That pistol-shot cost me many a day's
heart-ache."
"And t' poor little lass hed to suffer, too! Well, well, we thought
about her above a bit."
Elizabeth had spoken, of company, but in the joy and excitement of
meeting her again, Richard had asked no questions about it. It proved
to be Antony's intended wife, Lady Evelyn Darragh, daughter of an
Irish nobleman. Richard, without admiring her, watched her with
interest. She was tall and pale, with a transparent aquiline nose and
preternaturally large eyes. Her moods were alternations of immoderate
mirth and immoderate depression. "She expects too much of life,"
thought Richard, "and if she is disappointed, she will proudly turn
away and silently die." She had no fortune, but Antony was ambitious
for something more than mere money. For the carrying out of his
financial schemes he wanted influence, rank, and the prestige of a
name. The Earl of Darragh had a large family, and little to give them,
and Lady Evelyn having been selected by the promising young financier,
she was not permitted to decline the hand he offered her.
So it happened she was stopping at Hallam, and she brought a change
into the atmosphere of the place. The squire was anxious, fearful of
his son's undertakings, and yet partly proud of his commercial and
social recognition.
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