Emmeline, the Orphan of the CastleSmith, Charlotte
General
Emmeline, the Orphan of the Castle
Smith, Charlotte
Gothic fiction; Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 18th century -- Fiction; Marriage -- Fiction; Single women -- Fiction
'In order to take measures towards settling Trelawny's affairs, it was
necessary to send for his sister, who had a bond for five thousand
pounds, which claim was prior to every other. This woman, whom it was
extremely disagreeable to me to meet, lamented with vulgar clamour her
brother's misfortunes; which she said could never have happened if he
had not been so unlucky as to get quality notions into his head. I know
not what at first raised her suspicions; but I saw that she very
narrowly observed Fitz-Edward; and sneeringly said that it was _very
lucky_ indeed for me to have such a friend, and _quite kind_ in the
colonel to take so much trouble. She made herself thoroughly acquainted
with all that related to her brother, from the time of our parting in
Ireland; and I found that she had attempted to bribe my servant to give
her an account of my conduct; in which tho' she had failed of success,
she had found that Fitz-Edward had been constantly with me. His
attendance was indeed less remarkable when Lord Clancarryl, his brother,
was also present; but Mrs. Bancraft, determined to believe ill of me,
suffered not this circumstance to have any weight, and hinted her
suspicions of our attachment in terms so little guarded, that it was
with the utmost difficulty I could prevail on Fitz-Edward not to resent
her impertinence.
'Lord Clancarryl despised this vulgar and disgusting woman too much to
attend to the inuendos he heard; and far from suspecting my unhappy
weakness, he continued to lay me under new obligations to Fitz-Edward by
employing him almost incessantly in the arrangement of Trelawny's
affairs.
'On looking over the will of that relation, who had bequeathed to Mr.
Trelawny the great fortune he had possessed, I discovered the reason of
Mrs. Bancraft's attentive curiosity in regard to me--if he died without
heirs, above six thousand a year was to descend to her son, who was to
take the name. He had been now married above two years, and his bloated
and unhealthy appearance (the effect of excessive drinking) indicated
short life; and had made her for some time look forward to the
succession of the entailed estate as an event almost certain for her
son. This sufficiently explained her conduct, and encreased all my
apprehensions; for I found that avarice would stimulate malice into that
continued watchfulness which I could not now undergo without the loss of
my fame and my peace.
'All things being settled by Lord Clancarryl in the best manner he could
dispose them for Mr. Trelawny, his Lordship pressed me to go with him to
Ireland; but conscious that I should carry only disgrace and sorrow into
the happy and respectable family of my sister, I refused, under pretence
of waiting to hear again from Trelawny before I took any resolution as
to my future residence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account