Ellen Percy; or, The Memoirs of an Actress — page 181: what you’re looking at

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—.___—_ ee oor ee ~—— Oe ee ae en ee ee ee 168 a week, you know, will elapse before you can apply to the treasury; and you may have little expenses to meet. Pray consent to use me as your banker for your temporary requirements ” She had raised her veil: she looked up stead- fastly into my face for a few instants as I thus spoke ; and then, bursting into tears, she exclaimed, “ Good Gud! you know, then, that I was starv- ing |” I was cruelly shocked at ibis ejaculation; and from my own eyes did the tears gush forth. [ placed my purse in her hand: but when she heard the chink of gold, she said with a species of con- vulsive nervousness, “ No, no—not all this!”—and drawing forth a single sovereign, she laid the purse upon the table. “T can only repeat, Miss Trafford, what I said this morning,” she continued, after a brief pause, —‘“‘that I cannot find words sufficient to thank you for your goodness. I will now retire: and to- morrow I shall not fail to keep the appointment with the lessee.” “T will conduct you to the outer door,” I said ; “for I myself am about to return home, as Mr. and Mrs. Norman will not be ready to leave the theatre for the next hour.” We accordingly issued forth together: and when we reached the stage-entrance, Miss Howard said, ** Here we will part.” She shook me by the hand, and was hastening away, when the light of a gas-lamp streamed full upon the countenance of a gentleman who was passing. I should observe that Miss Howard had omitted to draw down her veil again,—either from the confusion of her thoughts, or else because as 1 wore none on the occasion, she considered that it would be discourteous to cover her own face. The recognition between herself and that gentleman was mutual and instantaneous. *“ Ah!” he ejaculated in a voice which seemed to be filled with anything but joy: “is it you ?” “Good heavens! we meet again!” were the words which quivered from the lips of Frances Howard: for she had told me that this was her Christian name. “ Have you thrown yourself in my way, to renew Ss “Silence !” he sternly ejaculated: and I heard not another syllable—for I retreated within the doorway, not choosing that Miss Howard should fancy I purposely lingered to listen. When I looked forth again, at the expiration of about a minute, both the lady and the gentleman had dissppeared—I knew not whether in company, or in different directions, The carriage was wait- ing to take me home; and during the drive thither, I continued to think of Frances Howard and the strange mystery that enveloped her. That she was unhappy, she herself had admitted: but was her unhappiness connected with that gentleman whom she had met, evidently by an accident? And was there any fault on her side P—was she in any way criminal? Oh! was it possible to associate guilt with that pathetic softness of expression— with that grateful heart—with those assurances that she was accustomed to pray to her Maker? Ah! had I not been deceived by the apparently amiable qualities of Lady Lilla Essendine P—and was I to become the dupe of another aeception nowP For a few moments I was shocked and afflicted with the idea: but speedily repelling it ee ELLEN PERCY; OR, THE MEMOIRS OF AN ACTRESS. as most ungenerous and uncharitable, I resolved to yield my faith to the better side, and to believe that Frances Howard was merely unhappy, but not criminal. While thus reflecting, I endeavoured to remem- ber the outlines and the expression of that mascu- line couz$enance on which the gas-lamp had shed its light.-~¢he countenance of that gentleman whom Miss Howard had accidentally met. It was & countenance which, to my knowledge, I had never seen before; and I had obtained so transient a glimpse of it that methought I should scarcely be enabled to recognise it again. To the best of my recollection, however, it was the face of a man of at least forty years of age—dark-complexioned, even to swarthiness—and with eyes that appeared to vibrate for an instant with a sinister light. He was tall; and it struck me that he was well dressed. More than these few details I could not remember. CHAPTER XxXxXlI AUNT OLDCASTLE. On the following day Mrs. Oldcastle again made her appearance in Hunter Street; and it was with an increased cordiality that she returned the greet- ings of her relatives. She established herself by the fireside as if it were an old familiar place— drew forth her knitting—and seemed prepared to make herself quite at home. Juliet was in better spirits ; for she had buoyed herself up with the hope that circumstances would continue to protect her secret from discovery by the aunt; and moreover Mrs. Oldcastle had intimated, shortly after her arrival on this occasion, that she should most pro- bably leave London on the following day. Matters passed on very comfort:bly until about three o’clock in the afternoon,—when a loud double knock. reverberated through the house. A visitor was arriving; andin afew minutes a certain Mrs. Armstrong was announced. This was an elderly lady who had retired from the stage on a compe- tency; she had always borne an unexceptionable character: she had known the Normans for years; and thus she was invariably welcome at the house. She was a widow, and dearly loved a little bit of gossip—though she was by no means mali:ziously prone to scandal; or else her presence would not have been agreeable to the straight-forward, honest-hearted Normans. As a matter of course, she was introduced to the aunt: but I knew that the Normans must have felt uneasy; for it was to this very lady that the tale of Juliet’s pretended visit to Mrs. Old- castle at Dover was first mentioned at the time. No sooner, however, was Mrs. Oldcastle’s name announced, when Mrs. Armstrong exclaimed, “Well, Iam truly delighted to see you here, my dear madam! It augurs well—but only fulfils what we had all along expected !” “JT did not know, madam,” said Mrs. Oldcastle curtly, “that my visit to London could have been in any way foreseen.” “ Certainly not, certainly not!” said Mr. Nor- man, stammering, and looking very much con- fused; for he was far from being an adept in cS GOmichdoo Com