Amethyst: The Story of a BeautyColeridge, Christabel R. (Christabel Rose)
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Amethyst: The Story of a Beauty
Coleridge, Christabel R. (Christabel Rose)
England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
There were loving interviews with Mrs Leigh, and much talk over
Lucian's last hours, almost, on the mother's side, as if there had been
no breach of the betrothal. Mrs Leigh gave Amethyst back the
photograph of Lucian as she had first known him, with its perfect
outlines, like a Greek masque, and firm, unvarying expression, and
another, much more beautiful in Amethyst's eyes, taken during his last
illness, with all the forms sharpened and chiselled away, the lines of
pain round eyes and mouth, but with the look that made it like the
picture of Lucian's soul instead of his body.
Amethyst took them as treasures indeed, but she was the comforter, not
the comforted, in the intercourse with Lucian's mother, for the
admiration of him was sweeter to her than the loss was sad.
Then came a great surprise, the bequest from Lucian of 5,000 pounds, "as
a token that if I could, I would have given her all I possess."
The codicil to his will was dated after he had given her back her ring,
and Mrs Leigh told her that he had often thought of it, but had not
ventured to do it till she had once more given him the right, and that
he had said that he wished her to have her life in her own hands.
Then she knew that he had fully understood her difficulties, and what a
difference independence might make to her. One thing that she had
dreaded was saved her.
Carrie Carisbrooke wrote so clear a history to her uncle of the
appearance of Lady Clyste at Monte Carlo, that he made no attempt to see
Amethyst again; but wrote that he would meet his niece on business
matters when she returned to England, and Amethyst was saved from an
interview, of which she could only think with a shudder of horror.
Lucian was buried on a still, bright day, when the spring seemed to have
made a great advance, and the air was warm and sweet. Amethyst went out
on the hill afterwards and sat down in her favourite place among the
olive woods, and presently Sylvester came and joined her. He was pale
and anxious, though his eyes were bright and eager.
"I have brought this to show you," he said gravely, taking out a little
Russia-leather pocket-book, worn and shabby.
"It was Lucy's," he said, sitting down by her side. "He kept it as long
as he could, and then one day, he pushed it into my hand, and told me to
look at it--afterwards."
The pocket-book contained old dates as to the starting of trains and
steamers, records of the slaughter of tigers and elephants, little notes
of matters to be attended to on the estate at Toppings. In the pocket
was a little old photograph of Amethyst, and a note asking him to come
over and play tennis, dated in the second week of her acquaintance with
him, and never returned with the "love letters" written afterwards.
Sylvester showed her these relics in silence, then he turned to the
blank pages at the end of the book on which was written in faint broken
characters, very different from the small distinct writing of the
earlier entries--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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