Well, My Dear, You Have Your Revenge,
I Admit; But In Your Blindness, You Could Not See That Revenge Itself
Might Be Met By Retribution! One Man Kills Another For Revenge, And Does
Not, In His Blind Fury, See The Gallows Looming In The Distance."
"What Do You Mean? You Cannot Hang Me For Marrying Your Father,"
Exclaimed Rose.
"No; Don't Raise Your Voice, Or You May Be Heard. No, Rose, I Cannot
Hang You For Treachery; But, My Dear, There Are Worse Fates Than Neat
And Tidy Hanging, Which Is Over In A Few Minutes. I Could Expose Your
Past Life To My Father. You Know Him, And You Know That He Would Show No
Ruth, No Mercy To Deception And Treachery Such As Yours. You Know That
He Would Turn You Out Of The House Without Money Or Character, Destitute
And Degraded. What Then Would Be Your Fate At Your Age--A Fading Rose
Past Thirty-Seven Years Old? Sooner Or Later, And Very Little Later, The
Poor-House Or The Hospital. Better A Sweet, Tidy Little Hanging And Be
Done With It, If Possible."
"You Are A Fiend To Talk To Me So! A Fiend! Fabian Rockharrt," Exclaimed
Rose, Bursting Into Hysterical Sobs And Tears.
"Now, Be Quiet, My Child; You'll Raise The House, And Then There Will Be
An Explosion."
"I Don't Care If There Will Be. You Are Cruel, Savage, Barbarous! I
Never Meant To Do Any Harm By Marrying Mr. Rockharrt. I Never Meant To
Be Revenged On You Or Anybody. I Only Said So Because I Was So Excited
By Your Desertion Of Me. I Married The Old Gentleman For A Refuge From
The World. I Meant To Do My Duty By Him, Though He Is As Cross As A Bear
With A Bruised Head. But Do Your Worst; I Don't Care. I Would Just As
Lief Die As Live. I Am Tired Of Trying To Be Good; Tired Of Trying To
Please People; Tired, Oh, Very Tired Of Living!"
"Come, Come," Said Soft-Hearted Mr. Fabian; "None Of That Nonsense.
Place Yourself In My Hands, To Be Guided By Me And To Work For My
Interests, And None Of These Evils Shall Happen To You. You Shall Live
And Die In Wealth And Luxury, My Father's Honored Wife, The Mistress Of
Rockhold."
He Spoke Slowly, Tenderly, Caressingly, And As She Listened To Him Her
Sobs And Tears Subsided And She Grew Calmer.
"What Is It You Want Me To Do For You? What Can I Do For You, Indeed,
Powerless As I Am?" She Inquired At Last.
"You Must Use All Your Influence With My Father In My Interests, And Use
It Discreetly And Perseveringly," He Whispered.
"But I Have No Influence. Never Was The Young Wife Of An Old Man--And I
Am Young In Comparison To Him--Treated So Harshly. I Am Not His Pet; I
Am His Slave!" She Complained.
"But You Must Obtain Influence Over Him. You Can Do That. You Are With
Him Night And Day When He Is Not At His Business. You Are His
Shadow--Beg Pardon, I Ought To Have Said His Sunshine."
"I Am His Slave, I Tell You."
"Then Be His Humble, Submissive, Obedient Slave; Betray No
Disappointment, Discontent, Or Impatience At Your Lot. The Harsher He
Is, The Humbler Must You Be; The More Despotic He Becomes, The More
Part 2 Chapter 22 (Fabian And Rose) Pg 67
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