Thaddeus gazed on
her with a certainty of bliss which penetrated his soul until its
raptures almost amounted to pain. The heart may ache with joy;
neither sighs nor language could express what passed in his mind. He
held her hand to his lips; his other arm fell unconsciously round her
waist, and in a moment he found that he had pressed her to his
breast. His heart beat violently. Miss Beaufort rose instantaneously
from her chair; but her pure nature needed no disguise. She looked up
to him, whilst her blushing eyes were shedding tears of delight, and
said in a trembling voice: "Tell my dear uncle that Mary Beaufort
glories in the means by which she becomes his daughter."
She moved to the door. Thaddeus, whose full tide of transport denied
him utterance, only clasped her hands again to his lips and bosom;
then, relinquishing them, he suffered her to quit the room.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
A FAMILY PARTY.
The magnificent establishment which this projected union offered to
Sobieski seemed to heal the yet bleeding conscience of Sir Robert
Somerset. Although he had acquiesced in the count's generous
surrender of the family-inherited honors, his heart remained still
ill at ease. Every dutiful expression from his long-neglected son at
times had stung him with remorse. But Miss Beaufort's avowed and
returned affection at once removed the lingering accuser from his
bosom.
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