The Lovels of ArdenBraddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth)
General
The Lovels of Arden
Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth)
England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Man-woman relationships -- Fiction
After a good deal of discussion among third parties, and an undeviating
urgency on the part of Mr. Granger himself, it was arranged that the
wedding should take place at the end of May, and that Clarissa should see
Switzerland in its brightest aspect. She had once expressed a longing for
Alpine peaks and glaciers in her lover's presence, and he had from that
moment, determined that Switzerland should be the scene of his honeymoon.
They would go there so early as to avoid the herd of autumnal wanderers. He
knew the country, and could map out the fairest roads for their travels,
the pleasantest resting-places for their repose. And if Clarissa cared to
explore Italy afterwards, and spend October and November in Rome, she
could do so. All the world would be bright and new to him with her for his
companion. He looked forward with boyish eagerness to revisiting scenes
that he had fancied himself weary of until now. Yes; such a love as this
was indeed a renewal of youth.
To all arrangements made on her behalf Clarissa was submissive. What could
a girl, not a quite twenty, urge against the will of a man like Daniel
Granger, supported by such powerful allies as father, and uncle and aunt,
and friends? She thanked him more warmly than usual when he proposed the
Swiss tour. Yes; she had wished very much to see that country. Her brother
had gone there on a walking expedition when he was little more than a boy,
and had very narrowly escaped with his life from the perils of the road.
She had some of his Alpine sketches, in a small portfolio of particular
treasures, to this day.
Mrs. Oliver revelled in the business of the trousseau. Never since the
extravagant days of her early youth had she enjoyed such a feast of
millinery. To an aunt the provision of a wedding outfit is peculiarly
delightful. She has all the pomp and authority of a parent, without a
parent's responsibility. She stands _in loco parentis_ with regard
to everything except the bill. No uneasy twinge disturbs her, as the
glistening silk glides through the shopman's hands, and ebbs and flows in
billows of brightness on the counter. No demon of calculation comes between
her and the genius of taste, when the milliner suggests an extra flounce of
Marines, or a pelerine of Honiton.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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