And, knowing that he had already telegraphed the announcement that the
marriage arranged between the Right Honorable John Derringham and Mrs.
Vincent Cricklander would not take place, so that it should appear in
the Monday morning papers--Mr. Hanbury-Green felt he could safely comply
with her caprice and bide his time. He had not the slightest intention
of ever permitting a whim of hers to interfere with his real wishes in
any way, and having a full command of her own weapons and methods, he
looked forward to a time of uninterrupted bliss when once she should be
his wife. To dissemble for a month or so would not hurt him, and might
even amuse him as a new game.
So they entered Daniellis in subdued triumph, and said good night before
Arabella, with prim decorum, and then Cecilia mounted to make herself
look beautiful for the flinging of his _congé_ in John Derringham's
face.
CHAPTER XXXIII
When Halcyone left the Fortezza she was conscious of no feeling of
depression or grief. Rather a gladness and security filled her heart.
She had seen him with her mortal eyes--her dear lover--and he was in
truth greatly in need of all her care and tender thoughts. Her beliefs
were so intense in those forces of protection with which that God Whom
she worshiped so truly surrounded her, that she never for a moment
doubted but these invisible currents would be directed to the
disentangling of destiny's threads.
She made no speculations as to how this would be--God would find the
way. Her attitude was never one of pious resignation to a divine
chastisement. She did not believe God ever meant to chastise anyone. For
good or ill each circumstance was brought about by the individual's own
action in setting the sequence of events in motion, as the planting of
seed in the early spring produced fair flowers in the summer--or the
bruising of a limb produced pain. And the motion must go on until the
price had been paid or the pleasure obtained. And, when long ago she had
heard Cheiron and John Derringham having abstruse arguments upon Chance,
she used silently to wonder how they could be so dull as not to
understand there was no such thing really as Chance--if people were only
enabled to see clearly enough. If they could only trace events in their
lives to their sources, they would find that they themselves had long
ago--even perhaps in some former existence--put in motion the currents
to draw the events to themselves. What could be called "chance" in the
matter was only another name for ignorance.
And, if people knew about these wonderful forces of nature, they could
connect themselves with only the good ones, and protect themselves from
the bad. Misfortune came through--figuratively--not knowing just where
to put the feet, and through not looking ahead to see what would be the
result of actions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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