For Woman's LoveSouthworth, Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte
General
For Woman's Love
Southworth, Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte
Fiction
When Fabian demanded whether they were ready to go down to breakfast,
and received a satisfactory answer, he drew the arm of his wife within
his own, and led the way down stairs. Clarence and Corona followed. When
they entered the breakfast saloon, the polite waiter came forward and
ushered them to a table at which Captain and Mrs. Neville were already
seated. Morning greetings were exchanged, and Mr. Clarence was
introduced and welcomed.
After breakfast all the party went to church.
Then Clarence and Corona spent the afternoon together at one end of the
long parlor, which was so long and had so many recesses that half a
dozen separate groups might have isolated themselves there, each without
fear of their conversation being overheard by the others.
All the members of our party sat up late that evening to eke out the
time they might spend together before parting. It was after midnight
when they retired.
The travelers met at an early breakfast the next morning. Their baggage
had been sent on and checked in advance. They had nothing to do but make
the most of the few remaining minutes.
When the meal was over they all hastily left the table and went to their
rooms to put on their traveling wraps.
Fabian and Violet were to accompany the travelers to the railway depot
to see them off, so that there was to be no leave taking at the hotel
except of the baby.
Corona went into the nurse's room, took the mite in her arms, held it to
her bosom, caressed and kissed it tenderly, but dropped no tear on its
sweet, fair face or soft white robe.
The baby received all this love with delight, leaping and dancing in
Corona's arms, then gazing at her with intense eyes, and crowing and
prattling in inarticulate and unintelligible language, of some happy,
incommunicable news, some joyful message it would deliver if it could.
"Come, Cora. We are waiting for you, my dear," sounded the voice of Mr.
Fabian in the hall outside.
Corona kissed the baby for the last time, blessed it for the vague sweet
hope it had infused into her heart, and then laid it in its nurse's arms
and left the room.
"We shall barely catch the train, if we catch it at all. And the captain
is as nearly in a 'stew' as an officer and a gentleman permits himself
to get. We have been looking for you everywhere," said Mr. Fabian.
"I was in the nurse's room, bidding good-by to the baby," replied Cora.
"Oh!"
No more was said. Baby was excuse for any amount of delay, even though
it had caused the missing of their train and the driving of the captain
into a war dance.
They hurried down stairs and entered the carriages that were waiting to
take them to the depot--Fabian, Violet, Clarence and Corona in one;
Captain and Mrs. Neville, and Mrs. Neville's maid, in the other. And so
they drove to the depot, and arrived just in time to take their tickets
and rush to their seats on the train, with no further leave taking than
a kiss all around, and a general, heartfelt "God bless you!"
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