This little ceremony over, he took Sir John Webb and Mr. Forster apart, and remained in earnest conversation with them for a few minutes. He then returned to the ladies, and proposed a walk in the garden, to which they delightedly assented. VII.--THE PROPOSAL. |The gardens at Dilston, though somewhat formally laid out, as previously mentioned, were very beautiful, and were just then in perfection. The prince admired them very much, and of course everybody else was enchanted. After wandering about for some time--now stopping to look at one object, now at another--the prince walked on with Lady Webb, and the party began to disperse, moving about in different directions. Somehow or other, Lord Derwentwater found himself alone with Anna. He looked about for Dorothy, but she was a long way off with Charles Radclyffe, and no one was near them. Close to where they stood was a rustic bench, shaded by a tree, and saying she felt a little fatigued, Anna sat down. Lord Derwentwater could not do otherwise than take a place beside her. We will not say what thoughts agitated her breast, but she felt that the critical moment had arrived, and trembled lest any interruption should occur before the word was uttered that might decide her fate. She did not look at the lovely parterre of flowers before her--nor listen to the plashing of the fountain--she heard nothing--saw nothing. But the accents she longed for were not breathed, and Lord Derwentwater remained silent. Why did he not speak? Fearing the moment might pass, she raised her magnificent eyes, which had been thrown upon the ground, and fixed them full upon him. Though he spoke not, he had been watching her, and the glance he now encountered pierced his breast. How much was conveyed in that long, passionate look! How eloquent was the earl's reply! An instantaneous revelation was made to each of the state of the other's heart. No longer any doubt. He knew she loved him. She felt he was won. Yet, as if to make assurance doubly sure, he took her hand. She did not withdraw it, and still gazing tenderly at her, he said in a low voice, but which was distinctly audible: “Can you love me, Anna?” Her glance became even more passionate, as she answered: “I can--I do.” “Will you be mine, then?” demanded the earl, passing his arm round her waist, and drawing her towards him. Her reply must have been in the affirmative, yet it was almost stifled by the kiss imprinted on her lips. He had only just released her from this fond embrace, when they became conscious that they were not unobserved. So engrossed were they by each other that they had not hitherto noticed the prince and Lady Webb on the further side of the lawn. Lord Derwentwater, in a moment, decided on the course he ought to pursue. “Come with me,” he said to Anna.