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Updated: July 5, 2025
Do you remember papa's words that, if ever he found one of us guilty of any deceit, or involved in any clandestine love affair, even if it broke his heart he would send the guilty one from him and never see her again? Think, darling, what it would be for me to leave Earlescourt to leave all the magnificence I love so dearly, and drag out a weary life at the Elms.
Some day she, too, would walk through these gorgeous rooms, and then would all admire the wisdom of his choice. So the heir of Earlescourt dreamed as he watched the brilliant crowd that began to fill the ball room; but his reverie was suddenly broken by a summons from Lady Earle. "Ronald," said she, looking slightly impatient, "have you forgotten that it is your place to open the ball?
The gentle eyes were raised to his in mute, appealing sorrow, but she spoke not. "Tell me now," he said, "whom it was you stole out of the house to meet why you met him? Be frank with me; and, if it was but girlish nonsense, in time I may pardon you. If you refuse to tell me, I shall leave Earlescourt, and never look upon your false, fair face again."
Lord Earle received the parting compliments of his guests, wondering at the same time why Lord Airlie kept near him and seemed unwilling to lose sight of him. The happy moment arrived when the last carriage rolled away, and the family at Earlescourt were left alone. Lady Earle asked the two young girls to go into her room for half an hour to "talk over the ball."
"Come with me, then," said the master of Earlescourt, as he led the way to the library, where the lamps were still alight. "Now, what is it?" he asked, good-humoredly, turning to the excited, anxious lover. "Perhaps I ought to study my words," said Lord Airlie; "but I can not. Lord Earle, I love your daughter Beatrice. Will you give her to me to be my wife?"
It was arranged that until Ronald's return his mother should continue to reside at Earlescourt, and the management of the estates was intrusted to Mr. Burt, the family solicitor. Lady Earle resolved to go to the Elms herself; great changes must be made there.
"I listen, and try to convince you by reasonable arguments that the step you seem bent upon taking is one that will entail nothing but misery. I have said no angry word to you, nor shall I do so. I tell you simply it can not be. Dora Thorne, my lodge keeper's daughter, is no fitting wife for my son, the heir of Earlescourt. Come with me, Ronald; I will show you further what I mean."
Ronald's wife and children must take their places in the world; and she felt a proud satisfaction in thinking that, thanks to her sensible and judicious management, Dora would fill her future position with credit. She anticipated Ronald's delight when he should see his beautiful and accomplished daughters. Despite her great sorrow, the lady of Earlescourt felt some degree of hope for the future.
The lords of Earlescourt had all loved pictures, and each of them ad added to the treasures of that wonderful gallery. One portion of the gallery was set aside for the portraits of the family. Grim old warriors and fair ladies hung side by side; faces of marvelous beauty, bearing the signs of noble descent, shone out clearly from their gilded frames.
He was not ashamed of the tears that rushed warmly to his eyes when the towers and turrets of Earlescourt came in sight. A sharp sense of pain filled his heart keen regret, bitter remorse, a longing for power to undo all that was done, to recall the lost miserable years the best of his life.
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