"'I shall be at Twickenham to-morrow,' he said; 'Estelle, I pray you to meet me there.'
"And I, weak and miserable, promised him."
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE PUNISHMENT OF FOLLY.
"'I cannot bear it,' said my lover to me," continued Lady Estelle, "when we met the next day on the green lawn at Twickenham. 'We Studleighs are just as mad in jealousy as we are in love. When I see you surrounded by the wealthiest and noblest in the land—men each of whom is more worthy of you a thousand times than I am—but no one else loves you one-half so well, I can bear it no longer, Estelle. I will stand by no longer to see you loved, admired, and sought by other men. I will go away, and never return to this hateful land again.'
"'What can I do, Ulric?' I asked. 'I cannot help it—I do not ask people to admire me.'
"'You can do one thing, if you will,' he said; 'you can set my heart at rest; you can consent to what I ask—a private marriage; that will make you mine, and it will not be in the power of any human being to take you from me. It will set my heart at rest, and I shall know, no matter who admires you, that you are mine. If you will not consent to this, I must go.'
"I was sorely afraid to lose him, Earle Moray.
"'But what will become of me when my parents find it out?' I asked.
"'They need never find it out. When they seem to like me a little better, we will tell them. No one knows what an excellent thing it is to make one's self master of the situation. Once done, we cannot be expected to undo it, and after a few days they will say that we were naughty; but they will forgive us when they are quite sure that being angry is of no use.'