Miss Temple addressed herself no more to Ferdinand.
They returned by water. To Ferdinand’s great annoyance, the Count did not hesitate for a moment to avail himself of the duchess’s proposal that he and his companion should form part of the crew. He gave immediate orders that his cabriolet should meet him at Whitehall Stairs, and Ferdinand found there was no chance of escape.
It was a delicious summer evening. The setting sun bathed the bowers of Fulham with refulgent light, just as they were off delicate Rosebank; but the air long continued warm, and always soft, and the last few miles of their pleasant voyage were tinted by the young and glittering moon.
‘I wish we had brought a guitar,’ said Miss Grandison; ‘Count Mirabel, I am sure, would sing to us?’ ‘And you, you will sing to us without a guitar, will you not?’ said the Count, smiling.
‘Henrietta, will you sing?’ said Miss Grandison. ‘With you.’
‘Of course; now you must,’ said the Count: so they did.
This gliding home to the metropolis on a summer eve, so soft and still, with beautiful faces, as should always be the case, and with sweet sounds, as was the present—there is something very ravishing in the combination. The heart opens; it is a dangerous moment. As Ferdinand listened once more to the voice of Henrietta, even though it was blended with the sweet tones of Miss Grandison, the passionate past vividly recurred to him. Fortunately he did not sit near her; he had taken care to be the last in the boat. He turned away his face, but its stern expression did not escape the observation of the Count Mirabel.
‘And now, Count Mirabel, you must really favour us,’ said the duchess.
‘Without a guitar?’ said the Count, and he began thrumming on his arm for an accompaniment. ‘Well, when I was with the Duc d’Angoulême in Spain, we sometimes indulged in a serenade at Seville. I will try to remember one.’
A SERENADE OF SEVILLE.
I.
Come forth, come forth, the star we love
Is high o’er Guadalquivir’s grove,
And tints each tree with golden light;
Ah! Rosalie, one smile from thee were far more bright.