‘It would have made no difference to my behaviour, madam, if Maraquita had already been the Governor’s wife. The blameless burden laid upon me still remains, and she will not lift it by the raising of her little finger. I suppose it is my fate to suffer and be silent. But I think the time will come when Quita will be sorry she had not more pity for me to-day.’
‘Mamma, mamma,’ cried Quita hysterically, ‘tell her to go! I can bear no more of her reproaches. It is wicked of her to speak like that. You know that I have done nothing; but if such a story were to come to Sir Russell’s ears, it might ruin me for ever.’
‘It shall not come to his ears!’ exclaimed Mrs Courtney angrily; ‘and if you attempt to repeat it, Elizabeth Fellows, I will have your name, and your dead father’s name, branded from one end of San Diego to the other until not a soul in the island shall speak to you. See if I do not.’
‘You will never have the opportunity to carry out your cruel threat, madam. I have told your daughter, and I tell you, that my vow of secrecy to my beloved father is sacred, and nothing shall make me break it. From this hour, I shall never mention the subject to any living creature again.’
And with those words Liz turned on her heel and walked out of the White House. As she disappeared, Maraquita threw herself into her mother’s arms in a burst of tears.
‘Oh, I am lost—I am lost!’ she cried, trembling with fear. ‘We have made her angry, and she may go and tell the story everywhere, from revenge. How I wish I had never seen De Courcelles. It was wicked of him to take advantage of me like that. And all the time he was engaged to be married to Lizzie. Oh, mother, I hate him—I hate him! I wish that he was dead!’
It is the proof of an ephemeral and fancied passion that directly misfortune or peril comes upon it, it turns to reproaching and dislike. There is little need to say that Maraquita’s love for Henri de Courcelles was founded on a basis of self-esteem. Had it been otherwise, their mutual error would have made her cling all the closer to him as her one haven of safety.
‘If he is engaged to her, my dear,’ replied Mrs Courtney, with a view to consolation, ‘so much the better. They are a very suitable pair, and their marriage would rid you of a troublesome suitor. I have heard something of it before, but subsequent events made me think I was mistaken. But I don’t like Monsieur de Courcelles. I consider him a dangerous enemy, and should be glad to know that he had settled down in life.’
‘But you promised me that papa should send him away from Beauregard,’ said Quita fearfully.
‘And so he shall, my love, as soon as ever we are on the hill range. You may rest assured of that. Only we have no power to send him out of San Diego, and he may prove troublesome to us yet. However, I have my own story to tell papa, and it is one that will provide against any emergency. But the first thing to be done, Quita, is to get you away; and the next, to make you Lady Johnstone. Then we shall be perfectly safe.’