Miss Dorothy gayly reproached her nephew for his undutiful
lack of curiosity, while Mary, with a glowing cheek, received the
glad embrace of her cousin, who gently whispered to her, "Now I shall
see together the two beings I most dearly love! Oh! the happiness
contained in that sight!" Mary's vivid blush had not subsided when
the entrance of Thaddeus, and his agitated bow, overspread her neck
and brow with crimson. A sudden dimness obscured her faculties, and
she scarcely heard the animated words of Sir Robert, whilst
presenting him to her as the Count Sobieski, the beloved grandson of
one who had deserved the warmest place in his heart! Whatever he was,
the lowly Constantine or the distinguished Sobieski, she was
conscious that he was lord of hers; and withdrawing her hand
confusedly from the timid and thrilling touch of him she would have
willingly lingered near forever, she glided towards an open casement,
where the fresh air helped to dispel the faintness which had seized
her.
After Miss Dorothy, with all the urbanity of her nature, had declared
her welcome to the count, she put away the coffee that was handed to
her by Pembroke, and said, with a smile, "Before I taste my
breakfast, I must inform you, Sir Robert, that you have a guest in
this house you little expect. I forbade Miss Beaufort's saying a
word, because, as we are told, 'the first tellers of unwelcome news
have but a losing office;' _vice vers?_, I hoped for a gaining
one, therefore preserved such a profitable piece of intelligence for
my own promulgation.
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