“But you always take a fee, do you not?”
“From others I do—not from you. It would not be blessed.”
The boyish brow of Frank clouded and darkened, but it cleared again instantly as he turned towards his bride.
They were about to bid the old minister adieu, when he took a hand of each, and joining them again, held them in his own, while he said—
“Children, if this thoughtless act bring you into much trouble, in the long, weary years of trial and suffering that may result from it, reproach me for my share in the rash deed as much as you please, but,—” he paused and looked solemnly from one to the other,—“never, as you value love, and fidelity, and peace,—never, as you value the favor of Heaven, never reproach each other with it! So may God forgive, and bless, and prosper you! Good-bye!”
The young bride and groom had bowed their heads during this benediction, and at its close responded with a silent, heartfelt amen. They then left the cabin.
If the minister of God grievously erred in performing this secret marriage ceremony, he was soon called to account for it; the old man died that night.
As Mr. and Mrs. Fairfax left the cabin, they perceived Kate Kavanagh, on her little rough-coated mountain pony, coming straight down into the glen—her sure-footed little animal treading with perfect security the precipitous descent down which they had been obliged to clamber. Kate was looking very pale and care-worn, so that her ponderous abutting forehead, in its pallor, reminded Frank of a barebleached cliff. And, indeed, he thought that Kate’s face looked more like that of an anxious politician, with the affairs of a nation on his shoulders, than of a grieved girl. But this was the fault of her marked features. But little time or thought had Mr. Fairfax to bestow upon the mountain-girl; so as soon as he caught sight of her, he turned in another direction, to avoid being recognized, saying—
“By all that’s fatal, my dearest love, we were near being detected! And by all that’s fortunate, we have escaped! Come, this way, we will take a stroll down the glen and into the forest for a little while, until this girl is clear of the way.”
“Oh, but it will delay us so much, I shall not have time to go to Hardbargain, and assist Aunt Clifton, and get back home to dinner, as I promised!”