absent. Venetia continued to bear herself with
great equanimity, and the anxiety which she observed
instantly impressed on her mother’s countenance,
the moment she fancied there was unusual gloom on the
brow of her child, impelled Venetia doubly to exert
herself to appear resigned. And in truth, when
Lady Annabel revolved in her mind the mournful past,
and meditated over her early and unceasing efforts
to secure the happiness of her daughter, and then contrasted
her aspirations with the result, she could not acquit
herself of having been too often unconsciously instrumental
in forwarding a very different conclusion than that
for which she had laboured. This conviction preyed
upon the mother, and the slightest evidence of reaction
in Venetia’s tranquilised demeanour occasioned
her the utmost remorse and grief. The absence
of George made both Lady Annabel and Venetia still
more finely appreciate the solace of his society.
Left to themselves, they felt how much they had depended
on his vigilant and considerate attention, and how
much his sweet temper and his unfailing sympathy had
contributed to their consolation. He wrote, however,
to Venetia by every post, and his letters, if possible,
endeared him still more to their hearts. Unwilling
to dwell upon their mutual sorrows, yet always expressing
sufficient to prove that distance and absence had
not impaired his sympathy, he contrived, with infinite
delicacy, even to amuse their solitude with the adventures
of his life of bustle. The arrival of the post
was the incident of the day; and not merely letters
arrived; one day brought books, another music; continually
some fresh token of his thought and affection reached
them. He was, however, only a fortnight absent;
but when he returned, it was to Cadurcis. He
called upon them the next day, and indeed every morning
found him at Cherbury; but he returned to his home
at night; and so, without an effort, from their guest
he had become their neighbour.
Plantagenet had left the whole of his property to
his cousin: his mother’s fortune, which,
as an accessory fund, was not inconsiderable, besides
the estate. And George intended to devote a portion
of this to the restoration of the abbey. Venetia
was to be his counsellor in this operation, and therefore
there were ample sources of amusement for the remainder
of the year. On a high ridge, which was one of
the beacons of the county, and which, moreover, marked
the junction of the domains of Cherbury and Cadurcis,
it was his intention to raise a monument to the united
memories of Marmion Herbert and Plantagenet Lord Cadurcis.
He brought down a design with him from London, and
this was the project which he had previously whispered
to Venetia. With George for her companion, too,
Venetia was induced to resume her rides. It was
her part to make him acquainted with the county in
which he was so important a resident. Time therefore,
at Cherbury, on the whole, flowed on in a tide of
tranquil pleasure; and Lady Annabel observed, with
interest and fondness, the continual presence beneath
her roof of one who, from the first day she had met
him, had engaged her kind feelings, and had since
become intimately endeared to her.