“I fear, madam, that I have alarmed you by my sudden approach; reassure yourself, dear lady!” said the visitor, politely. But Marguerite, dropping her hands from before her agonized countenance, exclaimed: “Braunton! am I so changed, then, that you do not know me? I am Marguerite Helmstedt, whom you seek. But in the name of Heaven, then, what fatality has brought you here?” “A fatality indeed, madam,” answered the stranger, in a sad tone. “Come up to the house! by a merciful chance I am alone this evening,” said the lady, struggling to sustain herself against the agony of mind that was written in characters of iron on her corrugated brow. The stranger gave her his arm as an indispensable support, and the two proceeded toward the mansion. CHAPTER VIII. LOVE, WAR AND BETROTHAL. “Her mother smiled upon her bed, As at its side we knelt to wed, And the bride rose from her knee; And she kissed the lips of her mother dead Or ever she kissed me.” --E. B. BROWNING. None ever knew what passed between Mrs. Helmstedt and the gray-haired stranger who was closeted with her, in her favorite parlor, for several hours, that evening. No one was in the house, in fact, at the time, except the lady, her venerable guest, and her two confidential servants, Hildreth and Forrest, who had, of late years, grown into the habit of silence in regard to everything concerning their unhappy mistress. Once in the wane of that evening, Forrest rapped at the door for orders, and had caught a glimpse of his mistress’s blanched and haggard face, as she directed him to retire and wait until he should hear her bell. And after waiting in the dining-room opposite, for some hours, Forrest heard the departure of the visitor, but listened in vain for Mrs. Helmstedt’s bell. Meanwhile, _The Pearl Shell_, containing Margaret and Franky, glided swiftly over the moonlit waters. As they neared the island, they saw another boat, containing a pair of oarsmen and a single passenger, push off from the beach and row rapidly toward a schooner, anchored some quarter of a mile off. But as it was not an unusual occurrence for passing vessels to send out boats to the isle for water, wood or provisions, purchased from the negroes, the sight of this one leaving its shores occasioned no remark. “Now row swiftly home, dear Franky, or they will wonder what has become of us,” said Margaret, as soon as she had sprung upon the shore. But Franky refused to leave her until at least he had seen her safely housed. So he took her hand, and they ran on up the sandy barren, through the long timothy field, through the orchard, and through the garden, until they reached the front piazza, where Margaret insisted upon dismissing her boy lover, who reluctantly left her. And Margaret ran into the hall door, and thence into her mother’s favorite parlor, on the threshold of which she stood appalled!